Teacher preparation programs: regionally accredited institutions.

Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to, among other duties, establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials, certificates, and permits. Under existing law, the commission establishes standards for teacher preparation programs at postsecondary educational institutions. This bill would define "regionally accredited," as that term is applied to institutions of higher education with teacher preparation programs, as either an institution that has been accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, the Higher Learning Commission, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, the New England Commission of Higher Education, or the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, or an institution of higher education that held preaccreditation status at the time the degree of an applicant for a credential was conferred, if that institution achieved full regional accreditation status within 5 years of earning preaccreditation status. The bill would also define "regionally accredited" to include community or junior colleges that confer baccalaureate degrees and are regionally accredited by accrediting agencies, as specified, or by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The bill, among other things, would also make conforming changes to use the term "regionally accredited institution of higher education" to refer to certain postsecondary educational institutions with teacher preparation programs. Existing law specifies the minimum requirements for the preliminary multiple subject, single subject, or education specialist teaching credential, including a subject matter competence requirement demonstrated by either completion of a subject matter program that has been approved by the commission or passage of a subject matter examination. This bill would authorize a candidate for the preliminary multiple subject, single subject, or education specialist teaching credential to demonstrate subject matter competence by completing higher education coursework in the subject matters related to the content area of the credential, or through a combination of a subject matter examination and higher education coursework in the subject matters related to the content area of the credential, as provided. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 44259 of the Education Code proposed by SB 488 to be operative only if this bill and SB 488 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.