BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 751
AUTHOR: Romero
INTRODUCED: February 27, 2009
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 15, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Beth Graybill
SUBJECT : Teaching Credentials
SUMMARY
This bill 1) streamlines the credential application process
for out-of-state teachers who were prepared outside the
United States and 2) establishes requirements for local
education agencies that provide test preparation courses
for teachers seeking a subsequent credential.
BACKGROUND
Existing law authorizes the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing (CTC) to issue preliminary and clear teaching
credentials to teachers prepared in countries other than
the United States who meet specified criteria including the
possession of a baccalaureate or higher degree determined
to be equivalent to a degree offered by a regionally
accredited institution in the United States and completion
of a professional preparation program approved by a
government agency in the country where the program was
completed.
Existing law (SB 1209, Scott, Chapter 517, 2006)
established credential requirements for out-of-state
teachers that are consistent with requirements for
candidates prepared in California, including possession of
a valid elementary, secondary, or special education
teaching credential, possession of a baccalaureate degree
from a regionally accredited institution of higher
education, completion of a teacher preparation program,
training to teach English language learners, and other
requirements as specified.
Existing law requires candidates earning a single subject
SB 751
Page 2
teaching credential to demonstrate subject matter knowledge
either by completion of a baccalaureate subject matter
program approved by the CTC or by passage of a subject
matter examination in the subject area to be taught and
further establishes this requirement as a prerequisite for
a teaching assignment.
Existing law requires the CTC to select, administer, and
interpret subject matter examinations. The CTC has adopted
a series of subject matter examinations for prospective
teachers who choose to meet the subject matter competence
requirement by examination called the California Subject
Examinations for Teachers (CSET).
ANALYSIS
This bill :
1) Requires the California Teacher Credentialing (CTC) to
issue a multiple subject, single subject, or education
specialist teaching credential to a teacher prepared
in a country other than the United States who has
earned a valid corresponding elementary, secondary, or
special education teaching credential in another state
and meets requirements for out-of-state credential
applicants.
2) Specifies that a corresponding elementary, secondary,
or special education teaching credential earned in
another state satisfies the teacher preparation
program requirements for out-of-country teachers.
3) Requires a school district, county office of
education, or charter school that provides examination
preparation courses that prepare credentialed teachers
to take a subject matter examination in mathematics or
the sciences to:
a) Ensure that the program meets the domains
for subject matter understanding and skill
adopted by the CTC in the content area (i.e.
ensure that the course content is aligned to the
California Subject Examinations for Teachers
(CSET).
b) Provide guidance and information to each
teacher participant on the requirements for
SB 751
Page 3
adding a new credential.
c) Monitor the progress of teacher participants
toward meeting credential requirements and report
annually to its governing board.
4) Authorizes a school district, county office of
education, or charter school that provides intensive
examination preparation courses to contract with other
entities to provide the courses.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Out-of-country prepared teachers . California's
credential application process for teachers prepared
in countries outside the United States requires
applicants to obtain a foreign transcript evaluation
(which can cost $200 or more) to determine that the
university or college degree earned in the foreign
country is equivalent to degrees earned by candidates
who are prepared in the United States. Currently,
this process applies both to individuals who come to
California directly from their home country and to
teachers who first earn a credential in another state
and underwent a transcript evaluation to satisfy
requirements in that state. Requiring out-of-state
teachers who completed their teacher training outside
the U.S. to undergo a second transcript evaluation
creates an inequitable and costly barrier to the
California teaching credential.
According to the CTC, requirements for teachers prepared
outside the United States are comparable from state to
state:
a) States require a foreign transcript
evaluation to verify the candidate holds a
Bachelor's degree or higher that is equivalent
to one earned in the United States and has
completed a teacher preparation program;
b) Candidates must have received or be
qualified to receive a full credential in the
country in which there were prepared;
c) Candidates to meet subject matter
SB 751
Page 4
competence requirements in order to earn a
full, non-provisional credential.
By correcting an inequity in the current application
process, for this subset of out-of-state teachers, SB
751 could increase the pipeline of fully prepared
teachers into California while assuring that teachers
who received their teacher training in another country
possess the training and knowledge necessary to teach
in California classrooms.
2) Test preparation . For several years, California has
had a chronic and persistent shortage of qualified
teachers in certain subjects including mathematics,
science, and foreign languages. When schools are
unable to recruit fully qualified teachers, they often
hire underprepared teachers or assign teachers with a
credential in one content area to teach "out of field"
one of these subjects. The Center for the Future of
Teaching and Learning (CFTL) has reported that while
the number of underprepared teachers has declined on a
statewide basis from 14 percent in 2000-01 to five
percent in 2007-08, the number of underprepared
teachers, including out of field teachers, tend to be
concentrated in schools and communities that serve the
most economically disadvantaged students. In its 2008
report on California's Teaching Force, the CFTL
reported that students in the lowest achieving schools
are 14 times more likely to have more than one
underprepared teacher than students in higher
achieving schools.
The Credential Counselors and Analysts of California
indicate that a number of universities and local
education agencies offer test preparation programs to
enable underprepared or out of field teachers to meet
state requirements for content knowledge of the
subjects they teach. To the extent that local
education agencies make test preparation courses
available, this bill could make it easier for out of
field teachers to demonstrate the subject matter
knowledge required for a subsequent credential and
help schools address local teacher shortages.
3) Only math and science ? Notwithstanding the critical
shortage of math and science teachers, it is unclear
SB 751
Page 5
why the requirements established for test preparation
courses, such as making sure courses are California
Subject Examination for Teachers (CSET)-aligned, or
advising candidates about credential requirements
should not extend to any test preparation course that
might be given by a local education agency. Given
that some schools may have a shortage of math
teachers, and others may have a shortage of Social
Science teachers, does it make sense to limit the
requirements of this bill to math and science test
preparation? Staff recommends amending the bill to
delete the references to mathematics and sciences in
the title of the Article and in paragraph (a) of
Section 44401.
SUPPORT
California Federation of Teachers
California School Boards Association
California Teachers Association
Commission on Teacher Credentialing
San Francisco Unified School District
OPPOSITION
None received.