BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 933| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: SB 933 Author: Allen (D) Amended: 6/1/16 Vote: 21 SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 9-0, 3/16/16 AYES: Liu, Block, Hancock, Huff, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan, Vidak SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-0, 5/27/16 AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza NO VOTE RECORDED: Nielsen SUBJECT: Teachers: California Teacher Corps Act of 2016: teacher residency programs SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill establishes the California Teacher Corps program to provide $60 million in one-time Proposition 98 funding for matching grants to local school districts to create or expand teacher residency programs in which the funds can be used to pay for master teacher stipends, stipends and tuition for residents, and costs of mentoring and induction. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1) Establishes the Local Control Funding Formula which SB 933 Page 2 permanently consolidated the vast majority of categorical programs, including the Professional Development Block Grant which supported professional development activities such as teacher recruitment and retention incentives, along with revenue limit apportionments, into a single source of funding. 2) Eliminates the statutory and programmatic requirements for almost all of these categorical programs, leaving any related activities left to local school districts' discretion. 3) Authorizes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to issue intern credentials as an alternate route to earning a teaching credential. This credential is valid for a period of two years and authorizes the holder to teach in a self-contained classroom while completing their teacher preparation course work. Approved intern programs are sponsored by colleges, universities, school districts, or county offices of education. To qualify, an individual must possess a bachelor's degree, satisfy the basic skills requirements, meet subject matter competence, and obtain character and identification clearance. University intern programs are cooperative teaching, counseling, school psychology, and administrative programs between a university and an employing school district that are administered by the university. District intern programs are for teachers only and are administered by employing school districts whose programs may or may not involve university course work. Completion of an intern program results in the issuance of a preliminary or clear credential. (Education Code § 44325, et seq.) This bill: 1) Establishes the California Teacher Corps Act of 2016. 2) Makes various findings and declarations, as specified. 3) Makes the following definitions: a) Experienced mentor teacher: teacher who meets specified requirements, including at least three years of teaching experience and a clear teaching credential in the SB 933 Page 3 field in which he or she will be mentoring, has taught in a high-need school, receives specific training for the mentor teacher role, and engages in ongoing professional learning and networking with other mentors. b) Local educational agency (LEA): a school district, county office of education, charter school, or charter management organization. c) Teacher residency program: a school-based teacher preparation program that is accredited by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and in which a prospective teacher meets specified conditions, including: i) Teaches at least one-half time alongside a teacher of record, who is designated as the mentor teacher, for at least one full academic year while engaging in initial preparation coursework. ii) Receives instruction in specified areas, including the teaching of the content area in which the teacher will become certified to teach and the management of the classroom environment. iii) Receives mentoring and induction support following the completion of the initial credential program necessary to obtain a clear credential and ongoing professional development and networking opportunities during his or her first years of teaching. 4) Provides that a teacher residency program meet specified conditions, including the following: a) Seeks out academically able individuals who expand the racial, ethnic, gender, and linguistic diversity of the teaching force and meet hiring needs of the LEA for teachers in difficult-to-fill areas, such as chronic teacher shortage areas, including special education and bilingual teachers, and hard-to-staff schools. Admissions priorities are developed in concert with the hiring objectives of the LEA, which commits to hire graduates from the teacher residency program who obtain a preliminary teaching credential, pass the program's SB 933 Page 4 teacher performance assessment if that is a condition for receiving a license, and meet the standards set for hiring. b) Allows residents to learn to teach in the same LEA, in which they will work, learning the instructional initiatives and curriculum of the LEA. c) Groups teacher candidates in cohorts to facilitate professional collaboration among residents, and places them in teaching schools or professional development programs that are organized to support a high-quality teacher learning experience in a supportive work environment. 5) Appropriates $60 million from the General Fund to the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) on a one-time basis available for the 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19 fiscal years to make grants to LEAs to assist those agencies to establish and maintain teacher residency programs, with first priority given to LEAs or consortia of LEAs with programs that target chronic teacher shortage areas, including special education and bilingual teachers. Preference may also be given on the basis of their per pupil allocation of funds, as specified. Provides that these LEAs shall work with one or more teacher preparation institutions, and may work with other community partners or nonprofit organizations to develop and implement teacher residency programs of preparation and mentoring for prospective teachers who will be supported through teacher residency program funds and subsequently employed by the sponsoring LEA. 6) Requires that to be eligible to participate in a teacher residency program, a prospective participant must become enrolled simultaneously in a teacher credentialing program in a university or college or other eligible institution that satisfies either of the following conditions: a) It has entered into a written agreement relating to that program with the LEA or consortia of LEAs that is the recipient of a grant under this chapter. b) It has been determined to meet professional SB 933 Page 5 preparation requirements, as specified, by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. 7) Requires a participant in a teacher residency program, under the supervision of an experienced mentor teacher, to complete not fewer than nine months of teaching a class or set of classes in a school chosen by the LEA that is the recipient of a grant. 8) Requires a participant to agree in writing to be placed, after successfully completing the initial year of preparation, as a teacher of record in a school within the LEA. 9) Requires the placement to be for a period of at least four school years, as specified. Provides that once a participant is licensed, he or she shall be eligible to be hired as a teacher in a high-need, underserved area or in a high-need area. 10)Provides that a participant who fails to complete the period of placement, or the first four school years of the placement if the period is more than four school years, is required to pay back the cost of the training on a pro rata basis, relative to the amount of time served in proportion to the total pledged. 