Amended in Senate April 24, 2013

Senate Bill No. 5

Introduced by Senator Padilla

(Coauthor: Senator Block)

December 3, 2012

An act to amend Section 44259 of the Education Code, relating to teacher credentialing.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 5, as amended, Padilla. Teacher credentialing.

Existing law establishes minimum requirements for the issuance of a preliminary multiple or single subject teaching credential by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Among other requirements, existing law requires satisfactory completion of a program of professional preparation accredited by the Committee on Accreditation, but specifies that the program shall not include more than one year, or the equivalent of 1⁄5 of a 5-year program, of professional preparation. begin delete Existing law also requires obtaining a baccalaureate degree or higher degree from a regionally accredited institution of postsecondary education, but provides that, except as specified, the baccalaureate degree shall not be in professional education. end delete

This bill would begin insert instead end insert authorize a program of professional preparation to include up to 2 years, or the equivalent of 2⁄5 of a 5-year program, of professional begin delete preparation, and would delete the provision that prohibits baccalaureate degrees in professional education from satisfying the degree requirement. end delete begin insert preparation. end insert The bill would update begin delete cross references end delete begin insert cross-references end insert and would make other technical, nonsubstantive changes.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 44259 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

44259.  

(a) Except as provided in subparagraphs (A) and (C)
of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), each program of professional
preparation for multiple or single subject teaching credentials shall
not include more than two years of, or the equivalent of two-fifths
of a five-year program in, professional preparation.

(b) The minimum requirements for the preliminary multiple or
single subject teaching credential are all of the following:

(1) A baccalaureate degree or higher degree from a regionally
accredited institution of postsecondary begin delete education. The end delete begin insert education.
Except as provided in subdivision (c) of Section 44227, the
baccalaureate degree shall not be in professional education. The end insert
commission shall encourage accredited institutions to offer
undergraduate minors in education and special education to
students who intend to become teachers.

(2) Passage of the state basic skills proficiency test that is
developed and administered by the commission pursuant to Section
44252.5.

(3) Satisfactory completion of a program of professional
preparation that has been accredited by the Committee on
Accreditation on the basis of standards of program quality and
effectiveness that have been adopted by the commission. In
accordance with the commission’s assessment and performance
standards, each program shall include a teaching performance
assessment as set forth in Section 44320.2 that is aligned with the
California Standards for the Teaching Profession. The commission
shall ensure that each candidate recommended for a credential or
certificate has demonstrated satisfactory ability to assist pupils to
meet or exceed academic content standards for pupils adopted by
the state board begin insert pursuant to Section 60605 end insert . Programs that meet this
requirement for professional preparation shall include any of the
following:

(A) Integrated programs of subject matter preparation and
professional preparation pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section
44259.1.

(B) Postbaccalaureate programs of professional preparation,
pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 44259.1.

(C) Internship programs of professional preparation, pursuant
to Section 44321, Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 44325),
Article 11 (commencing with Section 44380), and Article 3
(commencing with Section 44450) of Chapter 3.

(4) Study of alternative methods of developing English language
skills, including the study of reading as described in subparagraphs
(A) and (B), among all pupils, including those for whom English
is a second language, in accordance with the commission’s
standards of program quality and effectiveness. The study of
reading shall meet the following requirements:

(A) Commencing January 1, 1997, satisfactory completion of
comprehensive reading instruction that is research-based and
includes all of the following:

(i) The study of organized, systematic, explicit skills including
phonemic awareness, direct, systematic, explicit phonics, and
decoding skills.

(ii) A strong literature, language, and comprehension component
with a balance of oral and written language.

(iii) Ongoing diagnostic techniques that inform teaching and
assessment.

(iv) Early intervention techniques.

(v) Guided practice in a clinical setting.

(B) For begin delete the end delete purposes of this section, “direct, systematic, explicit
phonics” means phonemic awareness, spelling patterns, the direct
instruction of sound/symbol codes and practice in connected begin delete text end delete
begin insert text, end insert and the relationship of direct, systematic, explicit phonics to
the components set forth in clauses (i) to (v), inclusive, of
subparagraph (A).

A program for the multiple subjects credential also shall include
the study of integrated methods of teaching language arts.

(5) Completion of a subject matter program that has been
approved by the commission on the basis of standards of program
quality and effectiveness pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with
Section 44310) or passage of a subject matter examination pursuant
to Article 5 (commencing with Section 44280). The commission
shall ensure that subject matter standards and examinations are
aligned with the academic content standards for pupils adopted by
the state board begin insert pursuant to Section 60605 end insert .

(6) Demonstration of a knowledge of the principles and
provisions of the Constitution of the United States pursuant to
Section 44335.

