Source: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=199920000SB1666&amp;search_keywords=
Timestamp: 2019-08-24 23:59:50
Document Index: 568858362

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 25', 'art 42', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 42']

Bill Text - SB-1666 Teachers: recruitment and incentives.
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SB-1666 Teachers: recruitment and incentives.(1999-2000)
SB1666:v95#DOCUMENT
Senate Bill No. 1666
An act to amend Sections 24216.5, 44386, 44395, 44396, 69532, 69612, 69612.5, 69613, 69613.1, 69613.5, 69613.6, 69614, 69615.4, and 69615.6 of, to amend and renumber Section 44397 of, to add Chapter 3.36 (commencing with Section 44735) and Chapter 3.44 (commencing with Section 44751) to Part 25 of, to add Article 21 (commencing with Section 70000) to Chapter 2 of Part 42 of, and to repeal Sections 69613.3 and 69613.55 of, the Education Code, relating to teachers, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
SB 1666, Alarcon. Teachers: recruitment and incentives.
(1) Existing law exempts a member of the State Teachers’ Retirement System who is retired for service from certain limitations on the amount of compensation the member may earn for performing certain creditable activities without suffering a reduction in his or her retirement allowance if the member is employed to mitigate the effects of teacher shortages attributable to recent class size reduction legislation affecting kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive.
This bill would instead, commencing in the 2000–01 school year, exempt a member who retired for service effective January 1, 2000, and is employed to provide direct classroom instruction to pupils in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, or to provide support to new teachers, individuals completing student teaching assignments or participating in the Preinternship Teaching Program, an alternative certification program, or the School Paraprofessional Teacher Training Program.
(2) Existing law provides incentive grant funding to school districts and county offices of education that operate or propose to operate an alternative certification program and limits the amount of a grant to $1,500 per intern per year.
This bill would increase the maximum amount of a grant to $2,500.
(3) Existing law establishes the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification Incentive Program to provide one-time $10,000 merit awards to teachers who are employed by school districts or charter schools, are assigned to teach in the public schools, and have attained certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
This bill would provide an additional $20,000 to the recipient if the teacher agrees to teaching for 4 years in a low-performing school and would define a low-performing school as one that is in the bottom half of all schools based on the Academic Performance Index.
(4) Existing law requires the establishment and operation of a resource center that collects and maintains information regarding programs that encourage or assist military personnel, upon retirement, to enter the teaching profession. Existing law establishes the California School Paraprofessional Teacher Training Program to recruit paraprofessionals to participate in a program designed to encourage them to enroll in teacher training programs and to provide instructional service as teachers in the public schools. Existing law establishes the Science, Mathematics, and Technology Teacher Pipeline Program to identify, support, and assist elementary, secondary, and postsecondary students to become teachers of science, mathematics, or technology. Existing law establishes the California Center on Teaching Careers to recruit individuals into the teaching profession.
This bill would establish the Teaching As A Priority Block Grant, to be administered by the State Department of Education, to award block grants to school districts to provide incentives to attract credentialed teachers to be employed and retained in low-performing schools.
This bill would also establish the Teacher Recruitment Initiative Program, to be administered by the Sacramento County Office of Education. The Sacramento County Office of Education would award, by January 1, 2001, up to 6 grants on a competitive basis to consortia to operate regional recruitment centers that would focus on recruiting teachers to low-performing schools, especially those with a teaching staff that has more than 20% emergency permitholders. The bill would require the Sacramento County Office of Education to provide statewide oversight and technical assistance for regional recruitment centers.
(5) Existing law establishes an Assumption Program of Loans for Education under which an applicant enrolled in a participating institution of postsecondary education, or an applicant who agrees to participate in a teacher trainee or teacher internship program, and who further agrees to obtain a teaching credential in subject areas that are designated as current or projected shortage areas or to provide classroom instruction in schools that serve large populations of pupils from low-income families, serve rural areas, or have a high percentage of teachers holding emergency permits, is eligible to receive a conditional warrant for loan assumption, to be redeemed pursuant to a prescribed procedure upon becoming employed as a teacher. Existing law requires an applicant to enroll in at least 10 semester units or the equivalent. Existing law sets aside 40% of the warrants for applicants who agree to obtain teaching credentials in any subject area and to teach in schools that serve large populations of pupils from low-income families and 60% of the warrants for applicants who agree to obtain a teaching credential in a subject area that is currently or is projected to be a shortage area.
