44415.5. (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply for the Teacher Residency Grant Program:
(1) “Experienced mentor teacher” means an educator who meets all of the following requirements:
(A) Has at least three years of teaching experience and holds a clear credential in the subject in which the mentor teacher will be mentoring. For programs leading to the issuance of new PK-3 early childhood education specialist credentials, the mentor teacher must have at least three years of teaching experience in prekindergarten, transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, or any of grades 1 to 3, inclusive, and hold a clear multiple subject credential.
(B) Has a record of successful teaching as demonstrated, at a minimum, by satisfactory annual performance evaluations for the preceding three years.
(C) Receives specific training for the mentor teacher role, and engages in ongoing professional learning and networking with other mentors.
(D) Receives compensation, appropriate release time, or both, to serve as a mentor in the initial preparation or beginning teacher induction component of the teacher residency program.
(2) “Teacher residency program” is a grant applicant-based program that partners with one or more commission-approved teacher preparation programs offered by a regionally accredited institution of higher education in which a prospective teacher teaches at least one-half time alongside a teacher of record, who is designated as the experienced mentor teacher, for at least one full school year while engaging in initial preparation coursework.
(b) For the 2021–22 fiscal year, the sum of three hundred fifty million dollars ($350,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the commission for the Teacher Residency Grant Program to support teacher residency programs that recruit and support the preparation of teachers pursuant to this section. This funding shall be available for encumbrance until June 30, 2026.
(c) (1) The commission shall make grants to applicants to establish new teacher residency programs, or expand, strengthen, or improve access to existing teacher residency programs that support either of the following:
(A) Designated shortage fields, including, but not limited to, special education, bilingual education, science, computer science, technology, engineering, mathematics, transitional kindergarten, or kindergarten, school counselors, and any other fields identified by the commission based on an annual analysis of state and regional hiring and vacancy data.
(B) Local efforts to recruit, develop support systems for, provide outreach and communication strategies to, and retain a diverse teacher workforce that reflects a local educational agency community’s diversity.
(2) Grant recipients shall work with one or more commission-accredited teacher preparation programs and may work with other community partners or nonprofit organizations to develop and implement programs of preparation and mentoring for resident teachers who will be supported through program funds and subsequently employed by the sponsoring grant recipient.
(3) A grant applicant may consist of one or more, or any combination, of the following:
(A) A school district.
(B) A county office of education.
(C) A charter school.
(D) A regional occupational center or program operated by a joint powers authority or a county office of education.
(d) Grants allocated pursuant to subdivision (c) shall be up to twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) per teacher candidate in the residency program of the jurisdiction of the grant recipient, matched by that grant recipient at a rate of 80 percent of the grant amount received per participant, as described in subdivision (f). Residents are also eligible for other forms of federal, state, and local educational agency financial assistance to support the cost of their preparation. Grant program funding shall be used for, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(1) Teacher preparation costs.
(2) Stipends for mentor teachers, including, but not limited to, housing stipends.
(3) Residency program staff costs.
(4) Mentoring and beginning teacher induction costs following initial preparation.
(e) A grant recipient shall not use more than 5 percent of a grant award for program administration costs.
(f) A grant recipient shall provide a match of grant funding in the form of one or both of the following:
(1) Eighty cents ($0.80) for every one dollar ($1) of grant funding received per participant, to be used in a manner consistent with allowable grant activities pursuant to subdivision (d).
(2) An in-kind match of program director personnel costs, mentor teacher personnel costs, or other personnel costs related to the Teacher Residency Grant Program, provided by the grant recipient.
(g) Grant recipients shall do all of the following:
(1) Ensure that candidates are prepared to earn a preliminary teaching credential, including a PK-3 early childhood education specialist credential, in furtherance of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) upon completion of the program.
(2) Ensure that candidates are provided instruction in all of the following:
(A) Teaching the content area or areas in which the teacher will become certified to teach.
(B) Planning, curriculum development, and assessment.
(C) Learning and child development.
(D) Management of the classroom environment.
(E) Use of culturally responsive practices, supports for language development, and supports for serving pupils with disabilities.
(F) Professional responsibilities, including interaction with families and colleagues.
(3) Provide each candidate mentoring and beginning teacher induction support following the completion of the initial credential program necessary to obtain a clear credential and ongoing professional development and networking opportunities during the candidate’s first years of teaching at no cost to the candidate.
(4) Prepare candidates to teach in a school within the jurisdiction of the grant recipient in which they will work and learn the instructional initiatives and curriculum of the grant recipient.
(5) Group teacher candidates in cohorts to facilitate professional collaboration among residents, and ensure candidates are enrolled in a teaching school or professional development program that is organized to support a high-quality teacher learning experience in a supportive work environment.
(h) To receive a grant, an applicant shall submit an application to the commission at a time, in a manner, and containing information prescribed by the commission.
(i) When selecting grant recipients, the commission shall do both of the following:
(1) Require applicants to demonstrate a need for teachers in one or more designated shortage fields or for the purposes described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), and to propose to establish a new, or expand, strengthen, or improve access to an existing, teacher residency program that recruits, prepares, and supports teachers to teach in either one or more such fields or in furtherance of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) in a school within the jurisdiction of the sponsoring grant applicant.
