Code Section Group

Education Code - EDC

TITLE 2. ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION [33000 - 65001]

  ( Title 2 enacted by Stats. 1976, Ch. 1010. )

DIVISION 3. LOCAL ADMINISTRATION [35000 - 45500]

  ( Division 3 enacted by Stats. 1976, Ch. 1010. )

PART 25. EMPLOYEES [44000 - 45500]

  ( Part 25 enacted by Stats. 1976, Ch. 1010. )

CHAPTER 2. Teacher Credentialing [44200 - 44418]

  ( Heading of Chapter 2 amended by Stats. 1988, Ch. 1355, Sec. 2. )

ARTICLE 4.5. Marian Bergeson Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment System [44279.1 - 44279.7]
  ( Heading of Article 4.5 amended by Stats. 1998, Ch. 548, Sec. 7. )

44279.1.
  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that the beginning years of the career of a teacher are a critical time in which it is necessary that intensive professional development and assessment occur. The Legislature recognizes that the public invests heavily in the preparation of prospective teachers, and that more than one-half of all new teachers leave some California school districts after one or two years in the classroom. Intensive professional development and assessment are necessary to build on the preparation that precedes initial certification, to transform academic preparation into practical success in the classroom, to retain greater numbers of capable beginning teachers, and to remove novices who show little promise as teachers. It is the intent of the Legislature that the commission and the Superintendent develop and implement policies to govern the support and assessment of beginning teachers, as a condition for the professional certification of those teachers in the future.

(b) There is hereby established the California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment System, to be administered jointly by the commission and the Superintendent. In administering the system, the commission and the Superintendent shall approve the most cost-effective programs of support and assessment. The commission and the Superintendent also shall ensure that programs meet the Standards of Quality and Effectiveness for Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Programs adopted by the commission and that local programs support beginning teachers in meeting the competencies described in the California Standards for the Teaching Profession adopted by the commission. The system shall do all of the following:

(1) Provide an effective transition into the teaching career for first-year and second-year teachers in California.

(2) Improve the educational performance of pupils through improved training, information, and assistance for new teachers.

(3) Enable beginning teachers to be effective in teaching pupils who are culturally, linguistically, and academically diverse.

(4) Ensure the professional success and retention of new teachers.

(5) Ensure that a support provider provides intensive individualized support and assistance to each participating beginning teacher.

(6) Improve the rigor and consistency of individual teacher performance assessments and the usefulness of assessment results to teachers and decisionmakers.

(7) Establish an effective, coherent system of performance assessments that are based on the California Standards for the Teaching Profession adopted by the commission.

(8) Examine alternative ways in which the general public and the educational profession may be assured that new teachers who remain in teaching have attained acceptable levels of professional competence.

(9) Ensure that an individual induction plan is in place for each participating beginning teacher and is based on an ongoing assessment of the development of the beginning teacher.

(10) Ensure continuous program improvement through ongoing research, development, and evaluation.

(c) Participation in the system shall be voluntary for teachers, school districts, and county offices of education and participation by certificated employees shall not be made a condition of employment. The commission and the Superintendent shall adopt and implement criteria and standards for participation in the system, including criteria regarding the eligibility of teachers and standards of local program quality and intensity for schools, school districts, county offices of education, colleges, universities, and other educational and professional organizations. The criteria and standards shall be consistent with the purposes of the system.

(d) (1) For purposes of this article, unless the context otherwise requires, “beginning teacher” means a teacher with a valid California credential, as defined in Section 44259.

(2) For purposes of this article, “beginning teacher” does not include a teacher with a life or a clear teaching credential who returns to serve in a certificated teaching position.

(e) Subject to verification and approval by an induction program director, a beginning teacher shall not be required to demonstrate that an induction standard has been met, or complete an element of an approved induction program designed to assist a candidate in mastering a given standard, if the candidate previously met the induction standard while participating in a commission-approved preparation program.

