CONTACT

Californians Together

Championing the Success of English Learners

The Latest

Check Out Our Legislative Advocate Update!

|

The appropriations suspense files were released on Thursday, May 19th, and we are excited to see two of our sponsored bills (AB 1868 & SB 952) moving forward. Unfortunately, AB 1701 (Medina) Jump Start Program was held in suspense and is not moving forward this year, but we are committed to expanding the bilingual teacher pipeline and making sure that faculty are available to provide course access for students to move through bilingual authorization programs.  We’re excited to keep pushing these bills closer to the finish line! 

AB 1701 (Medina) Jump Start Program 

  • Creates a five-year grant to the California State University (CSU) system to increase student enrollment in bilingual authorization programs through recruitment and retention of full-time faculty for bilingual authorization programs through its Colleges of Education.   
  • Status: Held in the Assembly Appropriation committee, the bill will no longer be moving for the remainder of the year. 

AB 1868 (L. Rivas) Disaggregation of Data for Long Term English Learners   

  • This bill will allow the state to better serve our English Learners by requiring the California Department of Education to further separate achievement, enrollment, and other outcomes of long-term English learners and students at risk of becoming long-term English learners.
  • Status: Assembly Floor, awaiting vote by the entire Assembly in order to be sent to the Senate for consideration. 

SB 952 (Limon) Dual Language Immersion Program 

  • Provides $15 million for 20 schools over 5 years to convert to dual language immersion (DLI) schools. The grants would allow school districts to pay the costs related to securing bilingual educators, training programs, curriculum, materials, and other necessary start-up costs. 
  • Status: Senate Floor, awaiting vote by the entire Senate in order to be sent to the Assembly for consideration.

To download the full legilative update click here. 

Governor’s May Revision of the California State Budget

|

The Governor presented a May Revision budget with a $97.5 billion surplus which includes funding for Proposition 98 and Proposition 2, leaving approximately $49 billion surplus for discretionary spending. The May Revision focuses on allocating the vast majority of the discretionary surplus to one-time investments that can be adjusted in future years, if needed. The budget reflects $37.1 billion in budgetary reserves, in response to financial uncertainties and projections of financial troubles by 2025-26 fiscal year.  The May Revision does not trigger the State Appropriations Limit – it is just $2.6 billion below hitting the limit. 

An overarching theme that we have seen this year is the recognition by the Governor and Legislature that we face a teacher shortage and the need to continue investing in the training, recruitment and retention of teachers. We appreciate the recognition and would like to further shed light on the need for bilingual teachers. Our priorities, co-sponsored by our partners at the California Association for Bilingual Education, are in perfect alignment to these goals and would be great assets to expand the state’s bilingual educator workforce.

  • We applaud the Governor’s inclusion of $15 million one-time Proposition 98 General Fund to continue the work of the Educator Workforce Investment Grant program in areas of Special Education and support for English learners but would like to highlight the need for more funding to be able to better serve our English learners.
  • We would also like to see the inclusion of a $10 million appropriation to bring back the Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program which was highly successful and had a “grow your own” approach to assist teachers in the bilingual education space. 
  • We would also like to see the inclusion of  a $25 million appropriation in the California State University budget to increase student enrollment in bilingual authorization programs through the recruitment and retention of full-time faculty through their Colleges of Education.
  • Lastly, we would like to see a $1 million ongoing appropriation to disaggregate data in order to strengthen California’s guidance and resources to ensure Long Term English Learners (LTELs) students are correctly identified and provided with targeted interventions that best meet their needs. 

Other Funding for the Teacher Training,  Retention and Recruitment: 

  • $500 million one-time Proposition 98 General Fund to expand residency slots for teachers and school counselors and also allow school counselors, social worker, and psychologist candidates to be eligible for the Golden State Teacher Grant program. 
  • $300 million one-time Proposition 98 General Fund to augment resources available to local educational agencies for professional learning through the Educator Effectiveness Block Grant with a priority for STEM educator support.
  • $85 million one-time Proposition 98 General Fund to create Pre-K through 12 grade educator resources and professional learning to implement the Next Generation Science Standards, the California Math Framework, the California Computer Science Standards, and the math and science domains of the California Preschool Learning Foundations. 
  • $80 million ongoing Proposition 98 General Fund for the Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program, which provides matching funds for intersessional pay for classified employees who work less than 12 months per year.
  • $20 million one-time Proposition 98 General Fund to support a K-12 Teacher Residency Program Technical Assistance Center.
  • $15 million one-time Proposition 98 General Fund over three years to support 6,000 teachers in completing the coursework necessary to receive a supplementary state certification in reading and literacy.
  • $15 million one-time Proposition 98 General Fund to continue the work of the Educator Workforce Investment Grant program in computer science. 

Major Proposition 98 Spending Proposals

Community Schools 

  • Last week, the State Board of Education approved $635 million in planning and implementation grants for 265 LEAs. 
  • Despite the limited ability of LEAs to apply for community school grants due to staffing/pandemic issues, the California Department of Education received applications requesting $700 million for implementation grants, far exceeding the $400 million grant round. 
  • The Governor is proposing an additional $1.5 billion one-time appropriation in the May Revision, equating to a 50% increase in the overall community schools investment, to address anticipated need in future grant application rounds. 

