CTC’s audit nightmare ends, attention turns to implementing quality plan
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The Commission on Teacher Credentialing closed the book Thursday on one of its most troubling episodes and then quickly pivoted to consideration of a plan for improving teacher quality decades into the future.
The CTC, mandated under state law to serve as the arbiter of professional integrity and quality for California’s teachers, was the subject of a critical audit released in early 2011 that found a backlog of thousands of unprocessed teacher misconduct complaints that state officials said may have exposed some students to unsafe classroom conditions.
The shakeup that followed led to the retirements of top agency leaders, unwanted media attention and scrutiny from the Legislature’s oversight committees.
After months of restructuring and revision of internal controls, the agency board got official word Thursday from California State Auditor Elaine Howle that the CTC had finally emerged with a clean bill of health.
Howle, who addressed the board in person and praised the effort of the past 16 months, was no sooner out of the room than the commission began looking at its next big agenda – implementing some 80 recommendations from a blue ribbon panel on improving teacher quality.
The report from the blue ribbon panel, jointly sponsored by state schools chief Tom Torlakson and the CTC, is