Teacher credentialing: instruction to pupils with autism.

The Commission on Teacher Credentialing is authorized to issue teaching and services credentials, and is required to establish standards and procedures for the issuance and renewal of credentials. Existing law authorizes a local educational agency or school to assign a teacher who holds a level 1 education specialist credential to provide instruction to pupils with autism, subject to specified requirements. Existing law makes those provisions inoperative 2 years after the commission adopts regulations relating to the requirements for obtaining a specialist credential in special education, or on August 31, 2011, whichever occurs first, and repeals those provisions on January 1, 2012. This bill would delete the provision requiring the education specialist credential to be a level 1 credential, would extend the inoperative date to October 1, 2013, and would repeal those provisions on January 1, 2014. The bill would express various findings and declarations of the Legislature, and would delete obsolete provisions.