Bill Text: CA AB2485 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 2485 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Teacher credentialing: subject matter competence.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-07-07 - From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on ED. [AB2485 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB2485-Amended.html

Amended IN Senate July 07, 2020

Amended IN Assembly May 12, 2020

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2485

Introduced by Assembly Member Kalra

February 19, 2020

An act to amend, repeal, and add Sections 44259, 44280, and 44310 of the Education Code, relating to teacher credentialing.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2485, as amended, Kalra. Teacher credentialing: subject matter competence.

Existing law establishes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and requires the commission, among other duties, to establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials, certificates, and permits. Existing law specifies the minimum requirements for the preliminary multiple or single subject teaching credential, including a subject matter competence requirement demonstrated by either completion of a subject matter program that has been approved by the commission or passage of a subject matter examination.

This bill would authorize a candidate for the preliminary multiple or single subject teaching credential to demonstrate subject matter competence by completing higher education coursework in the subject matters related to the content area of the credential, as provided. The bill would require the commission to adopt regulations for this purpose and would prohibit a program of professional preparation from verifying a candidate’s subject matter competence in this manner until those regulations are adopted. The bill would additionally authorize a candidate to demonstrate subject matter competence through a combination of a subject matter program, a subject matter examination, and higher education coursework in the subject matters related to the content area of the credential. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2024.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

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

SECTION 1.

Section 44259 of the Education Code is amended to read:

44259.

(a) Except as provided in clauses (i) and (iii) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), a program of professional preparation for multiple or single subject teaching credentials shall not include more than two years of full-time study of professional preparation.

(b) The minimum requirements for the preliminary multiple or single subject teaching credential are all of the following:

(1) A baccalaureate degree or higher degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education. Except as provided in subdivision (c) of Section 44227, for single subject teaching credentials, the baccalaureate degree shall not be in professional education. The commission shall encourage regionally accredited institutions of higher education to offer undergraduate minors in education and special education to students who intend to become single subject credentialed teachers.

(2) Passage of the state basic skills proficiency test that is developed and administered by the commission pursuant to Section 44252.5.

(3) (A) Satisfactory completion of a program of professional preparation that has been accredited by the Committee on Accreditation on the basis of standards of program quality and effectiveness that have been adopted by the commission. In accordance with the commission’s assessment and performance standards, each program shall include a teaching performance assessment as set forth in Section 44320.2 that is aligned with the California Standards for the Teaching Profession. The commission shall ensure that each candidate recommended for a credential or certificate has demonstrated satisfactory ability to assist pupils to meet or exceed academic content and performance standards for pupils adopted by the state board. Programs that meet this requirement for professional preparation shall include any of the following:

(i) Integrated programs of subject matter preparation and professional preparation pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 44259.1.

(ii) Postbaccalaureate programs of professional preparation, pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 44259.1.

(iii) Internship programs of professional preparation, pursuant to Section 44321, Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 44325), Article 11 (commencing with Section 44380), and Article 3 (commencing with Section 44450) of Chapter 3.

(iv) Degree programs offered pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 78060) of Chapter 1 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3.

(B) A program of professional preparation pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall provide experience that addresses all of the following:

(i) Health education, including study of nutrition, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and the physiological and sociological effects of the abuse of alcohol, narcotics, and drugs and the use of tobacco. Training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation shall also meet the standards established by the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross.

(ii) Field experience in methods of delivering appropriate educational services to pupils with exceptional needs in regular education programs.

(iii) Advanced computer-based technology, including the uses of technology in educational settings.

(4) Study of alternative methods of developing English language skills, including the study of reading as described in subparagraphs (A) and (B), among all pupils, including those for whom English is a second language, in accordance with the commission’s standards of program quality and effectiveness. The study of reading shall meet the following requirements:

(A) Commencing January 1, 1997, satisfactory completion of comprehensive reading instruction that is research based and includes all of the following:

(i) The study of organized, systematic, explicit skills including phonemic awareness, direct, systematic, explicit phonics, and decoding skills.

(ii) A strong literature, language, and comprehension component with a balance of oral and written language.

(iii) Ongoing diagnostic techniques that inform teaching and assessment.

(iv) Early intervention techniques.

(v) Guided practice in a clinical setting.

(B) For purposes of this section, “direct, systematic, explicit phonics” means phonemic awareness, spelling patterns, the direct instruction of sound/symbol codes and practice in connected text, and the relationship of direct, systematic, explicit phonics to the components set forth in clauses (i) to (v), inclusive, of subparagraph (A).

A program for the multiple subject teaching credential also shall include the study of integrated methods of teaching language arts.

(5) (A) Verification of subject matter competence, demonstrated through one of the following methods:

(i) Completion of a subject matter program approved by the commission on the basis of standards of program quality or and effectiveness pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 44310).

