The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing has expressed a high interest in determining how the passage of Reading Instruction Competency Assessment, known as RICA, correlates to a teacher’s ability to effectively teach reading. The CTC continued its discussion of the matter but took no action during its Nov. 21 meeting.  Many educational stakeholders and teaching professionals believe RICA is not an effective and reliable determinant of a teacher candidate’s ability to effectively teach reading because the test is not aligned with commission-approved Teaching Performance Expectations and disproportionately excludes minority candidates. While the intent of establishing RICA in 1996 was to assure the public that teacher candidates had the requisite knowledge, and presumably the skills, to teach reading, the actual results demonstrate that California reading scores continue to lag behind national averages.  Given the obvious gap between RICA test results and lagging student performance on national reading assessments, the CTC has reviewed draft recommendations intended to address it. RICA is not aligned with Teaching Performance Expectations and is not directly supported in teacher preparation programs.  One option calls for a redesign of RICA to bring it into alignment with CTC-adopted Teaching Performance Expectations. This assumes that an assessment alone can accurately determine a teacher candidate’s capability to effectively teach reading. This option can assess knowledge but is incapable of determining the requisite skills and abilities essential for teaching reading. Further, teacher preparation programs do not directly prepare teacher candidates to pass the RICA, leaving candidates to fend for themselves retake and pass the test. Teacher candidates cannot complete the credential requirements without passing RICA.  A second option calls for modifying the Teaching Performance Expectations to ensure teacher candidates are more thoroughly prepared to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities by incorporating the Teaching Performance Expectations into the accreditation process.  A third option calls for modifying the Teaching Performance Assessments (TPAs) to include the teaching of reading and literacy. There are currently three commission-approved TPAs: the CalTPA, the edTPA, and the Fresno Assessment of Student Teachers, or FAST. Each model has a unique design and has been recently updated, revalidated and reapproved to meet the commission’s updated Assessment Design Standards. None of these assessment options are linked to or aligned with the RICA.  Stakeholder groups and many commissioners supported the second option of modifying the Teaching Performance Expectations because the CTC could assure requisite knowledge, skills and abilities for teacher candidates were being addressed through the accreditation process.  Despite the high level of support by stakeholders and the majority of voting Commissioners, the commission chair did not ask for nor did any other Commissioner make a motion to adopt any of the presented options. The absence of a vote on this agenda item left almost everyone baffled on why a motion was not made on one of the recommended options.  California Dyslexia Guidelines The CTC was presented with California Dyslexia Guidelines, which were first published by the California Department of Education in 2017 as required by Assembly Bill 1369. This informational item suggested how the commission might use the guidelines in teacher preparation, induction, administrator preparation, and pupil personnel services preparation.  The CDE’s goal in publishing the California Dyslexia Guidelines is to create a document that provides practical resources for identifying and educating students who are struggling academically because they cannot read. The guidelines are a synthesis or best practice recommendations and are neither a legal mandate nor a program requirement.  Research indicates that dyslexia is the most common learning disability, historically reported as affecting 5 percent to 17 percent of children.  These guidelines and other research on this topic suggest that general education teachers should play a larger role in administering universal screening for students at risk for reading difficulties, including dyslexia and providing high-quality Tier 1 instruction with supports prior to additional interventions by special education teachers and reading specialists.  Committee on Accreditation annual report The Committee on Accreditation approved a total of 18 new credential programs in 2018-19, according to the committee’s annual report to the CTC.  The Committee on Accreditation has full responsibility for the accreditation of institutions with teacher preparation programs and for ensuring each program meets commission-adopted program standards. The committee reports that recent revisions to the accreditation system are receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews. Whereas under the previous system it could take many weeks or months to complete a review of the voluminous submissions, reviewers are now able to complete the task of reviewing the evidence submitted by institutions in one to two days. The new annual data system, which was implemented in 2018-19, allows institutions to provide consistent data about their programs, candidates and outcomes in an efficient and timely manner.  