One year cap on teacher prep programs up for debate
By Tom Chorneau
Tuesday, January 08, 2013
Growing demands on teacher preparation programs to cover all the necessary topics and issues needed to produce world-class educators have drawn new attention to the state law that restricts the training time to just one year.
There are expectations that new teachers will not only graduate with some mastery of the latest and most effective instructional methods, but also that they will have developed some skills for dealing with California’s mushrooming English learner population as well as students with special needs.
But the state’s existing Education Code requires candidates for either a single or multiple subject credential to successfully complete an accredited preparation program in one year, or the equivalent of one-fifth of a five-year program.
In response, state officials are looking at two legislative options: One would be to eliminate the cap on time for preparation altogether. The other, as framed in a bill already submitted in the state Senate, would provide preparation programs two years or the equivalent of two-fifths of a five-year professional preparation program.
SB 5 by state Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles, would also delete a provision that prohibits baccalaureate degrees in
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