SACRAMENTO—New legislation designed to help support male educators of color and diversify the teaching workforce—sponsored by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and authored by Assemblymember Mike A. Gipson (D-Carson)—received unanimous approval from the California State Assembly Committee on Education today, accelerating efforts to create an educator workforce to better reflect the students it serves.
Assembly Bill (AB) 520, which will head to the Appropriations Committee next Wednesday, will establish the California Diversifying Teacher Grant Program, awarding $15 million in grants for school districts to provide one-time competitive grants that develop and implement new (or expand existing) programs that address a local need to develop the teacher workforce while emphasizing the retention of male teachers of color.
“When I talk to students, they tell me they want to learn from adults who look like them and have shared their life experiences. There is mounting research that tells us that teachers of color boost the academic performance of all students—but especially students of color. This includes improved reading and math test scores, improved graduation rates, and increases in aspirations to attend college,” Thurmond said. “We've long known that having teachers of color matters for students of color—but our public schools do not reflect this. We can and must do better if we want to dismantle the historic educational inequities in ways that can level the playing field for all students.”
“Student success is amplified when they are taught by teachers who reflect the diversity of those students. In addition to academic benefits, students of color experience social-emotional gains to having teachers who look like them, also lessening the likelihood of chronic absenteeism and suspension," Gipson said. "Assembly Bill 520 seeks to create a program that will prepare and invest in the recruitment and retention of a larger and diverse pool of teachers. It will assist California with addressing the racial and ethnic disparities that exist throughout the state, helping to reduce the equity gap.”
Men of color comprise less than 10 percent of California’s teaching force, with Black and Latinx men making up 1 percent and 2 percent of their peers. Data show that only one-third of teachers are non-white, even though students of color make up about three-quarters of California’s student population.
Statistics show that male teachers are leaving high-need schools when they do not have the support strategies in place to help develop their teaching skills. These strategies can include, but are not limited to, social and emotional learning, school climate, trauma support, and restorative justice.
Additionally, research shows that Black and Latinx educators feel that they're not valued and feel frustration at being expected to take on extra duties without compensation or even the necessary support systems. As a result, teachers of color give up their careers more often than white teachers do.
AB 520 will address retention problems by enhancing a school district’s ability to equip, cultivate, and bolster male teachers of color within its schools to effectively preserve teachers. Schools that foster an environment of professional learning are more likely to attract and retain teachers in high-need schools.
Schools that invest in retention strategies that cultivate success and professional learning are more likely to retain male teachers of color. By concentrating on the investment of teachers of color, California will address the racial and ethnic disparities that exist throughout the state, helping to reduce the equity gap.
More information on AB 520 can be found in the bill analysis
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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100
SACRAMENTO—The U.S. Department of Education notified California this week that the state’s request for relief from certain federal testing, accountability, and reporting requirements has been granted.
In a letter to State Superintendent Tony Thurmond and State Board President Linda Darling-Hammond, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Programs Ian Rosenblum said he was “pleased to approve” California’s request. “The intent of these accountability waivers is to focus on assessments to provide information to parents, educators, and the public about student performance and to help target resources and supports,” Rosenblum wrote. “This is particularly crucial this year, due to the COVID pandemic.”
In February, the State Board of Education voted to seek a waiver that would give schools the means to account for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in their ability to assess students. The Board’s action was in response to federal guidance allowing states to seek flexibility given that most students have yet to return to in-person instruction either part- or full-time.
The state also discussed its plan to give schools permission to report data from standards-aligned interim or diagnostic tests they have been using where it is not viable to administer the state summative assessments due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unlike last year, the U.S. Department of Education did not invite states to apply for blanket waivers that would allow states to opt-out of annual testing altogether, citing the role testing data plays in supporting students.
As granted, California’s waiver:
- Decouples state assessments from federal accountability requirements, as applicable. Instead, any data collected will be used to inform local educators, parents, and the public and align resources to student supports.
- Waives federal penalties for student testing participation rates of less than 95 percent on the state’s Smarter Balanced English language arts and math. Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, all states that receive federal funds for low-income students and English learners must assess annual learning progress in math, language arts, science, and English learner language proficiency, as applicable.
At its November meeting, the State Board voted to approve shortened blueprints of the Smarter Balanced assessments in English language arts and math in order to administer shorter tests in these subjects during the 2020–21 school year.
The Board also extended the window by which schools must complete test administration to July 30 for the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), the English Language Assessments for California (ELPAC), which measures English learners’ progress toward language proficiency, and the California Science Test (CAST).
In a separate letter received this week, Rosenblum said California need not apply for another waiver, which the Board contemplated, because California is administering all of its required assessments and expecting they will be used except in cases where local conditions make the administration of the tests not viable.
With many of the state’s students still engaged in distance learning, both CDE and State Board staff have advised districts—as the federal guidance states—that students should not be brought back to in-person instruction solely for the purpose of standardized testing.
And in some cases, students still in remote learning may not be able to access the state’s summative tests because they lack secure browsers on their computers or sufficient bandwidth to meet the demands of the tests. In such a case, student assessment data could be provided through a high-quality interim or diagnostic test that meets Board-approved criteria.
“We remain committed to supporting all States in assessing the learning of all students,” Rosenblum wrote. “Obtaining data on student learning includes high-quality statewide assessments, which can help identify where opportunity gaps are persistent and have been exacerbated—particularly during the pandemic—and, along with other data, can help States direct resources and support to close those gaps.
“At the same time,” he continued, “we must also recognize that we are in the midst of a pandemic that requires real flexibility...(I)n cases where students are unable to take the statewide summative assessment, we hope that States and districts use other assessments to measure student learning and progress and to provide information to parents and educators. These interim, diagnostic, or formative assessments do not replace statewide summative assessments, but they can serve to provide valuable information to meet our goal of maximizing the number of students for whom we have quality data this year.”
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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100