Article 7. Professional Preparation of California Education Code >> Division 3. >> Title 2. >> Part 25. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 7.

(a) Professional preparation, including student teaching, shall be made available in the upper division course offerings at all California public institutions of higher learning, except the California Maritime Academy and the Hastings College of the Law. No more than nine semester units, or the equivalent, of professional education courses may be designated as prerequisites for purposes of admission to student teaching, except that, to satisfy the English language requirement as set forth in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 44259, candidates may be required to take 12 semester units, or the equivalent, as professional education prerequisites to student teaching.
  (b) The commission shall encourage postsecondary institutions that offer programs of professional preparation to collaborate with school districts, county offices of education, and professional organizations in the design and delivery of local programs to function as part of the California beginning teacher support and assessment program pursuant to Section 44279.2. If local educational agencies and institutions of higher education voluntarily agree to implement the program, the following provisions shall apply to each collaborative effort:
  (1) Postsecondary institutions and local education agencies shall coordinate and articulate the program of professional preparation and the beginning teacher support and assessment program, so the two programs provide continuity in the preparation, support, and assessment of beginning teachers.
  (2) At the discretion of a postsecondary institution that participates in a collaborative effort, the program of professional preparation may be submitted to the commission for approval as a program of preparation, support, and assessment that is at least two years long.
  (3) In each program of preparation, support, and assessment, the postsecondary institution shall make it possible for each candidate to complete all requirements for a valid teaching credential in the equivalent of one year of full-time study.
  (4) A postsecondary institution that participates in a collaborative effort may, at its discretion, determine that successful completion of the support and assessment components of an articulated program of professional preparation, support, and assessment fulfills some or all of the requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 44259, and may accordingly recommend applicants for the professional teaching credential. The standards and criteria for making these determinations and recommendations shall be included in the institution's proposal for a program.
  (5) A local educational agency that collaborates, at its own discretion, with a postsecondary education institution in the design and delivery of an articulated program of professional preparation, support, and assessment that meets the standards and criteria pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 44279.2, and that receives funds pursuant to the annual Budget Act, may contract with the postsecondary institution to pay the institution's costs of designing and delivering the support and assessment components of the program.
  (c) Local educational agencies that are approved by the commission to provide programs of personalized preparation to candidates for designated subjects teaching credentials are encouraged to participate in the design and delivery of local programs under the California beginning teacher support and assessment program pursuant to Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 44279.2), in a manner consistent with subdivision (b).
  (d) Prior to admission to either student teaching under any professional preparation program approved by the commission, or participation in a field experience program as described in Section 44324, a candidate for a credential shall obtain a certificate of clearance from the commission which shall be issued when the commission has verified the candidate's personal identification and health status. The fee for the certificate of clearance shall not exceed one-half of the regular fee for a credential and shall be deducted from the fee for the initial credential applied for by the certificate holder.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that the competence and performance of teachers are among the most important factors in influencing the quality and effectiveness of education in elementary and secondary schools.
  (b) Commencing July 1, 2008, for a program of professional preparation to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 44259, the program shall include a teaching performance assessment that is aligned with the California Standards for the Teaching Profession and that is congruent with state content and performance standards for pupils adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 60605. In implementing this requirement, institutions or agencies may do the following:
  (1) Voluntarily develop an assessment for approval by the commission. Approval of any locally developed performance assessment shall be based on assessment quality standards adopted by the commission, which shall encourage the use of alternative assessment methods including portfolios of teaching artifacts and practices.
  (2) Participate in an assessment training program for assessors and implement the commission developed assessment.
  (c) The commission shall implement the performance assessment in a manner that does not increase the number of assessments required for teacher credential candidates prepared in this state. Each candidate shall be assessed during the normal term or duration of the preparation program of the candidate.
  (d) Subject to the availability of funds in the annual Budget Act, the commission shall perform all of the following duties with respect to the performance assessment:
  (1) Assemble and convene an expert panel to advise the commission about performance standards and developmental scales for teaching credential candidates and the design, content, administration, and scoring of the assessment. At least one-third of the panel members shall be classroom teachers in California public schools.
  (2) Design, develop, and implement assessment standards and an institutional assessor training program for the sponsors of professional preparation programs to use if they choose to use the commission developed assessment.
  (3) Establish a review panel to examine each assessment developed by an institution or agency in relation to the standards set by the commission and advise the commission regarding approval of each assessment system.
  (4) Initially and periodically analyze the validity of assessment content and the reliability of assessment scores that are established pursuant to this section.
  (5) Establish and implement appropriate standards for satisfactory performance in assessments that are established pursuant to this section. The commission shall ensure that oral proficiency in English is a criterion for scoring the performance of each candidate in each assessment.
  (6) Analyze possible sources of bias in the performance assessment and act promptly to eliminate any bias that is discovered.
  (7) Collect and analyze background information provided by candidates who participate in the performance assessment, and report and interpret the individual and aggregated results of the assessment.
  (8) Examine and revise, as necessary, the institutional accreditation system pursuant to Article 10 (commencing with Section 44370), for the purpose of providing a strong assurance to teaching candidates that ongoing opportunities are available in each credential preparation program that is offered pursuant to Section 44320, Article 6 (commencing with Section 44310), Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 44325), or Article 3 (commencing with Section 44450) of Chapter 3 for candidates to acquire the knowledge, skills, and abilities measured by the assessment system.
  (9) Ensure that the aggregated results of the assessment for groups of candidates who have completed a credential program are used as one source of information about the quality and effectiveness of that program.
  (e) The commission shall ensure that each performance assessment pursuant to subdivision (b) is state approved and aligned with the California Standards for the Teaching Profession and is consistently applied to candidates in similar preparation programs. To the maximum feasible extent, each performance assessment shall be ongoing and blended into the preparation program, and shall produce the following benefits for credential candidates, sponsors of preparation programs, and local education agencies that employ program graduates:
  (1) The performance assessment shall be designed to provide formative assessment information during the preparation program for use by the candidate, instructors, and supervisors for the purpose of improving the teaching knowledge, skill, and ability of the candidate.
  (2) The performance assessment results shall be reported so that they may serve as one basis for a recommendation by the program sponsor that the commission award a teaching credential to a candidate who has successfully met the performance assessment standards.
  (3) The formative assessment information pursuant to paragraph (1) and the performance assessment results pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be reported so that they may serve as one basis for the individual induction plan of the new teacher pursuant to Section 44279.2.
  (f) It is the intent of the Legislature that assessments in accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (b), including the administrative costs of the commission, be fully funded.

