Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law requires the board of governors to adopt regulations to establish and maintain the minimum qualifications for service as a faculty member teaching credit instruction, a faculty member teaching noncredit instruction, a librarian, a counselor, an educational administrator, an extended opportunity programs and services worker, a disabled students programs and services worker, an apprenticeship instructor, and a supervisor of health. Existing law provides, notwithstanding that provision, that a person authorized to serve as a community college instructor, librarian, counselor, student personnel worker, supervisor, administrator, or chief administrative officer under a credential shall retain the right to serve under the terms of that credential, and, for that purpose, shall be deemed to possess the minimum qualifications specified for every discipline or service covered by the credential until the expiration of that credential. Existing law requires the board of governors to adopt regulations authorizing local governing boards to employ faculty members and educational administrators who do not meet the specified minimum qualifications, subject to alternative minimum qualifications. This bill would explicitly require a community college instructor, librarian, counselor, student personnel worker, supervisor, administrator, chief administrative officer, extended opportunity programs and services worker, disabled students programs and services worker, apprenticeship instructor, or supervisor of health to be a person who meets the above-described minimum qualifications to serve in that position or the alternative qualifications to serve in that position.
Existing law establishes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, consisting of 15 voting members, including the Superintendent of Public Instruction as a permanent member and 14 other members, including 6 practicing teachers from public elementary and secondary schools and 3 representatives of the public, appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, serving staggered 4-year terms, as provided. The bill would authorize the governor to appoint to the commission, as one of the 6 practicing teachers, a teacher with a commission-issued child development teacher permit who teaches at a licensed state-funded preschool or prekindergarten program, as provided. The bill would, upon the occurrence of the first vacancy of a public representative position on or after January 1, 2026, reduce the number of public representatives on the commission from 3 to 2 and require the governor to appoint instead one early childhood faculty member representing the early childhood higher education systems who teaches at either (1) an early childhood or child development baccalaureate degree program at one of the California State University or University of California campuses or (2) an associate degree program in one of the California Community Colleges' early childhood education programs.
Existing law authorizes a school district or county office of education to develop a schoolsite-based oral health assessment program. Existing law authorizes school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to enter into a memorandum of understanding with a nonprofit eye examination provider to provide eye examinations to pupils at any schoolsite within the local educational agency. Existing law authorizes school districts to release pupil directory information, as specified, and defines directory information as one or more prescribed items, including, among others, a pupil's name, address, telephone number, and date of birth. Existing law prohibits the release of directory information of a pupil identified as a homeless child or youth, as defined, unless a parent or eligible pupil has given written consent that the information may be released. This bill, notwithstanding the above provision, would authorize the disclosure of directory information of a pupil identified as a homeless child or youth, as defined, to facilitate an eye examination or an oral health assessment, as described above, unless the parent or a pupil who has been accorded parental rights, as provided, has provided written notice to the school that they do not consent to the physical examination, as specified. The bill would require directory information disclosed pursuant to this authorization to be disclosed only for the purpose of facilitating an eye examination or an oral health assessment, as provided. The bill would provide that reports made to a parent, legal guardian, or caregiver of a pupil experiencing homelessness about a pupil defect identified from an eye examination or an oral health assessment, as described above, should be made by alternative communication channels rather than mail, when possible.
Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials, certificates, and permits. Existing law sets forth the minimum requirements for a preliminary services credential with a specialization in administrative services, which include, among other requirements, possession of one of various types of credentials and the completion of either an entry-level program of specialized and professional preparation in administrative services or a one-year internship in a program of supervised training in administrative services, as provided. This bill would limit the above-described one-year internship programs to those provided by a school district, county office of education, or regionally accredited institution of higher education. The bill would require the commission to examine its preservice, professional development, and supervision requirements for those internship programs when the commission next considers administrative services credential pathways. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 44270 of the Education Code proposed by AB 1009 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1009 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
(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.
This measure would recognize May 2025 as Head Start Month and call on the Congress and the President of the United States to protect and increase funding for Head Start.
Existing law makes legislative findings and declarations that set forth the principles for public postsecondary institutions and budgetary control agencies to observe in providing postsecondary programs and services for students with disabilities, including the principle that state-funded activity is directly related to the functional limitations of the verifiable disabilities of the students to be served. Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that, as appropriate for each postsecondary segment, funds for disabled student programs and services be based on 3 categories of costs, including a continuing variable costs category for services that vary in frequency depending on the needs of students, such as, among other services, diagnostic assessment, including both individual and group assessment not otherwise provided by the institution to determine functional, educational, or employment levels or to certify specific disabilities. Existing law requires the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges to adopt rules and regulations for the administration and funding of educational programs and support services to be provided to disabled students by community college districts. Existing law requires those regulations to provide for the apportionment of funds to each community college district to offset the direct excess cost of providing specialized support services or instruction, or both, to disabled students enrolled in state-supported disabled student services programs or courses. Existing law describes those direct excess costs as those actual fixed, variable, and one-time costs, including those described above, that exceed the combined total of specified costs, revenues, and funds. Existing law establishes the Student Aid Commission as the primary state agency for the administration of state-authorized student financial aid programs available to students attending all segments of postsecondary education. This bill would revise the intent of the Legislature relating to diagnostic assessments by including costs for continuing assessments, required documentation, and individual and group assessments provided by the institution or by an outside entity, as provided. The bill would also expand the purpose of the assessments to include defining specific disabilities of the student and as proof for academic or institutional accommodations. This bill, commencing July 1, 2027, and upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, would require the Trustees of the California State University, and would request the Regents of the University of California, to cover the costs of diagnostic assessments for learning disabilities as proof for academic accommodations for any student who receives student financial aid or who is eligible for financial assistance from the institution's health or disability center, unless those diagnostic assessments are covered by the student's health insurance plan, as provided. The bill would require state funds to be provided annually for the cost of these services on an actual-cost basis and would require each institution to be responsible for documenting its costs to the Student Aid Commission. The bill would require the commission to oversee reimbursements to institutions for their documented costs. The bill would require each educational institution to post on its internet website that the educational institution will cover the costs of the diagnostic assessments for such students.
