Section 44252.

(a) The commission shall establish standards and procedures for the initial issuance and renewal of credentials.

(b) The commission shall not issue initially a credential, permit, certificate, or renewal of an emergency credential to a person to serve in the public schools unless the person has demonstrated proficiency in basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills in the English language as provided in Section 44252.5 or Section 44252.7. The commission shall exempt the following persons from the basic skills proficiency test requirement:

(1) A person credentialed solely for the purpose of teaching adults in an apprenticeship program.

(2) An applicant for an adult education designated subject credential for other than an academic subject.

(3) A person credentialed in another state who is an applicant for employment in a school district in this state who has passed a basic skills proficiency examination administered by the state where the person is credentialed.

(4) A person credentialed in another state who is an applicant for employment in a school district in this state who has passed a basic skills proficiency examination that has been developed and administered by the school district offering that person employment, by cooperating school districts, or by the appropriate county office of education. School districts administering a basic skills proficiency examination under this paragraph shall comply with the requirements of subdivision (h) of Section 44830. The applicant shall be granted a nonrenewable credential, valid for not longer than one year, pending fulfillment of the basic skills proficiency requirement pursuant to Section 44252.5.

(5) An applicant for a child care center permit or a permit authorizing service in a development center for the handicapped, so long as the holder of the permit is not required to have a baccalaureate degree.

(6) The holder of a credential, permit, or certificate to teach, other than an emergency permit, who seeks an additional authorization to teach.

(7) An applicant for a credential to provide service in the health profession.

(8) An applicant who achieves scores on the writing, reading, and mathematics sections of the College Board SAT Reasoning Test, the enhanced ACT Test, or the California State University Early Assessment Program that are sufficient to waive the English placement test and the entry level mathematics examination administered by the California State University.

(9) An applicant for an eminence credential to be issued pursuant to Section 44262.

(c) The Superintendent shall adopt an appropriate state test to measure proficiency in these basic skills. In adopting the test, the Superintendent shall seek assistance from the commission and an advisory board. A majority of the members of the advisory board shall be classroom teachers. The board also shall include representatives of school boards, school administrators, parents, and postsecondary educational institutions.

The Superintendent shall adopt a normed test that the Superintendent determines will sufficiently test basic skills for purposes of this section.

The Superintendent, in conjunction with the commission and approved teacher training institutions, shall take steps necessary to ensure the effective implementation of this section.

(d) This section does not require the holders of, or applicants for, a designated subjects special subjects credential to pass the state basic skills proficiency test unless the requirements for the specific credential required the possession of a baccalaureate degree. The governing board of each school district, or each governing board of a consortium of school districts, or each governing board involved in a joint powers agreement, which employs a holder of a designated subjects special subjects credential shall establish its own basic skills proficiency criteria for the holders of these credentials and shall arrange for those individuals to be assessed. The basic skills proficiency criteria established by the governing board shall be at least equivalent to the test required by the district, or in the case of a consortium or a joint powers agreement, by any of the participating districts, for graduation from high school. The governing board or boards may charge a fee to individuals being tested to cover the costs of the test, including the costs of developing, administering, and grading the test.

(e) The commission shall compile data regarding the rate of passing the state basic skills proficiency test by persons who have been trained in various institutions of higher education. The data shall be available to members of the public, including to persons who intend to enroll in teacher education programs.

(f) Each applicant to an approved credential program, unless exempted by subdivision (b), shall take the state basic skills proficiency test in order to provide both the prospective applicant and the program with information regarding the proficiency level of the applicant. Test results shall be forwarded to each California postsecondary educational institution to which the applicant has applied. The program shall use test results to ensure that, upon admission, each applicant receives appropriate academic assistance necessary to pass the state basic skills proficiency test. Persons residing outside the state shall take the test no later than the second available administration following their enrollment in a credential program.

It is the intent of the Legislature that applicants for admission to teacher preparation programs not be denied admission on the basis of state basic skills proficiency test results.

(Amended by Stats. 2008, Ch. 518, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2009.)