Amended  IN  Assembly  March 27, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 694

Introduced by Assembly Member Members Gipson and Muratsuchi
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Juan Carrillo)

February 13, 2023

An act to add Article 17 (commencing with Section 44419) to Chapter 2 of Part 25 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Education Code, and to add Section 3075.2 to the Labor Code, relating to teachers.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 694, as amended, Gipson. Teachers: Statewide Educator Workforce Coordinating Committee: teacher apprenticeships. teacher residency apprenticeship programs.

(1)Existing law establishes the State Department of Education in state government, and vests the department with specified powers and duties relating to the state’s public school system. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish procedures within the department to accomplish certain things, including to annually identify the critical needs for which effective educational programs and practices are to be identified, developed, and disseminated to public schools.

This bill would establish the Statewide Educator Workforce Coordinating Committee within the department for purposes of determining and defining the state’s role in addressing the educator workforce shortage. The bill would require the committee to address certain workforce issues. The bill would require the committee’s membership to be determined by the Superintendent.

(2)Under

Under existing law, it is the public policy of this state to encourage the utilization of apprenticeship as a form of on-the-job training, that such training is cost-effective in developing skills needed to perform public services. Existing law requires state and local public agencies to make a diligent effort to establish apprenticeship programs for apprenticeable occupations in their respective workforces. Existing law establishes the Teacher Residency Grant Program and appropriates funds from the General Fund to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to make one-time grants to develop new, or expand, strengthen, or improve access to existing, teacher residency programs that support, among other things, a list of designated shortage fields.
This bill would state that the Legislature encourages apprenticeship funding to be used to reduce the teacher shortage. require the commission to submit the Teacher Residency Grant Program standards for approval as a registered apprenticeship program through the Division of Apprenticeship Standards and the United States Department of Labor and to act as the sponsoring authority for purposes of the state applying for United States Department of Labor grant funding. The bill would authorize a local educational agency with a commission-approved teacher residency program, or a local educational agency, in partnership with an institution of higher education, with a teacher residency apprenticeship program that is not approved by the commission as a teacher residency program, to submit these programs for approval as registered apprenticeship programs with Division of Apprenticeship Standards, the United States Department of Labor, or both of those entities, as provided. The bill would require these approved teacher residency apprenticeship programs to, among other things, work with one or more commission-accredited teacher preparation programs to develop and implement programs of preparation and mentoring for apprentices who will be supported through program funds and subsequently be employed by the local educational agency, and to ensure and provide apprentices with certain instruction and support.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 3075.2 is added to the Labor Code, to read:

