Bill Text: CA AB2516 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Teachers: professional development: bilingual and dual language grant programs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-17 - In committee: Hearing postponed by committee. [AB2516 Detail]
Download: California-2019-AB2516-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2516
| Introduced by Assembly Member Reyes |
February 19, 2020 |
An act to amend Section 52202 of, and to add Article 16.2 (commencing with Section 8378) to Chapter 2 of Part 6 of Division 1 of Title 1 of, the Education Code, relating to teachers.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2516, as introduced, Reyes.
Teachers: professional development: bilingual and dual language grant programs.
Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary schools in this state and authorizes local educational agencies throughout the state to operate schools and provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to, among other duties, establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials, certificates, and permits. Existing law requires the commission to issue an authorization for a teacher who meets specified requirements to provide instruction to English learners.
Existing law establishes the Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program, administered by the State Department of Education in consultation with the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, for teachers seeking to provide instruction in bilingual
and multilingual settings. Existing law requires the department to issue a minimum of 5 grants to applicants through a competitive process and to allocate grant funding to eligible local educational agencies for purposes of providing professional development services to teachers or paraprofessionals. Existing law provides that a teacher or paraprofessional is eligible for professional development services funded by a grant if the teacher possesses a teaching credential or an education specialist credential authorizing the holder to teach pupils with exceptional needs and the teacher possesses an authorization to teach English learners or seeks that authorization, and meets other specified requirements, as provided. Existing law requires grant recipients to report specified information related to the program to the department by January 1, 2021.
This bill would delete the requirement that the department issue a minimum of 5 grants. The bill would require a teacher or
paraprofessional, to be eligible for professional development services funded by a grant, to possess a teaching credential or an education specialist credential authorizing the holder to teach English learners, instead of pupils with exceptional needs, and to meet those other same requirements. The bill would delay the reporting by grant recipients of specified information to the department to January 1, 2025.
The bill would establish the Licensed Child Development Teacher Professional Development Program, administered by the department, for child development permitholders to acquire and improve their knowledge, skills, and abilities to support dual language learners enrolled in child development programs. The bill would require the department to allocate grant funding to eligible child development providers that operate a child development program for purposes of providing professional development services to administrators, teachers, and staff who possess a child
development permit issued by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. The bill would specify eligibility criteria and would require the department to ensure that grant recipients, to the maximum extent possible, are balanced with regard to geographic regions and urban and rural settings. The bill would require a grant recipient to submit a specified report to the department on or before January 1, 2025.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) Research shows that fluency in another language opens up opportunities for people to succeed economically. It introduces people to new cultures and new ways of looking at the world. The study of languages boosts pupils’ mental flexibility, enhancing their ability to learn all subjects. The study of languages helps to enrich communities economically, culturally, and socially. Graduating multilingual and biliterate pupils greatly benefits the state. California requires people with biliteracy skills and cross-cultural competencies to work in and fuel the economy, to strengthen our social cohesion, and to enrich the quality of life in our communities.
(b) California is home to the nation’s largest multilingual population. Approximately 60 percent of the state’s children from birth through five years of age are dual language learners, and nearly 20 percent of schoolage children are English learners. Without proper support to promote their home language, the English language, and literacy development among this large and growing population, these children will likely fall behind their peers in school, resulting in long-term negative implications for success in life. Research proves that when pupils are given the classroom support they need to develop their home language and English language skills, over time they will outperform their monolingual peers because such support prevents language loss, promotes positive identity development, and strengthens family relations, all of which are critical to academic success.
(c) California
voters recognized the importance and benefits of learning one or more languages, in addition to English, when they overwhelmingly supported and voted for Proposition 58, the California Education for a Global Economy Initiative, at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election. The voters directive to the state is clear: promote, provide, and support biliteracy programs and opportunities for all pupils.
(d) Education policymakers at the state level acknowledge this directive from the people. The State Board of Education, the State Department of Education, and their partners have made progress in improving instruction for dual language and English learners by doing all of the following:
(1) Providing professional development funding for teachers and administrators to receive training and certification in supporting language and literacy development of dual language and English
learners in early childhood and K-12 settings.
(2) Creating the English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework that ensures that English learners are taught rich subject content while also becoming proficient in English.
(3) Approving the California English Learner Roadmap, which guides improving instructional and educational programs to support dual language and English learners by strengthening comprehensive policies, programs, and practices for dual language and English learners.
(4) Providing English Language Development Standards founded on the California Common Core Standards/English Arts Standards and the “Estándares en Común” for English/Spanish language arts and literacy respectively.
(5) Providing support to migrant pupils
through the Mini-Corps Program by expanding existing teacher exchange programs and joint teacher training efforts with Mexico.
(6) Recognizing high school pupils demonstrating proficiency in a language, in addition to English, with a State Seal of Biliteracy.
SEC. 2.
Article 16.2 (commencing with Section 8378) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 6 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to read:Article 16.2. Licensed Child Development Teacher Professional Development Program
8378.
This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Licensed Child Development Teacher Professional Development Program.8378.5.
(a) The Legislature hereby establishes the Licensed Child Development Teacher Professional Development Program for child development permitholders to acquire and improve their knowledge, skills, and abilities to support dual language learners enrolled in child development programs.(b) The purpose of the program is to ensure that California can meet the demand for teachers in child development programs to support the social-emotional, physical, cognitive, and dual language and literacy development of the nearly 1,800,000 dual language learners enrolled in the state’s child development system.
8379.
(a) The Licensed Child Development Teacher Professional Development Program shall be administered by the department.(b) The department shall allocate grant funding to eligible child development providers, as provided in subdivision (e), that operate a child development program for purposes of providing professional development services to administrators, teachers, and staff who satisfy the requirements of subdivision (c). A recipient of a grant pursuant to this article may partner with other licensed child development providers, community colleges, public or private four-year institutions of postsecondary education, and other professional or nonprofit organizations with dual language learner expertise.