This bill would also make an applicant enrolled in a participating institution of postsecondary education or an applicant who agrees to participate in a teacher trainee or teacher internship program, and who further agrees to teach in a low-performing school, as defined, eligible for a warrant. The bill would require an applicant to be enrolled on at least a half-time basis rather than 10 semester units and would eliminate the set-asides. The bill would require the Student Aid Commission to reexamine its outreach and marketing strategies relative to the program.
(6) Existing law requires the annual distribution of 500 warrants under the Assumption Program of Loans for Education for the recruitment of out-of-state teachers.
This bill would instead authorize the distribution of warrants without reference to the number of warrants to be distributed.
(7) Existing law requires the annual distribution of a minimum of 2,000 of the warrants under the Assumption Program of Loans for Education to applicants who agree to obtain a teaching credential in mathematics or science and 50 warrants to project centers of the Science, Mathematics, and Technology Teacher Pipeline Program for participants in that program.
(8) Existing law requires the distribution for the 1999–2000 school year of a maximum 5,500 student loans for participants of the Assumption Program of Loans for Education. Notwithstanding this maximum, existing law requires the issuing of warrants in a quantity determined by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act for the assumption of student loans for applicants who agree to teach in rural schools and schools with a high percentage of teachers holding emergency permits.
This bill would increase the maximum number of student loans to 6,500 and would require the issuing of warrants in a quantity determined by the Governor and Legislature in the annual Budget Act for the assumption of student loans regardless of the eligibility category of the applicant, but would allow a set-aside of 100 warrants for applicants who agree to teach in school districts serving rural areas.
(9) Existing law establishes Cal Grant T awards as a state educational opportunity grant program under which Cal Grant T awards are made to students who have completed a baccalaureate degree and are admitted to a program of professional teacher preparation for tuition and student fees for a maximum of one academic year of full-time attendance at a program of professional teacher preparation and the Assumption Program of Loans for Education described in paragraphs (6) to (9), inclusive, above.
This bill would require the California Student Aid Commission to report, as specified, on the number of Cal Grant T award recipients that become public school teachers.
The bill would also establish the Governor’s Teaching Fellowship Program to be administered by the Chancellor’s office of the California State University and under which $20,000 nonrenewable graduate teaching fellowships would be awarded to graduate students who agree to teach at a low-performing school for 4 years. The fellowships would be used to defer tuition and living expenses for a teacher certification program at any accredited postsecondary institution in California. The bill would establish an intersegmental review committee to review all fellowship applications.
(10) This bill would become operative only if SB 1330 is chaptered.
(1) California is facing a teacher shortage for the foreseeable future. It is estimated that in the next 10 years 300,000 new teachers will be needed to fill vacancies caused by teacher attrition and pupil growth. The state has increased its capacity to train teachers since 1997 when class size reduction exacerbated existing shortages. Yet, even with the number of teachers being trained on the rise, the number of individuals who immediately enter the classroom after being prepared is estimated to be as low as 50 percent. Left untapped, this pool of trained teachers who are not teaching represents a wasted investment of state resources. In addition, retired teachers are discouraged from reentering the profession due to postretirement earnings limitations.
(2) Low-performing schools with a history of having high teacher turnover and inexperienced staff need more qualified teachers to substantially improve pupil achievement. While no one approach will likely meet the challenge of attracting and retaining individuals into hard-to-staff schools, financial incentives ought to be an important element in any effective strategy.
(3) Attracting qualified teachers to low-performing schools necessitates that these schools make the hiring of fully credentialed staff a high priority.
(4) Ultimately, school districts are responsible for setting the standard for the quality of teachers that they employ.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to accomplish the following:
(1) Provide financial incentives to attract fully credentialed teachers to teach in low-performing schools, to reduce school districts’ reliance on emergency permits by rewarding schools that hire credentialed teachers in appropriate assignments. The incentives are designed both to recruit qualified teachers to hard-to-staff schools and to provide low-performing schools with some additional discretionary moneys.
(2) Dissuade school districts, even under the most difficult circumstances, from hiring teachers who hold emergency permits by holding a district accountable through a system of incentives and penalties that obliges school districts to consistently reduce the number of emergency permit teachers it employs.