(f) The Superintendent and the commission shall disseminate the California Standards for the Teaching Profession adopted by the commission to colleges, universities, school districts, county offices of education, and professional associations, who shall be encouraged to use the standards in efforts to improve teacher preparation and support programs. Performance assessments developed under this article shall be designed to provide useful, helpful feedback to beginning teachers and their support providers. That information shall not be used for employment-related evaluations, as a condition of employment, or as a basis for terminating employment.

(g) It is the intent of the Legislature that the commission and the Superintendent establish a statewide teacher induction program that supports locally designed, high-quality induction programs that provide individualized support and formative assessment for all participating beginning teachers as defined in subdivision (d). At the discretion of the local beginning teacher support and assessment system teacher induction program, funds allocated to a program on the basis of eligible beginning teachers may be used to provide support, assistance, and preparation services to other credential candidates who are in their first or second year of employment as a classroom teacher.

(h) This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Marian Bergeson Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment System.

(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 348, Sec. 2. (SB 941) Effective January 1, 2012.)

44279.2.
  

(a) The Superintendent and the commission shall jointly administer the California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment System pursuant to this chapter. In administering this section, the Superintendent and the commission shall provide or contract for the provision of all of the following:

(1) Establishing requirements for reviewing and approving teacher induction programs.

(2) Developing and administering a system for ensuring teacher induction program quality and effectiveness. For purposes of this section, “program effectiveness” means producing excellent program outcomes in relation to the purposes defined in subdivision (b) of Section 44279.1. For purposes of this section, “program quality” means excellence with respect to program factors, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Program goals.

(B) Design resources.

(C) Management, evaluation, and improvement of the program.

(D) School context and working conditions.

(E) Support and assessment services to each beginning teacher.

(3) Developing purposes and functions for reviewing and approving supplemental grants and standards for program clusters and program consultants, as defined pursuant to Section 44279.7.

(4) Improving and refining the formative assessment system.

(5) Improving and refining professional development materials and strategies for all personnel involved in implementing induction programs.

(6) Conducting and tracking research related to beginning teacher induction.

(7) Periodically evaluating the validity of the California Standards for the Teaching Profession adopted by the commission and the Standards of Quality and Effectiveness for Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program adopted by the commission and making changes to those documents, as necessary.

(b) As part of the California Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment System, the commission and the Superintendent shall establish requirements for local teacher induction programs.

(c) A school district or consortium of school districts may apply to the Superintendent for funding to establish a local teacher induction program pursuant to this section. From amounts appropriated for purposes of this section, the Superintendent shall allocate three thousand dollars ($3,000) for each beginning teacher participating in the program. That amount shall be adjusted each fiscal year by the inflation factor set forth in Section 42238.1. To be eligible to receive funding, a school district or consortium of school districts shall, at a minimum, meet all of the following requirements:

(1) Develop, implement, and evaluate teacher induction programs that meet the Quality and Effectiveness for Beginning Teacher Induction Program Standards adopted by the commission.

(2) Support beginning teachers in meeting the competencies described in the California Standards for the Teaching Profession adopted by the commission.

(3) Meet criteria for the cost-effective delivery of program services.

(4) From amounts received from local, state, or resources available for purposes of teacher induction programs, contribute not less than two thousand dollars ($2,000) for the costs of each beginning teacher served in the induction program.

(d) Teachers who have received their preliminary credential in a district intern program pursuant to Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 44325) or an intern program pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 44450) of Chapter 3 and who are participating in an induction program pursuant to this section are not eligible for funding pursuant to Article 11 (commencing with Section 44380) of Chapter 2.

(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 348, Sec. 3. (SB 941) Effective January 1, 2012.)

44279.25.
  

(a) By December 1, 2007, the Superintendent and the commission shall report to the Legislature and the Governor on the current state of the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment System. The report shall review the articulation of teacher preparation programs and teacher induction programs to eliminate duplicative requirements and, at a minimum, do all of the following:

(1) Recommend revisions to laws, regulations, or policies to eliminate duplicative requirements between teacher preparation and teacher induction programs, with particular attention paid to eliminating duplication between induction requirements and requirements for completion of state-approved alternative certification programs.

