BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-12 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1245
AUTHOR: Alquist
AMENDED: April 19, 2012
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 25, 2012
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Beth Graybill
SUBJECT : Teacher credentialing: Alternative certification
programs.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to
submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature on
alternative certification programs.
BACKGROUND
Existing law establishes the following credential options for
individuals who wish to be the teacher of record while they
complete a program of professional preparation leading to a
multiple subject, single subject, or education specialist
credential:
District Intern Credential
Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing
(CTC) to issue District Intern (DI) credentials authorizing
individuals to provide classroom instruction. A DI
credential is issued for a period of two years. A district
intern is required to teach with the assistance and guidance
of certificated employees. Current law establishes the
following minimum requirements for the credential:
a) A bachelor's degree or higher from a
regionally accredited postsecondary education
institution.
b) Passage of the state's basic skills
examination, the California Basic Educational
Skills Test (CBEST).
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c) Demonstrated knowledge of the subject to be
taught, either by passage of a subject-matter
competency exam or by completion of a
subject-matter program that has been approved by
the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
d) The oral language component of the
assessment program leading to the
Bilingual-crosscultural language and academic
development (BCLAD) certificate for persons seeking
a DI credential to teach bilingual education
classes. (Education Code � 44325 et seq.)
University Intern Credential
Existing law establishes the Teacher Education Internship Act
of 1967 to encourage the development and maintenance of
preparation programs that are realistic and practical in
content and theory and are directly related to the individual
functions and responsibilities of educators. Current law
authorizes any school district to partner with an approved
college or university to establish an intern program.
Current law establishes the following minimum requirements
for the University Intern (UI) credential:
a) A bachelor's degree or higher from a
regionally accredited postsecondary education
institution.
b) Passage of the state's basic skills
examination, the California Basic Educational
Skills Test (CBEST).
c) Demonstrated knowledge of the subject to be
taught, either by passage of a subject-matter
competency exam or by completion of a
subject-matter program that has been approved by
the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. (EC �
44450 et seq.)
In addition to the academic requirements noted above, current
law requires and the CTC has adopted, regulations requiring
every applicant for a credential, or for the renewal of a
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credential, to submit reasonable evidence of identification
and good moral character. (EC � 44339 to � 44341)
Existing law establishes the Alternative Certification
program, which is a program operated by a school district,
county office of education, college or university, or other
public education entity, individually or in collaboration
with other public education entities in the region, to
provide a concentrated program leading to a permanent
teaching credential and provides that school districts and
county offices of education that propose to operate an
alternative certification program can apply to the CTC for
incentive grant funding. Individuals who participate in an
Alternative Certification program hold either a DI or UI
credential. (EC � 44380 et seq.)
Existing law specifies that for the 2008-09 fiscal year
through the 2014-15 fiscal year, local educational agencies
that receive funds for specified categorical programs may use
the funding received during that time for any educational
purpose to the extent permitted by federal law. Funding for
Alternative Certification programs is included in this
categorical flexibility. (EC � 42605)
ANALYSIS
This bill requires the CTC to conduct a study of alternative
certification programs and submit a report to the Governor
and the Legislature on or before January 1, 2014, that
includes the study, makes recommendations for the appropriate
goals of alternative certification programs in the state, and
an assessment of whether California's current alternative
certification programs meet those goals.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill : California has at various times
looked at reducing barriers into teaching to address
statewide shortages of teachers in certain subjects such
as mathematics and science. While an argument is often
made that it should be easier for industry professionals
with math or science training to transition into a
teaching career to meet that demand, the state has
recognized that teachers must be qualified to work with
English learners and those with special needs and has
historically required candidates to meet the same
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standards, regardless of the route chosen to earn a
credential.
According to the CTC, in many states where the intern
candidates are held to the same standards as student
teaching candidates, the intern program is known as an
alternative route to certification rather than an
"alternative" certification program. There has been
considerable attention given at the national level to
alternative certification approaches and programs. Some
of these programs represent a truly alternative model
for individuals to enter the teaching profession and
differ in significant ways from traditional preparation
model requirements and approaches. The purpose of SB
1345 is to examine the extent to which California's
approach to alternative certification meets state needs.
2) Routes into teaching . California has established
standards of quality and effectiveness for all
credential preparation programs. Individuals who want
to become teachers generally choose between completing a
traditional post baccalaureate preparation program that
includes student teaching, or an alternative
certification program in which the candidate works as a
full-time paid intern teacher while completing the
preparation program. Although structured differently,
the programs and their candidates must meet the same
standards.
3) Should the intern statutes be consolidated ? The state
has offered an intern route into teaching since the
Teacher Internship Act of 1967. Later statutes added
district interns and the Alternative Certification
incentive grant program, which provides funding to
support both types of intern programs. Although the CTC
requires university and district-based intern programs
to meet the same standards, the statutes have nuanced
differences in how programs operate at the local level.
For example, school districts hosting university interns
are allowed to deduct up to 1/8 of the intern's salary
to cover the cost of mentoring services, but a similar
requirement does not exist for district interns even
though they also require mentoring services. The law
requires district interns to be compensated for
pre-service training they must complete before they
become the teacher of record, but university interns are
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not compensated for preservice coursework. To address
the need for consistency, Staff recommends amendments to
require the report include a recommendation as to
whether the intern statutes should be consolidated.
4) Fiscal impact . The CTC estimates the cost of the
required study would be approximately $125,000 to
$150,000. Given the fiscal constraints the commission
will face through the 2012-13 fiscal year, it may be
difficult to undertake the workload associated with the
study within existing resources. Staff recommends
amendments to extend the due date of the report from
January 1, 2014 to January 1, 2015, and to clarify that
the report should be sent to the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature.
SUPPORT
None received.
OPPOSITION
None received.