SB 436: Teachers: California STEM Professional Teaching Pathway Act of 2017.

Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary schools in this state and authorizes local educational agencies throughout the state to operate schools and provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to, among other things, establish professional standards, assessments, and examinations for entry and advancement in the education profession and to establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials, certificates, and permits. Existing law establishes the California Center on Teaching Careers for the purpose of recruiting qualified and capable individuals into the teaching profession, as provided.

This bill would establish the California STEM Professional Teaching Pathway Pathway, to be administered by the California Center on Teaching Careers, for the purpose of recruiting, training, supporting, and retaining qualified science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals, including military veterans, as mathematics and science teachers in California. The bill would authorize various activities as part of the California STEM Professional Teaching Pathway, including developing and distributing statewide recruitment materials encouraging interested STEM professionals to pursue teaching careers in mathematics and science and providing information to STEM professionals regarding the requirements for obtaining a teaching credential in mathematics and science and regarding how to complete those steps, applying to teacher preparation programs, and accessing financial aid.

The bill would appropriate an unspecified sum annually from the General Fund, beginning in the 201718 fiscal year, to the commission for allocation to the California Center on Teaching Careers for the purposes of the bill, subject to a new competitive grant process. The bill would also require the commission to document the impacts of the bill and include that information in a specified report. The bill would require its provisions to be implemented only upon the enactment of an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another statute for its purposes.