(2) Recommend revisions to the system to ensure that teacher credential candidates achieve teaching competence and programs use best practices to transition candidates from teacher preparation programs to induction programs.

(3) Recommend ways to ensure that beginning teachers receive direct assistance from experienced teachers who are familiar with the grade span, subject matter, and teaching and classroom management techniques appropriate to the teaching assignment of each beginning teacher.

(b) By July 1, 2008, the Superintendent and the commission shall review and revise, as necessary, the Standards of Quality and Effectiveness for Professional Teacher Induction Programs of March 2002 to ensure that these standards address the application of knowledge and skills previously acquired in a preliminary credential program and to remove any requirements or activities that require candidates to duplicate the acquisition of knowledge through coursework. This review shall include, but need not be limited to, all of the following:

(1) A review of formative assessment systems in use to ensure that the systems are appropriately flexible and may be adapted to reflect progress of individual candidates.

(2) A review of professional development provided to induction participants to ensure that it is not duplicative of coursework completed during teacher preparation.

(3) A review of new teacher support to ensure that the focus is on application and enhancement of skills and knowledge acquired in a preliminary credential program.

(4) Recommendations for program monitoring with respect to this subdivision.

(c) In consultation with the Superintendent, the commission shall revise the formative assessment system for beginning teachers, as necessary to ensure that related tasks and activities are aligned to the revised standards.

(d) The Superintendent and the commission shall identify effective practices and techniques and provide for the dissemination of these to local induction program providers.

(e) Immediately following the adoption of revised standards pursuant to subdivision (b), the commission shall review induction programs to determine whether local teacher induction programs are meeting standards of quality and effectiveness adopted pursuant to subdivision (b) and to assure greater program quality and consistency. The commission shall schedule regular reviews following the initial review of programs pursuant to this subdivision.

(f) The Superintendent and the commission shall ensure that teacher credential candidates are notified of the opportunity to choose an early completion option pursuant to Section 44468.

(g) It is the intent of the Legislature that funds appropriated in Provision 44 of Item 6110-001-0890 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2006 (Chapter 47 of the Statutes of 2006) be made available for reviews and preparation of the reports required pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b), and that the implementation of recommendations proceed immediately following the adoption of those reviews and reports.

(Added by Stats. 2006, Ch. 517, Sec. 23. Effective January 1, 2007.)

44279.3.
  

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the executive secretary of the commission and the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall recommend to the commission standards of beginning teachers’ support and performance, and an assessment process for verifying attainment of the performance standards, which shall be based on the results of the evaluation study required by Section 44279.2, as that section read on December 31, 1992.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the commission shall adopt and promulgate standards and requirements for earning the professional teaching credential pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 44225 in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. The proposed regulations shall be developed jointly with the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and shall be drafted in consultation with the panel established pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 44259.2.

It is the intent of the Legislature that the requirements of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 44225 be operative within six months of the commission’s adoption of standards and requirements for earning the professional credential. First priority shall be given to cost-effective requirements that maximize the use of existing state and local resources. The commission shall consider the use of credential fees and assessment fees to support the cost of implementing the requirements. In adopting professional teacher certification requirements pursuant to this subdivision, the commission shall include the criteria specified in subdivision (d) of Section 44225, and, in addition, shall include the following:

(1) A rigorous program of candidate-centered assessment that relies upon individually evaluating the fitness of each individual candidate for a credential.

(2) Rigorous assessments of each teaching candidate’s general knowledge and subject matter knowledge, that are designed to verify reading skills, writing ability, mathematical reasoning, and other elements of a liberal arts education.

(3) Assessments of each teaching candidate’s instructional skills and classroom management skills, including an assessment of each teaching candidate’s ability to work effectively with students of both sexes and from a variety of ethnic, socioeconomic, cultural, academic, and linguistic backgrounds.

(4) Alternatives for professionally supervising, supporting, and assisting beginning teachers for at least the critical first full teaching year.

(5) Deregulation of the academic training of teachers by shifting the emphasis from granting credentials on the basis of program approval to granting credentials on the basis of comprehensive assessments of individual candidates.

