Article 9.5. Professional Development For Classified School Employees of California Education Code >> Division 3. >> Title 2. >> Part 25. >> Chapter 5. >> Article 9.5.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Classified school employees play a vital role in the education
of our pupils and students in our public schools and community
colleges. They do the essential work that keeps our campuses safe,
clean, and well maintained so that our pupils and students can get to
school, focus on learning, and succeed at their highest levels.
(b) Because classified school employees are on the front lines
working to ensure the safety and care of pupils and students on our
campuses, they need professional development and training to update
their skills and to learn the best practices for vital education
programs, including campus safety, academic achievement and
curriculum standards, special education, health care, child
nutrition, pupil transportation, environmental safety, and parental
involvement.
(c) Teachers and administrators serving pupils in kindergarten and
grades 1 to 12, inclusive, play vital roles in supporting a pupil's
ability to achieve academically, and providing professional
development training to teachers and administrators is essential to
this goal.
(a) If a local educational agency expends funds for
professional development for any schoolsite staff, the local
educational agency shall consider the needs of its classified school
employees.
(b) For purposes of this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Classified school employee" means a person employed on a
full-time or a part-time basis as a classified school employee at a
community college, a public school, a charter school, or a county
office of education.
(2) "Local educational agency" means a school district, a county
office of education, a charter school, or a community college
district.
(c) Professional development training for classified school
employees to update their skills and to learn best practices may
include, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(1) Pupil learning and achievement, including all of the
following:
(A) Training for paraprofessionals to assist teachers and
administrators to improve the academic achievement of pupils.
(B) Training to ensure the curriculum frameworks and instructional
materials are aligned to the common core standards.
(C) Training in the management and use of state and local pupil
data to improve pupil learning.
(D) Training on the best practices in the appropriate
interventions and assistance to at-risk pupils.
(2) Pupil and campus safety, including training and staff
development in the latest and best practices for pupil safety and
campus safety.
(3) Education technology, including management strategies and best
practices regarding the use of education technology to improve pupil
performance.
(4) School facility maintenance and operations, including new
research and best practices in the operation and maintenance of
school facilities, such as green technology and energy efficiency,
that help reduce the use and the cost of energy at schoolsites.
(5) Special education, including training and staff development on
the best practices to meet the needs of special education pupils,
and to comply with any new state and federal mandates.
(6) School transportation and bus safety, including training and
staff development on the best practices and standards for pupil
transportation.
(7) Parent involvement, including training and staff development
to enhance the ability of a school to increase parent involvement at
schoolsites.
(8) Food service, including training and staff development on new
research and findings for food preparation to provide nutritional
meals and food management.
(9) Health, counseling, and nursing services, including training
and staff development on the latest and best practices for pupil
health care and counseling needs.
(10) Environmental safety, including training and staff
development on pesticides and other possibly toxic substances so that
they may be safely used at schoolsites.
Nothing in this article prohibits a local educational agency
from providing professional development to teachers and
administrators.