(3) Provide incentives and support for individuals who pursue traditional and alternative routes to teacher certification through a teaching fellowship, more accessible college loan assumption, and enhanced teaching internships.
(1) The member retired for service with an effective date on or before January 1, 2000.
(c) This section shall not apply to the compensation earned for creditable service performed by a member retired for service for a community college district.
(d) The amendments made to this section by an act enacted in the second year of the 1999–2000 Regular Session shall apply to the 2000–01 school year and all subsequent school years.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until July 1, 2005, and as of that date is repealed unless a later enacted statute which is enacted before July 1, 2005, deletes or extends that date.
Section 44386 of the Education Code is amended to read:
(a) From funds appropriated for the purposes of this article, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing shall award incentive grants to qualifying school districts or county offices of education. Each school district or county office of education that receives a grant shall provide matching funds from any available source in an amount equal to 50 percent of the cost of the alternative certification program. Grants shall be awarded by the commission for the remaining 50 percent of the cost of the alternative certification program, but in no event shall the grant amount awarded to any school district or county office of education exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per intern per year, except that the commission may require a lesser local contribution, or provide a larger grant per intern per year, in hardship cases.
(b) As determined by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, funds appropriated in the annual Budget Act for the alternative certification program may also be made available for expenditure on the Pre-Internship Teaching Program authorized pursuant to Article 5.6 (commencing with Section 44305) of Chapter 2 of Part 25.
Section 44395 of the Education Code is amended to read:
(a) The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification Incentive Program is hereby established to award grants to school districts for the purpose of providing awards to teachers who are employed by school districts or charter schools, are assigned to teach in California public schools, and have attained certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The following awards shall be granted to the extent that funds have been appropriated for this purpose in the annual Budget Act:
(1) A teacher attaining national board certification shall be eligible for a one-time merit award of ten thousand dollars ($10,000), except as specified in paragraph (2).
(2) In addition to the award specified in subdivision (1), commencing July 1, 2000, any teacher who has attained certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is eligible to receive an award of up to twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) if he or she agrees to teach at a low-performing school for at least four years. Teaching service before July 1, 2000, may not be counted towards satisfaction of this four-year commitment. Awards granted pursuant to this subdivision shall be disbursed in annual payments of five thousand dollars ($5,000) over a four-year period. The annual payment shall be made upon completion of the school year, and upon approval of a district-certified application pursuant to the guidelines of subdivision (c) of Section 44396.
(b) The State Department of Education shall administer the awards authorized by subdivision (a), and shall develop, in consultation with the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, certification and award information, criteria, procedures, and applications, all of which shall be submitted to the State Board of Education for approval. Amendments requested by the State Board of Education to that information, criteria, procedures, and applications shall be made before the dissemination of the material and the granting of any award under this article.
(c) The State Department of Education shall distribute the materials described in subdivision (b) to school districts. Each school district is strongly encouraged to ensure that teachers employed by the district or by charter schools affiliated with the district are informed about the program and can acquire the necessary application and information materials.
(e) The State Department of Education may provide fee assistance from funds appropriated in the annual Budget Act for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification Program to defray the fees of teachers seeking certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The State Department of Education may provide fee assistance of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each teacher, not to exceed a total of two million dollars ($2,000,000).
(f) For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(1) “School district” means school district, county board of education, county superintendent of schools, a state operated program, such as a special school, or an education program providing instruction in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, that is offered by a state agency, including the California Youth Authority and the State Department of Developmental Services.
(2) “Low-performing school” means a school in the bottom half of all schools based on the Academic Performance Index rankings established pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 52056. This designation shall be determined as of the date of the agreement by the teacher in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of this section.
Section 44396 of the Education Code is amended to read:
(a) (1) To the extent that funds are available for that purpose, a teacher who meets the criteria approved by the State Board of Education pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 44395 is eligible and may apply for an award by following the procedures and instructions developed pursuant to that subdivision.
(2) A teacher who attained certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards before the effective date of the act adding this section and who was employed by a school district or charter school and assigned to teach in a California public school on the date of certification may apply for an award authorized pursuant to this article if he or she meets all the other requirements for that award specified by this article. For awards pursuant to this subdivision, teaching service before July 1, 2000, may not be counted toward satisfaction of the teacher’s four-year agreement to teach in a low-performing school.
