Education

Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to establish standards and procedures for the issuance and renewal of credentials, certificates, and permits. Under existing regulations, the requirements for the initial issuance of an emergency career substitute teaching permit include, among other requirements, verification by an employer that the applicant has completed at least 90 days of substitute teaching in each of the 3 years immediately preceding the date of the application either in the school district or, if the county office of education assigns substitute teachers, in one or more school districts in the county, as provided. This bill would require the commission to accept, as an alternative to verification of 90 days of substitute teaching described above, verification that the substitute teacher has received at least 5 hours of professional development, an orientation training, and an assigned teaching mentor program, as provided. The bill would authorize a holder of an emergency career substitute teaching permit who was issued the permit based on the alternatives pursuant to these provisions to serve up to 70 cumulative days in a single classroom, including for special education teachers. The bill would require, the first time a permitholder who was issued a permit issued pursuant to these provisions has their permit renewed, the permitholder to provide verification of 30 hours of professional development, as provided. The bill would require a permit issued or renewed pursuant to these provisions to be valid for 12 months. The bill would require a local educational agency to follow specified procedures before assigning a substitute who holds a career substitute permit and to annually report specified information to its governing board or governing body and additional information to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing related to those assignments.

Existing law establishes the California DREAM Loan Program, which authorizes a student attending a participating campus of the University of California or California State University to receive a loan, referred to as a DREAM loan, if the student satisfies certain requirements. Existing law prohibits a student from borrowing more than $4,000 within a single academic year and more than $40,000 in the aggregate under the program. Existing law prohibits a student enrolled in an undergraduate program from borrowing more than $20,000 as an undergraduate student and prohibits a student enrolled in a graduate program from borrowing more than $20,000 as a graduate student. This bill would instead prohibit a student enrolled in an undergraduate program from borrowing more than $4,000 within a single academic year, and a student enrolled in a graduate program from borrowing more than $20,500 within a single academic year. The bill would increase the aggregate limit under the program for a student enrolled in a graduate program to $118,500 as a graduate student, while maintaining the $20,000 aggregate limit under the program for a student enrolled in an undergraduate program, thereby increasing the overall aggregate limit under the program for a student who receives a DREAM loan for both undergraduate and graduate enrollment to $138,500.

(1) Existing law, the Charter Schools Act of 1992, authorizes the establishment, operation, and governance of charter schools. Existing law authorizes a charter school that has an approved charter to receive funding for nonclassroom-based instruction only if a determination for funding is made by the State Board of Education, as specified. The act prohibits, from January 1, 2020, to January 1, 2026, inclusive, the approval of a petition for the establishment of a new charter school offering nonclassroom-based instruction, as specified. This bill would extend that prohibition to continue through January 1, 2027. (2) Existing law, until January 1, 2026, sets out performance standards and procedures for the renewal of the charter of an existing charter school, including, among other things, the use of verified data, as provided. Existing law sets out revised standards and procedures that are operative on and after January 1, 2026, that, among other things, no longer requires a chartering authority to use verified data and instead requires a chartering authority to use only the data reported on the California School Dashboard in making a renewal decision, as provided. This bill would extend, until January 1, 2027, the operation of the performance standards and procedures for the renewal of charter schools that would otherwise be inoperative on January 1, 2026, and would delay the operation of the revised standards and procedures until January 1, 2027. To the extent the bill imposes new duties on local educational agencies acting as chartering authorities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.