(2) Give priority consideration to grant applicants who demonstrate a commitment to increasing diversity in the teaching workforce, have a higher percentage than other applicants of unduplicated pupils, as defined in Section 42238.02, and have one or more schools that exhibit one or both of the following characteristics:
(A) A school where 50 percent or more of the enrolled pupils are eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
(B) A school that is located in either a rural location or a densely populated region.
(j) A candidate in a teacher residency program sponsored by a grant provided pursuant to subdivision (c) shall agree in writing to serve in a school within the jurisdiction of the grant recipient that sponsored the candidate for a period of at least four school years beginning with the school year that begins after the candidate successfully completes the initial year of preparation and obtains a preliminary teaching credential, including a PK-3 early childhood education specialist credential. A candidate who fails to earn a preliminary credential, or who fails to complete the period of the placement, shall reimburse the sponsoring grant recipient the amount of grant funding invested in the candidate’s residency training. The amount to be reimbursed shall be adjusted proportionately to reflect the service provided if the candidate taught at least one year, but less than four years, at a school within the jurisdiction of the sponsoring grant recipient. A candidate shall have five school years to complete the four-school-year teaching commitment.
(k) If a candidate is unable to complete a school year of teaching, that school year may still be counted toward the required four complete school years if any of the following occur:
(1) The candidate has completed at least one-half of the school year.
(2) The employer deems the candidate to have fulfilled their contractual requirements for the school year for the purposes of salary increases, probationary or permanent status, and retirement.
(3) The candidate was not able to teach due to the financial circumstances of the sponsoring grant recipient, including a decision to not reelect the employee for the succeeding school year.
(4) The candidate has a condition covered under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2061 et seq.) or similar state law.
(5) The candidate was called or ordered to active duty status for more than 30 days as a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States.
(l) For purposes of administering the grant program pursuant to subdivision (c), the commission shall do all of the following:
(1) Determine the number of grants to be awarded and the total amount awarded to each grant applicant.
(2) Require grant recipients to submit program and expenditure reports, as specified by the commission, as a condition of receiving grant funds.
(3) Annually review each grant recipient’s program and expenditure reports to determine if any candidate has failed to meet their commitment pursuant to subdivision (j).
(m) If the commission determines or is informed that a sponsored candidate failed to earn a preliminary credential or failed to meet their commitment to teach pursuant to subdivision (j), the commission shall confirm with the grant recipient the applicable grant amount to be recovered from the candidate and the grant recipient. The amount to be recovered shall be adjusted proportionately to reflect the service provided if the candidate taught at least one year, but less than four years, at the sponsoring grant recipient.
(n) Upon confirming the amount to be recovered from the grant recipient pursuant to subdivision (m), the commission shall notify the grant recipient of the amount to be repaid within 60 days. The grant recipient shall have 60 days from the date of the notification to make the required repayment to the commission. If the grant recipient fails to make the required payment within 60 days, the commission shall notify the Controller and the grant recipient of the failure to repay the amount owed. The Controller shall deduct an amount equal to the amount owed to the commission from the grant recipient’s next principal apportionment or apportionments of state funds, other than basic aid apportionments required by Section 6 of Article IX of the California Constitution. If the grant recipient is a regional occupational center or program operated by a joint powers authority that does not receive a principal apportionment or apportionments of state funds, or a consortia of local educational agencies, the commission shall notify the Controller of the local educational agency where the candidate taught and the Controller shall deduct the amount owed from the applicable local educational agency’s next principal apportionment or apportionments of state funds, other than basic aid apportionments required by Section 6 of Article IX of the California Constitution.
(o) An amount recovered by the commission or deducted by the Controller pursuant to subdivision (n) shall be deposited into the Proposition 98 Reversion Account.
(p) Grant recipients may recover from a sponsored candidate who fails to earn a preliminary credential, or who fails to complete the period of placement, the amount of grant funding invested in the candidate’s residency training. The amount to be recovered shall be adjusted proportionately to reflect the service provided if the candidate taught at least one year, but less than four years, at a school within the jurisdiction of the sponsoring grant recipient.
(q) Grant recipients shall not charge a teacher resident a fee to participate in the Teacher Residency Grant Program.
(r) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (c), the commission may allocate up to twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) of the amount appropriated pursuant to subdivision (b) to capacity grants that shall be awarded on a competitive basis to local educational agencies or consortia, as designated pursuant to this section, partnering with regionally accredited institutions of higher education to expand, strengthen, improve access to, or create teacher residency programs.
(2) (A) The commission shall determine the number of capacity grants to be awarded and the amount of the applicable grants.
(B) Individual capacity grants shall not exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) per grant recipient.
(s) For purposes of making the computations required by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the appropriation made by subdivision (b) shall be deemed to be “General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts,” as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 41202, for the 2020–21 fiscal year, and included within the “total allocations to school districts and community college districts from General Fund proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant to Article XIII B,” as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202, for the 2020–21 fiscal year.
(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 571, Sec. 24. (AB 185) Effective September 27, 2022. Repealed as of January 1, 2030, pursuant to Section 44418.)