(a) (1) For the 2018–19 fiscal year, the sum of seventy-five million dollars ($75,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the commission to establish the Teacher Residency Grant Program. This funding shall be available for encumbrance until June 30, 2023.
(2) Of the amount appropriated in paragraph (1), fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) shall be expended to provide one-time competitive grants to grant applicants to develop new, or expand existing, teacher residency programs that recruit and support the preparation of special education teachers.
(3) Of the amount appropriated in paragraph (1), twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) shall be expended to provide one-time competitive grants to grant applicants to develop new, or expand existing, teacher residency programs that recruit and support the preparation of bilingual education, science, technology, engineering, or mathematics teachers.
(b) (1) The commission shall make one-time grants to grant applicants to establish new or expand existing teacher residency programs. Grant recipients shall work with one or more commission-accredited teacher preparation programs and may work with other community partners or nonprofit organizations to develop and implement programs of preparation and mentoring for resident teachers who will be supported through program funds and subsequently employed by the sponsoring grant recipient.
(2) A grant applicant may consist of one or more, or any combination, of the following:
(A) A school district.
(B) A county office of education.
(C) A charter school.
(D) A regional occupational center or program operated by a joint powers authority.
(E) A nonpublic, nonsectarian school, as defined in Section 56034.
(c) Grants allocated pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be up to twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) per teacher candidate in the residency program of the jurisdiction of the grant recipient, matched by that grant recipient on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Grant program funding shall be used for, but is not limited to, any of the following: teacher preparation costs, stipends for mentor teachers, stipends for teacher candidates, and mentoring and beginning teacher induction costs following initial preparation.
(d) A grant recipient shall not use more than 5 percent of a grant award for program administration costs.
(e) A grant recipient shall provide a 100-percent match of grant funding in the form of one or both of the following:
(1) One dollar ($1) for every one dollar ($1) of grant funding received that is to be used in a manner consistent with allowable grant activities pursuant to subdivision (c).
(2) An in-kind match of mentor teacher personnel costs or other personnel costs related to the Teacher Residency Grant Program, provided by the grant recipient.
(f) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) “Teacher residency program” is a grant applicant-based program that partners with one or more teacher preparation programs accredited by the commission and in which a prospective teacher teaches at least one-half time alongside a teacher of record, who is designated as the experienced mentor teacher, for at least one full school year while engaging in initial preparation coursework.
(2) An “experienced mentor teacher” for purposes of the Teacher Residency Grant Program is an educator who meets all of the following requirements:
(A) Has at least three years of teaching experience and a clear credential authorizing instruction of special education, or bilingual education, science, technology, engineering, or mathematics pupils, in the subject in which the experienced mentor teacher will be mentoring.
(B) Has a record of successful teaching as demonstrated, at a minimum, by satisfactory annual performance evaluations for the preceding three years.
(C) Receives specific training for the mentor teacher role, and engages in ongoing professional learning and networking with other mentors.
(D) Receives compensation, appropriate release time, or both, to serve as a mentor in the initial preparation or beginning teacher induction component of the teacher residency program.
(g) Grant recipients shall do all of the following:
(1) Ensure that candidates are prepared to earn a preliminary teaching credential that will authorize the candidate to teach special education, or bilingual education, science, technology, engineering, or mathematics upon completion of the program.
(2) Ensure that candidates are provided instruction in all of the following:
(A) Teaching the content area or areas in which the teacher will become certified to teach.
(B) Planning, curriculum development, and assessment.
(C) Learning and child development.
(D) Management of the classroom environment.
(E) Use of culturally responsive practices, supports for language development, and supports for serving pupils with disabilities.
(F) Professional responsibilities, including interaction with families and colleagues.
(3) Provide each candidate mentoring and beginning teacher induction support following the completion of the initial credential program necessary to obtain a clear credential and ongoing professional development and networking opportunities during the candidate’s first years of teaching.
(4) Prepare candidates to teach at the same grant recipient in which they will work and learn the instructional initiatives and curriculum of the grant recipient.
(5) Group teacher candidates in cohorts to facilitate professional collaboration among residents, and place candidates in teaching schools or professional development programs that are organized to support a high-quality teacher learning experience in a supportive work environment.
(h) To receive a grant, an applicant shall submit an application to the commission at a time, in a manner, and containing information prescribed by the commission.
(i) When selecting grant recipients, the commission shall do both of the following:
(1) Require applicants to demonstrate a need for special education, or bilingual education, science, technology, engineering, or mathematics, teachers and to propose to establish a new, or expand an existing, teacher residency program that recruits, prepares, and supports teachers to teach special education, or bilingual education, science, technology, engineering, or mathematics, in a school within the jurisdiction of the sponsoring grant applicant.
(2) Give priority consideration to grant applicants with one or more schools that exhibit one or more of the following characteristics:
(A) A school where 50 percent or more of the enrolled pupils are eligible for free and reduced-price meals.
(B) A school where at least 5 percent of the teachers are misassigned, as determined by the commission, or working on a short-term staffing permit, a provisional intern permit, or a waiver.
