BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1765
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Date of Hearing: April 18, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1765 (Brownley) - As Introduced: February 17, 2012
Policy Committee: Education
Vote:9-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC)
to convene an advisory panel of stakeholders with expertise in
teacher leadership to explore the recognition of leadership
roles with the teaching career pathway, as specified.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the advisory committee to consider issues related to
teacher leadership (including teachers as peer role models and
mentors), the use of teachers as instructional leaders,
recognition of teacher leadership roles that teachers may
assume, the feasibility of teacher leader career ladders, and
current research and practices in teacher leader and mentor
programs, as specified.
2)Requires the advisory committee to include specified
representatives including, but not limited to, teachers,
administrators, the Superintendent of Public Instruction,
school boards, and school districts.
3)Requires the CTC to report advisory committee recommendations
to the governor and the Legislature by January 1, 2014 and
sunsets the reporting requirement on January 1, 2018.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)One-time GF costs, likely between $100,000 and $150,000, to
the CTC to convene an advisory group and complete the report,
as specified.
2)The CTC is projected to have a $5 million operating deficit in
AB 1765
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the 2012-13 fiscal year. This deficit is largely attributed
to the loss of revenue generated from teacher credentialing
fees. The governor's proposed 2012-13 budget addresses this
shortfall in three actions: (a) increase the teacher
credential fee from $55 to $70, which is estimated to generate
an additional $3 million in revenue; (b) increase teacher
testing fees for an estimated $500,000 in additional revenue;
and (c) $1.5 million in staff reductions, which eliminates
over 17 positions.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . The issue of turning around low achieving schools
has been at the forefront of education reform for the last
several years. Over the last few years, the federal
government has offered additional grant funds to school
districts to implement specific reform models with the purpose
of turning around low achieving schools. The models include
removing principals and staff and replacing them with new
personnel to implement school reform. Many advocates argue
the key to the success of these reform models are the
qualifications of the principal and staff, including their
ability to provide peer mentorship and coaching at a
schoolsite.
The Educational Testing Service (ETS), in conjunction with the
Kansas Department of Education, is developing an assessment to
identify teacher leaders for certification. ETS recently
released a draft document of national Teacher Leader Standards
for review.
2)Previous legislation . AB 2040 (Brownley), which is similar to
this bill, was vetoed by the Governor Schwarzenegger in August
2010 with the following message:
"The objective sought by this bill can be accomplished without
statutory authority. Therefore, this bill is unnecessary.
Furthermore, I question whether this bill would result in
meaningful reform since it does not embrace rigorous,
measurable teacher performance evaluations that include
improved student achievement, along with other factors to
ensure that highly effective teachers earn the elevated status
as a "teacher leader".
AB 1765
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Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081