BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �






                         SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
                                Carol Liu, Chair
                           2013-2014 Regular Session
                                        

          BILL NO:       SB 5 
          AUTHOR:        Padilla
          AMENDED:       April 24, 2013
          FISCAL COMM:   Yes            HEARING DATE:  May 1, 2013
          URGENCY:       No             CONSULTANT:    Lenin Del  
          Castillo

           SUBJECT  :  Teacher Preparation Programs.
          
           SUMMARY  

          This bill allows teacher preparation programs to include up  
          to two years of professional preparation which is double  
          the current cap of one year of professional preparation.   

           BACKGROUND  

          Existing law authorizes the Commission on Teacher  
          Credentialing (CTC) to issue credentials for teaching  
          specialties, including bilingual education, early childhood  
          education, and special education.  Education specialist  
          teaching credentials are to be based upon a baccalaureate  
          degree from an accredited institution, completion of a  
          program of professional preparation, and standards that the  
          commission may establish.  

          Current law prohibits multiple and single subject teacher  
          credential programs from including more than one year of  
          professional preparation, including student teaching.  

           ANALYSIS
           
          This bill allows teacher preparation programs to include up  
          to two years, or the equivalent of 2/5 of a five-year  
          program, of professional preparation.

           STAFF COMMENTS  

           Need for the bill  .  The original intent of the current time  
          restriction on programs of professional teacher preparation  
          of one year was to limit the ability of higher education  




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          institutions to increase revenue by loading programs with  
          unnecessary coursework.  However, according to the author's  
          office, the effect of this cap has been to limit the  
          ability of programs to adequately prepare candidates to  
          work in schools, particularly English learners and special  
          populations.  Since the cap was put into place in the 1979  
          Ryan Act, the Legislature has added new requirements for  
          credential programs to prepare all candidates to teach  
          reading, use instructional strategies to help English  
          learners access curriculum, and teach special needs pupils  
          who are not in special day classes.  Many argue that as  
          these new requirements are added, the credentialing  
          programs are not able to provide candidates with sufficient  
          theoretical or practical knowledge to be successful.  

          The State Superintendent of Public Instruction's Task Force  
          on Educator Excellence has recommended lifting the cap on  
          credits for preparation in order to support preparation  
          models that will provide candidates with more robust  
          training, particularly to teach culturally and  
          linguistically diverse learners.  Lifting the cap would  
          also enable programs to provide candidates with a longer  
          period of supervised student teaching.  No other state has  
          a time restriction on the amount of time or units that  
          comprise professional teacher preparation programs.

           Teacher shortage implications  ?  The Commission on Teacher  
          Credentialing (CTC) is required to report to the Governor  
          and the Legislature each year on the number of teachers who  
          received credentials, certificates, permits, and waivers to  
          teach in California.  The most recent report was released  
          earlier this month and includes the type and number of  
          documents issued authorizing service to teach in California  
          schools for the 2011-12 fiscal year.  The report indicates  
          that California saw a decrease of 12 percent in the number  
          of newly issued credentials, which is a decrease across all  
          type of preliminary teaching credentials (i.e., multiple  
          subject, single subject, and education specialist) and  
          represents the eighth consecutive year in which the total  
          number of initial teaching credentials issued has  
          decreased.  According to the report, this decrease  
          represents a nearly 30 percent decline in the past five  
          years in the number of initial and new type teaching  
          credentials issued.  While this bill is intended to more  
          adequately prepare candidates to work in schools, could  
          doubling the cap and presumably having additional courses  




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          have the effect of making preparation programs more costly  
          and burdensome for candidates?  Could this possibly lead to  
          some candidates deciding to no longer pursue teacher  
          careers?  

           SUPPORT  

          Association of California School Administrators
          United Ways of California

           OPPOSITION

           None on file.