Section 10600 Of Chapter 7. California Education Information System From California Education Code >> Division 1. >> Title 1. >> Part 7. >> Chapter 7.
10600
. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
chapter to make complete, current, and reliable information relating
to education available to the Legislature and to all public
educational agencies in California at maximum efficiency and economy
through statewide compatibility in the development and application of
information systems and electronic data-processing techniques
insofar as they relate to data required in reports to the department.
(b) It is the further intent of the Legislature to recognize the
importance, and enhance the stature, of the education profession
throughout the state.
(c) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) According to recent studies, there is a shortage of qualified
teachers, particularly in the areas of special education, English
language acquisition and development, mathematics, and science,
throughout California.
(2) In order for California to remain competitive in the global
economy, the Legislature recognizes the necessity of continuing to
support the recruitment of individuals to the teaching profession and
effective teacher preparation and professional development programs.
The Legislature also recognizes the importance of quality
instruction to the academic achievement of pupils and of providing
each pupil in the public schools with instruction by a highly
qualified teacher.
(3) State and local policymakers, local educational agencies,
teachers, parents, and pupils all need reliable information regarding
participation in the teacher workforce, teacher movement between
schools and school districts, the departure of teachers from the
workforce before retirement, the appropriateness of teacher
assignments, and the effectiveness of teacher credentialing,
preparation, induction, recruitment, and support, and would benefit
from the availability of more extensive information regarding the
teaching profession.
(4) Data regarding the teacher workforce is currently collected
and maintained by numerous state and local educational agencies. In
order for the Legislature to fulfill its intent in enacting this
chapter, it is necessary to integrate the data collected by those
existing data systems to provide an understanding of the teacher
workforce in the state and the effectiveness of teacher preparation
programs. For purposes of integrating data regarding the teacher
workforce in the state, Item 6110-001-0890 of Section 2.00 of the
Budget Act of 2005 (Chapter 38 of the Statutes of 2005) appropriated
funds for the department to contract for a teacher data system
feasibility study to determine the feasibility of converting existing
data systems into an integrated, comprehensive, longitudinally
linked teacher information system that can yield high-quality program
evaluations.
(5) It is important that policymakers and teacher candidates have
access to information on the quality of teacher preparation programs.
It is also the intent of the Legislature that the quality indicators
include the extent to which teachers are prepared to work
effectively with all pupils, including, but not necessarily limited
to, English language learners, special education pupils, and
socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils.
(6) It is the intent of the Legislature that, as the California
Education Information System is implemented over time, access to
public information already available on various measures of the
quality of teacher preparation programs be available in electronic
format and be accessible to the extent practicable through
downloadable pages and reports accessible to the public in a
consolidated manner.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the vital goals
described in this section be accomplished through the establishment
of a comprehensive state education data information system in the
department that includes information regarding the teacher workforce.