(b) Teachers shall submit their applications for an award authorized by this article to the school district employing them. Teachers employed by a charter school shall submit their application through the school district granting the school’s charter.
(c) When a school district receives an application for an award authorized by this article, it shall certify that the applicant is employed by the district or a charter school operating under a charter granted by the school district and that the applicant has met all the criteria established pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 44395. The school district shall then submit the application to the State Department of Education for its review and approval.
(d) The State Department of Education shall approve applications that meet the criteria established pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 44395. To the extent funds are available, the State Department of Education shall apportion funds to the appropriate school districts in the amount of the award authorized by Section 44395 for each approved application. The school district shall use funds apportioned to it pursuant to this subdivision to provide the amount of the award authorized by subdivision (a) of Section 44395 to each teacher whose application is approved.
Section 44397 of the Education Code is amended and renumbered to read:
Notwithstanding any provision of law except Sections 44332.6, 44340, 44346.1, and 44830.1, a teacher who is licensed to teach in a state other than California and who is certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards shall be issued a clear teaching credential authorizing the teacher to teach in the subject area in which the teacher has received national certification.
Chapter 3.36 (commencing with Section 44735) is added to Part 25 of the Education Code, to read:
The Teaching As A Priority Block Grant is hereby created to be administered by the State Department of Education with the approval of the State Board of Education. The State Department of Education shall award block grants to school districts on a competitive basis to provide incentives to attract credentialed teachers to be employed and retained in low-performing schools.
(a) Block grant funds may be used at the discretion of a school district for teacher recruitment and retention incentives with the target of reducing the number of teachers on emergency permits. Incentives shall only be used to hire and retain credentialed teachers. Teacher recruitment and retention incentives may include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Signing bonuses.
(2) Improved work conditions.
(3) Teacher compensation.
(4) Housing subsidies.
(b) Funding shall be allocated to school districts on a per pupil basis for pupils enrolled in schools ranked in the bottom half of the academic performance index pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 52051) of Chapter 6.1. Within the bottom half of the academic performance index, schools ranked in deciles 1, 2, and 3 shall receive 11/2 times the funding per pupil of schools ranked in deciles 4 and 5. No less than the amount of funding generated by pupils in schools ranked in deciles 1, 2, and 3 shall be expended in those schools.
(c) School districts shall apply to the Department of Education on behalf of their schools. The district application shall contain information that is specific to each school. Applications shall contain baseline information on the number of teachers with waivers or emergency credentials at each school in accordance with subdivision (a).
(d) School districts that participate in the program established in this section shall be encouraged to participate in consortia operated regional recruitment centers pursuant to Section 44751.
(e) Funds appropriated for the purposes of this chapter shall supplement, and not supplant, existing efforts to recruit and retain fully credentialed teachers in the school district.
(f) The State Board of Education shall submit an evaluation of the program created by this chapter to the Legislature by January 1, 2004.
Chapter 3.44 (commencing with Section 44751) is added to Part 25 of the Education Code, to read:
(1) “Low-performing school” means a school in the bottom half of the Academic Performance Index rankings established pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 52052 that has applied for participation in the Immediate Intervention Underperforming Schools Program established pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 52053.
(2) “Regional teacher recruitment center” means an entity operated by a consortium of school districts that may also include county offices of education, colleges, universities, or other community-based organizations.
44751.5.
The Sacramento County Office of Education shall award, by January 1, 2001, six grants on a competitive basis to establish regional teacher recruitment centers. One region shall serve northern California. Two regions shall serve the Los Angeles area. One region shall serve the Central Valley. One region shall serve the Inland Empire. One region shall serve San Diego and Imperial Counties.
Criteria for awarding the grants shall be established by the Sacramento County Office of Education, but shall include, at a minimum, all of the following:
(a) A plan for collaboration among the consortium members.
(b) A recruitment plan of highly effective recruitment strategies.
(c) A focus on recruiting teachers to low-performing schools, especially those with a teaching staff that has more than 20-percent emergency permit teachers.
(d) Active participation in planning and implementation by school district administrators responsible for certificated personnel.
(e) The demonstrated need.
(f) The number of teachers to be hired through recruitment efforts.
44752.5.
(a) From funds appropriated for purposes of this chapter, the Sacramento County Office of Education shall award incentive grants to qualifying school districts and county offices of education for the cost of the recruitment plan.
