BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 794
AUTHOR: Hagman
AMENDED: April 14, 2009
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 10, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: James Wilson
SUBJECT : Teacher Credential Fees
SUMMARY
This bill requires that initial teaching credential
application fees be waived for an out-of-state prepared
applicant who relocates to California due to the fact that
the applicant's spouse has been relocated to California by
military orders.
BACKGROUND
Current law requires the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing (CTC) to levy fees for the issuance and
renewal of teaching and service credentials. Current law
also allows fees to be waived for specified first-time
teaching credential applicants, provided that funds for the
purpose are explicitly appropriated in the annual budget
act.
Currently, the fee for an initial issuance or renewal of a
teaching or services credential is $55. An applicant is
required to pay an additional $51 for fingerprint
processing, which covers the fees of the Department of
Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Therefore,
the total fee charged to a first time teacher or services
credential candidate is $106.
ANALYSIS
This bill requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing
(CTC) to waive application and processing fees for the
initial issuance of a teaching credential to an
out-of-state prepared applicant who relocates to California
due to orders received from a branch of the United States
AB 794
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Armed Forces that require the applicant's spouse to
relocate to California.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Fiscal impact. According to the CTC, an average of
3,678 out-of-state teachers (over a five year period)
have annually applied for a teaching or services
credential, however, there is no record of how many of
these applicants might be spouses of military
personnel. In order to develop an estimate, the CTC
contacted the federal Spouses to Teachers program,
which was piloted for four years from 2004 through
2008. During the pilot test, the program served 114
spouses who were credentialed in other states and did
not already hold a California credential. The program
also provided counseling and assistance to 2,065
military spouses who expressed an interest in teaching
in California in that time frame. This pilot would
suggest that between 29 and 500 applicants per year
might qualify for $55 fee waivers, costing $1,600 to
$27,500 per year.
2) Reduces but does not eliminate fees It is the
intent of the bill to waive the $55 CTC processing fee
as an "application and processing fee" but it should
be understood that the credential applicant will still
be required to pay for the $51 fingerprint check fee
that relates to background checks performed by the
FBI.
3) Current fee waiver. As noted in the background,
current law allows the credential fee to be waived for
first time applicants if state funding is provided to
backfill the loss. Funds provided in budget acts
from 1999 to 2002 allowed this fee waiver, but no
funds have been provided for the fee waiver since
2002.
SUPPORT
American Legion, Department of California
Armed Forces Retirees Association of California
Commission on Teacher Credentialing
Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
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OPPOSITION
None received.