BILL ANALYSIS
AB 239
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 1, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 239 (Brownley) - As Amended: March 11, 2009
Policy Committee: Education
Vote:10-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill makes several changes to statutes governing the
certification of teachers, including the following:
1)Authorizes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) to
issue English learner (EL) instruction certification to an
applicant if he or she possesses a valid California teaching
credential and holds either of the following certificates
issued by the National Board for Professional Teaching
Standards (NBPTS): (a) the Early and Middle Childhood/English
as a New Language Certificate and (b) the Early Adolescence
through Young Adulthood/English as a New Language Certificate.
2)Requires that a person who is licensed to teach or provide
services in the public schools in a state other than
California and who is certified by the NBPTS, be issued a
clear teaching or services credential, as specified.
3)Makes permanent a pilot program that provides teacher
preparation programs for teachers of pupils with disabilities
in a special education program. Also, this measure extends
the program to the entire state; whereas only one county
office of education and up to five school districts are
authorized under the current pilot program.
FISCAL EFFECT
Minor absorbable General Fund costs to the CTC to make permanent
the pilot program. The credential fees paid by applicants will
AB 239
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offset costs to the CTC.
COMMENTS
1)Background . SB 1621 (Machado), Chapter 287, Statutes of 2004,
required the CTC to participate in a pilot program, which may
include the San Joaquin County Office of Education and up to
five other school districts or consortia approved by CTC, to
provide teacher preparation programs for teachers of pupils
with disabilities in special education classes. The CTC must
participate in this pilot program until January 1, 2010 and
provide an evaluation of its effectiveness.
According to CTC's evaluation required by Chapter 287, the
pilot programs now provide interns for 50 California school
districts, including the Los Angeles Unified School District.
The programs have grown as requests from their partnering
districts have increased. The evaluation "concluded that
District Intern Programs are capable of offering Education
Specialist programs in all areas of disability. The Commission
recommends that the pilot program status and January 1, 2010
culmination date?. be deleted. Commission staff recommends
that Education Specialist District Intern Programs that are
able to meet the Commission Standards of Program Quality and
Effectiveness and continue to be approved based on these
standards be authorized to recommend candidates for California
credentials."
This bill implements the CTC's recommendations.
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS)
is an independent nongovernmental organization whose mission
is to create rigorous teaching/counseling standards and
provide voluntary certification for those who meet those
standards. Certification candidates must hold a bachelor's
degree, completed three years of teaching/counseling
experience, and hold a valid state teaching/counseling
license.
Candidates for the English as a New Language Certificate under
NBPTS must complete a portfolio assessment and demonstrate
knowledge and competencies in teaching EL pupils. The CTC
completed an analysis of the NBPTS standards and the
Crosscultural, Language and Academic Development (CLAD) (i.e.,
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EL certification) standards and concluded the NBPTS
certification is as rigorous, if not more so, than existing
California teaching standards. This bill authorizes the CTC
to issue CLAD certification to individuals who possess a valid
teacher credential and who hold NBPTS
2)2008-09 and 2009-10 Budget Acts . SB 4xxx (Ducheny), Chapter
12, 2009 reduced the 2008 Budget Act base appropriation for
the National Board Certification (NBC) program by $2 million.
Chapter 12 further reduced this program by 15.4% in the
2008-09 fiscal year (FY) and approximately 20.0 % in the
2009-10 FY, leaving a total of $3.4 million allocated for the
2009-10 FY.
Chapter 12 also established unprecedented categorical
flexibility for approximately 40 categorical programs,
including the NBC program. This flexibility allows local
education agencies (LEAs) that received funding for this
program in the 2008-09 FY to spend it on any education purpose
for the next five FYs (until 2013). Therefore, an LEA can
choose to continue implementing a NBC program or redirect this
funding for any other educational purpose.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081