BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
Ted W. Lieu, Chair
Date of Hearing: April 25, 2012 20011-2012 Regular
Session
Consultant: Andrew Chen Fiscal:Yes
Urgency: No
Bill No: SB 1291
Author: Evans
As Introduced/Amended: April 9, 2012
SUBJECT
Unemployment benefits: training: teacher credentialing
KEY ISSUE
Should the State of California automatically extend unemployment
insurance benefits to teachers training to receive credentials
in math, science, and special education?
PURPOSE
To help unemployed teachers increase their employment
opportunities by easing the financial burden of re-credentialing
in math, science, and special education through the California
Training Benefits program.
ANALYSIS
Existing law provides that in order to begin or continue to
receive unemployment benefits, an individual must be a) actively
looking for work, b) available to work and c) ready to accept
suitable work if it arises. (Unemployment Insurance Code �
1253.)
Existing law provides for the establishment and maintenance of
the California Training Benefits program (CTB). This program
allows eligible unemployed individuals, who may lack competitive
job skills to find stable employment, to receive benefits while
attending training or retraining programs. (Unemployment
Insurance Code �1266. - 1274.20.)
Existing law stipulates that in order to qualify for
unemployment benefits under the CTB program, the training must
meet certain requirements. Specifically:
1. The training must be authorized and veriable by one of
the following State or federal program sponsors:
i. Workforce Investment Act of 1998
(WIA)
ii. Employment Training Panel (ETP)
iii. Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)
iv. California Work Opportunity and
Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs)
2. The individual must be an active journey level union
member taking industry-related training approved by his/her
union.
3. The training program and provider must be listed on
California's Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL).
(Unemployment Insurance Code, � 1269.)
Existing law provides for the creation and maintenance of the
California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, an independent
agency comprised of 15 voting members, 14 of whom are appointed
by the governor. This Commission is comprised of the
Superintendent or a designee, college, high school, and
elementary school teachers, and representatives of the public.
(Education Code � 44210.)
Existing law endows this Commission with the power to develop
and implement professional standards, assessments, and
examinations for entry and advancement in the education
profession in the form of teaching credentials. (Education Code
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� 44225.)
This bill would add credential preparation programs or other
teacher training programs in math, science, and special
education to the existing list of programs that would
automatically qualify an individual for unemployment benefits.
These programs would need to be approved or accredited by the
Commission on Teacher Credentialing, and the teacher would need
to have had their employment terminated due to a determination
of a decline in student enrollment in that district.
This bill would also remove a sunset clause that repeals the CTB
program on January 1, 2015.
COMMENTS
1. Background and Need for this bill?
In January 2012, the Commerce Department released a report on
the future of the American economy, entitled "The
Competitiveness and Innovative Capacity of the United States."
This study cited government investment in research,
infrastructure, and education as the three "pillars" behind
the rapid development of the United States economy in the 20th
century. In particular, the report noted that the U.S.
educational system in the 20th century produced more high
school and college graduates than any other nation in the
world, creating a highly skilled workforce that boosted
marketplace competitiveness and innovation. However, the
report also noted that recently, the percentage of college and
high school graduates has become stagnant, and that "poor
preparation in math and science" is one of the main factors
restricting the continued development of this highly educated
workforce.
Additionally, teacher quality has been shown to be one of the
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primary determinants of student success in these areas - a
2000 study from Stanford University conducted a 50-state
survey of teacher performance, concluding that "measures of
teacher preparation and certification are by far the strongest
correlates of student achievement," and that "policy
investments in the quality of teachers may be related to
improvements in student performance." Yet, while California
has the largest teacher workforce in the country, with over
305,000 teachers, only 40,000 of these are specialized in
mathematics or science. In addition, maintaining an adequate
number of special education teachers has been historically
challenging.
The California teacher credentialing system has a tiered
structure: in order to become a science, mathematics, or
special education teacher, an employee must demonstrate
competency through exams and other assessment methods specific
to the desired teaching specialty in addition to a general
assessment on basic educational skills. As a result, the
population of teachers who choose to specialize in a
particular subject is scarce relative to those who are only
generally credentialed.
In the wake of the Great Recession, fiscal conditions have
required school districts across the state to dismiss 32,000
teachers since 2007-2008, according to the LAO. These layoffs
have exacerbated the scarcity of specialized teachers:
according to a 2007 study from The Center for the Future of
Teaching and Learning, California will face a deficit of
33,000 science and math teachers over the next ten years due
to attrition and retirement. The same study also found that
California's current rate of teacher production, particularly
in specialized areas, is insufficient to bridge this gap.
The CTB program addresses problems with persons undergoing job
training or retraining being made ineligible to receive
unemployment benefits by virtue of their enrollment. For
example, if a training program takes up a significant amount
of time each day for several weeks, that person could be
considered "unavailable to work" and thus ineligible for
unemployment compensation benefits. By providing unemployment
benefits during training, the CTB program is intended to
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incentivize the advancement and diversification of workforce
skills.
However, under existing law, teacher re-credentialing
programs, unlike other workforce development programs, do not
qualify their enrollees for automatic eligibility for
unemployment benefits. For these teachers, the short-term
risk of losing benefits may make re-credentialing an
unacceptable financial risk. As a result, unemployed teachers
may refrain from seeking increased specialization in
high-demand subjects such as math, science, and special
education. This bill would allow teachers to qualify for
unemployment benefits while they participate in these types of
credential preparation programs or other teacher training
programs, as specified.
2. Proponent Arguments :
Citing the dismissal of 13,000 teachers between 2009-10 and
2010-11, proponents, including the California Teachers
Association, assert that these layoffs have been detrimental
to the quality of K-12 education in California. They argue
that SB 1291 would help California retain thousands of
certificated teaching professionals in its education
workforce. Proponents also assert that there is a significant
negative relationship between the percentage of teachers on
emergency permits and student achievement at the school level
in California. They argue that SB 1291 will decrease over
time the need for short term staffing permits and ensure that
those hired in emergency circumstances have the support to
become credentialed educators.
4. Prior Legislation :
AB 2058 (Block) of 2009: Chaptered
This bill modified the requirements for participating in the
California Training Benefits Program in order to allow
unemployed individuals to receive unemployment insurance (UI)
benefits while enrolled in a training program on a full-time
basis. Prior to AB 2058, applications for unemployment
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benefits during a period of training or retraining would be
reviewed and approved by EDD on a case-by-case basis.
SUPPORT
California Teachers Association - Co-Sponsor
California Labor Federation
OPPOSITION
None received
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