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AB-2401 Teacher preparation programs: planning grants and implementation or expansion grants.(2021-2022)

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Date Published: 06/08/2022 09:00 PM
AB2401:v97#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  June 08, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 19, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2401

Introduced by Assembly Member McCarty
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Lee)

February 17, 2022

An act to amend Section 44259.1 of the Education Code, relating to teacher credentialing.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2401, as amended, McCarty. Teacher preparation programs: planning grants and implementation or expansion grants.
Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials, certificates, and permits. Under existing law, the commission establishes standards for teacher preparation programs at regionally accredited institutions of higher education, as defined. Existing law authorizes a regionally accredited institution of higher education to offer a 4-year or 5-year integrated program of professional preparation that allows a student to earn a baccalaureate degree and a preliminary multiple or single subject teaching credential, or an education specialist instruction credential authorizing the holder to teach special education, including student teaching requirements, concurrently and within 4 or 5 years of study. Existing law requires an integrated program of professional preparation to provide opportunities for candidates to complete intensive field experiences, including student teaching, in public elementary and secondary schools early in the undergraduate sequence.
This bill instead would require an integrated program of professional preparation to provide opportunities for candidates to complete intensive field experiences, including student teaching, in public prekindergarten, kindergarten, or grades 1 to 12, inclusive, programs early in the undergraduate sequence.
Existing law requires integrated programs offered by the California State University be designed to concurrently lead to a preliminary multiple subject or single subject teaching credential, or an education specialist instruction credential authorizing the holder to teach special education, and a baccalaureate degree.
This bill would additionally authorize the California State University to meet the above-described requirement if the integrated program is designed to concurrently lead to an early childhood education specialist credential and a baccalaureate degree.
Existing law, contingent upon appropriation of funds in the annual Budget Act or another statute, requires the commission to develop and implement a program to award grants of up to $250,000 each to regionally accredited institutions of higher education for the development of transition plans to guide the creation of 4-year integrated programs of professional preparation, as provided.
This bill would revise and recast that program to instead require the commission to award planning grants of up to $250,000 each to regionally accredited institutions of higher education to develop plans for the creation of integrated programs of professional preparation that lead to more credentialed teachers in identified shortage fields, as provided. The bill would require the commission to award implementation or expansion grants of up to $500,000 each for regionally accredited institutions of higher education to develop new new, or expand existing, programs of professional preparation preparation, including programs related to the early childhood education specialist credential, or to establish a new partnership with a California community college, as provided. The bill would require the commission to give preference to proposals that commit to delivering a ratified articulation agreement for teacher preparation coursework between one or more California community colleges and one or more 4-year institutions, as provided. The bill would require a regionally accredited institution of higher education to provide program and outcome data for at least 5 years after receiving the implementation or expansion grant. The bill would require the commission to ensure that applicants for planning grants and implementation or expansion grants provide assurances related to supporting teacher preparation programs, as provided. The bill would authorize applicants that previously received planning grants, or implementation or expansion grants, to apply for new grants, contingent on sharing information on the previous grants and proposing expanded or new programs, as provided. The bill would make these grant programs contingent upon appropriation of funds in the annual Budget Act or another statute.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 44259.1 of the Education Code is amended to read:

