NEWS IN EDUCATION
Assembly Bill 238
California teacher candidates may soon receive compensation during their student teaching period if two new bills pass the Legislature and earn Governor Gavin Newsom's signature. The proposed legislation aims to make it easier for individuals to become teachers and combat the ongoing teacher shortage in the state.
Assembly Bill 238, introduced by Al Maratsuchi, D-Torrance, seeks to allocate one-time state funds to establish a grant program for student teachers. Under this program, districts that secure grants would be required to pay student teachers at the same rate as substitute teachers. The anticipated cost of the program, if all student teachers are paid, could reach a substantial $300 million annually. Additionally, the state would allocate approximately $306,000 per year to employ two individuals who would administer the grant at the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
The proposed bill addresses the financial burden faced by teacher candidates during their student teaching phase, as they are currently not remunerated for their work. This lack of compensation poses a significant obstacle for aspiring teachers who must cover tuition, books, supplies, and living expenses while fulfilling their student teaching requirements and undertaking teacher preparation courses.
A survey conducted by the California Department of Education's Educator Diversity Advisory Group revealed that it acts as a significant deterrent to teacher recruitment, particularly affecting people of color. Many aspiring teachers, compelled to forego employment, find it challenging to pursue a teaching career due to the financial strain. By providing compensation during student teaching, the proposed legislation serves as a crucial step toward reducing barriers and encouraging a broader pool of individuals to consider teaching as a profession.
The bill to pay student teachers has garnered strong support among legislators, securing nearly unanimous approval in both the full Assembly and the Senate Education Committee. It has now been referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee, which will evaluate its impact on the state budget.
Another bill authored by Maratsuchi seeks to tackle the teacher shortage through a marketing campaign aimed at enticing people to join the teaching profession. The proposed legislation assigns a budget of up to $900,000 for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to collaborate with a public relations organization in developing a campaign that highlights the value of educators and promotes teaching as a career choice. However, this bill is currently on hold in the suspense file of the Senate Appropriations Committee, where bills with significant annual costs are reviewed collectively to assess their impact on the state budget.
Additional legislation aimed at easing the certification process for out-of-state teachers is also under consideration. Assembly Bill 757 intends to eliminate the requirement for out-of-state teachers to apply for preliminary credentials, complete additional coursework, or demonstrate subject competency through testing. Senate Bill 811 seeks to ratify the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact, which establishes a commission to facilitate teacher mobility across state lines.
The proposed bills are the latest attempts by state legislators to address the persistent teacher shortage in California, which has shown no signs of improvement. The latest data available from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing reveals a 16% decline in the number of teachers receiving credentials in 2021-22 compared to the previous year.
To combat the shortage, several other bills are being considered by lawmakers. These include Assembly Bill 672, which calls for research on the barriers preventing people of color from pursuing teaching careers, and Assembly Bill 1555, which proposes extending the deadline for credentialed transitional kindergarten teachers to complete the required early childhood education units.
Despite the ongoing teacher shortage, California has already allocated substantial funding, amounting to $1.2 billion since 2016, to address the issue. Noteworthy expenditures include the Golden State Teacher Grant program, the Teacher Residency Grant program, and the California Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing program, all of which provide financial support to aspiring teachers.
The current fiscal year's budget includes additional funding and flexibility measures to recruit and train teachers. These initiatives aim to simplify the transfer of teaching credentials for military personnel and their spouses, offer alternative test completion options for teachers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, increase grants for teacher residents, and fund bilingual teacher preparation programs.
While these legislative efforts are perceived as positive steps forward, more work is necessary to alleviate the teacher shortage in California.
Source: EdSource and California Legislative Information
Assembly Bill 238, introduced by Al Maratsuchi, D-Torrance, seeks to allocate one-time state funds to establish a grant program for student teachers. Under this program, districts that secure grants would be required to pay student teachers at the same rate as substitute teachers. The anticipated cost of the program, if all student teachers are paid, could reach a substantial $300 million annually. Additionally, the state would allocate approximately $306,000 per year to employ two individuals who would administer the grant at the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
The proposed bill addresses the financial burden faced by teacher candidates during their student teaching phase, as they are currently not remunerated for their work. This lack of compensation poses a significant obstacle for aspiring teachers who must cover tuition, books, supplies, and living expenses while fulfilling their student teaching requirements and undertaking teacher preparation courses.
A survey conducted by the California Department of Education's Educator Diversity Advisory Group revealed that it acts as a significant deterrent to teacher recruitment, particularly affecting people of color. Many aspiring teachers, compelled to forego employment, find it challenging to pursue a teaching career due to the financial strain. By providing compensation during student teaching, the proposed legislation serves as a crucial step toward reducing barriers and encouraging a broader pool of individuals to consider teaching as a profession.
The bill to pay student teachers has garnered strong support among legislators, securing nearly unanimous approval in both the full Assembly and the Senate Education Committee. It has now been referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee, which will evaluate its impact on the state budget.
Another bill authored by Maratsuchi seeks to tackle the teacher shortage through a marketing campaign aimed at enticing people to join the teaching profession. The proposed legislation assigns a budget of up to $900,000 for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to collaborate with a public relations organization in developing a campaign that highlights the value of educators and promotes teaching as a career choice. However, this bill is currently on hold in the suspense file of the Senate Appropriations Committee, where bills with significant annual costs are reviewed collectively to assess their impact on the state budget.
Additional legislation aimed at easing the certification process for out-of-state teachers is also under consideration. Assembly Bill 757 intends to eliminate the requirement for out-of-state teachers to apply for preliminary credentials, complete additional coursework, or demonstrate subject competency through testing. Senate Bill 811 seeks to ratify the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact, which establishes a commission to facilitate teacher mobility across state lines.
