BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1245
Author: Alquist (D)
Amended: 5/2/12
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/25/12
AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Blakeslee, Hancock, Huff, Liu,
Price, Simitian, Vargas
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/14/12
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price,
Steinberg
SUBJECT : Teacher credentialing: Alternative
Certification Programs
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing, by January 1, 2015, to submit a report to
the Governor and Legislature on alternative certification
programs, as specified.
ANALYSIS : 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.
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Existing law establishes the following minimum requirements
for the credential:
1.A bachelor's degree or higher from a regionally
accredited postsecondary education institution.
2.Passage of the state's basic skills examination, the
California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST).
3.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 CTC.
4.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.
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.
Existing law authorizes any school district to partner with
an approved college or university to establish an intern
program. Existing law establishes the following minimum
requirements for the University Intern (UI) credential:
1.A bachelor's degree or higher from a regionally
accredited postsecondary education institution.
2.Passage of the state's basic skills examination, the
CBEST.
3.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.
4.In addition to the academic requirements noted above,
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current law requires and the CTC has adopted, regulations
requiring every applicant for a credential, or for the
renewal of a credential, to submit reasonable evidence of
identification and good moral character.
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.
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.
Comments
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
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
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"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. This bill examines the extent
to which California's approach to alternative certification
meets state needs.
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.
Consolidation of the intern statutes . 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 not compensated for preservice coursework. To
address the need for consistency, the Senate Education
Committee amendments require the report include a
recommendation as to whether the intern statutes should be
consolidated.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
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Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,
approximately $60,000 in CTC workload, over the course of
two years, to complete the required report.
PQ:do 5/15/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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