(7) Commencing January 1, 2000, demonstration, in accordance
with the commission’s standards of program quality and
effectiveness, of basic competency in the use of computers in the
classroom as determined by one of the following:

(A) Successful completion of a commission-approved program
or course.

(B) Successful passage of an assessment that is developed,
approved, and administered by the commission.

(c) The minimum requirements for the clear multiple or single
subject teaching credential shall include all of the following
requirements:

(1) Possession of a valid preliminary teaching credential, as
prescribed in subdivision (b), possession of a valid equivalent
credential or certificate, or completion of equivalent requirements
as determined by the commission.

(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), completion of a
program of beginning teacher induction, including one of the
following:

(A) A program of beginning teacher support and assessment
approved by the commission and the Superintendent pursuant to
Section 44279.1, a provision of the Marian Bergeson Beginning
Teacher Support and Assessment System.

(B) An alternative program of beginning teacher induction that
is provided by one or more local educational agencies and has
been approved by the commission and the Superintendent on the
basis of initial review and periodic evaluations of the program in
relation to appropriate standards of credential program quality and
effectiveness that have been adopted by the commission, the
Superintendent, and the state board pursuant to this subdivision.
The standards for alternative programs shall encourage innovation
and experimentation in the continuous preparation and induction
of beginning teachers. begin delete Any end delete begin insert An end insert alternative program of beginning
teacher induction that has met state standards pursuant to this
subdivision may apply for state funding pursuant to Sections
44279.1 and 44279.2.

(C) An alternative program of beginning teacher induction that
is sponsored by a regionally accredited college or university, in
cooperation with one or more local school districts, that addresses
the individual professional needs of beginning teachers and meets
the commission’s standards of induction. The commission shall
ensure that preparation and induction programs that qualify
candidates for professional credentials extend and refine each
beginning teacher’s professional skills in relation to the California
Standards for the Teaching Profession and the academic content
standards for pupils adopted by the state board begin insert pursuant to Section
60605 end insert .

(3) (A) If a candidate satisfies the requirements of subdivision
(b), including completion of an accredited internship program of
professional preparation, and if that internship program fulfills
induction standards and is approved as set forth in this subdivision,
the commission shall determine that the candidate has fulfilled the
requirements of paragraph (2).

(B) If an approved induction program is verified as unavailable
to a beginning teacher, or if the beginning teacher is required under
the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301
et seq.) to complete subject matter coursework to be qualified for
a teaching assignment, the commission shall accept completion of
an approved clear credential program after completion of a
baccalaureate degree at a regionally accredited institution as
fulfilling the requirements of paragraph (2). The commission shall
adopt regulations to implement this subparagraph.

(4) Experience that includes the application of knowledge and
skills previously acquired in a preliminary credential program, in
accordance with commission standards, that addresses the
following:

(A) Health education, including study of nutrition,
cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and the physiological and
sociological effects of abuse of alcohol, narcotics, and drugs and
the use of tobacco. Training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation shall
also meet the standards established by the American Heart
Association or the American Red Cross.

(B) Field experience in methods of delivering appropriate
educational services to pupils with exceptional needs in regular
education programs.

(C) Advanced computer-based technology, including the uses
of technology in educational settings.

(d) The commission shall develop and implement standards of
program quality and effectiveness that provide for the areas of
application listed in subparagraphs (A) to (C), inclusive, of
paragraph (4) of subdivision (c), starting in professional preparation
and continuing through induction.

(e) A credential that was issued begin delete prior to end delete begin insert before end insert January 1, 1993,
shall remain in force as long as it is valid under the laws and
regulations that were in effect on the date it was issued. The
commission begin delete may end delete begin insert shall end insert not, by regulation, invalidate an otherwise
valid credential, unless it issues to the holder of the credential, in
substitution, a new credential authorized by another provision in
this chapter that is no more restrictive than the credential for which
it was substituted with respect to the kind of service authorized
and the grades, classes, or types of schools in which it authorizes
service.

(f) A credential program that is approved by the commission
begin delete may end delete begin insert shall end insert not deny an individual access to that program solely on
the grounds that the individual obtained a teaching credential
through completion of an internship program when that internship
program has been accredited by the commission.

(g) Notwithstanding this section, persons who were performing
teaching services as of January 1, 1999, pursuant to the language
of this section that was in effect begin delete prior to end delete begin insert before end insert that date, may
continue to perform those services without complying with any
requirements that may be added by the amendments adding this
subdivision.

(h) Subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (4) of subdivision
(b) do not apply to any person who, as of January 1, 1997, holds
a multiple or single subject teaching credential, or to any person
enrolled in a program of professional preparation for a multiple
or single subject teaching credential as of January 1, 1997, who
subsequently completes that program. It is the intent of the
Legislature that the requirements of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of
paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) be applied only to persons who
enter a program of professional preparation on or after January 1,
1997.