California Chronicle

Senate Teacher Recruitment Bills Set to be Heard April 19

Congressional Desk
March 30, 2006

SACRAMENTO—Bills by Senator Jack Scott (D-Pasadena) Chair of the Senate Education Committee and Senator Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch) to help California recruit and retain 100,000 new teachers over the next ten years will be heard by the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday, April 19.

SB 1209 (Scott) implements a number of recommendations of two recent studies -- conducted by the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning and the New Teacher Project -- that have highlighted California's teacher crisis.

SB 1209 will:

• Reduce barriers for teachers trained in other states to teach in California schools
• Consolidate the numerous test requirements for all teacher candidates
• Strengthen preparation programs and provide additional support for intern teachers and beginning teachers
• Establish mentor programs for experienced teachers to assist new teachers
• Improve district teacher recruitment and hiring practices through the use of personnel management assistance teams
• Encourage school districts to negotiate salary schedules that could include compensating teachers for additional responsibilities, teaching in challenging school settings, and professional growth.

SB 1124 (Torlakson) creates a teaching fellows program to attract the best and brightest to the teaching profession and targets the fellowship and loan forgiveness incentives at teachers willing to teach in our highest priority schools.

SB 1124 will:

• Create the Teacher Cadet Program, an innovative approach designed to attract talented young people to the teaching profession through a challenging introduction to teaching that includes classroom experience, mentoring and a college preparatory curriculum.
• Provide incentives for all California teachers to achieve certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and remove financial disincentives for retired teachers that want return to the profession and agree to mentor novice teachers in high priority schools.
• Create a new program that will give incentives for universities to collaborate with K-12 schools to create and implement teacher education programs.

The bills are a key part of the Senate Back to Basics plan unveiled in December.

One third of California’s teachers are older than 50. In the next 5 years, 20% of the teaching workforce will be eligible for retirement. In the next 10 years, the number jumps to one in every three. In less than a decade, the state will have to replace 100,000 teachers due to retirement alone. Scott and Torlakson are both former teachers.

<- Back to Media Clips