Expanded Learning Opportunities Program 

  • To accelerate the implementation of this program,  an additional $3.4 billion ongoing Proposition 98 General Fund to the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program, increasing total ongoing program funding to $4.4 billion
    • Focuses on LEAs with the highest concentrations of low-income students, English learners, and youth in foster care.
    • Projected to be implemented by 2025-26 which is an earlier start date.

Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) 

  • Cost-of-living adjustment was updated to 6.56 percent, now the largest cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in the history of LCFF. 
  • Discretionary ongoing funds: To help LEAs address ongoing fiscal pressures, staffing shortages, and other operational needs, the May Revision includes $2.1 billion ongoing Proposition 98 General Fund to increase LCFF base funding.
  • Enables LEAs to utilize a modified version of 2021-22 average daily attendance to determine their 2021-22 LCFF allocations. The May Revision also proposes further modifying the three-year rolling number average to conform with this adjustment. 
  • The total ongoing costs associated with these policies is estimated to be $3.3 billion ongoing Proposition 98 General Fund and $463 million one-time Proposition 98 General Fund.

We will continue to work with the administration and legislature to incorporate our budget priorities. It is our goal to ensure that the inclusion and success of the State’s English learners be inserted in several program initiatives.

To download the full summary of the Governor’s budget proposal summary click here.

Check Out Our April 2022 Legislative Advocate Report!

|

Sponsored Legislation: 

AB 1701 (Medina) Jump Start Program- creates a five-year grant to the California State University (CSU) system to increase student enrollment in bilingual authorization programs through recruitment and retention of full-time faculty for bilingual authorization programs through its Colleges of Education. The bill left the Assembly Higher Education committee with bipartisan support and is currently sitting in the Assembly Appropriations committee on the suspense file. This legislation has a $25M budget component that we are championing through the budget process to ensure it has the appropriate funding to be implemented. 

AB 1868 (Luz Rivas) Long Term English Learner Data- will allow the state to better serve our English learners by requiring the California Department of Education to further separate achievement, enrollment, and other outcomes of long-term English learners and students at risk of becoming long-term English learners. This bill was heard in the Assembly Education committee and received unanimous support, it is now headed to the Assembly Appropriations committee for fiscal review. We continue  working with the California Department of Education (CDE) on cost estimates based upon the proposed amendments, but we are also elevating this bill  through the budget process to ensure adequate funding is provided. AB 1868 is part of The Education Trust West Equity 8 where they highlight the year’s greatest opportunities to advance educational equity and justice in the legislature. 

SB 952 (Limon) Dual Language Immersion (DLI) Programs - provides grants to school districts to help them convert existing schools into schools that can offer DLI programs. Dual language schools have generated high interest amongst parents. Converting an under enrolled school to a dual language school has the potential to attract and retain families in their current schools. This bill provides school districts with a tool to innovate and establish school program models that are proven to promote strong academic performance among students from all backgrounds. SB 952 received bipartisan support in the Senate Education committee and is headed to the Senate Appropriations committee for review. This bill also has a budget component of $15 M to ensure a successful implementation. 

Budget Requests: 

Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program- We are requesting a one-time $10 million appropriation, with $2 million provided annually for a series of five years, to bring back the Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program (BTPDP). This important program used a “grow your own” approach to address the bilingual teacher shortage by allowing eligible local educational agencies to apply for state funds in order to provide professional learning opportunities to increase the number of bilingual authorized teachers. It was a successful and popular program among the grantees, and would like to see it come back. 

Educator Workforce Investment Program English Learner Roadmap Policy Implementation- We are pushing for a one-time $20 million appropriation for five years ($4 million annually) to extend funding of the two current grantees, commencing July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2028, for the purpose of continuing the Educator Workforce Investment Program (EWIG) English Learner (EL) Roadmap Policy Implementation Grant Program. The pandemic has increased the need for more robust access to high quality instruction for English learners through this grant program. Many school districts, including charter schools, are not aware of California’s EL Roadmap policy.  There continues to be an urgent need for its implementation and adherence by California’s public schools and educators in order to assure EL students will be provided an effective and quality education. 

Californians Together is supporting other legislation that aligns with our goals, for a full list of these bills click the link here.

[Webinar Alert] Building The Bilingual Teacher Pipeline: From High School To The University

|

This upcoming webinar will take place on Wednesday, April 27, 2022 from 4pm to 5pm and will present concrete examples of programs from high school through teacher preparation to increase the pipeline of bilingual teachers locally and across the state. Information on high school teacher preparation academies, the California Mini Corp, Bilingual Teacher Residencies and other programs will be presented in hopes that many local districts and universities will consider these options to expand the pool of bilingual teacher candidates.
This program will include:
  • A High School Teacher Preparation Academy
  • Bilingual Teacher Residency Program
  • The California Mini Corp
  • Integrated Teacher Credential and Bilingual Authorization
To register for this FREE webinar Visit the link here: https://caltog.co/3NQJ8sC or scan the QR code on the flyer to be redirected to register.
Building The Bilingual Teacher Pipeline_Flyer (FINAL #4 )

Stay Social

Join Our Advocacy Network