State Auditor: Commission on Teacher Credentialing: enforcement program monitor.

Existing law establishes the Bureau of State Audits, which is headed by the State Auditor and has specified statutory duties, including the performance of statutorily mandated audits. Existing law establishes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to, among other things, establish professional standards, assessments, and examinations for entry and advancement in the education profession. This bill would require the State Auditor to appoint an enforcement program monitor to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, for the purpose of monitoring and evaluating the Division of Professional Practices within the commission. The purpose of the monitoring would be to improve the quality and consistency of reviewing reported misconduct by holders of, or applicants for, teaching credentials, reducing timeframes and backlogs related to reviewing cases of misconduct, ensuring the establishment and usage of comprehensive written procedures for reviewing reported misconduct, effectively tracking cases, and fostering an overall professional workplace environment at the division and the commission. The bill would require the enforcement program monitor to submit an initial written report of his or her findings and conclusions to the State Auditor, the Legislature, and the Joint Legislative Audit Committee by July 1, 2012, and every 6 months thereafter, and to submit a final report by January 1, 2014. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2014. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.