January 28, 2014

Pursuant to Elections Code Section 9005, we have reviewed the proposed statutory initiative related to credential requirements for teachers and administrators in low-ranking schools (A.G. File No. 13‑0059).

Background

California’s public school system consists of two main types of schools: traditional district schools and charter schools. While both types of schools are publicly funded, charter schools differ from their district peers in that they generally are exempt from state laws that govern school districts, except where the law specifically designates otherwise. Because of this general exemption, charter schools have greater fiscal and programmatic flexibility than traditional district schools. In return for this greater flexibility, a charter school must adhere to the tenets of its locally adopted charter, which must be initially approved and then renewed every five years thereafter by an authorizer. An authorizer, which is usually the school district where the charter school is located, also is required to provide ongoing oversight of its charter schools. Charter schools serve about 8 percent of all public K-12 students in California.

Credentialing Requirements for Teachers

State Law Authorizes Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) to Issue Credentials and Permits. State law establishes CTC and authorizes it to issue credentials, permits, and other documents to teachers, as described below.

Most Teachers in District and Charter Schools Required to Hold Credential or Permit. In virtually all cases, state law requires teachers in district schools to hold a valid teaching credential or other CTC-issued document. For charter schools, statute requires teachers to hold a credential, permit, or other CTC-issued document “equivalent to that which a teacher in other public schools would be required to hold,” though charter schools are provided flexibility for teachers of “noncore, noncollege preparatory classes.”

Credentialing Requirements for Administrators

State law also authorizes CTC to issue administrative services credentials to administrators who meet certain requirements, as described below.

Certain Administrators in District Schools Must Have Administrative Services Credential. Currently, the state requires employees of district schools who spend at least 50 percent of their time supervising teaching, curriculum design, or other specified school activities to hold an administrative services credential. These persons are often employed as principals and vice principals. (Administrators such as chief business officers who do not supervise these activities are not required to have this credential.) To earn an administrative services credential, candidates are required to: (1) already have a valid CTC-issued teaching or other credential (such as a counseling services credential), (2) serve at least five years as a teacher or other employee in a school, and (3) complete an administrator preparation program or one-year internship.

Administrators in Charter Schools Are Not Required to Have Credential. In contrast, current law does not require charter school administrators to hold any type of credential. (Though the law does not require a credential, some charter school administrators are credentialed.)

Other Types of Services Credentials. The CTC also issues other types of services credentials authorizing holders to serve in various school roles. For example, CTC issues specific credentials for employees working in pupil personnel services (such as school counselors) and in health services (such as school nurses).

California’s Academic Performance Index (API)

State Assigns API Score to Nearly All District and Charter Schools. The state’s accountability system for schools requires annual testing of students in most grades. Based on a school’s overall performance on these tests, the vast majority of district and charter schools in the state receive an annual API score. Scores range from 200 (the lowest possible score for a school) to 1,000 (the highest possible score).

State Assigns API Rank to Most District and Charter Schools. Based on their API score, most district and charter schools receive an annual API rank. The API rank compares the school to all schools with the same grade span (elementary, middle, or high school) in the state. Schools are grouped into ten equal-sized groups, or deciles, and are assigned a number that corresponds to that decile. A school that scores in the lowest decile receives a rank of 1, while a top-scoring school receives a rank of 10.

Proposal

Prohibits Persons With Intern Credentials From Teaching in Low-Ranking Schools. The measure would prohibit persons holding intern credentials from serving as a teacher in any public school (district or charter school) that was ranked in API deciles 1, 2, or 3 in either of the previous two years. In addition, CTC would be prohibited from issuing a waiver that allows any intern to serve as a teacher in these schools. (Though the State Board of Education [SBE] can approve certain waiver requests, the measure also prohibits SBE from issuing waivers for interns to teach in these schools.)

Requires Certain Administrators in Low-Ranking Charter Schools to Hold a Credential. In addition, the measure would require administrators who oversee instruction and student services to hold a teaching or services credential (including administrative services, counseling, or other school services) if their school has been ranked in deciles 1, 2, or 3 in either of the previous two years. The CTC (and SBE) would be prohibited from waiving this credential requirement.

Fiscal Effects

Fiscal Effect of Prohibiting Intern Teachers in Low-Ranking Schools

The fiscal effect of prohibiting intern teachers in low-ranking schools would depend on how schools responded to the measure. A school’s flexibility in responding to the measure would depend on the proportion of teachers at the school that were serving on intern credentials. Schools that had more interns would face greater staffing challenges than schools with fewer interns.

Short-Term Solutions Suggest Little Immediate Fiscal Effect. At least in the short term, district and charter schools affected by the measure could respond in a number of ways that would be cost-neutral or generate small savings, including increasing class sizes, hiring teachers on one-year permits, hiring substitutes, and shifting interns to other schools in the district or charter school network.

In Long Term, Replacing Interns With Full Credential Holders Would Result in Small Added Costs. If an affected school were to exhaust the above options, it likely would have to hire teachers with a preliminary credential. Beginning teachers with a preliminary credential typically earn somewhat more than an intern. If affected schools eventually replaced all interns with fully credentialed teachers, this likely would result in additional annual statewide costs of up to the low tens of millions of dollars.

Fiscal Effect of Credential Requirement for Charter School Administrators

 Small Local Costs to Respond to New Administrator Requirement. Based on an extrapolation of available data, we estimate up to 15 percent of administrators in low-ranking charter schools (roughly 100 administrators statewide) might lack a credential. Administrators and schools affected by the measure’s credential requirement might respond in one of the following ways.

Overall, we estimate the statewide costs for charter schools to implement this provision likely would be a few hundred thousand dollars.

Summary of Fiscal Effects

The measure would have the following major fiscal effect:


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