2005 California Education Code Sections 44390-44393 Training Program

44390.  The Legislature hereby finds and declares that over the next
five years, as many as 50 percent of the classroom teachers in many
urban school districts with large percentages of minority pupils will
be eligible for retirement.  The Legislature further finds and
declares that in many school districts there are a number of
classified employees, particularly minority group members, who are
enrolled in, who have been enrolled in, or who would be interested in
enrolling in, a teacher training program leading to a teaching
credential if they were provided assistance in applying for admission
and financial aid for that purpose.
   The Legislature also finds and declares that educational
paraprofessionals who serve pupils in the public schools provide
valuable instructional services to public school pupils.  A program
to enhance instructional competencies and to prepare school
paraprofessionals to become teachers would result in improved
services in terms of their role in the instructional program in the
classroom.
44391.  This article shall be known and may be cited as the
Wildman-Keeley-Solis Exemplary Teacher Training Act of 1997.
44392.  For the purposes of this article, unless the context clearly
requires otherwise, the following terms shall have the following
meanings:
   (a) "Institutions of higher education" means the California
Community Colleges, the California State University, the University
of California, and private institutions of higher education that
offer an accredited teacher training program.
   (b) "Program" means the California School Paraprofessional Teacher
Training Program established pursuant to Section 44393.
   (c) "Teaching paraprofessional" means the following job
classifications:  educational aide, special education aide, special
education assistant, teacher associate, teacher assistant, teacher
aide, pupil service aide, library aide, child development aide, child
development assistant, and physical education aide.
   (d) "Teacher training program" means any undergraduate or graduate
program of instruction conducted by a campus of an institution of
higher education that includes a developmentally sequenced career
ladder to provide instruction, coursework, and clearly defined tasks
for each level of the ladder, and that is designed to qualify
students enrolled in the program for a teaching credential
authorizing instruction in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12,
inclusive.
44393.  (a) The California School Paraprofessional Teacher Training
Program is hereby established for the purpose of recruiting
paraprofessionals to participate in a program designed to encourage
them to enroll in teacher training programs and to provide
instructional service as teachers in the public schools.
   (b) The Commission on Teacher Credentialing, in consultation with
the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the Chancellor
of the California State University, the President of the University
of California, the chancellors of private institutions of higher
education that offer accredited teacher training programs, and
representatives of certificated and classified employee
organizations, shall select 24 or more school districts or county
offices of education representing rural, urban, and suburban areas
that apply to participate in the program.  The commission shall
ensure that, at a minimum, a total of 600 school paraprofessionals
are recruited from among the 24 or more participating school
districts or county offices of education.  The criteria adopted by
the commission for the selection of school districts or county
offices of education to participate in the program shall include all
of the following:
   (1) The extent to which the applicant school district or county
office of education demonstrates the capacity and willingness to
accommodate the participation of school paraprofessionals of the
school in teacher training programs conducted at institutions of
higher education.
   (2) The extent to which the applicant's plan for the
implementation of its recruitment program involves the active
participation of one or more local campuses of the participating
institutions of higher education in the development of coursework and
teaching programs for participating school paraprofessionals.  Each
selected school district or county office of education shall be
required to enter into a written articulation agreement with the
participating campuses of the institutions of higher education.
   (3) The extent to which the applicant's plan for recruitment
attempts to meet the demand for bilingual-crosscultural teachers.
   (4) The extent to which the applicant's plan for recruitment
attempts to meet the demand for multiple subject credentialed
teachers interested in teaching kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 3,
inclusive.  For purposes of this paragraph, each paraprofessional
selected to participate shall have completed at least two years of
undergraduate college or university coursework and shall have
demonstrated an interest in obtaining a multiple subject teaching
credential for teaching kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 3,
inclusive.
   (5) The extent to which the applicant's plan for recruitment
attempts to meet the demand for special education teachers.
   (6) The extent to which the applicant's plan for recruitment
includes a developmentally sequenced series of job descriptions that
lead from an entry-level school paraprofessional position to an
entry-level teaching position in that school district or county
office of education.