(b) Grant amounts shall not exceed seven hundred dollars ($700) multiplied by the number of teachers to be hired through the recruitment efforts of regional recruitment centers, as identified in the grant application.
(c) If fewer teachers are hired as a result of recruitment efforts by a regional recruitment center than the number of teachers for which the regional recruitment center was funded pursuant to subdivision (b), funding provided to the regional recruitment center in the immediately subsequent fiscal year shall be reduced by an amount equal to the difference between the number of teachers for which the regional recruitment center was funded and the number of teachers who were hired as a result of recruitment efforts by a regional recruitment center multiplied by the amount per recruit the center received in the prior year.
The Sacramento County Office of Education shall provide statewide oversight and technical assistance for the regional teacher recruitment centers and perform the following responsibilities:
(a) Provide advice to the CalTeach program within the California State University system regarding the regional media campaign for recruiting teachers.
(b) Consult with the Commission on Teacher Credentialing on delivering technical assistance in credentials counseling through the regional teacher recruitment centers.
(c) Develop, publish, and distribute a guide of all available state-level incentives to attract and retain teachers.
(d) Report teacher placement data to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature, the office of the Secretary for Education, the Department of Finance, the Legislative Analyst’s Office, and the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
(e) Ensure that school districts in consortia funded pursuant to this article receive first priority for a review of personnel hiring practices by the County Office Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team conducted with funds appropriated for this purpose in the annual Budget Act.
44753.5.
Regional teacher recruitment centers shall perform the following duties:
(a) Employ full-time recruiters to recruit teachers and provide credential and career counseling to prospective teachers.
(b) Make available information on available state-funded incentives to potential teachers.
(c) Conduct college campus and community-based information sessions on job opportunities in teaching.
(d) Provide outreach to potential teachers using electronic, print, radio, and other forms of advertising.
(e) Screen and distribute applications of prospective teachers to participating schools.
(f) Schedule interviews between prospective teachers and school administrators.
(g) Refer candidates to teacher preparation and alternative certification programs.
(h) Coordinate with the County Office Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team established pursuant to Section 42127.8 on the provision of technical assistance to school districts in methods to streamline the hiring process.
(i) Report regional recruitment data to the Sacramento County Office of Education as specified in the grant award.
School districts, county offices of education, colleges, universities, and community-based organizations participating in the Teacher Recruitment Incentive Program are encouraged to include in their submitted plans a financial commitment to teacher recruitment.
44754.5.
The Sacramento County Office of Education shall enter into a contract for an evaluation of the Teacher Recruitment Incentive Program created pursuant to this chapter and report the findings of this outside evaluation to the Legislature by January 1, 2004.
Section 69532 of the Education Code is amended to read:
69532.
Cal Grant Program awards shall be known as “Cal Grant A awards,” “Cal Grant B awards,” “Cal Grant C awards,” and “Cal Grant T awards.” The maximum award in each category shall be determined in the annual Budget Act.
(a) Cal Grant A awards shall be used only for tuition and student fees in an instructional program of no less than two academic years. Commencing as soon as feasible, but no later than the award cycle that provides awards for the 1999–2000 academic year, the eligibility criteria for first-time Cal Grant award recipients who are community college students and transfer to a four-year college or university shall be no more stringent than the eligibility criteria for other first-time Cal Grant award recipients attending a four-year college or university.
(b) Cal Grant B awards shall be used only for tuition, student fees, and subsistence costs in an instructional program of no less than one academic year. Subsistence costs are living expenses, transportation, supplies, and books. Commencing as soon as feasible, but no later than the award cycle that provides awards for the 1999–2000 academic year, the eligibility criteria for first-time Cal Grant award recipients who are community college students and transfer to a four-year college or university shall be no more stringent than the eligibility criteria for other first-time Cal Grant award recipients attending a four-year college or university.
(c) Cal Grant C awards shall be used only for occupational or technical training in a course of no less than four months. There shall be a minimum of 1,570 new Cal Grant C awards each year.
(d) Cal Grant T awards shall be used only for tuition and student fees for a maximum of one academic year of full-time attendance in a program of professional preparation that has been approved by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. There shall be a minimum of 3,000 new Cal Grant T awards each year. As a condition of receiving a Cal Grant T award, a recipient shall teach for one year in a low-performing school as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 44765 for each two thousand dollar ($2,000) incentive provided pursuant to Section 69532 through the Cal Grant T Program, for a period not to exceed four years. Any recipient who fails to meet his or her teaching obligation shall repay the Cal Grant T award.
