2007 California Education Code Article 13. National Board For Professional Teaching Standards Certification Incentive Program

CA Codes (edc:44395-44399)

44395.  (a) The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
Certification Incentive Program is hereby established to award grants
to school districts for the purpose of providing awards to teachers
who are employed by school districts or charter schools, are assigned
to teach in California public schools, and have attained
certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching
Standards.  Awards shall be granted to the extent that funds have
been appropriated for this purpose in the annual Budget Act.
   (1) Commencing July 1, 2000, any teacher who has attained
certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching
Standards is eligible to receive an award of up to twenty thousand
dollars (,000) if he or she agrees to teach at a  high-priority
school for at least four years.  Teaching service before July 1,
2000, may not be counted towards satisfaction of this four-year
commitment.
   (2) Awards granted pursuant to this subdivision shall be disbursed
in annual payments of five thousand dollars (,000) over a
four-year period.  The annual payment shall be made upon completion
of the school year, and upon approval of a district-certified
application pursuant to the guidelines of subdivision (c) of Section
44396.
   (b) The department shall administer the awards authorized by
subdivision (a), and shall develop, in consultation with the
Commission on Teacher Credentialing, certification and award
information, criteria, procedures, and applications, all of which
shall be submitted to the State Board of Education for approval.
Amendments requested by the State Board of Education to that
information, criteria, procedures, and applications shall be made
before the dissemination of the material and the granting of any
award under this article.
   (c) The department shall distribute the materials described in
subdivision (b) to school districts.  Each school district is
strongly encouraged to ensure that teachers employed by the district
or by charter schools affiliated with the district are informed about
the program and can acquire the necessary application and
information materials.
   (d) School districts are encouraged to provide for adequate
release time and support for a teacher to complete the certification
process.  As a condition to providing that release time and support,
a school district may require that a teacher serve in a mentor
teacher capacity.
   (e) For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:

   (1) "School district" means school district, county board of
education, county superintendent of schools, a state operated
program, including a special school, or an education program
providing instruction in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12,
inclusive, that is offered by a state agency, including the
California Youth Authority and the State Department of Developmental
Services.
   (2) "High-priority school" means a school in the bottom half of
all schools based on the Academic Performance Index rankings
established pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 52056.  This
designation shall be determined as of the date of the agreement by
the teacher described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).




44395.5.  For the purposes of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of
Section 44395, "assigned to teach" as used in subdivision (a) of that
section may include, but is not limited to, a teacher leadership
role as a peer assistance and review coach, mentor, or other teacher
support provider if the position does not require an administrative
credential.  In order to be eligible for an award pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 44395, a teacher shall be
assigned to teach for at least 50 percent of a full-time position.



44396.  (a) (1) To the extent that funds are available for that
purpose, a teacher who meets the criteria approved by the State Board
of Education pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 44395 is
eligible and may apply for an award by following the procedures and
instructions developed pursuant to that subdivision.
   (2) A teacher who attained certification from the National Board
for Professional Teaching Standards before January 1, 1999, and who
was employed by a school district or charter school and assigned to
teach in a California public school on the date of certification may
apply for an award authorized pursuant to this article if he or she
meets all the other requirements for that award specified by this
article.  For awards pursuant to this subdivision, teaching service
before July 1, 2000, may not be counted toward satisfaction of the
teacher's four-year agreement to teach in a high-priority school.
   (b) Teachers shall submit their applications for an award
authorized by this article to the school district employing them.
Teachers employed by a charter school shall submit their application
through the school district granting the school's charter.
   (c) If a school district receives an application for an award
authorized by this article, it shall certify that the applicant is
employed by the district or a charter school operating under a
charter granted by the school district and that the applicant has met
all the criteria established pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
44395.  The school district shall thereafter submit the application
to the State Department of Education for its review and approval.
   (d) The State Department of Education shall approve applications
that meet the criteria established pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 44395.  To the extent funds are available, the State
Department of Education shall apportion funds to the appropriate
school districts in the amount of the award authorized by Section
44395 for each approved application.  The school district shall use
funds apportioned to it pursuant to this subdivision to provide the
amount of the award authorized by subdivision (a) of Section 44395 to
each teacher whose application is approved.



44398.  Notwithstanding any provision of law except Sections
44332.6, 44340, 44346.1, and 44830.1, a teacher who is licensed to
teach in a state other than California and who is certified by the
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards shall be issued a
clear teaching credential authorizing the teacher to teach in the
subject area in which the teacher has received national
certification.



44399.  Notwithstanding any provision of law, except Sections
44332.6, 44340, 44346.1, and 44830.1, the commission shall issue a
professional clear credential to the holder of a preliminary multiple
subject, single subject, or education specialist teaching credential
who attains certification from the National Board for Professional
Teaching Standards.  The professional clear credential issued
pursuant to this section shall authorize the holder to teach in the
area that the commission determines is equivalent to the certificate
field in which the teacher received certification from the National
Board for Professional Teaching Standards.