Teacher credentialing: emergency career substitute teaching permit: alternative qualifications.

Removed amendment history dates from the header (previously listed amendments from March through August 2026) and replaced with passage dates: Passed the Assembly August 26, 2026 and Passed the Senate August 25, 2026.

Added enrollment formalities including Chief Clerk of the Assembly signature block, Secretary of the Senate signature block, a line for the date the bill was received by the Governor, and an 'Approved' line with space for the Governor's signature and date.

Removed all internal line numbers (line 1 through line 40) and page headers/footers that were present in the Senate-amended version, consistent with standard enrolled bill formatting.

The maximum cumulative days an emergency career substitute teaching permitholder can serve in a single classroom (including special education) was increased from 60 to 70 days.

Orientation training for both special education and general education substitute permitholders must now incorporate opportunities for participant engagement, which may include interactive questions and answers, reflection, or other active learning activities.

Mentoring requirements were strengthened: the mentor must now provide ongoing support for the full duration of the permitholder's assignment (previously just 'ongoing support aligned to the areas identified'), and a new recommendation was added that mentoring occur on average two hours per week or as otherwise appropriate.

Entire new Section 44303 was deleted. This section had allowed any holder of a credential or permit authorizing substitute teaching to serve up to 60 cumulative days in any one assignment, subject to conditions including collective bargaining agreement requirements, governing board approval for assignments exceeding 20 days (special education) or 30 days (general), quarterly county superintendent reporting, and professional development/orientation/mentorship before first assignment.

The bill's scope narrowed from both adding Section 44303 and amending Section 44300.5 to only amending Section 44300.5, removing the broad substitute teaching flexibility mechanism entirely.

The maximum cumulative days a career substitute permitholder (issued under the alternative qualification pathway) can serve in a single classroom was increased from 60 to 70 days, including for special education classrooms.

Assembly Member Patel was added as co-author of the bill.

The January 1, 2033 sunset date was removed. Section 44303 no longer expires and is now a permanent provision of the Education Code.

The start date for annual reporting to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing was changed from the 2026-27 school year to the 2027-28 school year.

New alternative qualifications for the emergency career substitute teaching permit: (1) verification of 90 days per year from one or more California school districts in a consortium, (2) for special education - 5 hours PD plus orientation training plus an assigned mentor who is an education specialist credentialholder, or (3) for general education - 5 hours PD plus orientation training plus an assigned mentor who is a multiple/single subject or administrative credentialholder.

Permits issued under the new alternatives are valid for 12 months. The first renewal requires verification of 30 hours of professional development covering classroom management, instructional strategies, curriculum, teaching English learners, IEPs, and safety protocols.

Local educational agencies must notify parents or guardians within 10 school days of placing an emergency career substitute permitholder who was issued under the new alternatives.

Career substitute permitholders issued under the new alternatives are authorized to serve up to 60 cumulative days in a single classroom, including special education classrooms, notwithstanding Section 56061.

A legislative intent paragraph directing the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to review its regulations for making substitute permit options more flexible and accessible was removed, as the bill now directly codifies those alternatives in statute.

Before assigning such a permitholder, the LEA must employ all available statutory leave substitutes or make reasonable recruitment efforts for vacant positions, mirroring requirements already in Section 44303.

LEAs must report to their governing board annually on substitute assignments of 31 days or longer (general education) or 21 days or longer (special education), and separately report to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing through the California Statewide Assignment Accountability System.

The annual reporting requirement for local educational agencies to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing was delayed by one year, now commencing with data from the 2027-28 school year instead of the 2026-27 school year.

A new paragraph (e)(3) was added stating that a substitute teacher who has received the required professional development, orientation training, and teaching mentor program shall qualify to serve in a single classroom for up to 60 days. This explicitly links completion of training to the 60-day service limit.

A standalone section (formerly Section 1) declaring 'It is the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation to improve the delivery of public education in California' was removed from the operative text of the bill.

The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now carries identified fiscal implications for state or local government.

Added new Section 44303 to the Education Code authorizing substitute teachers to serve up to 60 cumulative days per assignment (up from 30 or 60 depending on permit type), effective until January 1, 2033.

Added legislative findings acknowledging teacher shortages and directing CTCT to review whether existing substitute permit options (teaching permit for statutory leave, emergency career substitute permit) could be made more flexible while maintaining safeguards.

Added requirement that LEAs without a collective bargaining agreement covering substitute assignment must first employ all available substitutes holding a teaching permit for statutory leave (for statutory leave positions) or make reasonable recruitment efforts under Section 44225.7 (for vacant positions).

Added governing board approval requirement: before assigning a substitute for more than 20 cumulative days in special education or 30 cumulative days in any assignment, the district or charter school must obtain board approval at a public meeting if foreseeable, or provide an informational item at the next meeting if unforeseeable.

Added professional development requirement: substitutes without a preliminary or professional clear credential must receive at least 5 hours of professional development, an orientation training (covering classroom management, instructional strategies, and safety protocols), and an assigned teaching mentor program before their first assignment.

Added quarterly reporting by county superintendents to county boards of education on the number of substitutes serving beyond the 20-day special education or 30-day general thresholds.

Added annual reporting by LEAs to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing starting with 2026-27 school year data, including separate identification of placements due to vacant positions versus teacher leave.

Changed fiscal committee designation from 'no' to 'yes' in the bill's procedural information.