SECTIONS 44395-44399 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 44395-44399

44395. (a) The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
Certification Incentive Program is hereby established to award grants
to school districts for the purpose of providing awards to teachers
who are employed by school districts or charter schools, are assigned
to teach in California public schools, and have attained
certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching
Standards. Awards shall be granted to the extent that funds have been
appropriated for this purpose in the annual Budget Act.
(1) Commencing July 1, 2000, any teacher who has attained
certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching
Standards is eligible to receive an award of up to twenty thousand
dollars ($20,000) if he or she agrees to teach at a high-priority
school for at least four years. Teaching service before July 1, 2000,
may not be counted towards satisfaction of this four-year
commitment.
(2) Awards granted pursuant to this subdivision shall be disbursed
in annual payments of five thousand dollars ($5,000) over a
four-year period. The annual payment shall be made upon completion of
the school year, and upon approval of a district-certified
application pursuant to the guidelines of subdivision (c) of Section
44396.
(b) The department shall administer the awards authorized by
subdivision (a), and shall develop, in consultation with the
Commission on Teacher Credentialing, certification and award
information, criteria, procedures, and applications, all of which
shall be submitted to the State Board of Education for approval.
Amendments requested by the State Board of Education to that
information, criteria, procedures, and applications shall be made
before the dissemination of the material and the granting of any
award under this article.
(c) The department shall distribute the materials described in
subdivision (b) to school districts. Each school district is strongly
encouraged to ensure that teachers employed by the district or by
charter schools affiliated with the district are informed about the
program and can acquire the necessary application and information
materials.
(d) School districts are encouraged to provide for adequate
release time and support for a teacher to complete the certification
process. As a condition to providing that release time and support, a
school district may require that a teacher serve in a mentor teacher
capacity.
(e) For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(1) "School district" means school district, county board of
education, county superintendent of schools, a state operated
program, including a special school, or an education program
providing instruction in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12,
inclusive, that is offered by a state agency, including the
California Youth Authority and the State Department of Developmental
Services.
(2) "High-priority school" means a school in the bottom half of
all schools based on the Academic Performance Index rankings
established pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 52056. This
designation shall be determined as of the date of the agreement by
the teacher described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).

44395.5. For the purposes of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of
Section 44395, "assigned to teach" as used in subdivision (a) of that
section may include, but is not limited to, a teacher leadership
role as a peer assistance and review coach, mentor, or other teacher
support provider if the position does not require an administrative
credential. In order to be eligible for an award pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 44395, a teacher shall be
assigned to teach for at least 50 percent of a full-time position.

44396. (a) (1) To the extent that funds are available for that
purpose, a teacher who meets the criteria approved by the state board
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 44395 is eligible and may
apply for an award by following the procedures and instructions
developed pursuant to that subdivision.
(2) A teacher who attained certification from the National Board
for Professional Teaching Standards before January 1, 1999, and who
was employed by a school district or charter school and assigned to
teach in a California public school on the date of certification may
apply for an award authorized pursuant to this article if he or she
meets all the other requirements for that award specified by this
article. For awards pursuant to this subdivision, teaching service
before July 1, 2000, may not be counted toward satisfaction of the
teacher's four-year agreement to teach in a high-priority school.
(b) Teachers shall submit their applications for an award
authorized by this article to the school district employing them.
Teachers employed by a charter school shall submit their application
through the school district granting the school's charter.
(c) The department shall approve applications submitted by school
districts that meet the criteria established pursuant to subdivision
(b) of Section 44395. To the extent funds are available, the
department shall apportion funds to the appropriate school districts
in the amount of the award authorized by Section 44395 for each
approved application. The school district shall use funds apportioned
to it pursuant to this subdivision to provide the amount of the
award authorized by subdivision (a) of Section 44395 to each teacher
whose application is approved.

44398. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of law except Sections
44332.6, 44340, 44346.1, and 44830.1, a person who is licensed to
teach or provide services in the public schools of a state other than
California and who is certified by the National Board for
Professional Teaching Standards shall be issued a clear teaching or
services credential authorizing teaching or service in the area, as
determined by the commission, in which the person has received
national certification.
(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede the
requirements of Section 44253.3.

44399. Notwithstanding any provision of law, except Sections
44332.6, 44340, 44346.1, and 44830.1, the commission shall issue a
clear credential to the holder of a preliminary teaching or services
credential who attains certification from the National Board for
Professional Teaching Standards. The clear credential issued pursuant
to this section shall authorize the holder to teach or provide
services in the area that the commission determines is equivalent to
the certificate field in which the teacher or services provider
received certification from the National Board for Professional
Teaching Standards.