BILL NUMBER: SB 1660 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 21, 2008
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 14, 2008
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 8, 2008
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 2, 2008
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 17, 2008
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 21, 2008
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 27, 2008
INTRODUCED BY Senator Romero
FEBRUARY 22, 2008
An act to amend Section 41530 of the Education Code, relating to
teachers.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1660, Romero. Teachers: compensation.
Existing law requires the governing board of a school district to
fix and order paid the compensation of persons in public school
service requiring certification qualifications employed by the
governing board. The governing board of each school district also is
required to adopt, cause to be printed, and make available to each
certificated employee a schedule of salaries to be paid.
Each person employed by a school district in a position requiring
certification qualifications, except a person employed in a position
requiring administrative or supervisory credentials, is required to
be classified on the salary schedule on the basis of uniform
allowance for years of training and years of experience, except if a
salary schedule based on criteria other than that uniform allowance
is negotiated and mutually agreed upon by a public school employer
and the exclusive representative of the employees. Public school
employers and exclusive representatives of credentialed teachers are
encouraged to recognize teacher contributions to improving pupil
achievement, provide incentives to teachers to accept teaching
assignments in areas of highest need, and recognize relevant
professional experience on the salary schedule in lieu of units and
degrees or in lieu of teaching experience.
Existing law establishes the professional development block grant,
and requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to apportion
block grant funds to a school district in the same relative statewide
proportion that the school district received in the 2003-04 fiscal
year for specified staff development programs. A school district may
expend these funds for any purpose authorized by those programs.
Among the purposes for which these funds may be expended are staff
development instructional methods, including teaching strategies,
classroom management and other training designed to improve pupil
performance, conflict resolution, intolerance and hatred prevention,
and academic content in the core curriculum areas.
This bill would authorize a school district to use funds received
pursuant to the professional development block grant to compensate
new and existing mathematics, science, and special education teachers
in schools ranking, in the 2008-09 school year or any subsequent
school year, in decile 1, 2, or 3 of the Academic Performance Index,
in a manner separate from the uniform allowance for years of training
and years of service, as permitted pursuant to the exception
described above. The bill would require a school district to submit
an annual educational report to specified government officials of the
amount of funds used pursuant to this provision to compensate
mathematics, science, and special education teachers.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) California's public schools face an existing and projected
severe shortage of mathematics and science teachers.
(b) Recent reports on the shortage reveal a shortfall of
approximately 33,000 new mathematics and science teachers over the
next decade.
(c) Mathematics and science classrooms, particularly in
low-performing schools, are increasingly being staffed by educators
who are underprepared to teach the academic content in the state's
rigorous content standards and to prepare pupils to receive a
high-quality mathematics and science education so that they can
participate in the state's science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics workforce.
(d) Addressing the mathematics and science teacher shortage
requires multiple strategies, including, but not necessarily limited
to, an expansion and strengthening of pathways to encourage talented
individuals to become mathematics and science teachers, as well as
new incentives and ongoing support to new and existing mathematics
and science teachers so that they will choose to stay in California's
public elementary and secondary education classrooms.
(e) Recent legislative efforts have focused on improving
educational achievement in schools, especially those in the lowest
deciles. In order to assist school districts to narrow the
achievement gap among the lowest performing subgroups of pupils and
those who consistently meet university admissions requirements, other
strategies are needed.
SEC. 2. Section 41530 of the Education Code is amended to read:
41530. (a) There is hereby established the professional
development block grant. Commencing with the 2005-06 fiscal year, the
Superintendent shall apportion block grant funds to a school
district in the same relative statewide proportion that the school
district received in the 2003-04 fiscal year for the programs listed
in Section 41531.
(b) A school district may expend funds received pursuant to this
article for either of the following:
(1) Any purpose authorized by the programs listed in Section
41531, as the statutes governing those programs read on January 1,
2004.
(2) (A) To compensate new and existing mathematics, science, and
special education teachers in schools ranked, in the 2008-09 school
year or any subsequent school year, in decile 1, 2, or 3 of the
Academic Performance Index, in a manner separate from the uniform
allowance for years of training and years of service, as permitted
pursuant to the exception described in paragraph (1) of subdivision
(a) of Section 45028.
(B) A school district that utilizes the authority granted in this
subdivision shall submit an annual report to the Superintendent, the
chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, the
chairperson and vice chairpersons of the education policy committees
of each house of the Legislature, and the Director of Finance of the
amount of funds used pursuant to this paragraph to compensate
mathematics, science, and special education teachers.
(c) For the purposes of this article, "school district" includes a
county office of education if county offices of education are
eligible to receive funds for the programs that are listed in Section
41531. The block grant of a county office of education shall be
based only on those programs for which it was eligible to receive
funds in the 2003-04 fiscal year.