SECTIONS 44500-44508 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 44500-44508

44500. (a) There is hereby established the California Peer
Assistance and Review Program for Teachers. The governing board of a
school district and the exclusive representative of the certificated
employees in the school district may develop and implement a program
authorized by this article that meets local conditions and conforms
with the principles set forth in subdivision (b).
(b) The following principles, at a minimum, shall be included in a
locally developed program authorized by this article:
(1) A teacher participant shall be a permanent employee in a
school district with 250 or greater units of average daily attendance
or a permanent or probationary employee in a school district with
fewer than 250 units of average daily attendance and volunteer to
participate in the program or be referred for participation in the
program as a result of an evaluation performed pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 44664. In addition, teachers receiving
assistance may be referred pursuant to a collectively bargained
agreement.
(2) Performance goals for an individual teacher shall be in
writing, clearly stated, aligned with pupil learning, and consistent
with Section 44662.
(3) Assistance and review shall include multiple observations of a
teacher during periods of classroom instruction.
(4) The program shall expect and strongly encourage a cooperative
relationship between the consulting teacher and the principal with
respect to the process of peer assistance and review.
(5) The school district shall provide sufficient staff development
activities to assist a teacher to improve his or her teaching skills
and knowledge.
(6) The program shall have a monitoring component with a written
record.
(7) The final evaluation of a teacher's participation in the
program shall be made available for placement in the personnel file
of the teacher receiving assistance.

44501. A consulting teacher participating in a program operated
pursuant to this article shall meet locally determined criteria and
each of the following qualifications:
(a) The consulting teacher shall be a credentialed classroom
teacher with permanent status or, in a school district with an
average daily attendance of less than 250 pupils, a credentialed
classroom teacher who has completed at least three consecutive school
years as an employee of the school district in a position requiring
certification qualifications.
(b) The consulting teacher shall have substantial recent
experience in classroom instruction.
(c) The consulting teacher shall have demonstrated exemplary
teaching ability, as indicated by, among other things, effective
communication skills, subject matter knowledge, and mastery of a
range of teaching strategies necessary to meet the needs of pupils in
different contexts.

44502. (a) The governance structure of a program designed pursuant
to this article shall include a joint teacher administrator peer
review panel that shall select consulting teachers, review peer
review reports prepared by consulting teachers, and make
recommendations to the governing board of a school district regarding
participants in the program, including forwarding to the governing
board the names of individuals who, after sustained assistance, are
not able to demonstrate satisfactory improvement.
(b) The majority of the panel shall be composed of certificated
classroom teachers chosen to serve on the panel by other certificated
classroom teachers. The remainder of the panel shall be composed of
school administrators chosen to serve on the panel by the school
district.
(c) The panel's procedures for selecting consulting teachers, at a
minimum, shall require the following:
(1) Consulting teachers shall be selected by the majority vote of
the panel.
(2) The selection process shall include provisions for classroom
observation of the candidates for consulting teacher by the panel.
(d) The panel shall also annually evaluate the impact of the
district's peer assistance and review program in order to improve the
program. This evaluation may include, but is not limited to,
interviews or surveys of the program participants. The panel may
submit recommendations for improvement of the program to the
governing board of the school district and to the exclusive
representative of the certificated employees in the school district,
if the certificated employees in the district are represented by an
exclusive representative.

44503. (a) The governing board of a school district that accepts
state funds for purposes of this article agrees to negotiate the
development and implementation of the program with the exclusive
representative of the certificated employees in the school district,
if the certificated employees in the district are represented by an
exclusive representative. In a school district in which the
certificated employees are not represented, the school district shall
develop a Peer Assistance and Review Program for Teachers consistent
with this article in order to be eligible to receive funding under
this article.
(b) Functions performed pursuant to this article by certificated
employees employed in a bargaining unit position shall not constitute
either management or supervisory functions as defined by
subdivisions (g) and (m) of Section 3540.1 of the Government Code.
(c) Teachers who provide assistance and review shall have the same
protection from liability and access to appropriate defense as other
public school employees pursuant to Division 3.6 (commencing with
Section 810) of Title 1 of the Government Code.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that school districts be
allowed to combine, by mutual agreement, their programs of peer
assistance and review with those of other school districts.
(e) Not more than 5 percent of the funds received by a school
district for the Peer Assistance and Review Program for Teachers may
be expended for administrative expenses. For the purposes of this
article, administrative expenses shall include expenditures for the
personnel costs of program administration and coordination, the cost
of consulting teacher selection, and indirect costs associated with
the Peer Assistance and Review Program for Teachers.

