State Acts to Meet Federal Teacher Credential Rules

The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing adopted a plan Thursday to bring the state into compliance with tough new federal rules calling for all teachers in schools that receive federal aid to be adequately trained.

The strategy involves a combination of intensified training for teacher candidates and interns and a reclassification of thousands of teachers who have emergency permits but actually meet the new federal standard even if they lack a state credential.

Linda Bond, director of government relations for the commission, said the state can implement the federal standard without the turmoil that union and school district officials have predicted. More than 40,000 teachers in California are working on emergency permits.

“We don’t think it will be chaos at all,” Bond said.

In informal talks with the commission, federal officials have acknowledged that some schools will not be able to comply immediately, Bond said.

“There was some fear the federal government would immediately remove money,” Bond said. “We are being assured that will not be the case.”

The government is prepared to provide assistance to help those schools get into compliance, she said.

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education declined to comment on the state’s proposal Thursday, saying the agency had not yet reviewed it.

The new federal law goes into effect in two stages. Starting this school year, all new teachers being placed in classrooms that receive federal funding under the Title I program for low-income students must be “highly qualified,” meeting states’ credentialing requirements or other narrow standards. By the 2005-06 school year, every teacher in a California classroom must meet those standards.

The deadlines have been met with skepticism by many educators.

Wayne Johnson, president of the 330,000-member California Teachers Assn., said he foresees disarray if districts try to force veteran teachers into low-performing schools.

“It’s a noble attempt to try to repair the lowest-performing schools,” Johnson said. “But if you’re running 50,000 to 75,000 teachers short of fully credentialed, I don’t see how this kind of requirement solves anything. And it may make it worse.”

Los Angeles Unified Supt. Roy Romer said the rules will detract from the district’s other efforts to improve low-performing schools.

New commission guidelines, expected to be sent to school districts within two months, should allay those concerns, Bond said.

The vote Thursday authorizes the commission staff to establish a new teacher intern certificate that would meet the federal standard of “highly qualified.”

It would require a bachelor’s degree and subject-matter competence either through courses or a passing grade on a state test.

To satisfy the required classroom experience, the intern would have to be enrolled in a program providing intensive support and supervision but still headed for full credentialing.

The guidelines will urge school districts and universities to create fast-paced programs to prepare those teachers for competency testing. State and federal funds are available for those programs, Bond said.

A still-unknown number of the state’s emergency permit teachers may soon be reclassified after the commission reviews their status.

Bond said thousands of emergency permits have been issued to teachers who already hold credentials but are teaching in specialized areas such as special education. Those emergency permits should not count against federal compliance, she said.

Margaret Gaston, co-director for the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, a Santa Cruz think tank, said the state’s strategy is reasonable but does not address the disproportionate concentration of young or inexperienced teachers in low-performing schools.

The center’s research suggests that schools with 20% or more beginning teachers cannot improve, Gaston said.

“There are just too many new teachers to usher into the profession,” she said.

“It just changes the way the school operates.”