11)Provides that if a participant is unable to complete an academic year of teaching, that academic year may still be counted toward the required four complete and consecutive academic years if any specified conditions occur, including whether the participant has completed at least one-half of the academic year or the employer deems the participant to have fulfilled his or her contract requirements for the academic year for the purposes of salary increases, tenure, and retirement. 12)Provides that the grants provided shall be for a period of no less than three school years, and may be in an amount of up to $20,000 per resident of the jurisdiction of the LEA, as matched by that LEA, or up to a total of $2,000,000 over three school years, as matched by that LEA. 13)Provides that these funds may be applied to expenditures for SB 933 Page 6 master teachers' stipends, stipends and tuition assistance for residents, teacher residency program management, and costs of mentoring and induction following initial preparation. 14)Provides that the SPI may make an unspecified number of grants each fiscal year, commencing with the 2016-17 fiscal year until the 2018-19 fiscal year. 15)Prohibits an LEA or consortia of LEAs from receiving more than one award for an application in any fiscal year, unless sufficient funds remain after awarding all other qualified applicants. 16)Requires an LEA or consortia of LEAs to submit an application at a time, in a manner, and containing information prescribed by the SPI. 17)Requires the SPI to award grants on a competitive basis, with first priority given to applicants that target chronic teacher shortage areas, including special education and bilingual teachers. Preference may also be given to LEAs or consortia on the basis of their federal Title II per pupil allocation of funds, as specified. 18)Requires the SPI to conduct an evaluation of the program to determine its effectiveness in recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers in chronic teacher shortage areas, including special education and bilingual teachers, and high-need schools. 19)Requires grant recipients to provide matching funds in an amount equal to 100 percent of the funds provided to the LEA which may be provided by community partners, institutions of higher education, or others. Comments Need for the bill. According to the author's office, "California is ranked last in student-to-teacher ratios of the 50 states in the country. The state would need 100,000 additional teachers just to increase that ratio to the national average. At the same time, several other factors have SB 933 Page 7 exacerbated the teacher shortage, including the retirement of a large number of teachers, a decade of teacher layoffs, and a decline in enrollment for teacher credentialing programs. This decimated teaching pool has created a teacher shortage that threatens to leave our classrooms empty." Additionally, the author's office notes that "research indicates underprepared teachers are more likely to leave the profession in the first five years, experiencing frustration and a lack of job satisfaction. Studies show teachers in residency programs are 50 percent more likely to stay in the profession. Teacher training and mentorship is particularly crucial to meeting the needs of a student population that is increasingly diverse ethnically, culturally, and socioeconomically." SB 933 is part of a legislative package along with SB 915 (Liu) and SB 62 (Pavley) to help address the looming teacher shortage. Specifically, SB 933 is intended to address the demand for trained and credentialed teachers by providing local school districts funds to recruit, train, mentor, and retain teachers through residency programs. The author believes this will also help ensure that a new generation of teachers will be trained for success and establish a pipeline for those teachers to serve in high need districts where the teacher shortage is most severe. Teacher shortage. The Learning Policy Institute (LPI) recently released a report, "Addressing California's Emerging Teacher Shortage: An Analysis of Sources and Solutions." In this report, the LPI included the following summary: "After many years of teacher layoffs in California, school districts around the state are hiring again. With the influx of new K-12 funding, districts are looking to lower student-teacher ratios and reinstate classes and programs that were reduced or eliminated during the Great Recession. However, mounting evidence indicates that teacher supply has not kept pace with the increased demand." LPI recommendations. The LPI report offered several policy recommendations for consideration. These recommendations include the establishment of incentives to attract diverse, talented individuals to teach in high-need locations and fields. This can be accomplished through programs that provide funding for candidates who prepare and teach in such schools and subject SB 933 Page 8 areas, e.g. the Assumption Program of Loans for Education, which is the focus of SB 62 (Pavley). The report also recommends the creation of more innovative pipelines into teaching, such as high school career pathways or teacher preparation models that encourage and support young people and others to go into teaching in their own communities. Additionally, the report indicates that programs which allow novice teachers to teach in classrooms under the direction of a mentor teacher are linked to successful teachers who stay in the profession. The LPI notes several findings regarding the teacher residency model and the long-term benefits for school districts and the students they serve. Specifically, "initial research suggests that residencies bring greater gender and racial diversity in the teaching workforce" and that "rigorous studies of teacher residency programs have found significantly higher retention rates for graduates of these programs." Differences between teacher residencies and internships. Teacher intern credentials authorize the credential holder to be the teacher of record in a classroom while completing and paying for his or her teacher preparation course work. To qualify, an individual must possess a bachelor's degree, satisfy the basic skills requirements, meet subject matter competence, and obtain character and identification clearance. Completion of an intern program results in the issuance of a preliminary or clear credential. While teacher residency programs have many similarities, there are several noteworthy differences. Typically, there is up to a full-year of teaching alongside an expert mentor teacher rather than being the teacher of record. There is also added financial incentive for candidates under teacher residency programs. This bill allows the grants to be used for a resident's tuition at his or her teacher preparation program, unlike the existing intern model whereby the teacher is responsible. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: SB 933 Page 9 Grant program: $60 million one-time Proposition 98 funding. 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 California Department of Education (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) SUPPORT: (Verified5/31/16) Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson California Association of Suburban School Districts California Catholic Conference, Inc. California Chamber of Commerce California Federation of Teachers Common Sense Kids Action EdVoice Public Advocates Sacramento City Unified School District StudentsFirst Students Matter OPPOSITION: (Verified5/31/16) None received Prepared by:Lenin DelCastillo / ED. / (916) 651-4105 6/1/16 18:41:37 **** END **** SB 933 Page 10