(e) The California Student Aid Commission shall evaluate the Cal Grant T Award program from its inception to determine, of the total number of recipients, the number of recipients who become employed as public school teachers. This evaluation shall be reported on an annual basis to the Governor and the Legislature beginning July 1, 2001.
(a) (1) The Legislature hereby recognizes that there is a growing shortage of high-quality classroom teachers, and that there is a need for qualified teachers throughout California. The Legislature finds one of the most important elements in a pupil’s success at learning is the quality of the teacher. The teacher shortage is most serious in particular subject areas, partly due to the shortage of students in these fields who enter the teaching profession. The Legislature also recognizes that many school districts have difficulty recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers for low-performing schools, for pupils with special needs, for schools serving rural areas or large populations of pupils from low-income and linguistic minority families, and schools with a high percentage of teachers holding emergency permits.
(2) The Legislature finds that the rising costs of higher education, coupled with a shift in available financial aid from scholarships and grants to loans, make loan repayment options an important consideration in a student’s decision to pursue a postsecondary education. The availability of financial aid and loan repayment assistance are important considerations for many students, especially economically disadvantaged students, in making their educational decisions.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Assumption Program of Loans for Education be designed to encourage persons to enter into the teaching profession in designated subject matter shortage areas and in schools serving large populations of pupils from low-income families, schools serving rural areas, schools with a high percentage of teachers holding emergency permits, or schools with any or all of these characteristics. It is further the intent of the Legislature in enacting this article to do all of the following:
(1) Provide outstanding postsecondary students, particularly economically disadvantaged students, with the assurance of financial assistance to encourage them to complete postsecondary education programs leading to teaching credentials, and to seek employment as teachers.
(2) Provide persons who agree to become teacher trainees or teacher interns in a subject matter shortage area with the assurance of financial assistance to encourage them to complete the additional coursework necessary to obtain a teaching credential.
(3) Identify subject matter areas or schools in which there are shortages of fully credentialed teachers and provide incentives for persons to obtain teaching credentials and seek teaching positions in those areas.
(4) Identify schools serving rural areas, schools serving large populations of students from low-income families, or both, and schools with a high percentage of teachers holding emergency permits, and provide incentives for persons to obtain teaching credentials and seek teaching positions in those schools.
(5) Identify low-performing schools and provide incentives for persons to obtain teaching credentials and seek teaching positions in those schools. For the purpose of this article, “low-performing school” means a school in the bottom half of the Academic Performance Index rankings established pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 52056 at the time that a teacher is hired.
Commencing with the 2000–01 school year, all persons eligible to receive conditional warrants for loan assumptions pursuant to this article shall be persons who need to complete training or coursework in order to be fully credentialed and who agree to obtain a credential and teach in a designated subject matter shortage area or in a school that, at the time that the teacher is hired, meets any of the following criteria:
(a) Serves a large population of pupils from low-income families.
(b) Has a high percentage of teachers holding emergency permits.
(c) Is a low-performing school.
(a) Any person enrolled in an institution of postsecondary education participating in the loan assumption program set forth in this article, or any person who agrees to participate in a teacher trainee or teacher internship program, may be eligible to receive a conditional warrant for loan assumption, to be redeemed pursuant to Section 69613.2 upon becoming employed as a teacher. In order to be eligible to receive a loan assumption warrant, an applicant shall satisfy all of the conditions specified in either subdivision (b) or (c).
(b) (1) The applicant has completed at least 60 semester units, or the equivalent, and is enrolled in an academic program leading to a baccalaureate degree at a participating institution, or has been admitted to a program of professional preparation that has been approved by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
(2) The applicant is currently enrolled, or has been admitted to a program in which he or she will be enrolled on at least a half-time basis, as determined by the participating institution. The applicant shall agree to maintain at least half-time enrollment and to maintain satisfactory academic progress.
(4) In order to meet the costs associated with obtaining a baccalaureate degree, or a California teaching credential, the applicant has received, or is approved to receive, a loan under one or more of the following designated loan programs:
(5) The applicant has agreed to teach in a public school in this state for at least four consecutive academic years after obtaining a teaching credential.