44259.1.
 (a) (1) An integrated program of professional preparation shall enable candidates for teaching credentials to engage in professional preparation, concurrently with subject matter preparation, while completing baccalaureate degrees at regionally accredited institutions of higher education. An integrated program shall provide opportunities for candidates to complete intensive field experiences, including student teaching, in public prekindergarten, kindergarten, or grades 1 to 12, inclusive, programs early in the undergraduate sequence. The development and implementation of an integrated program shall be based on intensive collaboration among subject matter departments and education units within regionally accredited institutions of higher education and local public elementary and secondary school districts.
(2) A regionally accredited institution of higher education may offer a four-year or five-year integrated program of professional preparation that allows a student to earn a baccalaureate degree and a preliminary multiple or single subject teaching credential, or an education specialist instruction credential authorizing the holder to teach special education, including student teaching requirements, concurrently and within four or five years of study.
(3) The commission shall encourage regionally accredited institutions of higher education to offer integrated programs of professional preparation that follow the guidelines developed pursuant to this section. In approving integrated programs, the commission shall not compromise or reduce its standards of subject matter preparation pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 44310) or its standards of professional preparation pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 44259.
(4) The commission shall, as part of its accreditation process, collect information about integrated programs of professional preparation, including which regionally accredited institutions of higher education offer integrated programs of professional preparation and the number and type of credentials the programs produce.
(b) (1) Commencing with the 2005–06 school year, an integrated program offered by the California State University shall be designed to concurrently lead to a preliminary multiple subject or single subject teaching credential, an early childhood education specialist credential, or an education specialist instruction credential authorizing the holder to teach special education, and a baccalaureate degree. Recommendation for each shall be contingent upon satisfactory completion of the requirements for each.
(2) By July 1, 2004, the Chancellor of the California State University, in consultation with California State University faculty members, shall develop a framework defining appropriate balance for an integrated program of general education, subject matter preparation, and professional education courses, for both lower division and upper division students, including an appropriate range of units to be taken in professional education courses. In developing the framework, the Chancellor of the California State University and California State University faculty members shall consult with the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges on matters related to the effective and efficient use of, and appropriate role for, lower division coursework in an integrated program.
(c) (1) By January 1, 2005, the Chancellor of the California State University and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges shall collaboratively ensure that both of the following occur:
(A) Lower division coursework completed by a community college student transferring to a California State University integrated program is articulated with the corresponding coursework of the California State University.
(B) The articulated community college lower division coursework is accepted as the equivalent to the coursework offered to students who enter that integrated program as freshman students.
(2) Commencing with the 2005–06 school year, each campus of the California State University shall invite the community colleges in its region that send significant numbers of transfer students to that campus to enter into articulation agreements. These articulation agreements shall be based on a fully transferable education curriculum that is developed pursuant to the framework developed under paragraph (2) of subdivision (b). Approval of one or more of the articulation agreements shall enable the coursework of a community college student to be accepted as the equivalent to the coursework offered to students who enter that integrated program as freshman students.
(d) A postbaccalaureate program of professional preparation may only be offered by a regionally accredited institution of higher education. These programs shall enable candidates for teaching credentials to commence and complete professional preparation after they have completed baccalaureate degrees at regionally accredited institutions of higher education. The development and implementation of a postbaccalaureate program of professional preparation shall be based on intensive collaboration among the regionally accredited institutions of higher education and local public elementary and secondary school districts.
(e) (1) (A) The commission shall develop and implement a program to award, on a competitive basis, planning grants of up to two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) each to regionally accredited institutions of higher education for the development of plans to guide the creation of four-year integrated programs of professional preparation, including student teaching, that lead to more credentialed teachers to teach in the shortage fields identified in clause (i) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2).
(B) A regionally accredited institution of higher education awarded a planning grant under this paragraph may use the grant funds to create a new four-year integrated program of professional preparation or to adapt an existing integrated program of professional preparation to a four-year integrated program of professional preparation.
(C) A regionally accredited institution of higher education awarded a planning grant under this paragraph may use grant funds for any proper purpose in support of planning for a four-year integrated program of professional preparation, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(i) To provide faculty release time to redesign existing courses.
(ii) To provide stipends for program coordinators to assist in collaboration with subject-matter professors and pedagogy professors.
(iii) To create summer courses for students in a four-year integrated program of professional preparation.
(iv) To recruit individuals for participation as students in four-year integrated programs of professional preparation.
(2) (A) The commission shall develop and implement a program to award, on a competitive basis, implementation or expansion grants of up to five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) each to regionally accredited institutions of higher education for any of the following purposes:
(i) Developing a new integrated program of professional preparation as specified in subparagraph (C).
(ii) Establishing a new partnership with California community colleges to create four-year integrated programs of professional preparation. The commission shall give preference to proposals that commit to delivering a ratified articulation agreement for teacher preparation coursework between one or more California community colleges and one or more four-year institutions that have commission-approved teacher preparation programs.
(B) The commission shall conduct outreach to eligible institutions to encourage applications to develop programs in the shortage areas identified in clause (i) of subparagraph (C), and support institutions that need assistance in developing programs in these shortage areas that meet the commission’s criteria.
(C) The commission shall award the one-time grants pursuant to subparagraph (A) for proposals to establish new integrated programs of professional preparation that support either any of the following:
(i) Producing teachers in the designated shortage fields of special education, bilingual education, science, computer science, technology, engineering, mathematics, transitional kindergarten, or kindergarten.
(ii) Partnering with a California community college to create a four-year integrated program of professional preparation. The commission shall give preference to proposals that commit to delivering a ratified articulation agreement for teacher preparation coursework between one or more California community colleges and one or more four-year institutions that have commission-approved teacher preparation programs.
(iii) Developing integrated programs of professional preparation for the early childhood education specialist credential.
(D) A regionally accredited institution of higher education awarded a grant under this paragraph may use the grant funds to create a new four-year integrated program of professional preparation or to adapt an existing integrated program of professional preparation to a four-year integrated program of professional preparation.
(E) A regionally accredited institution of higher education awarded a grant under this paragraph may use grant funds for any proper purpose in support of implementation or expansion of a four-year integrated program of professional preparation, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(i) To provide faculty release time to redesign existing courses.
(ii) To provide stipends for program coordinators to assist in collaboration with subject-matter professors and pedagogy professors.
(iii) To create summer courses for students in a four-year integrated program of professional preparation.
(iv) To recruit individuals for participation as students in four-year integrated programs of professional preparation.
(F) A regionally accredited institution of higher education awarded a grant under this paragraph may use the grant funds for any purpose that supports the development, implementation, or expansion of an integrated program of professional preparation for the early childhood education specialist credential, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(i) To provide faculty release time to redesign existing courses.
(ii) To provide stipends for program coordinators to assist in collaboration with subject-matter professors and pedagogy professors.