3075.2.
 (a) (1) The Commission on Teacher Credentialing shall submit the Teacher Residency Grant Program standards, pursuant to Section 44415.5 of the Education Code, for approval as a registered apprenticeship program through the Division of Apprenticeship Standards and the United States Department of Labor.
(2) A local educational agency with a teacher residency program approved by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing pursuant to Section 44415.5 of the Education Code may submit that program for approval as a registered apprenticeship program with the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, the United States Department of Labor, or both of those entities.
(3) A local educational agency with a teacher residency apprenticeship program that is not approved by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing as a teacher residency program pursuant to Section 44415.5 of the Education Code may, in partnership with an institution of higher education, submit that program for approval as a registered apprenticeship program with the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, the United States Department of Labor, or both of those entities.
(4) A program approved by the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, the United States Department of Labor, or both of those entities, pursuant to paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, shall be known as a teacher residency apprenticeship program.
(b) The Commission on Teacher Credentialing shall act as the sponsoring authority for purposes of the state applying for United States Department of Labor grant funding under this section.
(c) A teacher residency apprenticeship program approved pursuant to subdivision (a) shall expand, strengthen, or improve access to existing teacher residency programs that support either or both of the following:
(1) Designated shortage fields, including, but not limited to, special education, bilingual education, science, computer science, technology, engineering, mathematics, transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, school counseling, and any other fields identified by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing based on an annual analysis of state and regional hiring and vacancy data.
(2) Local efforts to recruit, develop support systems for, provide outreach and communication strategies to, and retain a diverse teacher workforce that reflects the diversity of the community in which a local educational agency is located.
(d) A teacher residency apprenticeship program approved pursuant to subdivision (a) shall work with one or more Commission on Teacher Credentialing-accredited teacher preparation programs, and may work with other community partners or nonprofit organizations, to develop and implement programs of preparation and mentoring for apprentices who will be supported through program funds and subsequently be employed by the local educational agency.
(e) Teacher residency apprenticeship program funding shall supplement, and not supplant, any funds received by an apprentice through their participation in the Teacher Residency Grant Program pursuant to Section 44415.5 of the Education Code. Both new and existing apprentices shall be eligible for any additional forms of federal, state, and local educational agency resources to support the cost of their preparation.
(f) A teacher residency apprenticeship program approved pursuant to subdivision (a) shall do all of the following:
(1) Ensure that apprentices are prepared to earn a preliminary teaching credential, including a PK-3 early childhood education specialist credential, in furtherance of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) upon completion of the program.
(2) Ensure that apprentices are provided with instruction in all of the following:
(A) Teaching the content area or areas in which the teacher will become certificated to teach.
(B) Planning, curriculum development, and assessment.
(C) Learning and child development.
(D) Management of the classroom environment.
(E) Use of culturally responsive practices, supports for language development, and supports for serving pupils with disabilities.
(F) Professional responsibilities, including interaction with families and colleagues.
(3) Provide each apprentice mentoring and beginning teacher induction support following the completion of the apprentice’s initial credential program necessary to obtain a clear credential, and ongoing professional development and networking opportunities during the apprentice’s first years of teaching at no cost to the apprentice.
(4) Prepare apprentices to teach in a school within the geographic region served by the local educational agency in which they will work and to learn the instructional initiatives and curriculum of the local educational agency.
(5) To the maximum extent feasible, group apprentices in cohorts to facilitate professional collaboration and ensure apprentices are enrolled in a teaching school or professional development program that is organized to support a high-quality teacher learning experience in a supportive work environment.
(g) The purpose of a teacher residency apprenticeship program under this section is to address shortages in the educator workforce, expand the pipeline into the teaching profession, and grow a diverse, local pathway into teaching.

SECTION 1.

(a)The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1)Since 2017, it has been determined that than 100,000 classrooms in the United States have been staffed by instructors who were unqualified for their jobs, and that these classrooms are disproportionately located in low-income, high-minority schools, although in some key subjects, every kind of school district has been hit by a lack of qualified applicants.

(2)The federal Office for Civil Rights’ data show that school districts serving more pupils of color employ about four times more uncertified teachers than school districts serving few pupils of color, and pupils from low-income families, pupils with disabilities, and English learners are also more likely to be taught by underqualified teachers than other pupils, with negative effects on their achievement.

(3)Federal policies can extend the financial capacity of teachers by reducing their college debt and by making other financial supports more readily available to teachers.

(4)Investing in alternative pathways and policies that recruit and prepare future teachers earlier in their educational careers can help attract young people into teaching and reduce the overall costs of their preparation.

(5)California’s education budget has included considerable investments in building the educator pipeline and supporting the existing workforce, including the creation of the Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing Program, the Teacher Residency Grant Program, and the Golden State Teacher Grant Program.

(b)Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature for this act to accomplish both the following:

(1)Provide strategies to increase the number of teacher candidates.

(2)Establish a statewide coordinating committee in statute to determine and define the state’s role in addressing educator workforce issues, including recruitment, retention, and pipelines into the teaching profession, from early childhood education through grade 12.

SEC. 2.Article 17 (commencing with Section 44419) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 25 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:
17.Statewide Educator Workforce Coordinating Committee
44419.

(a)(1)The Statewide Educator Workforce Coordinating Committee is hereby established within the department for purposes of determining and defining the state’s role in addressing the educator workforce shortage.

(2)The workforce issues to be addressed by the committee shall include, but are not limited to, recruitment, retention, and pipelines into the teaching profession, from early childhood education through grade 12.

(3)The committee’s membership shall be determined by the Superintendent.

(b)(1)The committee shall explore the creation of a statewide database of local educational agency vacancies.

(2)For purposes of paragraph (1), local educational agency includes, but is not limited to, a school district, county office of education, or charter school.

SEC. 3.Section 3075.2 is added to the Labor Code, to read:
3075.2.

The Legislature encourages apprenticeship funding to be used to reduce the teacher shortage.