Also new in 2019 was implementing the “Other Educators Survey” to capture information from program completers in credential areas that are not included in teaching or administrator preparation programs. This includes programs such as Pupil Personnel Services, School Nurse, Teacher Librarian, Speech Language Pathology and Agriculture Specialist, and the Reading and Literacy Leadership Specialist credential. This information is available for the first time in 2019. TPEs for teaching reading and developing literacy In early 2019, CTC staff worked with a Reading and Literacy expert group to consider the implications of the 2014 ELA/ELD student content standards for teacher preparation. The expert group focused specifically on the development of Teacher Performance Expectations as part of an overall effort to update and align these systems. The group’s efforts resulted in draft Literacy TPEs intended to align with the current state student standards and to augment the commission’s current TPEs. After further efforts by staff and collection of stakeholder feedback, the expert group reconvened to make final recommendations, which were approved by the CTC. When the commission updates its requirements it usually takes up to two years. Staff suggested, and the commission agreed, that preliminary teacher preparation programs be encouraged to update the portions of their programs that address the teaching of reading and developing literacy as quickly as possible. However, due to institutional review and approval processes and timelines for courses, staff suggests that institutions not be held accountable for the new language until the 2021-22 year. Teaching Permit for Statutory Leave Amendments Teaching Permit for Statutory Leave Amendments are an option for local educational agencies faced with staffing classrooms when the teacher of record is out on extended leave. TPSL allows LEAs the benefit of not having to continually rotate Emergency 30-Day Substitute Teaching Permit holders to cover these assignments. The TPSL option was created in June 2016 following the mandatory public hearing process.  Currently, the TPSL allows an individual to provide instructional services beyond the 20- or 30-day limit only when the teacher of record is out on one of the statutory leaves specified in regulations: Sick Leave (accumulated), Differential Sick Leave (100 days), Pregnancy Disability Leave Act (120 days), Family and Medical Leave Act (120 days), California Family Rights Act (120 days), or Industrial Accident and Illness Leave (60 days). Recently, however, stakeholder groups have voiced a desire to add new forms of statutory leave, specifically, that the TPSL be allowed to cover assignments resulting from teachers of record being placed on extended military leave or administrative leave, which are not currently recognized with the authorizations.  LEAs are faced with the challenge of covering assignments for teachers of record on extended military leave or administrative leave by continuously rotating through substitute teachers. The length of time that a teacher of record could be placed on administrative leave is not established within the Education Code. However, based on a reasonable inference of the procedures currently in place, the time an employee may be placed on administrative leave is completely dependent upon how long it takes the investigatory and evidentiary hearing processes to conclude for any individual employee. The entire process can take a significant amount of time, especially if an employee or governing school board files appeals or other motions that prolong the process.  In summation, it is confidently assumed that the investigatory and evidentiary procedures take longer than 30 days, sometimes even up to more than one year, to conclude. Representatives from the California Teachers Association were opposed to the addition of administrative leave due to their belief administrators and school boards will unnecessarily prolong the administrative leave of a unit member. Doug Gephart, ACSA liaison to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, spoke in favor of including administrative leave because it would be in the best interest of students to have consistency of instruction and learning while the teacher was placed on leave.  The commission unanimously approved the addition of both military leave and administrative leave for inclusion as reasons for the TPSL. Proposed CSET Theatre and Dance blueprint  The commission was presented with and approved a proposed examination blueprint for two new California Subject Examinations for Teachers in Theatre and Dance. CSET: Theatre and CSET: Dance both would consist of two separate subtests, the first comprised of multiple-choice questions, the second comprised of constructed-response questions.  A candidate would need to pass both subtests to be eligible to complete the field experience required by the teacher preparation program. State grant programs update The CTC was presented with an update on three state-funded grant programs that were created by legislative mandate to support teacher recruitment and development. California Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing Program: In July 2016, the state budget allocated $20 million for this five-year grant program to address the state’s teacher shortage by supporting local education agencies to recruit classified school employees into teaching careers by supporting their undergraduate education and professional teacher preparation and certification as credentialed California teachers. In July 2017, the Legislature approved an additional $25 million in funding for a second round of Classified Program grant awards. To date, a total of 209 classified employees have completed their educational training and earned a teaching credential. In addition, 902 classified employees are currently enrolled in various phases of earning their Bachelor of Science degrees. The California Center on Teaching Careers: In 2016, the Legislature authorized $5 million for the establishment of the California Center on Teaching Careers. The Tulare County Office of Education was awarded the single $5 million grant in 2016 to establish the center, with the overarching goal of supporting a continuum of programs and services designed to recruit, retain, and advance a qualified, effective, diverse teacher candidate pool for California, particularly in the recruitment of ethnically diverse/bilingual math, science, and special education teachers. In the 2018-19 year, the center’s virtual job “Vfairs” were accessed by 5,000 candidates with nearly half of those already in possession of a preliminary or clear credential. In the summer of 2019, the center was awarded the Technical Innovation Award from the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association and the National Brian L. Talbott Award from the Association of Educational Service Agencies for technological innovation and support. The Center’s foundation on technology was the basis for the award, specifically the website (vortal), which matches candidates with employers and credential programs. 

