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CTC to collect more feedback on Child Development Permit
November 11, 2024
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The October meeting of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing was attended by ACSA CTC Liaison Doug Gephart, who filed the following report.
A workgroup has provided a possible outline of how to modernize California’s Child Development Permit system with the goals of expanding access, providing clearer pathways for career progression and aligning with California’s Master Plan for Early Learning and Care.
The Child Development Permit Workgroup presented its recommendations during the October meeting of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
Among its many recommendations, the workgroup suggested changing roles from six descriptive titles to five numeric levels: Early Childhood Educator Level 1, 2 and 3 and Early Childhood Administrator 1 and 2. The group also recommends modifying the scope of authorization for individuals with 12 ECE units, limiting them to instructional support roles rather than teacher roles. In addition, the workgroup recommends increasing the requirements for most permit levels and incorporate entry pathways that reflect current standards.
ACSA recommended that the proposed changes be taken to the field for additional comment, citing preliminary feedback from school leaders who have concerns about revised increases to educational requirements on the matrix without additional mechanisms for increasing compensation or making college education accessible for current and aspiring permit holders.
During public comment, ACSA Advocate Serette Kaminski stated that the commission has the important task of maintaining high standards while also balancing the very real implications of any changes and how they might affect the hiring of early childhood educators throughout the state. Following a presentation and discussion on the recommended changes, the commission directed staff to move forward with seeking input from the field prior to considering and acting on any of the recommendations.
Supporting teachers during the transition from RICA
At its June 2023 meeting, the commission adopted a transition plan from the Reading Competence Instruction Assessment (RICA) to the new Literacy Performance Assessment (LPA) that is being field tested this academic year.
As part of the transition plan from the RICA to the LPA, commission staff provided notice to program sponsors and candidates that, consistent with the provisions of the applicable statute, both the written and video performance assessment versions of RICA would be retired as of June 30, 2025.
Two candidate groups will be particularly affected by the time frame for transitioning to the new LPA, which is now less than one year away:
  1. Teachers who earned a Preliminary Multiple Subject or Education Specialist credential during the pandemic who were given a deferral for the RICA requirement because testing centers were closed or had limited capacity. Staff estimate that there may be more than 6,800 current teachers in this situation.
  2. Currently enrolled Multiple Subject and Education Specialist candidates who will have completed all other credential requirements except for passing the RICA or the LPA pilot by June 30, 2025. These candidates will have a limited amount of time compared with previous candidate cohorts to attempt and pass the RICA before it is retired. Most currently enrolled candidates’ studies have been focused on passing the RICA and not the new LPA.
The commission approved three measures aimed at supporting teachers and candidates during the transition from RICA:
  • Adopt a standard error of measurement adjustment to the current minimum passing standard. Using an SEM adjustment to create a new minimum passing standard for RICA would potentially eliminate the effects of possible measurement error for many examinees who are close to passing RICA, but who were unable to pass for reasons that may be unrelated to their actual knowledge, skills and ability.
  • Allow a standard error of measurement adjustment to be applied retroactively (10 years) to all valid RICA scores. The commission also extended the new minimum passing standards to any candidates who may have taken any version of the RICA in the past 10 years (the period of validity of examination scores) and not passed but whose scores were within –1 SEM of passing.
  • Direct staff to seek potential legislative changes that would allow the RICA to continue to be administered past June 30, 2025. This option could potentially help current candidates enrolled this academic year who will not have had as much time as previous cohorts have had to take and pass each of the three RICA subtests.
Undergraduate Teacher Preparation Grants program In the 2016-17 fiscal year, the Legislature approved $10 million in Integrated Undergraduate Teacher Preparation Grants. Additionally, the 2022-23 Committee on Budget, Education Finance: Education Omnibus Budget Trailer Bill (AB 181) authorized the CTC to allocate $20 million in one-time grants to regionally accredited institutions of higher education for four-year integrated teacher preparation programs. These grants support the planning for, creation of, or expansion of four-year integrated programs of professional preparation that produce teachers in the designated shortage fields of special education, bilingual education, science, health, computer science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The 2024 annual state report reflects the first year of the 2022 Integrated Undergraduate Teacher Preparation Grants Program planning and implementation through the 2023-24 academic year. All grantees reported progress planning and/or implementing grant programs, including 70 percent of grantees developing partnerships with California Community Colleges.
In the first year of the grant program, 64 candidates earned their undergraduate degree and preliminary credential to address the teacher shortage. Over 67 percent of candidates and completers belong to an underrepresented ethnic/racial group. Grantees will continue to plan and/or recruit integrated candidates to complete their undergraduate education and preliminary certification. Commission staff will continue to provide technical assistance and host office hour sessions in 2024-25 to support program planning and implementation and annual data collection.
Roadmap to Education Careers Initiative update The commission heard an update on the Roadmap to Educational Careers Initiative, which was established with the goal of guiding interested individuals into a career in education.
This initiative was a direct response to California’s teacher shortage and intended to bolster the governor’s ongoing efforts to support education in the state. The Roadmap project invested in California education by providing the commission with eight Education Career Counselor (ECC) positions dedicated to providing direct, in-real-time support to individuals that are interested in becoming educators. These ECCs serve as career guidance counselors, credential experts, subject matter experts and resource specialists for individuals seeking to make the transition into a PK‒12 educational career.
The report provided insights into the nature of inquiries received by ECCs, including information on perceived obstacles to pursuing a career in education. Perceived obstacles fell into three broad categories: program-related, financial in nature, and the challenging requirements of the credential program.
A surprising revelation is the lack of understanding of credential prerequisites, specifically that a commission-approved teacher preparation program must be completed in order to become a teacher. Candidates expressed frustration and confusion regarding their first step in the credentialing process and were simply unaware that a program of professional preparation must be completed. This resulted in many potential educators inquiring about whether a certain degree major or passage of certain CSET exams alone can qualify them for a teaching credential.