6360 Commission on Teacher Credentialing
Program Descriptions

5381 - PREPARATION AND LICENSING OF TEACHERS

This program is responsibile for setting the standards for educator preparation and teaching performance in California to ensure a quality teaching workforce for California's K-12 students.

The Certification Division is responsible for evaluating and processing approximately 203,000 applications annually for credentials, permits, certificates, and waivers for authorization to serve in California's public schools. The Division serves as the primary point of contact for the Commission, providing information to credential applicants and holders and credential personnel at the college, university, county, and school district level regarding specific requirements for the licenses issued.

The Professional Services Division is responsible for the development of licensure standards for all credential areas, aligned with the adopted K-12 academic content standards; the development and implementation of licensing examinations, including the teaching performance assessment, as required in the Education Code; and supports the Commission with analysis and development of policy. The Division supports the Committee on Accreditation, a statutory body that is charged with implementing the Commission's accreditation system to monitor the quality of all educator preparation programs. The accreditation system involves educators in the evaluation of program quality through biennial reports, program review and site visit activities. Related activities include initial program approval, data collection, reporting, and policy research. It is also responsible for monitoring certificated assignments in collaboration with county offices of education.

The Division of Professional Practices is responsible for the discipline of credential applicants and holders, and provides legal advice to the Commission, the Committee of Credentials and the Commission's management team. The Division supports the Committee of Credentials, a statutory body that is responsible for investigations of alleged misconduct against credential holders and applicants. The investigations generally begin based upon reports from employing school districts, on misconduct disclosed on an application, and criminal convictions.

5382 - ATTORNEY GENERAL LEGAL SERVICES

Provides funding for the Office of the Attorney General to represent the Commission on Teacher Credentialing in credential holder discipline cases as they progress through the administrative hearing process.

5383 - ACCREDITATION STREAMLINE PROJECT

The Accreditation Streamline Project's main goal is to revise the present accreditation system to be a more streamlined, coherent system of educator preparation and program quality oversight focused on demonstration of quality outcomes. Project scope includes creating a data warehouse containing program and candidate information and development of a user friendly visualization interface, user friendly enhancements to the Commission's existing online credential information system, and upgrades to system security. The result of this work is intended to be a seamless system of high quality educator preparation and accountability.

5384 - EDUCATOR PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS

This program is intended to update the Commission-owned California Teaching Performance Assessment to the Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards and to develop an Administrator Performance Assessment. In addition to ensuring that credential candidates are prepared to enter the teaching profession, candidate scores from these assessments will be included in the revised accreditation system for program quality assessment.

5386 - INTEGRATED TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAMS

Provides funding for competitive grants to postsecondary institutions to develop or improve four-year integrated teacher credential programs.

5387 - CALIFORNIA CENTER ON TEACHING CAREERS

The California Center on Teaching Careers is operated by a K-12 local educational agency to recruit qualified and capable individuals to the teaching profession. The center provides statewide public service announcements related to teacher recruitment, hosts a referral database for teachers seeking employment, develops and distributes recruitment publications, conducts outreach activities to high school pupils and college students, and provides prospective teachers information on credential requirements and financial aid and loan assistance programs.

5388 - CLASSIFIED SCHOOL EMPLOYEES TEACHER CREDENTIALING GRANT PROGRAM

This program provides grants to K-12 local educational agencies to support recruitment of non-certificated school employees to participate in a teacher preparation program and become certificated classroom teachers in California public schools.