2005 California Education Code Sections 44320-44324 Article 7. Professional Preparation

44320.  (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.
44320.2.  (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) 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.
   (3) Request that the commission conduct the performance assessment
for its candidates.
   (c) The performance assessment shall not be incorporated into
professional preparation programs without streamlining the existing
teacher credential requirements.  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 candidate's preparation program as provided by
law.
   (d) Subject to the availability of funds in the annual Budget Act,
the commission shall perform 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.  Not fewer than 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) Design, develop, adopt, administer, and score the assessment
for candidates that request direct administration of the assessment
by the commission.
   (4) 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.
   (5) Initially and periodically analyze the validity of assessment
content and the reliability of assessment scores that are established
pursuant to this section.
   (6) 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 each candidate's performance in
each assessment.
   (7) Analyze possible sources of bias in the performance assessment
and act promptly to eliminate any bias that is discovered.
   (8) 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.
   (9) 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.
   (10) 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 aligned with the California Standards
for the Teaching Profession.  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 candidate's teaching knowledge, skill, and ability.
   (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 new
teacher's individual induction plan pursuant to Section 44279.2.
   (f) The teaching performance assessment that is offered in
accordance with paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) shall be subject to
Sections 44235.1 and 44298.  Assessments in accordance with
paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (b), including the commission's
administrative costs, shall be subject to the annual Budget Act.
44321.  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.
44322.  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.
44323.  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.
44324.  (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).