BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Session SB 933 (Allen) - Teachers: California Teacher Corps Act of 2016: teacher residency programs ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Version: March 29, 2016 |Policy Vote: ED. 9 - 0 | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Urgency: No |Mandate: No | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Hearing Date: April 11, 2016 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Bill Summary: Contingent upon funding provided in the budget or another enacted statute, this bill establishes the California Teacher Act of 2016, a grant program to assist local educational agencies (LEAs) in establishing and maintaining teacher residency programs. This bill defines a teacher residency program as a school-based teacher preparation program and authorizes expenditure of these funds for master teacher's stipends, stipends and tuition for residents, teacher residency program management, and costs of mentoring and induction following initial preparation. Participants are required to be enrolled in a credentialing program while teaching under the supervision of a mentor teacher, and agree to teach at the LEA for a specified period of time. Fiscal Impact: SB 933 (Allen) Page 1 of ? Grant program: The cost of this program is unknown as it is contingent upon funding provided in the budget or another statute but could be in the hundreds of millions per grant cycle. To fund one round of three year grants for ten percent of school districts, costs to the state would be $200 million Proposition 98 and a local cost pressure of $100 million to meet the matching requirement. Staff notes that some grant funding may eventually be recovered both at the state and local level if participants fail to meet the terms of the placement period and are required to pay back the proportion of training costs incurred. Administrative costs: The CDE estimates that administering this program would cost about $100,000 in the first year and $158,000 ongoing, for as long as the program operates. Additionally, the CDE estimates that it would need $300,000 to complete the program evaluation. (General Fund) Background: The Budget Act of 2013 implemented the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and permanently consolidated the vast majority of categorical programs, including the Beginner Teacher Support and Assessment Program (an induction program of mentorship and support for new teachers) and the Professional Development Block Grant (which supported activities such as teacher recruitment and retention incentives) into a single source of funding along with former revenue limit apportionments. The statutory and programmatic requirements for almost all of these categorical programs were also eliminated, leaving any related activities to local districts' discretion. While school districts may choose to undertake these activities with their LCFF entitlements, the state has provided funding specifically for teacher support activities. For example, as part of the Budget Act of 2015, the state provided $490 million in one-time Proposition 98 funds for the educator effectiveness block grant, which school districts can use for a variety of teacher-related purposes, such as professional development and beginning teacher support and mentoring. Each new teacher must first complete preliminary credential requirements and additional requirements within a specified period of time to clear a teaching credential to remain teaching in California public schools. SB 933 (Allen) Page 2 of ? Proposed Law: This bill establishes the California Teacher Act of 2016, a grant program to assist LEAs, or a consortium of LEAs, in establishing and maintaining teacher residency programs. These are school-based teacher preparation programs in which prospective teachers teach at least half-time alongside a mentor teacher for one academic year while engaging in initial preparation coursework. Participants also receive tuition assistance that eliminates training costs and a living stipend; attain a preliminary teaching credential upon completion of the program; and receive mentoring, induction support, and professional development during the first years of teaching. Mentor teachers must receive specific training and compensation and/or appropriate release time to serve as a mentor in the initial preparation or induction component of the teacher residency program. This bill authorizes the CDE to issue an unspecified number of grants beginning in the 2017-18 fiscal year, on a competitive basis, with preference to LEAs or a consortium of them, on the basis of their high-need status as defined in federal law for the most recent school year. The bill also requires the CDE to evaluate this program's effectiveness. Eligible prospective participants are required to: (1) enroll simultaneously in a teacher credentialing program that meets certain requirements; (2) complete at least nine months of teaching a class under supervision of a mentor in a school chosen by the LEA that is the recipient of the grant; and (3) agree in writing to be placed for four years as a teacher of record in the high-need LEA after completing the initial year of preparation and obtaining a preliminary teaching credential. If participants fail to complete the placement period, they are required to pay back the cost of the training on a pro rata basis. Related Legislation: SB 933 is part of a legislative package with SB 62 (Pavley) and SB 915 (Liu) to address teacher recruitment and retention. SB 62 makes various programmatic changes and authorizes additional warrants for the existing Assumption SB 933 (Allen) Page 3 of ? Program of Loans for Education. SB 915 reestablishes the California Center on Teaching Careers to recruit individuals into the teaching profession. SB 915 is scheduled to be heard in this committee on April 11, 2016. Staff Comments: The implementation of this bill is contingent upon an appropriation provided in the annual Budget or in another statute. Therefore, the number of grants that the CDE could issue is unknown. This bill provides that grant amounts are required to be for at least three school years, and the lesser of the following two options: (1) an annual amount of up to $30,000 per resident, as matched by the LEA, or (2) a total of $2 million over three school years, as matched by the LEA. Therefore, the CDE would have discretion in issuing grants that could range widely in duration (such as surpassing the three year grant minimum) and number of participants it would support. Assuming all grants are issued at a level of $2 million over three years and 10 percent of school districts receive a grant (for simplicity, but charter schools are also eligible to apply), costs to the state would be $200 million ($66.7 million annually). In addition, grantees are required to provide a match of funds equal to 50 percent of their grant award. Under this scenario, each school district would have to contribute $1 million, or $100 million statewide ($33.3 million annually). This bill authorizes LEAs to meet the matching requirement with funding provided by community partners, institutions of higher education, or others. However, without an identified funding source, LEAs would likely need to meet the matching requirement by redirecting or using new general purposes dollars provided through the LCFF to support this program. According to the author's office, the author envisions implementation of this bill to include $100 million in Proposition 98, one-time funding, for $20 million per year for five years. -- END -- SB 933 (Allen) Page 4 of ?