Elementary and secondary education: omnibus.

(1) 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 makes various references to credentials and other authorizations issued by the State Board of Education or the Commission for Teacher Preparation and Licensing, or just the Commission for Teacher Preparation and Licensing, as specified. This bill would instead only reference the Commission on Teacher Credentialing for those credentials and other authorizations. (2) Existing law authorizes county superintendents of schools, with the approval of the county board of education, to employ one or more supervisors of health, contract with the county board of supervisors or with any local health district, or enter an agreement with the governing board of any school district under their jurisdiction to provide health services to pupils in certain elementary school districts, high school districts, and unified school districts, as specified. Existing law requires those services to be performed by persons who hold a valid health and development credential, or life diploma based thereon, or a services credential with a specialization in health, as provided, but authorizes a psychologist to be employed to perform psychological services or to perform psychological services under contract if they are the holder of a valid school psychologist credential issued by the state board. This bill would, among other things, delete that latter authorization regarding psychologists. (3) Existing law establishes the Local Public Library Partnership Program, under the administration of the State Librarian, for purposes of ensuring that all pupils have access to a local public library by 3rd grade. Existing law defines "student success card" for purposes of the program to mean a card issued by a local public library that provides access to library services, including, among other things, online tutoring. The bill would revise the definition of "student success card" to specify that library services instead include online tutoring, where available. Existing law requires the State Librarian, among other things, to (A) coordinate with each local public library to determine the most effective means to ensure each pupil in each local educational agency, as defined, is issued a student success card by 3rd grade and (B) ensure, on or before January 1, 2026, that partnerships between local public libraries and local educational agencies have been established to enable each pupil enrolled at a schoolsite of each local educational agency to be issued a student success card by 3rd grade, as provided. This bill would, among other things, revise those requirements by requiring the State Librarian to instead (A) coordinate with each local public library to determine the most effective means to ensure each pupil in each local educational agency is instead provided with the opportunity to obtain a student success card by 3rd grade and (B) ensure that partnerships between local public libraries and local educational agencies have been established to enable each pupil enrolled at a schoolsite of each local educational agency to be provided with the opportunity to obtain a student success card by 3rd grade, as provided. Existing law authorizes a local educational agency to disclose, consistent with federal law, directory information, as defined, to the State Librarian for purposes of administering the program. This bill would authorize a local educational agency to instead disclose, consistent with federal law, directory information to both the State Librarian and a local public library for purposes of administering the program. (4) Existing law authorizes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, in order to expedite the application process for the benefit of applicants for credentials, certificates, permits, or other documents, to receive from, or transmit to, the agency that submitted the application, either electronically or by printed copy, the information set forth in that application. For purposes of these provisions, existing law defines "agency" to mean a school district, county office of education, or institution of higher education having a commission-approved program of professional preparation. This bill would include the status of the application in those authorized transmissions. (5) Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to waive the requirements for completion of a program of professional preparation for any individual with a minimum of 6 years of full-time teaching experience in an accredited private school, as determined by the commission, in the subject and level of the credential sought, who complies with specified requirements. This bill would require the teaching experience in an accredited private school to instead be at a regionally accredited private school. (6) Existing law prescribes the minimum requirements for the preliminary services credential with a specialization in administrative services, including, among other requirements, (A) the completion of a minimum of 3 years of successful, full-time classroom teaching experience in the public schools, including, but not limited to, service in state- or county-operated schools, or in private schools of equivalent status or 3 years of experience in the fields of pupil personnel, health, clinical or rehabilitative, or librarian services, and (B) current employment in an administrative position after completion of professional preparation, whether full or part time, in a public school or private school of equivalent status. This bill would require the classroom teaching experience at a private school, and current employment in an administrative position at a private school, to instead have been at or be at, a regionally accredited private school. (7) Existing law, for the 2023–24 fiscal year, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to allocate $10,000,000 to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to establish the Diverse Education Leaders Pipeline Initiative program, and provides that the purpose of the program is to train, place, and retain diverse and culturally responsive administrators in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to improve pupil outcomes and meet the needs of California's education workforce. Existing law prescribes certain goals for the program, including, among others, mitigating or removing administrator credentialing costs for aspiring public school administrators for transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and administrator preparation and induction programs. This bill would clarify that goal and provisions regarding the permissible uses of funding allocated pursuant to the program for administrator candidates. (8) This bill would also delete obsolete provisions, correct cross-references, and make other nonsubstantive changes. (9) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 44270 of the Education Code proposed by AB 2725 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2725 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (10) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 48901.1 of the Education Code proposed by AB 2711 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2711 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.