   (7) The extent to which the applicant's plan for recruitment
attempts to meet its own specific teacher needs.
   (8) The extent to which the applicant's plan for implementation of
its recruitment program involves participation in a district
internship program pursuant to Sections 44325, 44326, 44327, 44328,
and 44830.3 or a university internship program pursuant to Article 3
(commencing with Section 44450) of Chapter 3.
   (c) Each selected school district or county office of education
shall provide information and assistance to each school
paraprofessional it recruits under the program regarding admission to
a teacher training program.
   (d) (1) The school district or county office of education shall
recruit and organize groups, or "cohorts," of school
paraprofessionals, of no more than 30, and no less than 10, in each
cohort.  Cohorts shall be organized to consist of school
paraprofessionals having approximately equal academic experience and
qualifications, as determined by the school district or county office
of education.  To the extent possible, the members of each cohort
shall proceed through the same subject matter and credential
programs.  The members of each cohort shall enroll in the same campus
and shall be provided by the school district or county office of
education with appropriate support and information throughout the
course of their studies.
   (2) Each school district or county office of education shall
certify that it has received a commitment from each member of a
cohort that he or she will accomplish all of the following:
   (A) Graduate from an institution of higher education under the
program with a bachelor's degree.
   (B) Complete all of the requirements for and obtain a multiple
subject, single subject, or education specialist teaching credential.
   (C) Complete one school year of classroom instruction in the
district or county office of education for each year that he or she
receives assistance for books, fees, and tuition while attending an
institution of higher education under the program.
   (3) To the extent that any participant does not fulfill his or her
obligations, as set forth in paragraph (2), the participant shall be
required to repay the assistance.  If a participant is laid off, the
participant may not be required to repay the assistance until the
participant is offered reemployment and has an opportunity to fulfill
his or her obligations under this section.
   (e) The commission shall contract with an independent evaluator
with a proven record of experience in assessing career-advancement
programs or teacher training programs to determine the success of the
recruitment programs established pursuant to subdivision (b).  The
evaluation shall be made on an annual basis and shall include, but
not be limited to, all of the following:
   (1) The total cost per person participating in the program who
successfully obtains a teaching credential, based upon all state,
local, federal, and other sources of funding.
   (2) The economic status of persons participating in the pilot
program.
   (3) A description of financial and other resources made available
to each recruitment program by participating school districts or
county offices of education, institutions of higher education, and
other participating organizations.
   (4) The extent to which pupil performance on standardized
achievement tests has improved in classes taught by teachers who have
successfully completed the program, in comparison to classes taught
by other teachers who have equivalent teaching experience.
   (5) The extent to which pupil dropout rates and other measures of
delinquency have improved in classes taught by teachers who have
successfully completed the program.
   (6) The extent to which teachers who have successfully completed
the program remain in the communities in which they reside and in
which they teach.
   (7) The attrition rate of teachers who have successfully completed
the program.
   (f) Each selected school district or county office of education
shall report to the commission regarding the progress of each cohort
of school paraprofessionals, and other information regarding its
recruitment program as the commission may direct.
   (g) No later than January 1 of each year, the commission shall
report to the Legislature regarding the status of the pilot program,
including, but not limited to, the number of school paraprofessionals
recruited, the academic progress of the school paraprofessionals
recruited, the number of school paraprofessionals recruited who are
subsequently employed as teachers in the public schools, the degree
to which the program meets the demand for bilingual and special
education teachers, the degree to which the program or similar
programs can meet that demand if properly funded and executed, and
other effects upon the operation of the public schools.
   (h) It is the intent of the Legislature that each fiscal year,
funding for the California School Paraprofessional Teacher Training
Program be allocated to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing for
grants to school districts pursuant to this section.  In no case
shall grants to any school district exceed the equivalent of three
thousand dollars ($3,000) annually per paraprofessional in the
program.  Funding for grants to school districts pursuant to this
subdivision, shall be contingent upon an appropriation in the annual
Budget Act.