Bill Text: CA AB2401 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Teachers: California Beginning Teacher Support and
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [AB2401 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB2401-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Teachers: California Beginning Teacher Support and
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [AB2401 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB2401-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2401 INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member O'Donnell FEBRUARY 18, 2016 An act relating to teachers, and making an appropriation therefor. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2401, as introduced, O'Donnell. Teachers: California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment System. Existing law establishes the California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment System, to be administered jointly by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the Superintendent of Public Instruction for specified purposes, including providing an effective transition into the teaching career for first-year and 2nd-year teachers in California. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations regarding the teacher shortage in the state and the California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment System. This bill would make an appropriation of an unspecified amount from the General Fund to the Superintendent and the commission for the 2016-17 fiscal year to fund the California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment System. This bill would also state the intent of the Legislature that future funding for the California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment System be provided each year in the annual Budget Act. Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) According to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the number of pupils enrolled in teacher preparation programs declined by more than 50 percent between 2008 and 2013. (b) At the same time that enrollment in teacher preparation programs is declining, more than 20 percent of California's teachers have more than 20 years of experience, meaning they are at or near retirement age and will need to be replaced. (c) Among new teachers, 40 percent leave the profession within the first five years, adding to the teacher shortage and reducing the benefits of the state's investment in teacher preparation. (d) The California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment System (Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 44279.1) of Chapter 2 of Part 25 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Education Code), which was established in 1992, has been shown to substantially increase new teacher retention to nearly 90 percent. In addition, the California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment System has been shown to improve teacher effectiveness and pupil outcomes. (e) There is a clear state interest in continuing the California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment System as a proven means of effectively addressing the teacher shortage and improving teacher effectiveness and pupil outcomes. (f) With the enactment of the local control funding formula, ongoing funding targeted to the California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment System was eliminated. (g) While the local control funding formula is an effective system for targeting spending to programs whose benefits accrue to local educational agencies and their pupils, it is not an effective system for the support of programs whose benefits primarily are external to local educational agencies and are more statewide than local. (h) The California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment System serves a compelling state interest and should be funded each year in the annual Budget Act. SEC. 2. The amount of ____ dollars ($____) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Superintendent of Public Education and the Commission on Teacher Credentialing for the purposes of Section 44279.2 of the Education Code for the 2016-17 fiscal year. SEC. 3. It is the intent of the Legislature that funding for the California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment System (Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 44279.1) of Chapter 2 of Part 25 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Education Code) be provided each year in the annual Budget Act.