SECTIONS 45350-45356 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 45350-45356

45350. The purposes of this article include the following:
(a) To enhance the teaching of reading, language arts,
mathematics, social science, science, and other basic academic
subjects to general education pupils in grades 1 to 6, inclusive.
(b) To begin to reduce the impact of large classes in grades 1 to
6, inclusive, through the use of trained teacher assistants,
operating within the classroom of a certificated teacher under the
direction of that teacher.
(c) To develop, in persons who want to be teacher assistants,
competency in specific academic subjects that are part of the
curriculum in grades 1 to 6, inclusive, and in child development
theory. In order to qualify as a teacher assistant for purposes of
this article, a person shall meet both of the following conditions:
(1) Successful completion of a two-year course of study at a
California community college, pursuant to which the applicant has
been awarded an Associate of Arts, Teacher Assistant degree.
(2) Passage of an examination developed and administered for this
purpose by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

45351. (a) No later than June 30, 1990, the Office of the
Chancellor of the California Community Colleges shall issue requests
for proposal from community college districts for the establishment
of an Associate of Arts, Teacher Assistant program. The requests for
proposal shall describe the requirements set forth in subdivision
(c), and shall be developed in consultation with representatives of
the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the President of the
University of California, the Chancellor of the California State
University, the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the
Executive Director of the California Postsecondary Education
Commission, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the statewide
Academic Senate for Community Colleges, and the President of the
Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. That program
shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, the two-year course
of study described in Section 45350 and the awarding of an Associate
of Arts, Teacher Assistant degree.
(b) The chancellor shall select two community college districts
from separate geographic areas of this state for the purposes of this
section, and shall allocate to each of those districts for the
1990-91 school year a planning grant of not less than twenty-five
thousand dollars ($25,000).
(c) Each of the community college districts selected and funded
under this section shall do all of the following:
(1) Implement the Associate of Arts, Teacher Assistant program in
one or more community colleges, commencing with the 1991-92 school
year.
(2) Ensure that each student enrolled in the program shall work
under the direct supervision of a credentialed classroom teacher.
(3) Design the program to ensure that credit hours earned under
the program at any community college are transferable to teacher
preparation programs conducted at California State University
campuses in the same region as that community college.
(4) No later than October 1, 1993, collect, and make available to
the California Postsecondary Education Commission for purposes of the
evaluation described in Section 45355, the following data for the
1991-92 and 1992-93 school years:
(A) The number of persons who enrolled in the program, and the
number of persons who completed the program.
(B) Demographic information concerning those persons.
(C) The number and percentage of graduates of the program who pass
the examination described in subdivision (c) of Section 45350.
(D) The number and percentage of graduates of the program who have
obtained employment as teacher assistants, as reported pursuant to
Section 45353.

45352. No later than June 30, 1991, the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing shall adopt policies, procedures, and regulations as it
deems necessary and appropriate for the administration of an
examination pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 45350.

45353. Teacher assistants, as described in this article, shall not
be deemed to be teachers for any purpose under this code.

45354. The Commission on Teacher Credentialing shall levy a fee for
the issuance and renewal of teacher assistant licenses. The fee for
the issuance or renewal of the teacher assistant license shall be
twenty-five dollars ($25). In subsequent years, the Commission on
Teacher Credentialing may set a different fee, but in no case shall
the fee exceed forty-five dollars ($45) without the express approval
of the Legislature.

45355. The Department of Finance shall determine the amount of the
examination fee that would be sufficient to generate the revenues
necessary to maintain and administer the examination described in
Section 45350.

45356. The State Department of Education shall, in the 1991-92 and
1992-93 school years, and thereafter as it may deem necessary,
coordinate workshops between the community college districts that
operate Associate of Arts, Teacher Assistant programs, the California
State University, and elementary schools located within those
community college districts, regarding changes in instructional
methodology that may be necessary to ensure the effective use of
teacher assistants.