44504. (a) Except as provided in Section 44505, the California Peer
Assistance and Review Program for Teachers shall become fully
operational on July 1, 2001, on which date it shall completely
replace the California Mentor Teacher Program established pursuant to
Chapter 1302 of the Statutes of 1983 and set forth in Article 4
(commencing with Section 44490). This article is applicable to all
school districts that elect to receive state funds for the California
Peer Assistance and Review Program for Teachers. Commencing with the
2001-02 fiscal year, funding shall only be made available for
purposes authorized by this article. A school district that elects to
participate in the program established pursuant to this article
shall certify to the Superintendent of Public Instruction by August
1, 2001, that it has implemented a Peer Assistance and Review Program
for Teachers pursuant to this article.
(b) A school district that does not elect to participate in the
program authorized under this article by July 1, 2001, is not
eligible for any apportionment, allocation, or other funding from an
appropriation for the program authorized pursuant to this article or
for any apportionments, allocations, or other funding from funding
for local assistance appropriated pursuant to Budget Act Item
6110-231-0001, funding appropriated for the Administrator Training
and Evaluation Program set forth in Article 3 (commencing with
Section 44681) of Chapter 3.1 of Part 25, from an appropriation for
the Instructional Time and Staff Development Reform Program as set
forth in Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 44579) of Chapter 3, or
from an appropriation for school development plans as set forth in
Article 1 (commencing with Section 44670.1) of Chapter 3.1 and the
Superintendent of Public Instruction shall not apportion, allocate,
or otherwise provide any funds to the district pursuant to those
programs.
(c) Commencing February 1, 2002, a school district that elects not
to participate in the program authorized under this article shall
report annually at a regularly scheduled meeting of the governing
board of the school district on the rationale for not participating
in the program.

44505. (a) Between July 1, 1999, and June 30, 2000, a school
district may notify the Superintendent of Public Instruction that it
plans to implement, commencing July 1, 2000, a Peer Assistance and
Review Program for Teachers pursuant to this article. Upon receipt of
the notification by the school district, the Superintendent of
Public Instruction shall apportion to the school district two
thousand eight hundred dollars ($2,800) or an amount equal to the
number of mentor teachers that the state calculated the school
district is entitled to in the 1999-2000 fiscal year pursuant to
Article 4 (commencing with Section 44490) multiplied by two thousand
eight hundred dollars ($2,800), whichever is greater.
(b) A school district that notifies the Superintendent of Public
Instruction that it plans to implement a Peer Assistance and Review
Program for Teachers by July 1, 2000, pursuant to subdivision (a),
shall certify to the Superintendent of Public Instruction that it has
implemented a program by August 1, 2000. In addition to the
certification, the Superintendent of Public Instruction may request a
copy of the signature page of the collective bargaining agreement
implementing the program required pursuant to subdivision (a) of
Section 44503. A school district that fails to provide the required
certification is not eligible to receive an apportionment for the
Peer Assistance and Review Program for Teachers pursuant to
subdivision (a) of this section or subdivision (a) of Section 44498
in the 2000-01 school year, or in any year thereafter. The school
district, however, may be eligible to receive an apportionment for
the Peer Assistance and Review Program for Teachers pursuant to
subdivision (c) of this section and subdivision (a) of Section 44498
in the 2000-01 school year, and in each year thereafter, if the
school district complies with the requirements set forth in
subdivisions (c) and (d).
(c) Between July 1, 2000, and May 31, 2001, a school district may
notify the Superintendent of Public Instruction that it plans to
implement, commencing July 1, 2001, a Peer Assistance and Review
Program for Teachers pursuant to this article. On or before June 29,
2001, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall apportion to
every school district that provides this notification an amount equal
to the number of mentor teachers that the state calculated the
school district is entitled to in the 1999-2000 school year pursuant
to Article 4 (commencing with Section 44490) times a maximum of one
thousand dollars ($1,000). Any school district that provides this
notification shall receive at least the amount that would be received
pursuant to this section by a school district with one state funded
mentor in the 2000-01 school year pursuant to Article 4 (commencing
with Section 44490).
(d) A school district that notifies the Superintendent of Public
Instruction that it plans to implement a Peer Assistance and Review
Program for Teachers by July 1, 2001, pursuant to subdivision (c),
shall certify to the Superintendent of Public Instruction that it has
implemented a program by July 1, 2001. In addition to the
certification, the Superintendent of Public Instruction may request a
copy of the signature page of the collective bargaining agreement
implementing the program required pursuant to subdivision (a) of
Section 44503. A school district that fails to provide the required
certification is not eligible for any apportionment for the Peer
Assistance and Review Program for Teachers received pursuant to
subdivision (c) of this section, and subdivision (a) of Section 44498
in the 2001-02 school year, or in any year thereafter.
(e) The funding provided pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (c) of
this section and subdivision (a) of Section 44498 shall be provided
to eligible school districts in each year that the school operates a
Peer Assistance and Review Program for Teachers.
(f) The maximum amount of funds available for apportionment to
school districts by the Superintendent of Public Instruction for
allocation pursuant to subdivision (c) shall be the amount
appropriated pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 6 of the act
adding this section, minus any funds apportioned by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction to school districts pursuant to
subdivision (a) as of June 30, 2000.
(g) A school district may use funds apportioned pursuant to this
section for activities necessary to implement the Peer Assistance and
Review Program for Teachers.

