Official Summary Text
AB 2325, as amended, Alvarez.
Teachers: bilingual teachers:
online database and pipeline.
Pathways to Bilingual Teaching Program.
Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary schools in this state and authorizes local educational agencies throughout the state to operate schools and provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Existing law establishes various programs for the recruitment of teachers. Existing law establishes the Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program, administered by the State Department of Education in consultation with the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, for teachers seeking to provide instruction in bilingual and multilingual settings.
This bill, which would be operative upon appropriation by the Legislature, would establish the Pathways to Bilingual Teaching Program and would require the commission
to develop and implement a program to award, on a competitive basis, grants of up to $600,000 to consortia of local educational agencies, community colleges, and 4-year institutions of higher education to establish or expand pathways to bilingual teaching to enable bilingual pupils to earn a multiple subject, single subject, or education specialist teaching credential, with a bilingual authorization, as provided. The bill would require the commission to conduct outreach to eligible institutions to encourage applications and support institutions that need assistance in developing partnerships, as provided. The bill would require the commission to annually report to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature on any grants funded until funds are fully expended, as specified.
This bill would require the department, in consultation with the commission, to establish an online database for purposes of connecting the preparation, credentialing, and long-term retention of teachers seeking to provide instruction in bilingual
and multilingual settings and require the database to, among other things, track local educational agencies, as defined, capable of employing teachers seeking to provide instruction in bilingual and multilingual settings, as provided. The bill would state the Legislature’s intent to build a statewide bilingual teacher pipeline for specified purposes, including, among other purposes, for purposes of using eligible grant programs to address the bilingual teacher shortage.