California Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing Program: leave of absence for student teaching.

Under existing law, the governing board of a school district may grant leaves of absences, with or without pay, to persons employed in the classified service of the school district. Existing law establishes the California Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing Program for the purpose of recruiting classified school employees to participate in a program designed to encourage them to enroll in teacher training programs, as defined, and to provide instructional service as teachers in the public schools. Existing law requires the commission, subject to an appropriation for these purposes in the annual Budget Act or other statute, to issue a request for proposals to all school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education in the state in order to solicit applications for funding. Existing law requires the criteria adopted by the commission for the selection of those local educational agencies to participate in the program to include, among other things, the extent to which the applicant demonstrates the capacity and willingness to accommodate the participation of classified school employees in teacher training programs conducted at institutions of higher education or a local educational agency. Existing law requires an applicant to require participants to provide information, meet requirements, and commit to accomplishing criteria, as provided. This bill would add wage replacement as one of the criteria that the commission is required to include in its selection of school districts, charter schools, or county offices of education for the program. The bill would require participating classified employees who participate in the program on or after January 1, 2024, to be entitled to a leave of absence from a participating local educational agency of up to 600 hours for the purpose of completing a student teaching requirement as required by a teacher training program. The bill would require a participating local educational agency, upon a classified employee participant's request, to provide the participant with a stipend during a leave of absence for student teaching that is equal to the participant's regular wages and would require that local educational agency to continue to pay for any benefits during the leave. The bill would require the commission to increase the individual participant award amount to cover those additional costs relating to the leave of absence, including stipend costs. The bill would require a classified employee participant, under specified circumstances, to reimburse the participating local educational agency the amount of grant funding provided to the employee for assistance and would authorize the participating local educational agency to recover that amount, as provided. The bill would make the implementation of these provisions contingent upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another statute for these purposes.