BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1765|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 1765
Author: Brownley (D), et al.
Amended: 7/5/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/20/12
AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Blakeslee, Hancock, Huff, Liu,
Price, Simitian, Vargas
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/30/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Teacher leaders
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing to convene an advisory panel of stakeholders
with expertise in the field of teacher leadership to
explore the recognition of leadership roles within a
teaching career pathway.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires the Commission on
Teacher Credentialing (CTC) to establish professional
standards, assessments, and examinations for entry and
advancement in the education profession.
Existing law requires state and local agencies to submit
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reports required or requested by law in printed form to
both the Legislative Counsel and the Secretary of the
Senate and in electronic form to the Chief Clerk of the
Assembly. Each report is required to include a one-page
summary of the contents of the report. State agencies that
submit reports must also provide an electronic copy of the
summary directly to each member of the appropriate house or
houses of the Legislature.
This bill:
1.Requires the CTC to convene an advisory panel of
stakeholders with expertise in the field of teacher
leadership to explore the recognition of leadership roles
within the teaching career pathway.
2.Requires the panel to consider various roles of teacher
leaders in today's public schools such as master
teachers, mentors, induction support providers and
fieldwork supervisors, instructional leaders, department
chairs, curriculum coordinators, peer coaches, literacy
or mathematics coordinators, assessment coordinators, and
accreditation coordinators. Requires the panel to
consider other issues relating to teacher leadership
including but not limited to the role of teacher leaders
in today's public schools, how recognition of teacher
leaders can promote retention, the implications for the
formal preparation of teacher leaders, the application of
adult learning theories to improve instruction of teacher
peers, the nexus of recognition of teacher leaders with
the national board certification process, and the
feasibility of teacher leader career ladders, as
specified.
3.Requires the panel to include, but not be limited to
representatives from:
A. Teachers who are performing school leadership
duties.
B. Teacher and administrator organizations.
C. The Superintendent.
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D. CTC-approved teacher preparation programs.
E. School boards and school districts.
F. Other organizations deemed appropriate by the CTC.
1.Requires the CTC to consider findings of the advisory
panel and report to the Governor within one year of
implementation of the panel.
2.Specifies the report shall be submitted pursuant to
Section 9795 of the Government Code and makes the report
requirement inoperative on January 1, 2017, as specified.
3.Requires the CTC to use private funds to support the
advisory panel on teacher leadership and specifically
prohibits General Fund moneys from being used for
purposes of the panel. Further specifies that this bill
shall not be implemented unless the CTC certifies that it
has received private funding to complete the work of the
advisory panel on teacher leadership.
4.In order the complete the work of the advisory panel, the
Department of Finance must determine that private funds
are sufficient to fully support the activities of the
advisory panel.
5.Makes findings and declarations about changes in the
teaching profession and the need for teachers who can
serve as leaders while remaining involved in pupil
instruction.
Comments
The role of teacher leaders . California's current two-tier
credentialing system established by SB 2042 (Alpert),
Chapter 548, Statutes of 1998, provides for a "learning to
teach continuum" in which teachers, in sequential order,
acquire and demonstrate subject matter competency, complete
a teacher preparation program focused on subject-specific
pedagogy that includes intensive field experience and
meeting specified teaching performance expectations,
followed by the completion of a two-year induction program
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that culminates with the professional "clear" credential.
The learning to teach continuum and much of the
professional development that occurs within a local
education agency relies heavily on the participation of
experienced teachers who serve as teacher leaders. The use
of experienced teachers as peer developers and supporters
is critical in the success of both traditional and intern
credential training programs as it is in induction programs
for new teachers such as the Beginning Teacher Support and
Assessment program. Schools increasingly rely on effective
and experienced teachers to serve as master teachers,
mentors, department chairs, instructional leaders, peer
coaches, literacy or math coordinators, assessment
coordinators, and on occasion, accreditation coordinators.
Although teachers are often provided stipends and/or
release time to enable them to devote adequate time to
these roles, with few exceptions, there is no formal
preparation or certificate recognition for these roles.
Teachers who serve in these roles often find they are
unable to advance in their career unless they move into the
administrative services career pathway.
According to the CTC, various state and national policy
leaders have begun to look at ways to recognize teachers
who serve in key leadership roles:
A 2008 report published by the Center for the Future of
Teaching and Learning noted that teacher professional
growth should include differentiated career opportunities
and called for the role of teacher to be evolutionary
with specialized domains of expertise.
The Educational Testing Service has developed model
teacher leader standards in collaboration with education
entities and institutions (including the CTC). These
standards are the centerpiece of a peer-to-peer network
under the egis of The Teacher Leadership Exploratory
Consortium.
The California-based Bay Area New Millennium Initiative
recommends various strategies for improving teaching
quality, including the creation of new career lattices
that offer opportunities for teachers to lead and spread
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their expertise to inform instructional and school policy
innovations.
Prior Legislation
This bill is substantially similar to AB 2040 (Brownley),
2010, which would have also required the Commission to
convene a panel to explore the recognition of teacher
leaders and report on its findings to the Governor and the
Legislature. The bill was passed by this Committee on an
8-0 vote and subsequently vetoed by Governor
Schwarzenegger. The veto message read:
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.
In 2010, the Commission determined that the cost of the
study in AB 2040 was minor absorbable and could be funded
within the Commission's budget. The Commission is not in a
similar fiscal position today. The Commission is
experiencing a severely constrained budget and is facing
position reductions of which the majority would come from
the division that would take the lead on this work. The
use of private funds to support the advisory panel will
make it easier for the Commission to move California
forward on Teacher Leadership.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/5/12)
California School Boards Association
Public Advocates
Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, Kenneth M.
Young
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
many of California's most experienced and talented teachers
find they must leave the classroom in order to advance in
their profession. Studies by the University of California,
Los Angeles (UCLA) Center X have concluded that many
experienced and talented teachers choose to diversify their
educational careers by becoming school administrators,
which removes them altogether from the classroom and their
students. Creating a teacher leader career pathway could
help schools retain their most effective teachers. Eleven
states have implemented or are currently creating pathways
for educators to become recognized as teacher leaders with
additional mentor responsibilities.
The stated purpose of AB 1765 is to bring together
stakeholders with expertise in the field of teacher
leadership to explore the idea of defining a professional
growth pathway with a focus on leadership opportunities
that will allow good teachers to remain connected to the
classroom. While the Commission could conceivably convene
an advisory committee without legislation, this bill
establishes a framework that will guide the panel's work.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/30/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth
Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman,
Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill,
Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller,
Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby,
Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wagner,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fletcher, Gorell, Valadao
PQ:n 7/5/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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