BILL ANALYSIS
AB 239
Page 1
CORRECTED 5/8/2009 PER COMMITTEE CONSULTANT
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 239 (Brownley)
As Amended March 11, 2009
Majority vote
EDUCATION 10-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Brownley, Nestande, |Ayes:|De Leon, Nielsen, |
| |Ammiano, Arambula, | |Ammiano, Davis, Duvall, |
| |Buchanan, Carter, Eng, | |Fuentes, Hall, Harkey, |
| |Garrick, Miller, | |Jones, Miller, John A. |
| |Torlakson | |Perez, Price, Skinner, |
| | | |Solorio, Audra |
| | | |Strickland, Torlakson |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing
(CTC) to issue a clear credential to teachers and service
providers who attain certification by the National Board for
Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS); authorizes the CTC to
issue an English learner certification to applicants who attain
certification by the NBPTS; and, authorizes school districts to
offer district intern programs in special education to teach
pupils at all levels of disability. Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes the CTC to issue English learner certification to
applicants who attain English as a New Language certification
by the NBPTS.
2)Requires the CTC to issue a clear credential to teachers and
service providers who hold a certification from the NBPTS.
3)Authorizes school district governing boards to offer district
intern programs in special education for all disability
levels; and, requires the CTC to issue district intern
credentials to people in those programs to teach special
education students with all levels of disability.
4)Deletes the requirement that the CTC participate in a pilot
project with district intern programs to provide teacher
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preparation programs for special education certification.
5)Deletes the requirement that the CTC report to the Legislature
on the effectiveness of the pilot project.
6)Makes technical and conforming changes to statute.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the CTC to issue an authorization to educators
teaching pupils with limited English proficiency who:
a) Hold a valid California teaching credential;
b) Have passed an examination or completed an approved
program of coursework; and,
c) Have completed coursework in a second language at an
accredited institution.
2)Requires the CTC to issue a clear credential to teachers who
hold a certification from the NBPTS.
3)Authorizes the CTC to issue district intern credentials to
persons teaching special education pupils with mild and
moderate disabilities.
4)Directs the CTC to participate in a pilot program issuing
district intern credentials to persons teaching special
education pupils and report to the Legislature by January 1,
2009, on the effectiveness of the pilot program.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, "Minor absorbable General Fund costs to the CTC to
make permanent the pilot program. The credential fees paid by
applicants will offset costs to the CTC."
COMMENTS : This bill will streamline teacher credentialing in
three ways. First, the bill will authorize the CTC to issue a
clear credential to teachers and service providers, such as
school counselors, who hold a certification from the NBPTS.
Second, the bill will authorize teachers who attain the English
as a New Language certification from the NBPTS to earn the
Crosscultural, Language and Academic Development (CLAD)
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authorization. Third, the bill will allow district intern
programs to offer all types of Education Specialist Credentials
statewide. In general, the bill will make the credentialing
process more streamlined for teachers and increase access to
special education credential programs by authorizing districts
to offer those credentials through their district intern
programs. California faces a shortage of well-qualified
teachers, particularly those with credentials to teach math,
science, and special education. California must produce a
globally-competitive workforce to revitalize its economy and
attracting well-qualified teachers is an important step toward
that goal.
National Board Certification: The NBPTS offers certification in
25 areas and requires candidates to have a bachelor's degree, a
valid teaching credential, and at least three years of teaching
experience. The National Board Certification process includes a
subject matter examination and a portfolio that includes
multiple items, such as video recordings of classroom
interactions between the teacher and students as well as a
written reflection and analysis of the instructional session.
Like board-certified doctors and accountants, teachers who
achieve National Board Certification have met rigorous standards
through intensive study, expert evaluation, self-assessment, and
peer review. Candidates for the English as a New Language
certificate must complete a portfolio assessment and demonstrate
knowledge and competencies in teaching English learners. The
CTC completed an analysis of the NBPTS standards and the CLAD
standards and found that the NBPTS certification is as rigorous
if not more than existing California teaching standards and
domains of the NBPTS English as a New Language certification
process are comparable to the State's CLAD certificate.
District Intern Programs: The District Intern Programs were
created by the passage of the Hughes-Hart Education Reform Act
of 1983, Chapter 498, Statutes of 1983. The original program
allowed districts and county offices to offer teacher
preparation programs for single subject candidates. Since then
the enabling statutes have been amended multiple times as this
type of teacher preparation program has expanded into new
credential areas and increased the number of providers. Among
the changes that have occurred was expansion into multiple
subjects and bilingual credentials (1987) and special education
(1994). Most recently SB 933 (Machado), Chapter 304, Statutes
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of 2006, amended the District Intern statutes to authorize
another pilot program to allow school districts to provide
Education Specialist credential services in all areas of
disability. The pilot program is scheduled to sunset in January
2010.
As required by statute, the CTC participated in a pilot program
for District Intern Programs to offer the education specialist
credential for all levels of pupil disability. In the report to
the Legislature, the CTC found that, since 2005, the pilot
program enrolled 132 district interns in the Education
Specialist Moderate/Severe programs at the Los Angeles Unified
School District, Stanislaus County Office of Education, and
Project Impact at San Joaquin County Office of Education. With
the shortage of special education teachers statewide, this
amount of program participation is significant.
In the report, the CTC states 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, as
specified in Education Code Section 44325, 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. However, the Commission staff also
recommends that issues of on-site support and ways to improve
the quality and quantity of that support continue to be
explored."
Previous legislation: The April 16, 2008, version of SB 1186
(Scott), Chapter 518, Statutes of 2008, authorized the CTC to
issue English learner certification to applicants who attain
English as a New Language certification by the NBPTS.
The March 13, 2008, version of SB 1104 (Scott), Chapter 576,
Statutes of 2008, required the CTC to issue a Clear Designated
Subjects Career Technical Education teaching credential to the
holder of a preliminary credential who attain certification from
the NBPTS.
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087
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