Section 44561.

(a) A school district that maintains classes in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, may apply for reimbursement under this article if it meets the conditions of subdivision (b).

(b) To be eligible for funding under this article, a school district must agree to do all of the following:

(1) Provide an annual salary stipend to each experienced mentor teacher that agrees to teach in a staff priority school, as defined in subdivision (d), and meets the criteria and performs services in accordance with Section 44562.

(2) Assure that each experienced teacher receiving a stipend as a certificated staff mentor is providing mentoring and support services first to candidates participating in alternative certification programs pursuant to Article 11 (commencing with Section 44380) of Chapter 2 and then to beginning teachers participating in a Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment program pursuant to Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 44279.1) of Chapter 2. A school district may assign teachers who serve as support providers in programs established pursuant to Article 11 (commencing with Section 44380) of Chapter 2 or Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 44279.1) of Chapter 2 as certificated staff mentors.

(3) Assure that the experienced teacher has received training to serve as a mentor or has served previously in a mentor capacity in programs for new teachers, including, but not limited to, induction and university or district intern programs.

(4) Assure that the experienced teacher will have adequate time and material resources to provide assistance to beginning teachers as specified in subdivision (a) of Section 44562.

(c) The annual allocation to a school district under this article shall be a reimbursement to the district for the cost of stipends actually provided to experienced mentor teachers that meet the criteria and perform services in accordance with Section 44562. In addition, a school district receiving reimbursement of stipend costs shall be entitled to an amount equal to 5 percent of the total stipend reimbursement for administrative costs.

(d) For purposes of this article, "staff priority school" means a school that meets either of the following conditions:

(1) A school that has an aggregate Academic Performance Index, established pursuant to Section 52052, score that was at or below the 30th percentile relative to other public schools in the state in any of the five previous school years.

(2) A juvenile court school, county community school, or community day school operated by a county office of education.

(Amended by Stats. 2008, Ch. 518, Sec. 7. Effective January 1, 2009.)