Integrated Undergraduate Teacher Preparation Program: In 2016, the Legislature authorized $10 million for this program so that institutions of higher education with CTC-approved teacher preparation programs could develop a new or adapt an existing integrated undergraduate teacher preparation program. Integrated programs allow candidates to earn both a bachelor’s degree and a Multiple or Single Subject teaching credential in four years. Twenty-two grant recipients reported beginning at least one undergraduate cohort in at least one credential area in the 2018-19 school year. Twenty-eight grant recipients reported that they either will add another cohort of candidates into their existing program and credential area, or will add a new cohort for a new credential area. As of Aug. 30, 2019, Integrated Undergraduate Teacher Preparation Program grant recipients reported that 392 candidates began the 2018-19 school year in an undergraduate program, and 371 remained enrolled by the end of the school year.  Update the California Standards for the Teaching Profession The commission also heard a plan to review and update the California Standards for the Teaching Profession. These standards, which were last updated in 2009, serve as the conceptual framework for the profession of teaching and describe the knowledge, skills and abilities of effective teachers within six overarching domains. These six domains are: 1) Engaging and Supporting All Students in Learning  2) Creating and Maintaining Effective Environments for Student Learning  3) Understanding and Organizing Subject Matter for Student Learning  4) Planning Instruction and Designing Learning Experiences for All Students  5) Assessing Students for Learning  6) Developing as a Professional Educator Just as Teaching Performance Expectations have been updated to reflect advances in professional knowledge, these standards should also be brought up to date in order to continue providing consistent expectations for teachers and guidance to teacher preparation programs. Beginning in January 2020, CTC staff will open an application process for a CSTP expert work group. TK-12 teachers, induction program coordinators and directors, induction program mentors, administrators, and university faculty will be encouraged apply. The commission will appoint 20 experts to the work group. Consistent with the Commission’s Policy Manual, the expert group will also include liaisons identified by educational stakeholder groups, including a liaison representing ACSA.  It is anticipated that the revised/updated CSTP would be brought to the commission initially for information, and subsequently for adoption, in early 2021. New requirements to earn an Eminence Credential Education Code authorizes the commission to grant an Eminence Credential to an individual who has met specified criteria that verifies their eminence in a specific field or endeavor. At the time of its inception in 1976, the Eminence Credential was referred to as “the concept that would enable Einstein to teach in a California public school.” However concerns have been raised on how to create greater parity between the intent of the Eminence Credential and current preliminary credentialing requirements. To strengthen Eminence Credential holders’ pedagogical knowledge, skills and abilities, the commission approved the following requirements to attain an Eminence Credential: 1) Bachelor’s or Higher Degree 

3) Passage of a Commission-approved Teaching Performance Assessment  4) Verification of Induction program enrollment  5) Completion of Induction program The above requirements would help to ensure that candidates granted the preliminary Eminence Credential enter the classroom with a broad set of professional teaching skills that are reasonably comparable to those of traditionally prepared California educators holding a preliminary credential. Similarly, the requirement options suggested during the two and three-year preliminary terms create parity with the requirements that must be met by other preliminary credential holders before qualifying for a clear credential. Initial Institutional Approval Stella Middle Charter Academy, part of the Bright Star Charter Schools, was granted a three-year provisional approval from the commission. The academy sought the Committee On Accreditation’s approval to offer a Teacher Induction program. SMCA has completed Stages I and II and was approved as an Eligible Institution by the Commission at its February 2019 meeting. This action allowed SMCA to move forward to Stage III: Review to Determine Alignment with Applicable Preconditions and the Common Standards.