The proposed bills are the latest attempts by state legislators to address the persistent teacher shortage in California, which has shown no signs of improvement. The latest data available from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing reveals a 16% decline in the number of teachers receiving credentials in 2021-22 compared to the previous year.
To combat the shortage, several other bills are being considered by lawmakers. These include Assembly Bill 672, which calls for research on the barriers preventing people of color from pursuing teaching careers, and Assembly Bill 1555, which proposes extending the deadline for credentialed transitional kindergarten teachers to complete the required early childhood education units.
Despite the ongoing teacher shortage, California has already allocated substantial funding, amounting to $1.2 billion since 2016, to address the issue. Noteworthy expenditures include the Golden State Teacher Grant program, the Teacher Residency Grant program, and the California Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing program, all of which provide financial support to aspiring teachers.
The current fiscal year's budget includes additional funding and flexibility measures to recruit and train teachers. These initiatives aim to simplify the transfer of teaching credentials for military personnel and their spouses, offer alternative test completion options for teachers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, increase grants for teacher residents, and fund bilingual teacher preparation programs.
While these legislative efforts are perceived as positive steps forward, more work is necessary to alleviate the teacher shortage in California.
Source: EdSource and California Legislative Information
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AB-428 - SPECIAL EDUCATION FUNDING (2019-2020), as of 6/15/19
Great news! All Ayes, no Noes. On May 16, 2019, this bill was referred to the appropriations committee. This bill increases the rate of State Funding for preschoolers with disabilities and provides increased funding for students with severe disabilities, including those who are referred to as single-placement, nonpublic- nonsectarian schools. The passing of this bill will adjust the enrollment growth calculation to reflect the actual growth in special education enrollment over the next five years.
Funding is broken down:
Requires the SPI, in each year following an equalization adjustment, to perform the following computations to determine the statewide target amount per unit of ADA in order to determine the inflation adjustment and growth adjustment:
a) Total the amount of funding computed for each Special Education Local Planning Area (SELPA). b) Total the number of units of Average Daily Attendance(ADA) reported for each SELPA for the fiscal year preceding the equalization appropriation. c) Divide the total funding by the total ADA.
Establishes an extraordinary cost pool for the extraordinary costs associated with single placements in nonpublic, nonsectarian schools.
Establishes a low incidence disability fund for costs associated with the education of students who are visually impaired, hearing impaired, and severely orthopedically impaired, and any combination thereof.
Establishes a low incidence disability fund for costs associated with the education of students who are visually impaired, hearing impaired, and severely orthopedically impaired, and any combination thereof.
Requires that, in the first fiscal year following the full funding of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) compute an equalization adjustment for each Special Education Local Plan Areas (SELPA), and sets the target equalization rate at the 95th percentile of statewide funding rates. 3) Specifies the method for calculating this equalization adjustment.
Need for the bill. According to the author, “For decades the state has under invested in its special education system, allowing unequal rates to disadvantaged students in some regions for no reason, providing disincentives to invest early in the education of our students - when the return is greatest - and failing to provide additional resources to support students who require a higher level of service to succeed.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION - Senator Connie Leyva, Chair 2019 - 2020 Regular Bill No: AB 428 Hearing Date: June 12, 2019 Author: Medina, et al. Version: February 7, 2019 Urgency: No Fiscal: Yes Consultant: Ian Johnson Subject: Special education funding. SUMMARY This bill requires that special education funding rates be equalized.
Great news! All Ayes, no Noes. On May 16, 2019, this bill was referred to the appropriations committee. This bill increases the rate of State Funding for preschoolers with disabilities and provides increased funding for students with severe disabilities, including those who are referred to as single-placement, nonpublic- nonsectarian schools. The passing of this bill will adjust the enrollment growth calculation to reflect the actual growth in special education enrollment over the next five years.
Funding is broken down:
Requires the SPI, in each year following an equalization adjustment, to perform the following computations to determine the statewide target amount per unit of ADA in order to determine the inflation adjustment and growth adjustment:
a) Total the amount of funding computed for each Special Education Local Planning Area (SELPA). b) Total the number of units of Average Daily Attendance(ADA) reported for each SELPA for the fiscal year preceding the equalization appropriation. c) Divide the total funding by the total ADA.
Establishes an extraordinary cost pool for the extraordinary costs associated with single placements in nonpublic, nonsectarian schools.
Establishes a low incidence disability fund for costs associated with the education of students who are visually impaired, hearing impaired, and severely orthopedically impaired, and any combination thereof.
Establishes a low incidence disability fund for costs associated with the education of students who are visually impaired, hearing impaired, and severely orthopedically impaired, and any combination thereof.
Requires that, in the first fiscal year following the full funding of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) compute an equalization adjustment for each Special Education Local Plan Areas (SELPA), and sets the target equalization rate at the 95th percentile of statewide funding rates. 3) Specifies the method for calculating this equalization adjustment.
Need for the bill. According to the author, “For decades the state has under invested in its special education system, allowing unequal rates to disadvantaged students in some regions for no reason, providing disincentives to invest early in the education of our students - when the return is greatest - and failing to provide additional resources to support students who require a higher level of service to succeed.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION - Senator Connie Leyva, Chair 2019 - 2020 Regular Bill No: AB 428 Hearing Date: June 12, 2019 Author: Medina, et al. Version: February 7, 2019 Urgency: No Fiscal: Yes Consultant: Ian Johnson Subject: Special education funding. SUMMARY This bill requires that special education funding rates be equalized.