Enjoying unanimous support from the California Assembly earlier this month, the bill that aims to give away $20,000 per individual in grants to education students will next be scrutinized by the Calif. Senate in a few weeks. Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell, who represents District 70, authored the bill known as AB 169. A former full-time history and government teacher, and now a substitute between Assembly sessions, O’Donnell stressed the need to help future teachers with their college tuition.
O’Donnell acknowledged that he had personally witnessed a teacher shortage when he worked in the schools, and he cited statistics that stressed the need for qualified teachers.
“Enrollment in educator-preparation programs has dropped by more than 70 percent over the last decade,” he said. “So, we don’t have that bank of trained individuals ready or willing to go into classrooms.”
The one-time grant would be awarded to those education students who commit to serving for four years in areas deemed to be “high need.” So far, these areas include STEM (better known as science, technology, engineering and math), special education and bilingual education.
According to analysis by the Assembly Appropriations Committee, the fiscal impact of the bill is $147 million for one year. The analysis used figures based on individuals who were awarded teaching credentials in 2015-2016 in high-need areas. It would also have a price tag of $75,000 in administrative costs for the California Department of Education.
O’Donnell acknowledged that the bill won support from both sides of the aisle.
“It speaks to the fact that there is bipartisan recognition that we have a statewide teacher shortage that needs to be addressed in a rapid fashion,” O’Donnell said. “There is widespread recognition that we have a problem in California, and we need to act.”
He also addressed the need for bilingual education, explaining that since voters passed Prop. 58 last fall, dual-language education became a bigger priority. The bill not only covers future teachers who can speak two languages, it also aims to support dual-language education for students to learn more than one language at a time.
“If California students are going to be competitive!in a global environment, they need to be bilingual,” O’Donnell added.
O’Donnell said that, if the bill passes the Calif. Senate and eventually gets full sign-off, he hopes these grants will be available in the upcoming fiscal year, or at least the following year.
The news of the teacher grant may come at a great time for education majors. Angelique Flores, a spokesperson for Long Beach City College, acknowledged that the new funds could help students as they make the decision to become teachers.
“We expect these grants to be a great incentive for college students preparing to be teachers,” Flores said in a phone interview. “We anticipate they will help increase enrollment of our teacher-education program at Long Beach City College.”
She also added that there is another segment of future teachers who could be affected.
“Currently,” Flores said, “we are in the process of adding an associate degree for early-elementary teachers, and we expected that to also increase our enrollment of education majors.”
She said that the timing of both the associate degree and the grant might happen concurrently.
Flores added that the LBCC Foundation does earmark scholarships for students preparing to be teachers and that there are 10 to 15 scholarships available for education students. On the average, LBCC awards about $10,000 per year.
Tanya Paz Baca, a former Signal Tribune employee, is currently enrolled in Calif. State University Long Beach’s social-science credential program, and she plans to start her final semester in the teaching program this fall. In an emailed statement, she thought about the bill and its effect on education students.
“I read a little about the bill, and it reminds me of the current government loan-forgiveness program that is in effect for high-demand teachers working in low-income areas,” Paz Baca said. “While it appears the O’Donnell bill is aimed toward special education and STEM programs, I would not qualify for a grant as I am focusing on social science!As of now, most of my education has been fairly easy to pay due to financial aid. From my own upcoming experience and my fellow peers, the most financially draining part of the entire credential program is our student-teaching service, as we do not get any financial compensation or stipend.”
However, she did like the idea that bilingual education would be stressed. Paz Baca is a native Spanish speaker.
“I think aiding bilingual teachers would be an excellent idea,” she added. “I would definitely get further training on dual-immersion education if I had the appropriate funding and support.”
If fully approved, AB 169 would award grants to students enrolled in a qualifying professional-teaching program after Jan. 1, 2018.
