Teachers: Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program: bilingual teacher shortage pathways.

Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary schools in this state and authorizes local educational agencies throughout the state to operate schools and provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to, among other duties, establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials, certificates, and permits. Existing law requires the commission to issue an authorization for a teacher who meets specified requirements to provide instruction to English learners. Existing law establishes the Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program and requires the State Department of Education to allocate grant funding to local educational agencies or a consortia of local educational agencies for purposes of providing professional development services to specified teachers and paraprofessionals to provide instruction to English learners. This bill would require the commission, on or before July 1, 2020, in consultation with the Committee on Accreditation, to develop a process for the purpose of identifying short-term, high-quality pathways to address the shortage of bilingual education teachers, as provided. The bill would require the commission, on or before July 1, 2021, to provide recommendations to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature regarding the development of pathways for the preparation of bilingual education teachers. The bill would make these provisions operative only if an appropriation or private funding is made available for these purposes.