(ii) Passage of a subject matter examination pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 44280).

(iii) Successful completion of coursework at one or more regionally accredited institutions of higher education that addresses each of the domains of the subject matter requirements adopted by the commission in the content area of the credential pursuant to Section 44282. A program of professional preparation shall not verify a candidate’s subject matter competence pursuant to this clause until the commission next adopts or revises regulations pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 44310.

(iv) Demonstration to the satisfaction of the commission that the candidate, through a combination of the methods described in clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), has addressed each of the domains of the subject matter requirements adopted by the commission in the content area of the credential pursuant to Section 44282.

(B) The commission shall ensure that subject matter standards and examinations are aligned with the academic content and performance standards for pupils adopted by the state board.

(6) Demonstration of a knowledge of the principles and provisions of the Constitution of the United States pursuant to Section 44335.

(7) Demonstration, in accordance with the commission’s standards of program quality and effectiveness, of basic competency in the use of computers in the classroom as determined by one of the following:

(A) Successful completion of a commission-approved program or course.

(B) Successful passage of an assessment that is developed, approved, and administered by the commission.

(c) The minimum requirements for the clear multiple or single subject teaching credential shall include all of the following requirements:

(1) Possession of a valid preliminary teaching credential, as prescribed in subdivision (b), possession of a valid equivalent credential or certificate, or completion of equivalent requirements as determined by the commission.

(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), completion of a program of beginning teacher induction, including either of the following:

(A) A program of beginning teacher induction that is provided by one or more local educational agencies and has been approved by the commission on the basis of initial review and periodic evaluations of the program in relation to appropriate standards of credential program quality and effectiveness that have been adopted by the commission pursuant to this subdivision. The program standards shall encourage innovation and experimentation in the continuous preparation and induction of beginning teachers.

(B) A program of beginning teacher induction that is sponsored by a regionally accredited institution of higher education, in cooperation with one or more local school districts, that addresses the individual professional needs of beginning teachers and meets the commission’s standards of induction. The commission shall ensure that preparation and induction programs that qualify candidates for professional credentials extend and refine each beginning teacher’s professional skills in relation to the California Standards for the Teaching Profession and the academic content and performance standards for pupils adopted by the state board.

(3) (A) If a candidate satisfies the requirements of subdivision (b) through completion of an accredited internship program of professional preparation, and if that internship program fulfills induction standards and is approved as set forth in this subdivision, the commission shall determine that the candidate has fulfilled the requirements of paragraph (2).

(B) If an approved induction program is verified as unavailable to a beginning teacher, the commission shall accept completion of an approved clear credential program after completion of a baccalaureate degree at a regionally accredited institution of higher education as fulfilling the requirements of paragraph (2). The commission shall adopt regulations to implement this subparagraph.

(d) The commission shall develop and implement standards of program quality and effectiveness that provide for the areas of application listed in clauses (i) to (iii), inclusive, of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), starting in professional preparation and continuing through induction.

(e) A credential that was issued before January 1, 1993, shall remain in force as long as it is valid under the laws and regulations that were in effect on the date it was issued. The commission shall not, by regulation, invalidate an otherwise valid credential, unless it issues to the holder of the credential, in substitution, a new credential authorized by another provision in this chapter that is no more restrictive than the credential for which it was substituted with respect to the kind of service authorized and the grades, classes, or types of schools in which it authorizes service.

(f) A credential program that is approved by the commission shall not deny an individual access to that program solely on the grounds that the individual obtained a teaching credential through completion of an internship program when that internship program has been accredited by the commission.

(g) Notwithstanding this section, persons who were performing teaching services as of January 1, 1999, pursuant to the language of this section that was in effect before that date, may continue to perform those services without complying with any requirements that may be added by the amendments adding this subdivision.

(h) Subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) do not apply to any person who, as of January 1, 1997, holds a multiple or single subject teaching credential, or to any person enrolled in a program of professional preparation for a multiple or single subject teaching credential as of January 1, 1997, who subsequently completes that program. It is the intent of the Legislature that the requirements of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) apply only to persons who enter a program of professional preparation on or after January 1, 1997.

(i) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2024, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 2.

Section 44259 is added to the Education Code, to read:

44259.

(b) The minimum requirements for the preliminary multiple or single subject teaching credential are all of the following:

(1) A baccalaureate degree or higher degree from a regionally accredited institution of postsecondary education. Except as provided in subdivision (c) of Section 44227, for single subject teaching credentials, the baccalaureate degree shall not be in professional education. The commission shall encourage regionally accredited institutions of higher education to offer undergraduate minors in education and special education to students who intend to become single subject credentialed teachers.