Teacher preparation programs: regionally accredited institutions.

Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to, among other duties, establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials, certificates, and permits. Under existing law, the commission establishes standards for teacher preparation programs at postsecondary educational institutions. This bill would define "regionally accredited," as that term is applied to institutions of higher education with teacher preparation programs, as either an institution that has been approved or recognized by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, or by a comparable accrediting agency serving another region within the United States, or an institution of higher education that held preaccreditation status at the time the degree of an applicant for a credential was conferred, if that institution achieved full regional accreditation status within 5 years of earning preaccreditation status. The bill would also make conforming changes to use the term "institution of higher education" to refer to certain postsecondary educational institutions with teacher preparation programs. The bill would also define "accredited private school" for purposes of defining professional field experience requirements for individuals with full-time teaching experience in those schools.