(F)

(G) As a condition of the receipt of an implementation or expansion grant, a regionally accredited institution of higher education shall provide to the commission program and outcome data for at least five years after receiving the grant. The information shall include program design and features, the number of graduates, the number and type of credentials earned, the time taken to earn a degree and credential, and any other information the commission may require for purposes of documenting the effect of the grant and identifying effective practices in program design and implementation.
(3) The commission shall require applicants for planning grants under paragraph (1) and for implementation or expansion grants under paragraph (2) to provide assurances of all of the following:
(A) A commitment to implement a planned integrated program of professional preparation.
(B) A plan for recruitment and retention of candidates for educator shortage areas in subjects identified in clause (i) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) in teacher preparation programs, including integrated programs of professional preparation.
(C) Coordination with existing sources of candidate support, such as the Golden State Teacher Grant Program established pursuant to Article 5.1 (commencing with Section 69617) of Chapter 2 of Part 42 of Division 5 of Title 3, and other forms of financial aid.
(D) Demonstrated commitment to expand enrollment in, and access to, teacher preparation programs, including enrollment in programs of integrated professional preparation.
(4) A regionally accredited institution of higher education that previously received a planning grant or an implementation or expansion grant may apply for a new grant, if the institution reports on the implementation timeline and status of the program established with the grant funding previously received and proposes any of the following:
(A) Expansion of integrated program capacity.
(B) New integrated programs in other credentialing fields.
(C) New California community college partnerships.
(5) The commission may use up to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) of moneys appropriated for purposes of this subdivision to administer the grants described in paragraphs (1) and (2), pursuant to Department of Finance approval.
(6) The commission shall annually report to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature on any grants funded pursuant to this subdivision until funds are fully expended. In addition to the data required to be reported to the commission in subparagraph (F) of paragraph (2), the report shall also include data on community college partnerships and institutions progress relative to the assurances made pursuant to paragraph (3).
(7) The requirements of this subdivision are contingent upon the appropriation of funds for purposes of this subdivision in the annual Budget Act or another statute.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate funds for the competitive grant programs described in subdivision (e). It is the intent of the Legislature that 40 percent of the total appropriation for this purpose would be designated for planning grants and 60 percent of the appropriation would be designated for implementation or expansion grants.