California Senate Bill SB916 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 916AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 27, 2016 INTRODUCED BY Senator Allen (Coauthors: Senators  Fuller     and Hertzberg   Cannella,   Fuller,   Hertzberg,   and Vidak  )  (   Coauthors:   Assembly Members   Chu   and Maienschein   )  JANUARY 27, 2016 An act to amend Section 44257 of the Education Code, relating to teacher credentialing. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 916, as amended, Allen. Teacher credentialing. Existing law authorizes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to issue single subject teaching credentials only in specific subjects. This bill would add dance and theater to the list of authorized subjects. Existing law authorizes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to authorize a person who holds a certain teaching credential and who has completed 20 semester hours of coursework or 10 semester hours of upper division or graduate coursework approved by the commission at an accredited institution in any subject commonly taught in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, other than the subject for which he or she is already certificated to teach, to have this subject appear on the credential as an authorization to teach this subject. This bill would provide that a person issued a single subject teaching credential in physical education or English before the establishment of a single subject teaching credential in dance or theater, respectively, is authorized to teach in dance or theater, respectively.  The bill would also provide that a person pursuing a single subject teaching credential in physical education or English before the establishment of a single subject teaching credential in dance or theater shall not become subject to additional requirements for the single subject teaching credential in physical education or Engl   ish, respectively, as a result of the authorization provided by this bill.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 44257 of the Education Code is amended to read: 44257. (a) The commission shall issue single subject teaching credentials only in the following subjects: (1) Agriculture. (2) Art. (3) Business. (4) Dance. (5) English. (6) Foreign Language. (7) Health Science. (8) Home Economics. (9) Industrial and Technology Education. (10) Mathematics. (11) Music. (12) Physical Education. (13) Science. (14) Social Science. (15) Theater. (b) The commission shall issue the single subject teaching credential in foreign language with an authorization to teach Chinese, French, German, Russian, Spanish, or any other language that the commission determines is appropriate. (c) Subjects that are commonly taught in departmentalized classes in California public schools shall be subsumed under the credential categories in subdivision (a). (d) The commission shall issue single subject teaching credentials in the categories that were identified in Section 44282 as of December 31, 1993, to applicants who were in the process of preparing to earn those credentials before the effective date of the commission's implementation of subdivision (a). (e) (1) A person issued a single subject teaching credential in English before the establishment of a single subject teaching credential in theater is authorized to teach theater.  A person pursuing a single subject teaching credential in English before the establishment of a single subject teaching credential in theater shall not become subject to additional requirements for the single subject teaching credential in English as a result of the authorization provided by this paragraph.  (2) A person issued a single subject teaching credential in physical education before the establishment of a single subject teaching credential in dance is authorized to teach dance.  A person pursuing a single subject teaching credentia   l in physical education before the establishment of a single subject teaching credential in dance shall not become subject to additional requirements for the single subject teaching credential in physical education as a result of the authorization provided by this paragraph.  (f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a school district from employing a person who holds a single subject teaching credential in another subject with an authorization to teach theater from teaching theater, or a person who holds a single subject teaching credential in another subject with an authorization to teach dance from teaching dance.