(c) If the professional teacher certification requirements adopted by the commission include passage of a standardized examination, the commission shall establish a procedure for approval by the commission of alternative examinations or assessments whose scope, contents, and level of difficulty are determined by the commission to be equivalent to the scope, contents, and level of difficulty of the standardized examination. In making these determinations, the commission may refer to and utilize, to the extent consistent with this section, accepted national and professional standards governing the use of tests and assessments, and governing the determination of equivalence between alternative tests and assessments. The commission shall recover the costs of administering any standard examination that the commission adopts by collecting examination fees from examinees. An agency or organization that recommends an alternative examination that is approved by the commission shall pay the costs of developing and administering the alternative examination from any available source of funds, including examination fees, existing budget allocations, and amended budget allocations.

(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that no detailed prescriptive checklists of competencies be adopted at the state level for the assessment of each beginning teacher’s classroom performance.

(e) Until the operative date of the regulations that are adopted and promulgated in accordance with subdivision (b), the commission shall continue to administer teacher certification requirements and regulations that were in effect on December 31, 1988. The commission may amend those requirements and regulations, as the need arises.

(Amended by Stats. 1992, Ch. 1245, Sec. 10. Effective January 1, 1993.)

44279.4.
  

(a) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that one full year, or the equivalent thereof, of paid, classroom teaching experience and beginning teacher support and assessment shall be a prerequisite to obtaining a professional credential to teach in the California public schools.

(2) Any credential candidate who is eligible for a preliminary credential shall be eligible for a classroom teaching position with beginning teacher support and assessment. The requirements of this article may be waived by the commission for individuals who are pursuing alternative entry programs established pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 44225 and subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 44259.

(b)  It is the intent of the Legislature that support and assessment of beginning teachers shall be governed by standards adopted by the commission in consultation with the Superintendent and the state board.

(c) A beginning teacher who has been issued a preliminary teaching credential and a preliminary specialty credential pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 44225 shall be eligible for one year of beginning teacher support and assessment that combines classroom teaching and specialty instruction.

(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 348, Sec. 4. (SB 941) Effective January 1, 2012.)

44279.7.
  

(a) The superintendent and the commission shall award supplemental grants on a competitive basis to Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment System teacher induction programs established pursuant to Section 44279.2 that are identified as having expertise according to criteria established by the superintendent and the commission. The supplemental grants received pursuant to this section shall be expended to assist clusters of teacher induction programs operated by school districts or consortiums of school districts.

(b) The superintendent and the commission shall designate each school district and consortium of school districts participating in the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment System established pursuant to Section 44279.2 as belonging to a cluster according to the criteria established pursuant to this subdivision. For the purposes of this section “cluster” means a cluster of school districts or consortium of school districts established pursuant this section. The superintendent and the commission shall establish criteria for the formation of school districts or consortiums of school district teacher induction program clusters based upon, but not necessarily be limited to, all of the following:

(1) Geographic proximity.

(2) Program size.

(3) The number of beginning teachers served.

(4) The similarity of teacher characteristics and pupil populations in each school district.

(c) School districts and consortiums of school districts awarded supplemental grants pursuant to this section shall identify a teacher induction program consultant to assist the school district or consortiums of school districts forming a cluster. The superintendent and the commission shall identify the purpose and functions of each consultant. Those purposes and functions shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, all the following:

(1) Assisting in designing, implementing, refining, and evaluating their teacher induction programs.

(2) Assisting in building the capacity to provide professional development for all personnel involved in the implementation of teacher induction programs, including, but not limited to, beginning teachers, support providers, and administrators.

(3) Disseminating information on teacher induction programs to all interested participants within the cluster and collaborating with other consultants statewide and with state administrative agency staff to ensure ongoing program improvement.

(d) The superintendent and the commission shall ensure that each grant awarded pursuant to this section supports the salary and benefits and other related costs based on the prorated amount of time dedicated to this function for a consultant to assist each cluster.

(Amended by Stats. 1998, Ch. 485, Sec. 51. Effective January 1, 1999.)

EDCEducation Code - EDC4.5.