Credentialing commission pursuing plan for new longer term teacher permit
The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing voted yesterday to move ahead with consideration of a new teacher permit that will replace a decades-old permit that limits the amount of time substitutes can fill in for teachers on medical and other legally required leaves.
Those include extended sick leaves, and leaves under laws such as the Pregnancy Disability Leave Act, which allows teachers to take off for up to four months. The Family and Medical Leave Act, the California Family Rights Act and the Industrial Accident and Illness Act also allow teachers to take a leave of up to 12 weeks.
The current permit that has been used to fill these vacancies only allows substitutes to stay in one classroom for up to 30 cumulative school days, and for only 20 days in special education classrooms. In many cases, that has resulted in students being subjected to a series of rotating instructors, with different levels of ability and knowledge of the materials they are supposed to be teaching.
The new Teacher Permit for Statutory Leave, or TPSL, would allow substitute teachers to stay in their positions as long as regular teachers are on temporary leave, but would require school districts to provide them with 45 hours of professional development and training each year, along with an Credentialing commission pursuing plan for new longer term teacher permit | EdSource: