SB 837, as amended, Steinberg. Early childhood education: professional development.
Existing law authorizes a school district or charter school to maintain a transitional kindergarten program and defines transitional kindergarten as the first year of a 2-year kindergarten program that uses a modified kindergarten curriculum that is age and developmentally appropriate. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer all California state preschool programs. Existing law requires those programs to include part-day age and developmentally appropriate programs designed to facilitate the transition to kindergarten forbegin delete three-end deletebegin insert 3end insertbegin insert-end insert andbegin delete four-year-oldend deletebegin insert
4-year-oldend insert children.begin insert Existing law requires the county board of supervisors and the county superintendent of schools to select members of a local planning council. Existing law requires a local planning council to conduct an assessment of child care needs in the county no less than once every 5 years.end insert
Of the moneys appropriated in the Budget Act of 2014, this bill would allocate certain of those moneys for purposes of professional developmentbegin insert stipends, to be administered by local planning councils,end insert for teachers in transitional kindergarten and teachers in the California state preschool program, as provided.begin insert end insertbegin insertBy imposing a new duty on a local planning council, the bill would create a state-mandated local program.end insert The bill would require the State Department of Education to consult with various entities, including the California Community Colleges, for purposes of administering the above provisions.
begin insertFunds allocated by this bill would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, as provided.
end insertbegin insertThe California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
end insertbegin insertThis bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
end insertVote: majority.
Appropriation: no.
Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: begin deleteno end deletebegin insertyesend insert.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
(a) Of the moneys appropriated in Item
26110-196-0001 of the Budget Act of 2014, the sum of fifteen
3million dollars ($15,000,000) shall be allocated to the State
4Department of Education to be used to fund professional
5developmentbegin insert stipendsend insert for teachersbegin insert, to be administered by local
6planning councils established pursuant to Chapter 2.3
7(commencing with Section 8499) of the Education Codeend insert. The funds
8shall be allocated as follows:
9(1) (A) First priority shall be for professional development
10begin insert stipendsend insert for transitional kindergarten teachers.
P3 1(B) For purposes of this paragraph, professional development
2begin insert stipendsend insert shall include, but shall not be limited to,begin delete all of the
3following:end delete
4begin delete(i)end deletebegin delete end deletebegin deleteStipendsend deletebegin insert
stipendsend insert forbegin insert
credentialedend insert teachers to complete at
5least 24 units in early childhood education or childhood
6development, or a combination of both, pursuant to paragraph (1)
7of subdivision (g) of Section 48000 of the Education Code.
8(ii) Strengthening teacher knowledge of the California Preschool
9Learning Foundations, as developed by the department.
10(2) Second priority shall be for professional development
11begin insert stipendsend insert for teachers in the California state preschool program,
12pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 8235) of Chapter
132
of Part 6 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Codebegin insert
for the
14costs of credit bearing coursework in early childhood education,
15child development, or bothend insert.
16(b) Of the moneys appropriated in Item 6110-196-0001 of the
17Budget Act of 2014, the sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000)
18shall be allocated to the State Department of Education to be used
19for other professional development projects, not described in
20subdivision (a), for transitional kindergarten and California state
21preschool program teachers, as determined by the departmentbegin insert,
22including, but not limited to, professional development that
23strengthens teacher knowledge of the California Preschool
24Learning Foundations, as developed by the departmentend insert.
25(c) The State Department of
Education shall consult with the
26California Community Colleges, the California State University,
27resource and referral programs, the California Children and
28Families Commission,begin insert local planning councils,end insert school
29administrators, and teachers in administering this section.
30(d) For purposes of making the computations required by
31Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the
32allocations for professional development activities pursuant to
33this section are “General Fund revenues appropriated for school
34districts,” as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 41202 of the
35Education Code, for the 2014-15 fiscal year, and included within
36the “total allocations to school districts and community college
37districts from General
Fund proceeds of taxes appropriated
38pursuant to Article XIII B,” as defined in subdivision (e) of Section
3941202 of the Education Code, for that fiscal year.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
2this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
3local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
4pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
54 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
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