(c) An administrator, teacher, or staff member shall be eligible for professional development services funded by a grant pursuant to this article if they possess a child development permit issued by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing pursuant to Article 16 (commencing with Section 8360).
(d) In selecting a recipient for a grant pursuant to subdivision (b), the department shall ensure that an applicant develop and submit a reasonable and appropriate plan to improve the competencies of administrators, teachers, and staff to support the social-emotional, physical, cognitive, and language and literacy development of dual language learners and their families.
(e) The department shall adopt eligibility criteria for a grant that will demonstrate the applicant’s ability to provide professional development services that shall
include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) The applicant has a clearly articulated program to develop the cultural and linguistic competence of administrators, teachers, and staff.
(2) The applicant enumerates the expected knowledge, skills, and abilities that will be gained by administrators, teachers, and staff who complete the professional development program in support of dual language learners.
(3) The applicant has the capacity to conduct an evaluation of the professional development program offered by the applicant for purposes of identifying areas of strength, areas requiring improvement, and recommendations for making improvements.
(4) The applicant has demonstrated management and support services necessary to efficiently and
effectively use funding provided pursuant to this article to help meet the social-emotional, physical, cognitive, and dual language and literacy development needs of dual language learners.
(5) The availability of any matching funds, or other in-kind matching resources, offered by the applicant in support of a professional development program funded pursuant to this article.
(6) The applicant has the ability to meet at least three times each year to share promising practices with the department and other grantees and, if necessary, to receive technical assistance.
(f) The department shall ensure grant recipients selected pursuant to this article, to the maximum extent possible, are balanced with regard to geographic regions and urban and rural settings.
(g) On or before January 1, 2025, a grant recipient shall report to the department on the number of administrators, teachers, and staff members who were offered professional development services pursuant to this article, the number of administrators, teachers, and staff members who completed a professional development program funded by this article, and the number of children enrolled in the child development programs for which the professional development provided by this section served.
8379.5.
It is the intent of the Legislature that the sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000) be appropriated in the annual Budget Act from the General Fund to the Superintendent for purposes of this article.SEC. 3.
Section 52202 of the Education Code is amended to read:52202.
(a) The Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program shall be administered by the department in consultation with the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. The department shall issue grants to applicants through a competitive process.(b) (1)The department shall allocate grant funding to eligible local educational agencies, including county offices of education, school districts, charter schools, or a consortia of local educational agencies for purposes of providing professional development services to teachers or paraprofessionals who satisfy the requirements of subdivision (c).
Grant recipients may partner with community colleges, public or private four-year institutions of postsecondary education, and professional organizations or nonprofit organizations with English learner expertise.
(2)The department shall issue a minimum of five grants under the program.
(c) (1) A teacher shall be eligible for professional development services pursuant to subdivision (b) if he or she the teacher possesses a teaching credential or an education specialist credential
pursuant to Section 44253.3, 44253.4, or 44253.7 authorizing the holder to teach pupils with exceptional needs, English learners, and does either of the following:
(A) Possesses an
authorization to provide instruction to English learners pursuant to Section 44253.3, 44253.4, or 44253.7 and has Has provided instruction solely in English-only classrooms for three years or more.
(B) Is fluent in a language other than English, and seeks an authorization pursuant to Section 44253.3, 44253.4, or 44253.7 to provide instruction to English learners. English.
(2) A school paraprofessional employee shall be eligible for professional development services if the employee is fluent in a language other than English, seeks to work with English learners or in a bilingual
program, and intends to enter a pathway to become a credentialed teacher who holds a bilingual authorization.
(d) In selecting a grant recipient pursuant to subdivision (b), the department shall ensure that an applicant indicates how it plans to increase the number of teachers who obtain a bilingual authorization as a result of participation in the program and increase the number of teachers with a bilingual authorization who return to teaching in a bilingual or multilingual setting.
(e) In awarding funding to eligible applicants pursuant to subdivision (b), the department shall adopt criteria demonstrating an applicant’s ability to provide professional development services. The adopted criteria shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Demonstrated commitment to bilingual and multilingual
education and bilingual teacher development.
(2) Demonstrated capability to fully prepare teachers to obtain bilingual authorizations and to improve or update a teacher’s knowledge and skills relating to biliteracy, English language acquisition, English language development, pupil assessment in English and other languages, and instruction in the components of a high-quality bilingual or multilingual education program.
(3) The availability of bilingual education staff with demonstrated experience and knowledge of bilingual and multilingual education for purposes of providing professional development programs.
(4) Demonstrated management and support services necessary to efficiently and effectively use funding provided under subdivision (b) to help meet the demand for bilingual teachers.
(5) Matching funds, or other in-kind matching resources, offered by the applicant in support of a professional development program funded pursuant to this article.
(6) Capacity to conduct an evaluation of a professional development program offered by the applicant for the purpose of identifying areas of strength, areas requiring improvement, and recommendations for making improvement.
(7) The ability to meet at least three times each year to share promising practices with the department and other grantees and, if necessary, to receive technical assistance.
(f) The department shall ensure grant recipients selected for purposes of this article, to the
maximum extent possible, are balanced with regard to geographic regions and urban and rural settings.
(g) By January 1, 2021, 2025, grant recipients shall report to the department on the number of participants who were issued bilingual authorizations, the number of previously authorized teachers who have participated in the program and subsequently returned to bilingual teaching assignments, and the number of teachers who are still working at least 50 percent of the time in a bilingual setting.
(h) It is the intent of the Legislature that the sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000) be appropriated in the
annual Budget Act from the General Fund to the Superintendent for purposes of this section.
