CTC responds to COVID-19 crisis
CTC responds to COVID-19 crisis
July 13, 2020
The June 18-19, 2020 meeting of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing was attended by ACSA CTC Liaison Doug Gephart, who filed the following report.
During the June meeting of the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, staff presented an update on COVID-19-related actions that the body has taken.
The CTC acted to provide flexibilities for teacher candidates, applicants, credential holders, employers, and educator preparation programs in April. Commission staff developed and held a number of webinars in the two weeks after the April meeting to share information about the flexibilities approved.
In addition, CTC staff provided support to the field in the following categories:
Certification: Guidance for extensions, waivers, and deferrals — Certification staff developed guidance documents to help the field navigate the various flexibility options related to the CBEST deferral, extensions, Program Sponsor-Variable Term Waivers, and Clear Credential renewals. Additionally, throughout the stay-at-home orders, the Certification Division has offered expanded live chat hours for the field and educators to connect with credential analysts and answer their certification questions.
Certificated assignments — Despite the limitation that LEAs may face due to COVID-19, the requirement that teachers and service providers are appropriately credentialed remains. However, assignment staff has highlighted several options that LEAs can use for flexibility in assignments, including Local Assignment Options and Short-Term Waivers controlled at the local level. The guidance also provides clarification on various models for distance and online learning and the certification requirements when a live instructor is teaching students remotely or when instruction is software-based only.
Educator Preparation Program supports — Staff in the Professional Services Division prepared and hosted a number of webinars to inform preparation programs and employers of the COVID-related flexibilities available to them, to candidates and to completers. The webinars focused on specific topical areas such as teacher preparation, administrator preparation, induction, and Pupil Personnel Services/Speech Language Pathology programs.
Performance Assessment supports — Staff worked with computer-using educators and other faculty to offer a series of weekly webinars to provide instructional strategies for online learning and assessment to support candidates faced with working in an online environment. This series of informative webinars has been archived on the Commission’s YouTube Channel.
Candidates who leave their programs and need assistance during Induction programs to complete and pass their performance assessments will be offered a series of trainings and webinars. These webinars will be offered throughout the summer and fall and will also be archived on YouTube.
Executive Order to assist credential candidates
On May 29, Gov. Gavin Newsom took a number of actions that will assist credential candidates impacted by the health and safety restrictions related to COVID-19. These actions, which are effective through Aug. 31, 2020, are separate from the actions adopted by the CTC at its April meeting. Guidance on Executive Order N-66-20 can be found on the COVID-19 Information Page on the Commission’s website, www.ctc.ca.gov/commission/covid-19-commission-action-related-to-covid-19. The EO addresses two groups of individuals working to earn credentials as educators: those candidates completing or who have completed their preparation and those applicants applying to enter educator preparation for the 2020-21 year.
Candidates completing educator preparation — The EO suspended some of the Preliminary Credential requirements and moved these requirements to the Clear Credential for candidates in 2019-20.
Postponement of the Performance Assessment requirement to the Clear Credential — The EO postpones to the Clear Credential the teaching performance requirement for Multiple and Single Subject candidates, and the administrator performance requirement for Administrative Services candidates for candidates who were completing their preliminary preparation in the program’s 2019-20 academic year. The order specifies that the candidate must have been enrolled in the educator preparation program in 2019-20, and meet the following four criteria:
- Was placed or employed in a LEA impacted by COVID-19 related school site closures; and
- Was in the process of completing the TPA/APA; and
- Was unable to complete the TPA/APA due solely to school closures; and
- Successfully completed all other preliminary credential requirements.
- Added new language to address the benefits to the education system.
- Revised language to emphasize service to public schools.
- Added language about the role of the commission liaison to the Committee on Accreditation.
- Added language about recruiting and adding members from the Board of Institutional Review.
- Added language to ensure a focus on process issues and candidate preparation.
- Added assurance that the issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion would be included in the commission’s strategic plan.
- Revised Evaluation of the Accreditation System language to emphasize continuous improvement.
- The FAST (Fresno Assessment of Student Teachers), owned and operated by CSU Fresno
- The edTPA, owned by Stanford University
- The CalTPA (California Teaching Performance Assessment), owned by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing
- To update the pedagogical knowledge, skills, and abilities needed by individuals seeking a Bilingual Authorization. The set of updated knowledge, skills, and abilities will serve as the “Bilingual Authorization Teaching Performance Expectations,” or BTPEs.
- To update the set of Program Standards for the Bilingual Authorization, including clarifying and updating expectations for field work within Bilingual Authorization preparation programs.