Article 7.5. Teacher Assistants of California Education Code >> Division 3. >> Title 2. >> Part 25. >> Chapter 5. >> Article 7.5.

The purposes of this article include the following:
  (a) To enhance the teaching of reading, language arts, mathematics, social science, science, and other basic academic subjects to general education pupils in grades 1 to 6, inclusive.
  (b) To begin to reduce the impact of large classes in grades 1 to 6, inclusive, through the use of trained teacher assistants, operating within the classroom of a certificated teacher under the direction of that teacher.
  (c) To develop, in persons who want to be teacher assistants, competency in specific academic subjects that are part of the curriculum in grades 1 to 6, inclusive, and in child development theory. In order to qualify as a teacher assistant for purposes of this article, a person shall meet both of the following conditions:
  (1) Successful completion of a two-year course of study at a California community college, pursuant to which the applicant has been awarded an Associate of Arts, Teacher Assistant degree.
  (2) Passage of an examination developed and administered for this purpose by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

(a) No later than June 30, 1990, the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges shall issue requests for proposal from community college districts for the establishment of an Associate of Arts, Teacher Assistant program. The requests for proposal shall describe the requirements set forth in subdivision (c), and shall be developed in consultation with representatives of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the President of the University of California, the Chancellor of the California State University, the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the Executive Director of the California Postsecondary Education Commission, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the statewide Academic Senate for Community Colleges, and the President of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. That program shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, the two-year course of study described in Section 45350 and the awarding of an Associate of Arts, Teacher Assistant degree.
  (b) The chancellor shall select two community college districts from separate geographic areas of this state for the purposes of this section, and shall allocate to each of those districts for the 1990-91 school year a planning grant of not less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000).
  (c) Each of the community college districts selected and funded under this section shall do all of the following:
  (1) Implement the Associate of Arts, Teacher Assistant program in one or more community colleges, commencing with the 1991-92 school year.
  (2) Ensure that each student enrolled in the program shall work under the direct supervision of a credentialed classroom teacher.
  (3) Design the program to ensure that credit hours earned under the program at any community college are transferable to teacher preparation programs conducted at California State University campuses in the same region as that community college.
  (4) No later than October 1, 1993, collect, and make available to the California Postsecondary Education Commission for purposes of the evaluation described in Section 45355, the following data for the 1991-92 and 1992-93 school years:
  (A) The number of persons who enrolled in the program, and the number of persons who completed the program.
  (B) Demographic information concerning those persons.
  (C) The number and percentage of graduates of the program who pass the examination described in subdivision (c) of Section 45350.
  (D) The number and percentage of graduates of the program who have obtained employment as teacher assistants, as reported pursuant to Section 45353.

No later than June 30, 1991, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing shall adopt policies, procedures, and regulations as it deems necessary and appropriate for the administration of an examination pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 45350.

Teacher assistants, as described in this article, shall not be deemed to be teachers for any purpose under this code.

The Commission on Teacher Credentialing shall levy a fee for the issuance and renewal of teacher assistant licenses. The fee for the issuance or renewal of the teacher assistant license shall be twenty-five dollars ($25). In subsequent years, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing may set a different fee, but in no case shall the fee exceed forty-five dollars ($45) without the express approval of the Legislature.

The Department of Finance shall determine the amount of the examination fee that would be sufficient to generate the revenues necessary to maintain and administer the examination described in Section 45350.

The State Department of Education shall, in the 1991-92 and 1992-93 school years, and thereafter as it may deem necessary, coordinate workshops between the community college districts that operate Associate of Arts, Teacher Assistant programs, the California State University, and elementary schools located within those community college districts, regarding changes in instructional methodology that may be necessary to ensure the effective use of teacher assistants.