Student internship programs shall be joint projects of school districts and teacher preparation institutions, and such internship programs shall be submitted to the commission for approval. Approved internship programs shall be subject to periodic review by the commission. Upon completion of an approved internship program, with district and teacher preparation institution certification, the commission shall approve the teacher intern.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, the professional preparation requirements for a teaching credential may be met by certification by the Director of the Peace Corps of the United States or the Peace Corp Country Director that the applicant has satisfactorily completed not less than 18 months in a Peace Corps assignment in a foreign country, during which time 50 percent or more of his or her duties consisted of classroom teaching of resident children of the foreign country. An applicant meeting the requirements of this section shall not be required to complete any education or methodology courses or meet any other requirement relating to professional preparation as set forth in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 44259.

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as preventing school districts from hiring, employing, or otherwise using teacher aides, instructional aides, or teacher assistants under the terms of existing law and financial support formulas. The commission may study the various roles of such paraprofessionals and routinely report its findings. Public and private colleges, universities, and community colleges may develop cooperative programs with school districts or school governing boards to place undergraduate and graduate students in public and private classrooms as teacher aides or assistants. Such assignment may be, at the discretion of the institution, the basis for securing college credit.

(a) The Legislature encourages any public or private institution of higher education that conducts any program of professional preparation for a teaching or services credential to operate and supervise, within that program, a field experience program, and to grant up to and including three semester units, or the equivalent, to any student who participates in that field experience program, whether that participation occurs before or after the granting of a credential. For purposes of this section, "field experience program" means a program under which students work with truant, habitual truant, or other at-risk pupils enrolled in any public elementary or secondary school, and may include student participation in home-school conferences and home referrals.
  (b) School districts are encouraged to cooperate with public and private institutions of higher education in the operation of the field experience programs described in subdivision (a).