(c) (1) The applicant holds a baccalaureate degree and agrees to participate in a teacher trainee program or teacher internship program, or is a person who will continue to be employed full time in a field other than teaching while completing the necessary coursework for a teaching credential, or is a noncredentialed teaching paraprofessional, as described in Section 44323, who will continue to serve as a teaching paraprofessional while completing the necessary coursework for a California teaching credential.
(2) (A) The applicant is enrolled in, or has been admitted to, a participating institution and agrees to maintain satisfactory academic progress in an academic program leading to a baccalaureate degree or in a program of professional preparation that has been approved by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, and the applicant satisfies the conditions specified in paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) of subdivision (b).
(B) No applicant who has completed fewer than 60 units, or the equivalent, shall be eligible under this subdivision to participate in the loan assumption program set forth in this article.
(d) The warrants distributed each year pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) at each participating institution shall be awarded by that institution to applicants who meet the criteria specified in Section 69612.5 and agree to teach in a designated shortage area or any of the types of schools that meet the criteria listed in that section. The warrant shall remain valid even if the subject area under which an applicant became eligible for a warrant ceases to be a designated shortage field by the time the applicant becomes a teacher.
(e) A person participating in the program pursuant to this section shall not receive more than one warrant.
(f) The Student Aid Commission shall adopt rules and regulations regarding the reallocation of warrants where a participating institution is unable to utilize its allocated warrants or is unable to distribute them within a reasonable period of time.
The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall furnish the Student Aid Commission with all of the following:
(a) Commencing January 1, 1990, and every January 1 thereafter, a list of teaching fields that have the most critical shortage of teachers. The superintendent shall review this list annually and revise the list as he or she deems necessary.
(b) A list of schools that serve a large population of pupils from low-income families, as designated for purposes of the Perkins Loan Program, or according to other standards the superintendent deems appropriate.
(c) Commencing January 31, 2001, and every January 1, thereafter, a list of schools with a high percentage of teachers holding emergency permits. The list shall be established according to criteria determined by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
(d) Commencing January 31, 2000, and every January 1, thereafter, a list of schools serving rural areas. The list shall be established according to standards deemed appropriate by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
(e) Commencing January 31, 2001, and every January 1, thereafter, a list of low-performing schools.
Section 69613.3 of the Education Code is repealed.
Section 69613.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:
69613.5.
(a) Notwithstanding Sections 69612.5 and 69614, for the purposes of the recruitment of teachers from outside California, the commission may distribute warrants to school districts to be awarded to out-of-state teachers who fulfill the terms of Section 69613.4. A teacher who receives a warrant pursuant to this subdivision shall hold a valid teaching credential, in the subject area of the California teaching position, from the state in which he or she resides.
(b) The commission shall adopt rules and regulations regarding the allocation of warrants to school districts pursuant to this section.
Section 69613.55 of the Education Code is repealed.
Section 69613.6 of the Education Code is amended to read:
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), if a program participant fails to complete a minimum of four consecutive school years of classroom instruction as required by this article, under the terms of the agreement pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 69613, the participant shall assume full liability for all student loan obligations remaining after the commission’s assumption of loan liability for the last year of qualifying teaching service pursuant to Section 69613.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), if a program participant becomes unable to complete one of the four consecutive years of teaching service due to serious illness, pregnancy, or other natural causes, the participant shall receive a deferral of the resumption of full liability for the loan for a period not to exceed one calendar year.
Section 69614 of the Education Code is amended to read:
(a) The Student Aid Commission shall distribute program information and student applications to participate in the loan assumption program to all school districts and county offices of education operating a district intern program pursuant to Section 44381 and postsecondary institutions eligible to participate in state and federal financial aid programs and having a program of professional preparation that has been approved by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Each eligible institution shall receive at least one application, and the remainder shall be distributed to eligible institutions proportionate to the number of teaching candidates from each institution who were fully credentialed during the previous year. In addition, the Student Aid Commission shall reexamine its outreach and marketing strategies to inform both potential undergraduates and persons employed outside of academia about the availability and benefits of the loan assumption program. To this end, the commission shall enlist the advice and support of the California Center on Teaching Careers, the University of California, the California State University, the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities, and private employers and their associations throughout the state.
