AB 1087 (Irwin, 2017): This bill would have required the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to develop a services credential with a specialization in occupational therapy or physical therapy. The author’s office pulled the bill from consideration in the Assembly Education committee before its first public hearing and the bill died in committee.

AB 2386 (Blanca Rubio, 2018): This bill was initially submitted as a proposal to authorize the commission to design a services credential for OT and PT. The terms of the bill were amended to require the commission to form a workgroup of stakeholders to study whether a credential is warranted and make recommendations to the Legislature, governor, and state superintendent of public instruction. The measure was held under submission by the Assembly Appropriations Committee and died in committee.

AB 2684 (Blanca Rubio, 2020): This bill was a reintroduction of AB 2368 and would have similarly required the commission to convene a workgroup to consider whether the development of a services credential with a specialization in occupational therapy or physical therapy services is warranted. The bill was pulled for lack of support.

To help better understand what need for increased preparation for OTs and PTs exists, commission staff requested input from LEAs on their assessment of the need for additional preparation and credentialing for OTs and PTs. Respondents were also asked if they support adding a credential requirement for individuals serving as OTs and PTs in public schools. Their responses, broken down by type of LEA, are as follows:

Occupational and Physical Therapists complete a rigorous education and training program that leads to a master’s and/or a doctoral degree. Therapists use their education and training to provide existing services to students without a credential and there is no apparent educational need or benefit to students to warrant the additional requirement of earning a credential. Stated rationale from advocates previously identified two key reasons for wanting a credential: 1) a credential would allow individuals to then earn an administrative credential to allow therapists a greater voice on issues involving Occupational and Physical Therapist services; 2) a credential would open the door for therapists to possibly earn a higher salary.

Adding the burden of a credential in addition to current education and training for Occupational and Physical Therapist will add significant time and cost for a credential that will not provide any additional benefit to Occupational and Physical Therapist. Further, the additional requirement will certainly restrict the current pipeline of candidates providing services to students and will be an irreversible requirement for all future Occupational and Physical Therapists. ACSA opposed this action in the Legislature on three previous occasions and does not support the commission taking action to develop a new credential.

In lieu of creating a new credential, commissioners and CTC staff will investigate alternatives that include consideration of modifying existing education code language that restricts Occupational and Physical Therapists from obtaining a credential under the medical services option. The commission believes the best course of action is to pursue changes to statutes that will remove existing restrictions and barriers for future certification.

The purpose of standard setting studies is to provide the commission with recommendations, based on the informed judgments of California educators, relevant to the determination of the initial passing standards for the CSET: Dance and CSET: Theatre. The educators on the Standard Setting Panel represented credentialed TK-12 teachers with experience teaching dance and theatre, district-level administrators, and teacher preparation program faculty with experience in dance and theatre who are responsible for the preparation of single subject teachers via the program route. After this extensive training and the simulated test taking, panel members completed the following three rounds of standard setting activities, as described below.

Round One: For each multiple-choice item, the panel members were asked to independently rate the percent of minimally competent beginning teachers whom they think would likely answer the item correctly. For each constructed-response item, members were asked to independently indicate the level of response that would likely be achieved by the minimally competent beginning teacher.

Round Two: The second round moved the panel from individual item ratings to ratings at the section level (i.e., multiple-choice section and constructed-response section). They were asked the number of multiple-choice items that would be answered correctly and the total score points that would likely be achieved on the constructed-response items by the minimally competent beginning teacher. Round Three: Panel members were asked to make final independent recommendations for a passing standard based on the raw score points earned on each section of the test.

The commission directed staff to work with its examinations contractor to conduct additional standard setting workshops after a full year of test administration and return to the commission with a new passing standard recommendation based on the additional information available at that time.

The governor has placed a high priority on education funding since taking office that includes preparing, training and recruiting a diverse, expert workforce of administrative, credentialed and classified staff to work in public K-12 schools. This is a critical level of support given current staffing shortages that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 Budget Act included $2.9 billion to accelerate the preparation and support the training and retention of well-prepared educators.

New Commission Investment: The commission budget is built with funds from fees from teacher examinations, credential applications, competitive grants and accreditation fees. COVID restrictions severely reduced these funds and placed the commission budget in jeopardy. To offset these budget shortfalls, the governor is proposing an increase of $54.4 million for the commission to build upon multi-year investments to support efforts to enhance schools’ ability to hire qualified teachers and substitutes. This includes:

• $24 million one-time General Fund allotment to waive certain teacher examination fees.
• $12 million one-time General Fund allotment to extend the waiver of select credentials fees.
• $10 million one-time General Fund allotment to support a competitive grant program that provides grants to public and private institutions to develop and implement integrated teacher preparation programs.
• $5.2 million from the Proposition 98 General Fund and $322,000 from the General Fund to re-establish the Personnel Management Assistance Teams to assist Local Education Agencies in improving hiring and recruitment practices.
• $1.4 million General Fund expenditure to establish career counselors for prospective educators at the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
• $924,000 General Fund expenditure, of which $161,000 is one-time, to support the commission’s administration of multiple grant programs and fee waivers.
• $900,000 General Fund expenditure for the commission to contract for public outreach to highlight the value and benefits of educational careers in California’s prekindergarten through grade 12 schools.

Extending statute authorizing any holder of a credential or permit issued by the commission to serve in a substitute teaching assignment aligned with their authorization, including for staff vacancies, for up to 60 cumulative days for any one assignment. The Legislature through its budget committees and subcommittees and the Legislative Analyst’s Office will examine the various proposals and will offer recommendations for changes. Commission staff will provide additional updated information as necessary during the spring budget hearings.