(C) A school that is located in either a rural location or a densely populated region.
(D) A school with a cumulative voluntary teacher attrition rate that exceeded 20 percent over the three preceding school years.
(j) A candidate in a teacher residency program sponsored by a grant provided pursuant to subdivision (b) shall agree in writing to either (1) work as an education specialist serving a caseload of pupils who receive special education services in a special education setting or (2) be placed in a bilingual education, science, technology, engineering, or mathematics assignment, in a school within the grant recipient that sponsored the candidate for a period of at least four school years beginning with the school year that begins after the candidate successfully completes the initial year of preparation and obtains a preliminary teaching credential. A candidate who fails to earn a preliminary credential or complete the period of the placement shall reimburse the sponsoring grant recipient the amount of grant funding invested in the candidate’s residency training. The amount to be reimbursed shall be adjusted proportionately to reflect the service provided if the candidate taught at least one year, but less than four years, at the sponsoring grant recipient. A candidate shall have five school years to complete the four-school-year teaching commitment.
(k) If a candidate is unable to complete a school year of teaching, that school year may still be counted toward the required four complete school years if any of the following occur:
(1) The candidate has completed at least one-half of the school year.
(2) The employer deems the candidate to have fulfilled the candidate’s contractual requirements for the school year for the purposes of salary increases, probationary or permanent status, and retirement.
(3) The candidate was not able to teach due to the financial circumstances of the sponsoring grant recipient, including a decision to not reelect the employee for the next succeeding school year.
(4) The candidate has a condition covered under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2601 et seq.) or similar state law.
(5) The candidate was called or ordered to active duty status for more than 30 days as a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States.
(l) For purposes of administering the grant program pursuant to subdivision (b), the commission shall do all of the following:
(1) Determine the number of grants to be awarded and the total amount awarded to each grant applicant.
(2) Require grant recipients to submit program and expenditure reports, as specified by the commission, as a condition of receiving grant funds.
(3) Annually review each grant recipient’s program and expenditure reports to determine if any candidate has failed to meet the candidate’s commitment pursuant to subdivision (j).
(m) If the commission determines or is informed that a sponsored candidate failed to earn a preliminary credential or meet the sponsored candidate’s commitment to teach pursuant to subdivision (j), the commission shall confirm with the grant recipient the applicable grant amount to be recovered from the candidate and the grant recipient. The amount to be recovered shall be adjusted proportionately to reflect the service provided if the candidate taught at least one year, but less than four years, at the sponsoring grant recipient.
(n) Upon confirming the amount to be recovered from the grant recipient pursuant to subdivision (m), the commission shall notify the grant recipient of the amount to be repaid within 60 days. The grant recipient shall have 60 days from the date of the notification to make the required repayment to the commission. If the grant recipient fails to make the required payment within 60 days, the commission shall notify the Controller and the grant recipient of the failure to repay the amount owed. The Controller shall deduct an amount equal to the amount owed to the commission from the grant recipient’s next principal apportionment or apportionments of state funds, other than basic aid apportionments required by Section 6 of Article IX of the California Constitution. If the grant recipient is a regional occupational center or a program operated by a joint powers authority that does not receive principal apportionment or apportionments of state funds, or a consortia of local educational agencies, the commission shall notify the Controller of the local educational agency where the candidate taught and the Controller shall deduct the amount owed from the applicable local educational agency’s next principal apportionment or apportionments of state funds, other than basic aid apportionments required by Section 6 of Article IX of the California Constitution.
(o) An amount recovered by the commission or deducted by the Controller pursuant to subdivision (n) shall be deposited into the Proposition 98 Reversion Account.
(p) Grant recipients may recover from a sponsored candidate who fails to earn a preliminary credential or complete the period of placement the amount of grant funding invested in the candidate’s residency training. The amount to be recovered shall be adjusted proportionately to reflect the service provided if the candidate taught at least one year, but less than four years, at the sponsoring grant recipient.
(q) Grant recipients shall not charge a teacher resident a fee to participate in the Teacher Residency Grant Program.
(r) (1) Notwithstanding paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (a), the commission may allocate up to one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) of the amount appropriated pursuant to subdivision (a) to capacity grants that shall be awarded on a competitive basis to local educational agencies or consortia, described in subparagraphs (A) to (D), inclusive, of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), partnering with institutions of higher education to expand or create teacher residency programs that lead to more credentialed special education, or bilingual education, science, technology, engineering, or mathematics, teachers.
(2) (A) The commission shall determine the number of capacity grants to be awarded and the amount of the applicable grants.
(B) Individual capacity grants shall not exceed seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) per grant recipient.
(s) For purposes of making the computations required by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the appropriation made by subdivision (a) shall be deemed to be “General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts,” as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 41202, for the 2017–18 fiscal year, and included within the “total allocations to school districts and community college districts from General Fund proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant to Article XIII B,” as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202, for the 2017–18 fiscal year.
(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 497, Sec. 53. (AB 991) Effective January 1, 2020. Repealed as of January 1, 2029, pursuant to Section 44418.)