SECTIONS 44380-44387 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 44380-44387

44380. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the teaching
profession must be able to recruit talented individuals, in addition
to college students, from a variety of sources to address geographic
and subject area shortages. Many persons changing careers and early
retirees from industry and the military are interested in the
challenge of teaching.
(b) The Legislature further finds that, in California, there is a
serious shortage of qualified teachers in the subjects of mathematics
and science, teachers who work with limited-English-proficient
pupils, minority teachers, and special education teachers.
(c) Therefore, in enacting this article, the Legislature intends
to encourage public school districts, county offices of education,
and colleges and universities to design concentrated programs leading
to a permanent credential for people with work experience and others
who already have a bachelor's degree.

44381. As used in this article, "alternative certification program"
is a program operated by a school district, county office of
education, college or university, or other public education entity,
individually or in collaboration with other public education entities
in the region to be served, and designed to provide a concentrated
program leading to a permanent teaching credential.

44382. Alternative certification programs shall address geographic
and subject matter shortage areas, and shall be targeted toward
people with work experience and others who already have a bachelor's
degree in the field in which they plan to teach.

44383. School districts or county offices of education operating,
or that propose to operate, an alternative certification program
pursuant to this article, may apply to the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing for incentive grant funding that has been appropriated
for the purposes of this article.

44384. An alternative certification program that receives grant
funding pursuant to this article shall be operated pursuant to either
Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 44325) of this chapter or
Article 3 (commencing with Section 44450) of Chapter 3, or both. The
commission shall encourage, and may provide funding to, programs that
include innovative training, assessment, or support models and
strategies that have the potential of improving the quality of the
teaching force. The commission shall encourage collaboration among
school districts in funding alternative certification programs.

44385. The commission, with the assistance of representatives of
classroom teachers, school administrators, parents, university and
college educators, and others, as appropriate, shall establish
criteria for selecting grant applicants to be funded. The criteria
shall include the following:
(a) The demonstrated need for more fully prepared credentialed
teachers, as defined in Section 44225.7, within each school district
included in the application.
(b) The number of participants to be served and the number of
credentialed teachers, with at least a preliminary or level 1
credential, at each schoolsite where interns will be assigned,
including teachers serving as certificated staff mentors pursuant to
Section 44560.
(c) The capacity of the school districts included in the
application to provide mentoring support and assistance to intern
teachers.
(d) The quality of the instruction, support, and assessment that
will be available to interns, as evidenced by the response of the
applicant to the commission's standards of quality and effectiveness
for preparation programs.
(e) The cost-effectiveness of the program.

44386. (a) From funds appropriated for the purposes of this
article, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing shall award
incentive grants to qualifying school districts or county offices of
education. Each school district or county office of education that
receives a grant shall provide matching funds from available sources
in an amount equal to 50 percent of the cost of the alternative
certification program. Grants shall be awarded by the commission for
the remaining 50 percent of the cost of the alternative certification
program, but in no event shall the grant amount awarded to a school
district or county office of education exceed two thousand five
hundred dollars ($2,500) per intern per year, except that the
commission may require a lesser local contribution, or provide a
larger grant per intern per year, in hardship cases.
(b) Participants in a district intern program conducted pursuant
to Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 44325) or in an intern
program conducted pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section
44450) of Chapter 3, who have received a preliminary credential and
who are receiving funding for participating in an induction program
pursuant to Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 44279.1) are not
eligible for funding under this section.

44387. (a) From funds appropriated for purposes of this section,
the commission may award increased funding, in addition to incentive
grants awarded pursuant to Section 44386, to a school district or
county office of education that agrees to enhance internship programs
as provided in subdivision (b) and to address the distribution of
teacher interns as required in subdivision (c).
(b) To qualify for increased intern program funding pursuant to
this section, a school district or county office of education shall
do all of the following:
(1) Provide teacher interns with the greater of (A) 120 hours of
intensive preservice training focused on the teaching of English
language learners, or (B) 40 hours of the preservice training in
addition to all other required training, including, but not limited
to, training required pursuant to Sections 44253.3, 44253.4, and
44253.10. The preservice training shall be completed before an intern
teacher may provide instructional services.
(2) Provide all teacher interns with 40 hours of classroom
observation, supervision, assistance, and assessment by one or more
experienced teachers who possess valid certification to teach at the
same grade level and the same subject matter and who are employed by
the school district or county office of education, are assigned to
assist the intern at the schoolsite, and, to the extent possible, are
assigned to teach at the same schoolsite as the intern who is being
assisted.
(3) Maintain a ratio of one experienced teacher to no more than
five teacher interns at the same schoolsite.
(c) To continue to receive increased intern program funding
pursuant to this section, commencing with the receipt of funding for
a second year, a school district or county office of education shall
show annually to the commission that no high-priority school, as
described in Section 52055.605, will have a higher percentage of
teacher interns than the districtwide average of teacher interns at a
school in that year.
(d) Increased funding up to a total of three thousand five hundred
dollars ($3,500) per intern, per year, may be awarded by the
commission to a school district or county office of education that
meets the requirements of this section.
(e) Participants in an alternative certification program pursuant
to this article, a district intern program conducted pursuant to
Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 44325), or an intern program
conducted pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 44450) of
Chapter 3, who have received a preliminary credential and who are
generating funding for participating in an induction program pursuant
to Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 44279.1) are eligible to
generate enhanced funding under this section.
(f) When reporting to the Legislature and the Governor pursuant to
Section 44225.6, the commission shall include the number of school
districts and county offices of education receiving increased
funding, and the number of interns for whom increased funding is
claimed, pursuant to this section.