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BILL NUMBER: AB 833 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 6, 2001
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 4, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 18, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 3, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 5, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 31, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 17, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 29, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Steinberg
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Papan)
FEBRUARY 22, 2001
An act to add Section 44258.10 to the Education Code, relating to
teachers.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 833, Steinberg. Teachers: teacher qualification index.
Existing law authorizes a teacher who is authorized for single
subject instruction to be assigned, with his or her consent, to teach
any subject in his or her authorized fields at any grade level.
This bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction,
with approval of the State Board of Education, to develop a teacher
qualification index for each public school, to measure the
distribution of teachers within school districts across the state and
to assign a rating that will demonstrate comparable improvement in
the assignment of credentialed teachers and underqualified teachers
in each public school. The teacher qualification index would consist
of a variety of indicators currently reported to the State
Department of Education on the California Basic Educational Data
System and any other indicators collected from other widely
accessible databases that are valid and reliable. The bill would
require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to publish annually,
on the Internet, a report on the teacher qualification index. The
bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to
establish a broadly representative and diverse advisory committee, to
develop the teacher qualification index and advise the
Superintendent of Public Instruction and State Board of Education on
matters relative to the creation of the teacher qualification index.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(a) California faces a shortage of credentialed teachers. This
crisis is particularly acute in low-performing schools serving
predominantly low-income minority pupils. These schools have the
most difficult time attracting and retaining fully credentialed
teachers.
(b) Across the state, the distribution of teachers without full
credentials who are not enrolled in a credential program leaves poor
and minority schools with an overconcentration of underqualified
teachers. Low-performing schools are staffed on average by about 20
percent underqualified teachers. In contrast, 24 percent of
California's highest performing schools have no underqualified
teachers.
(c) Studies show that this maldistribution of underqualified
teachers exists within school districts. There are districts in
which some schools have virtually no underqualified teachers, while
other schools within the same district have upwards of 30 percent
underqualified teachers.
(d) Studies repeatedly have shown that teacher quality is primary
among factors affecting a pupil's ability to learn. Thus, the
maldistribution of underqualified teachers across the state and
within school districts creates an unequal opportunity to learn for
many of California's poorest children.
(e) While most schools in California are assigned an Academic
Performance Index score, measuring pupils' performance on certain
standardized tests, currently no quantifiable standard exists that
measures a pupil's access to credentialed teachers or reflects the
distribution of credentialed teachers within a school district.
(f) Parents and the public have a right to know the extent to
which pupils are being taught by fully credentialed teachers.
(g) All children in California have the right to be taught by a
fully qualified teacher. An index measuring a pupil's access to
credentialed teachers will establish a clearly defined standard, set
realistic benchmarks against which to measure improvement, and help
to direct state and district resources toward those schools that need
them most in order to meet this standard.
SEC. 2. Section 44258.10 is added to the Education Code, to read:
44258.10. (a) By July 1, 2002, the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, with approval of the State Board of Education, shall
develop a teacher qualification index for each public school, to
measure the distribution of teachers, especially the distribution of
"underqualified teachers," within school districts across the state
and to assign a rating that will demonstrate comparable improvement
in the assignment of credentialed teachers and underqualified
teachers in each public school.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meaning:
(1) "Underqualified teacher" means a teacher whose assignment is
based on an emergency permit or waiver granted by the Commission on
Teacher Credentialing. Interns participating in a program set forth
in Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 44325) or Article 3
(commencing with Section 44450) of Chapter 3 are not "underqualified"
for purposes of this section.
(2) "Underqualified teacher quantity rating" means the overall
percentage of underqualified teachers assigned to a school.
(3) "Underqualified teacher distribution rating" means the degree
to which the percentage of underqualified teachers assigned to a
school varies from the percentage of underqualified teachers employed
by the district.
(c) The teacher qualification index shall consist of a variety of
indicators currently reported to the State Department of Education on
the California Basic Educational Data System. These indicators
shall include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) The underqualified teacher quantity rating.
(2) The underqualified teacher distribution rating.
(3) The number of veteran teachers at the school.
(4) The number of first and second year credentialed teachers at
the school.
(d) The Superintendent of Public Instruction may include any other
indicators collected from other widely accessible databases that are
valid and reliable including, but not limited to, the number of
credentialed teachers teaching within their area of subject matter
qualification.
(e) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall annually
publish, on the Internet, a teacher qualification index report. This
report shall include all of the components used to calculate the
teacher qualification index and explanatory notes to provide
background for how the teacher qualification index is derived and how
this is different from the Academic Performance Index.
(f) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall establish a
broadly representative and diverse advisory committee, with technical
expertise in statistical analysis, to develop the teacher
qualification index and advise the Superintendent of Public
Instruction and State Board of Education on all appropriate matters
relative to the creation of the teacher qualification index. The
advisory shall consider input from all interested parties, including,
but not limited to, teacher representatives, school district
representatives, parent representatives, and the Commission on
Teacher Credentialing. Members of the advisory committee shall serve
without compensation for terms not to exceed one year. The State
Department of Education shall provide staff to the advisory
committee.
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