Amended in Assembly June 19, 2014

Amended in Assembly May 27, 2014

Amended in Senate April 23, 2014

Senate Bill No. 1060

Introduced by Senator Liu

February 18, 2014

An act to amend Section 44277 of the Education Code, relating to school employees.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1060, as amended, Liu. School employees: professional growth.

Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to establish standards and procedures for the issuance and renewal of teaching credentials. Existing law expresses the Legislature’s intent to encourage teachers to engage in an individual program of professional growth that extends a teacher’s content knowledge and teaching skills. Existing law provides that an individualized program of professional growth may consist of specified activities and courses.

This bill would require a local educational agency, as defined, that offers a program of professional growth for teachers, administrators, paraprofessional educators, or other classified employees involved in the direct instruction of pupils, to begin delete consider high quality end delete begin insert evaluate end insert professional begin delete development end delete begin insert learning end insert that meets a specified list of criteria, including, begin delete among other things, end delete that it is based on an assessment of the needs of educators and tied to supporting pupil begin delete learning. end delete begin insert learning, and would encourage local educational agencies to choose professional learning that meets any of the listed criteria. end insert The bill would specify various activities that may be included as professional begin delete development end delete begin insert learning end insert activities, begin delete including, among other things, end delete begin insert including end insert collaboration time for teachers to develop new instructional lessons.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

Section 44277 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

44277.  

(a) The Legislature recognizes that effective
professional growth must continue to occur throughout the careers
of all teachers, in order that teachers remain informed of changes
in pedagogy, subject matter, and pupil needs. In enacting this
section, it is the intent of the Legislature to encourage teachers to
engage in an individual program of professional growth that
extends their content knowledge and teaching skills and for school
districts to establish professional growth programs that give
individual teachers a wide range of options to pursue as well as
significant roles in determining the course of their professional
growth.

(b) An individual program of professional growth may consist
of activities that are aligned with the California Standards for the
Teaching Profession that contribute to competence, performance,
or effectiveness in the profession of education and the classroom
assignments of the teacher. Acceptable activities may include,
among other acceptable activities, the completion of courses offered
by regionally accredited colleges and universities, including
instructor-led interactive courses delivered through online
technologies; participation in professional conferences, workshops,
teacher center programs, staff development programs, or a
California Reading Professional Development Program operated
pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 99220) of Chapter
5 of Part 65; service as a mentor teacher; participation in school
curriculum development projects; participation in systematic
programs of observation and analysis of teaching; service in a
leadership role in a professional organization; and participation in
educational research or innovation efforts. Employing agencies
and the bargaining agents of employees may negotiate to agree on
the terms of programs of professional growth within their
jurisdictions, provided that the agreements shall be consistent with
this section.

(c) An individual program of professional growth may include
a basic course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which includes
training in the subdiaphragmatic abdominal thrust (also known as
the “Heimlich maneuver”) and meets or exceeds the standards
established by the American Heart Association or the American
Red Cross for courses in that subject or minimum standards for
training programs established by the Emergency Medical Services
Authority. An individual program of professional growth may also
include a course in first aid that meets or exceeds the standards
established by the American Red Cross for courses in that subject
or minimum standards for training programs established by the
Emergency Medical Services Authority.

(d) (1) If a local educational agency offers a program of
professional growth for teachers, administrators, paraprofessional
educators, or other classified employees involved in the direct
instruction of pupils, the local educational agency shall begin delete consider
high quality end delete begin insert evaluate end insert professional begin delete development end delete begin insert learning based on
all of the following criteria, and the local educational agency is
encouraged to choose professional learning end insert that meets begin delete all end delete begin insert any end insert of
the following criteria:

(A) Helps attract, grow, and retain effective educators.

(B) Is a part of every educator’s experience in order to accelerate
instructional improvement and support pupil learning.

(C) Is based on needs assessment of educators and tied to
supporting pupil learning.

(D) Emphasizes the importance of meeting the needs of all
pupils.

(E) Is grounded in a description of effective practice, as
articulated in the California Standards for the Teaching Profession.

(F) Affords educators opportunities to engage with others to
develop their craft, including, but not limited to, opportunities to
increase their content knowledge.

(G) Ensures educators have adequate time to learn about,
practice, reflect, adjust, critique, and share what educators need
to ensure that all pupils, especially high-needs pupils, develop
knowledge and lifelong learning skills that will help the pupils to
be successful.

(H) Recognizes and utilizes expert teacher and leader skills.

(I) Attends to collective growth needs as well as educators’
individual growth needs.

(J) Contributes to a positive, collaborative, and supportive adult
learning environment.

(K) Contributes to cycles of inquiry and improvement.

(L) Is not limited to a single instance, but supports educators
through multiple iterations or engagements.

(M) Is based on a coherent and focused plan.

(2) Professional begin delete development end delete begin insert learning end insert activities may also
include collaboration time for teachers to develop new instructional
lessons, to select or develop common formative assessments, to
analyze pupil data, for mentoring projects for new teachers, or for
extra support for teachers to improve practice. Appropriate
professional begin delete development end delete begin insert learning end insert may be part of a coherent plan
that combines school activities within the school, including, but
not limited to, lesson study or coteaching, and external learning
opportunities that meet all of the following criteria:

(A) Are related to the academic subjects taught.

(B) Provide time to meet and work with other teachers.

(C) Support instruction and pupil learning to improve instruction
in a manner that is consistent with academic content standards.

(e) For purposes of this section, “local educational agency”
means a school district, county office of education, or charter
school.