BILL NUMBER: SB 2192 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 31, 2000
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 30, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 29, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 25, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 7, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 27, 2000
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 30, 2000
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 3, 2000
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 13, 2000
INTRODUCED BY Senator Soto
MARCH 16, 2000
An act to add and repeal Article 2.5 (commencing with Section
44441) of Chapter 3 of Part 25 of the Education Code, relating to
English language education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 2192, Soto. English language education: teacher coaching
program.
Existing law establishes the English Language Acquisition Program
designed for pupils enrolled in grades 4 to 8, inclusive, under which
a school district conducts an academic assessment of English
language learners, provides a program for English language
development instruction, provides supplemental instructional support,
and coordinates services and funding sources available to English
language learners.
This bill would establish the English Language Learner Teacher
Coaching Program until January 1, 2006, to provide English language
learner coaches to assist groups of teachers, teaching
paraprofessionals, and pupils in certain matters. The bill would
require the San Bernardino County Office of Education to administer
the program, subject to an appropriation in the Budget Act or other
legislation. By requiring that the county administer the program,
this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would require the San Bernardino County Office of
Education and the Office of the President, University of California,
if it so chooses, to identify activities that are mutually beneficial
to the English Language Professional Development Institutes and the
English language learner coaches.
The bill would also require the State Department of Education to
evaluate the success of the program and report its findings to the
Legislature by January 1, 2004.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 44441) is added to
Chapter 3 of Part 25 of the Education Code, to read:
Article 2.5 English Language Learner Teacher Coaching Program
44441. The Legislature finds and declares that recent studies
identify the quality of teachers as one of the major factors
affecting pupil achievement. Recent studies also find that pupils
who are from low socioeconomic backgrounds or who are English
language learners are in classrooms with teachers who are new or not
fully credentialed.
44442. (a) The English Language Learner Teacher Coaching Program
is hereby established. The purpose of the English Language Learner
Teacher Coaching Program is to provide "expert" or "master" teachers
to serve as peer coaches to classroom teachers instructing pupils who
are English language learners for the purpose of improving the
quality of instruction. Ongoing, job embedded support for improved
instruction shall be provided by the program. In addition, the
program shall complement current professional development
initiatives. The program shall assist new teachers, teachers who are
not fully credentialed, teaching paraprofessionals as defined in
subdivision (c) of Section 44392, and pupils who are English learners
in achieving greater success in the classroom. The program shall
utilize English language learner coaches to assist groups of
classroom teachers through onsite technical assistance, assessment
assistance, techniques evaluation, and other areas determined by the
San Bernardino County Office of Education, the employing district, or
both.
(b) Classroom teachers who are eligible to receive assistance from
English language learner coaches shall receive assistance pursuant
to the following order of priority:
(1) Teachers without credentials.
(2) Teachers with less than two years of classroom instruction
experience.
(3) Teachers with less than five years of classroom instruction.
(c) It is preferable that the classroom teachers identified in
paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, possess, or are in the process of
obtaining, a certificate of completion provided by the English
Language Development Professional Institutes pursuant to Section 406.
44443. Subject to an appropriation in the Budget Act or other
legislation, the English Language Learner Teacher Coaching Program
shall be administered by the San Bernardino County Office of
Education. The San Bernardino County Office of Education shall
directly, or in cooperation with other county offices of education,
seek qualified applicants, and train qualified applicants for English
language learner coaches, as requested by school districts. Upon
completion of their training, the English language learner coaches
shall provide coaching services to a maximum of twenty-five classroom
teachers from their respective districts. In order to be eligible
for funding pursuant to this article, a school district participating
in this program shall place its English language learner coaches in
low-performing schools. For the purposes of this article,
"low-performing school" means a school whose Academic Performance
Index ranking pursuant to Section 52052 and is in the bottom
one-third percentile for all public schools in the state. In
addition, a school district participating in this program shall
continue to pay the salaries of its English language learner coaches
while those teachers are performing their duties as coaches pursuant
to this article.
44444. The State Department of Education shall evaluate the
success of the program and report its findings to the Legislature by
January 1, 2004. It is the intent of the Legislature that funding
for the evaluation and report be provided for by subsequent
legislation. Assessments evaluating coaching programs, as well as
measuring pupil performance, shall be used in evaluating the English
Language Learner Teacher Coaching Program. The State Department of
Education shall collaborate with the San Bernardino County of Office
of Education in the development of the evaluation and evaluation
process.
44444.1. It is the intent of the Legislature that, commencing
with the 2001-02 fiscal year, a minimum of 100 English language
learner teacher coaches be recruited, trained, and placed in
California public schools. It is further the intent of the
Legislature that this article shall complement Chapter 5 (commencing
with Section 420) of Part 1, particularly as that chapter provides
for supplemental instruction, before school, after school, weekend,
and summer school programs.
44444.2. It is the intent of the Legislature that this article
shall complement Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 400) of Part 1,
particularly as that chapter provides for the professional
development of teachers and supplemental instruction of pupils who
are English language learners. The San Bernardino County Office of
Education, in collaboration with the Office of the President,
University of California, if it so chooses, shall identify activities
that are mutually beneficial to both the English Language
Professional Development Institutes, pursuant to Section 406, and the
English language learner coaches.
44444.3. The English Language Learner Teacher Coaching Program
shall not be implemented if funding is not made available for this
article pursuant to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or
other measure.
44444.4. This article shall remain in effect only until January
1, 2006, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2006, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the
only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
are the result of a program for which legislative authority was
requested by that local agency or school district, within the meaning
of Section 17556 of the Government Code and Section 6 of Article
XIIIB of the California Constitution.