44506. (a) The state funding for this article subsequent to the
1999-2000 fiscal year is subject to an appropriation in the annual
Budget Act.
(b) A school district that receives funds for purposes of this
article also may expend those funds for any of the following
purposes:
(1) The Marian Bergeson Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment
System as set forth in Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 44279.1)
of Chapter 2.
(2) A district intern program as set forth in Article 7.5
(commencing with Section 44325) of Chapter 2.
(3) Professional development or other educational activities
previously provided pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section
44490) of Chapter 3, as it read prior to January 1, 2002.
(4) A program that supports the training and development of new
teachers.
(c) (1) The Superintendent shall determine a base funding unit
rate for the California Peer Assistance and Review Program for
Teachers that is equal to the total amount provided for the
California Mentor Teacher Program in subdivision (b) of Section 6 of
Chapter 4 of the Statutes of 1999 for the First Extraordinary
Session, divided by the total number of mentor teachers that the
state calculated the school district is entitled to in the 1999-2000
fiscal year.
(2) The Superintendent annually shall apportion to each school
district that certified implementation of the Peer Assistance and
Review Program for Teachers pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
44505, an amount equal to 5 percent of the prior year count of
certificated classroom teachers employed by the school district,
multiplied by a rate that equals the sum of (i) the base amount per
funding unit as calculated in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c),
adjusted annually pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 42238.1, and
(ii) two thousand eight hundred dollars ($2,800); adjusted annually
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 42238.1.
(3) The Superintendent annually shall apportion to each school
district that certified implementation of a Peer Assistance and
Review Program for Teachers pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section
44505, an amount equal to 5 percent of the prior year count of
certificated classroom teachers employed by the school district,
multiplied by a rate which equals the sum of (i) the base amount per
funding unit as calculated in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c),
adjusted annually pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 42238.1, and
(ii) the per mentor teacher unit amount provided to the district
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 44505, adjusted annually
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 42238.1.
(4) In paragraphs (2) and (3), 5 percent of the certificated
classroom teachers employed by the district shall be rounded to the
next whole integer.
(5) If at the end of a fiscal year, an amount of funds available
for purposes of the Peer Assistance and Review Program remain
unallocated, the Superintendent shall use the unallocated amount to
increase the base funding rate calculated under paragraph (1) for the
succeeding fiscal year.

44507. Subject to the availability of funding in the annual Budget
Act, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall contract with an
independent evaluator on or before December 15, 2002, to prepare a
comprehensive evaluation of the implementation, impact, cost, and
benefit of the California Peer Assistance and Review Program for
Teachers. The evaluation shall be delivered to the Legislature, the
Governor, and interested parties on or before January 1, 2004. As a
condition of receiving funding, school districts implementing
programs pursuant to this article shall provide data, as requested by
the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to provide baseline
information for the evaluation.

44508. For purposes of this article, "school district" includes a
county office of education.