(b) Each participating institution shall sign an institutional agreement with the commission, certifying its intent to administer the loan assumption program according to all applicable published rules, regulations, and guidelines, and to make special efforts to notify students regarding the availability of the program, particularly economically disadvantaged students.
(c) To the extent feasible, each participating institution shall coordinate the loan assumption program with other existing programs designed to recruit or encourage students to enter the teaching profession. These programs may include, but need not be limited to, student internships in school districts, courses that provide early exploratory or field work experience in elementary or secondary schools, and work-study employment in elementary or secondary schools.
(a) The total number of warrants awarded.
(b) The number of warrants allocated each to juniors, seniors, students enrolled in teacher training programs, and persons who agree to enroll in teacher trainee programs or teacher internship programs.
(c) The number of warrants awarded to applicants who pursue a credential in a subject matter shortage area.
(d) The number of warrants awarded to applicants who agree to teach in schools with a high ratio of pupils from low-income families and low-performing schools.
(e) The number of warrants awarded to applicants who agree to teach in schools serving rural areas.
(f) The number of warrants awarded to applicants who agree to teach in schools with a high percentage of teachers holding emergency permits.
(g) The number of warrants that are redeemed by the initial recipients.
Section 69615.6 of the Education Code is amended to read:
(a) Beginning no later than the 1986–87 school year, and each school year thereafter up to and including the 1997–98 school year, the commission shall issue warrants for the assumption of up to 500 student loans for program participants eligible under this article.
(b) For the 1998–99 school year, the commission shall issue warrants for the assumption of up to 4,500 student loans for program participants eligible under this article.
(c) For the 1999–2000 school year the commission shall issue warrants for the assumption of up to 5,500 student loans for program participants eligible under this article.
(d) Commencing with the 2000–01 school year, and each school year thereafter, the following shall apply:
(1) The commission shall issue warrants for the assumption of up to 6,500 student loans for program participants eligible under this article.
(2) Notwithstanding the limitation of 6,500 warrants set forth in paragraph (1), the commission shall issue warrants in a quantity determined by the Governor and the Legislature in the annual Budget Act for the assumption of student loans.
(3) Notwithstanding Sections 69613.5 and 69614, up to 100 of the 6,500 warrants issued pursuant to this subdivision may be issued for the assumption of student loans for applicants who agree to teach in school districts serving rural areas.
(e) The issuance of warrants shall be subject to funding to be provided in the Budget Act for each fiscal year.
Article 21 (commencing with Section 70000) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 42 of the Education Code, to read:
Article 21. Governor's Teaching Fellowships
(c) Beginning in the 2001–02 fiscal year, 1,000 nonrenewable, graduate teaching fellowships in the amount of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) each shall be awarded annually.
(d) The fellowship award may be used to defer tuition for a teacher certification program at any accredited postsecondary institution in California and for living expenses while enrolled in that program.
(1) Developing an application process that establishes a merit-based fellowship program for graduate students who agree to teach at a low-performing school for four years.
(B) A demonstrated commitment to serve in a low-performing school.
(b) For the purposes of this article, a “low-performing school” is a school in the bottom half of the Academic Performance Index rankings established pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 52056. If a school meets this criteria at the time a teacher is hired, continued employment of the teacher at that school fulfills the commitment made by the teacher, even if the school improves its rank on the Academic Performance Index.
(a) A fellowship recipient shall agree to teach in a low-performing school for four years and shall have four years, upon completion of his or her preparation program, to meet that obligation. Except as provided in subdivision (c), a fellowship recipient shall agree to repay the state five thousand dollars ($5,000) annually for each year the recipient fails to complete either the teacher preparation program or the required teaching service, up to full repayment of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000).
(b) Nonperformance of the commitment to teach in a low-performing school for four years shall be certified by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to the chancellor’s office.
(a) The Chancellor’s office of the California State University shall adopt any rules and regulations it deems necessary for the administration of this section and the recovery of funds it determines are owed to the state. The rules and regulations adopted by the chancellor’s office pursuant to this section shall also include a provision authorizing the chancellor’s office to seek a civil penalty on a recipient of funds under this program, in an amount not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) per year for each year that the recipient of funds is determined by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to have failed to fulfill his or her obligation to teach in a low-performing school.
This act shall become operative only if Senate Bill 1330 of the 1999–2000 Regular Session is chaptered.
In order to implement the Budget Act of 2000 with respect to the public schools and institutions of higher education, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.