California Student Teacher Support Grant Program.

Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials, certificates, and permits. Existing law requires the commission to adopt standards for the accreditation of postsecondary teacher preparation programs. Existing law prescribes "clinical practice" as one of the commission-adopted standards and requires that teaching credential candidates perform 600 hours of clinical practice throughout the candidate's teacher preparation program, including, as a component of those hours, unpaid student teaching. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature, to improve teacher retention and recruitment in California's public school system, to create a grant program to compensate student teachers to help alleviate financial stress at an important time in the teacher preparation process. The bill would, contingent upon an appropriation of one-time funding by the Legislature, establish the California Student Teacher Support Grant Program, under the administration of the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, to award grants of an unspecified amount to teaching credential candidates to compensate the candidates while they perform the required student teaching. The bill would require stipends for each student teacher to be equal to the daily substitute teacher rate for the applicant local educational agency, as defined. In administering the California Student Teacher Support Grant Program, the bill would require the commission to issue a request for applications to all local educational agencies in the state in order to solicit applications for funding. The bill would require the commission to adopt criteria for the selection of local educational agencies to participate in the California Student Teacher Support Grant Program, including that the applicant local educational agency requires participating teaching credential candidates to pass a criminal background check before participating in the program and commit to accomplishing certain criteria, including completing their 600 hours of clinical practice that is required as part of the participant's teacher preparation program, as provided. The bill would require the commission to annually report to the education and policy committees of both houses of the Legislature certain information regarding the California Student Teacher Support Grant Program, as provided.