(1) Existing federal law, known as Title IX, prohibits a person, on the basis of sex, from being excluded from participation in, being denied the benefits of, or being subject to discrimination under, any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Existing state law, the Sex Equity in Education Act, requires public schools, private schools that receive federal funds and are subject to the requirements of Title IX, school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to post in a prominent and conspicuous location on their internet websites specified information relating to Title IX. This bill would require the State Department of Education to, on or before January 1, 2028, review the existing California School Climate, Health, and Learning Surveys system to identify areas of the surveys where age-appropriate questions related to sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse safety can be incorporated, as provided. The bill would declare the second full week in September as "Sexual Harassment Safety Week," during which time the bill would require all public schools, including charter schools, to focus on fostering a safe and secure environment for all members of the school community and place an emphasis on preventing sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse, as provided. By imposing new duties on schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would encourage public schools to host interactive activities that cover school policies related to preventing sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse, and prominently post specified resources and information about preventing those acts on the school's digital platform, as provided. The bill would encourage school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to, in coordination with specified personnel, send a written notice to the school community highlighting the Sexual Harassment Safety Week. (2) Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the State Board of Education. Existing law, the California Healthy Youth Act, requires school districts, charter schools, county boards of education, county superintendents of schools, the California School for the Deaf, and the California School for the Blind to ensure that all pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, receive comprehensive sexual health education and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention education, as specified. The act requires that instruction to include, among other things, information about sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and human trafficking, as provided. This bill would require the commission, when the Health Education Framework for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve is next revised on or after January 1, 2026, to consider including in that curriculum framework information related to, among other things, the Uniform Complaint Procedures, Title IX, and what a pupil should do if they believe another pupil has been subjected to sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or retaliation, as provided. The bill would encourage the same information to also be provided as part of the instruction required under the comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education provisions. (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.
(1) Existing federal law requires a postsecondary educational institution that offers distance education to students located in a state in which the postsecondary educational institution is not physically located to meet any of that state's requirements for it to offer distance education in that state. Existing federal law authorizes a state to participate in an interstate reciprocity agreement to comply with this requirement. This bill would authorize the Governor, on or before January 1, 2028, to enter into one or more interstate reciprocity agreements for distance education through a compact on behalf of the state upon issuing certain written findings and after certain committees of the Legislature hold a joint hearing on the agreement, as provided. This bill would require the Governor to designate a state agency, department, or office for the implementation of an interstate reciprocity agreement for distance education if the Governor enters into such an agreement, as provided. The bill would authorize postsecondary educational institutions to apply to the designated entity for approval to operate under an interstate reciprocity agreement, as specified. (2) The California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 provides, among other things, for student protections and regulatory oversight of private postsecondary institutions in the state. The act is enforced by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education within the Department of Consumer Affairs. The act requires an out-of-state private postsecondary educational institution to register with the bureau, pay a fee, and comply with additional delineated requirements. Existing law provides exemptions from the act for, among others, accredited, degree-granting, nonprofit, higher education institutions and degree-granting public higher education institutions. If the Governor enters into an interstate reciprocity agreement, this bill would subject any accredited, degree-granting, nonprofit, higher education institutions and degree-granting public higher education institutions to the act unless the entity is approved pursuant to an interstate reciprocity agreement.
(1) Existing law requires a pupil to complete designated coursework while in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, in order to receive a diploma of graduation from high school. These graduation requirements include, among others, the completion of 3 courses in social studies, including a one-semester course in American government and civics. Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the State Board of Education. This bill, subject to appropriation by the Legislature for this purpose, would require the State Department of Education, in collaboration with, and subject to the approval of, the executive director of the state board, to enter into a contract with a county office of education or a consortium of county offices of education for the purpose of developing a curriculum guide for a one-year course in American government and civics, as provided. The bill would require the curriculum guide to include, among other things, fundamentals on federal, state, and local government, as provided, and specified information relating to voting. (2) Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, on or before January 1, 2020, to recommend to the state board criteria for awarding a State Seal of Civic Engagement to pupils who have demonstrated excellence in civics education and participation and have demonstrated an understanding of the United States Constitution, the California Constitution, and the democratic system of government. Existing law requires the state board, on or before January 31, 2021, to adopt, reject, or modify the criteria recommended by the Superintendent. This bill would provide that a pupil's successful completion of a one-year course in American government and civics satisfies specified criteria adopted by the state board related to the State Seal of Civic Engagement. The bill would require a pupil who has successfully completed a one-year course in American government and civics, in order to receive the State Seal of Civic Engagement, to still satisfy all other criteria adopted by the state board.
