SECTION 1.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(1) Since 2017, it has been determined that than 100,000 classrooms in the United States have been staffed by instructors who were unqualified for their jobs, and that these classrooms are disproportionately located in low-income, high-minority schools, although in some key subjects, every kind of school district has been hit by a lack of qualified applicants.
(2) The federal Office for Civil Rights’ data show that school districts serving more pupils of color employ about four times more uncertified teachers than school districts serving few pupils of color, and pupils from low-income
families, pupils with disabilities, and English learners are also more likely to be taught by underqualified teachers than other pupils, with negative effects on their achievement.
(3) Federal policies can extend the financial capacity of teachers by reducing their college debt and by making other financial supports more readily available to teachers.
(4) Investing in alternative pathways and policies that recruit and prepare future teachers earlier in their educational careers can help attract young people into teaching and reduce the overall costs of their preparation.
(5) California’s education budget has included considerable investments in building the educator pipeline and supporting the existing workforce, including the creation of the Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing Program, the Teacher
Residency Grant Program, and the Golden State Teacher Grant Program.
(b) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature for this act to accomplish both the following:
(1) Provide strategies to increase the number of teacher candidates.
(2) Establish a statewide coordinating committee in statute to determine and define the state’s role in addressing educator workforce issues, including recruitment, retention, and pipelines into the teaching profession, from early childhood education through grade 12.