SECTIONS 44560-44562 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 44560-44562

44560. (a) The Certificated Staff Mentoring Program is hereby
established for the purpose of encouraging excellent, experienced
teachers to teach in staff priority schools and to assist teacher
interns and beginning teachers during their induction and first years
of teaching.
(b) The Superintendent shall apportion funds appropriated for
purposes of this program to participating school districts and shall
determine the amount to be allocated, based on the number of
experienced teachers eligible to receive stipends. The total amount
allocated under this article shall not exceed the total amount
appropriated for the purposes of this article in the annual Budget
Act.

44561. (a) A school district that maintains classes in kindergarten
or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, may apply for reimbursement
under this article if it meets the conditions of subdivision (b).
(b) To be eligible for funding under this article, a school
district must agree to do all of the following:
(1) Provide an annual salary stipend to each experienced mentor
teacher that agrees to teach in a staff priority school, as defined
in subdivision (d), and meets the criteria and performs services in
accordance with Section 44562.
(2) Assure that each experienced teacher receiving a stipend as a
certificated staff mentor is providing mentoring and support services
first to candidates participating in alternative certification
programs pursuant to Article 11 (commencing with Section 44380) of
Chapter 2 and then to beginning teachers participating in a Beginning
Teacher Support and Assessment program pursuant to Article 4.5
(commencing with Section 44279.1) of Chapter 2. A school district may
assign teachers who serve as support providers in programs
established pursuant to Article 11 (commencing with Section 44380) of
Chapter 2 or Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 44279.1) of
Chapter 2 as certificated staff mentors.
(3) Assure that the experienced teacher has received training to
serve as a mentor or has served previously in a mentor capacity in
programs for new teachers, including, but not limited to, induction
and university or district intern programs.
(4) Assure that the experienced teacher will have adequate time
and material resources to provide assistance to beginning teachers as
specified in subdivision (a) of Section 44562.
(c) The annual allocation to a school district under this article
shall be a reimbursement to the district for the cost of stipends
actually provided to experienced mentor teachers that meet the
criteria and perform services in accordance with Section 44562. In
addition, a school district receiving reimbursement of stipend costs
shall be entitled to an amount equal to 5 percent of the total
stipend reimbursement for administrative costs.
(d) For purposes of this article, "staff priority school" means a
school that meets either of the following conditions:
(1) A school that has an aggregate Academic Performance Index,
established pursuant to Section 52052, score that was at or below the
30th percentile relative to other public schools in the state in any
of the five previous school years.
(2) A juvenile court school, county community school, or community
day school operated by a county office of education.

44562. (a) To be eligible for a stipend under this article, an
experienced teacher must meet all of the following criteria:
(1) The experienced teacher must have a professional clear
credential that would allow the teacher to instruct at the grade
level and in the subject matter to which the beginning teachers or
interns that the experienced teacher is assisting are assigned.
(2) The experienced teacher must have no less than seven years of
recent experience instructing at one or more of the grade levels and
in the subject matter to which the beginning teachers or interns that
the experienced teacher is assisting are assigned.
(3) The experienced teacher must teach in a staff priority school
and agree to provide assistance to at least one, but not more than
five, intern teachers or beginning teachers, for a period of at least
five years.
(4) The experienced teacher must meet the needs of the school and
have demonstrated ability to foster pupil achievement and learning,
as determined by the school principal.
(b) An annual stipend for an experienced teacher who meets the
criteria of subdivision (a) and agrees to teach in a staff priority
school shall be six thousand dollars ($6,000) per year, or another
amount as specified in the Budget Act for the fiscal year in which
the stipend is provided to the teacher.