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Teacher Credentialing Block Grant FAQs

Responses to frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant.
  1. Which programs are included in the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant?

    Unlike the other block grants, the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant includes funding for only one program, the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program.

  2. Who is eligible for funding from the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant?

    School districts, county offices of education, consortia of districts, and consortia of districts and county offices that offer approved Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment programs are eligible for Teacher Credentialing Block Grant funds. Charter schools currently receive in lieu funding through the Charter School Categorical Block Grant for the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program; hence, charter schools are not eligible to receive separate funding from the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant.

    Statutes governing the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program were not repealed and continue to provide for the approval of new Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Programs. However, Assembly Bill 825 does not provide either a funding source or a funding mechanism for new programs.

  3. How may Teacher Credentialing Block Grant funds be used?

    The Education Code statutes governing the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program, the only program included in the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant, were not repealed by the provisions of Assembly Bill 825. Thus, recipients of Teacher Credentialing Block Grant funds must use the block grant funds in compliance with the statutory requirements of the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program.

    Local educational agencies and consortia will continue to input consent forms into the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing database by December 15 each year. The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing will report this information to the California Department of Education by February 1.

  4. What are the purposes of the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program?

    The purposes of the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program are:
  • To enhance the success and retention of first and second year teachers.
  • Provide an effective transition into the teaching career for first and second year teachers in California.
  • Improve the educational performance of students through improved training, information, and assistance for new teachers.
  • Enable beginning teachers to be effective in teaching students who are culturally, linguistically, and academically diverse.
  • Ensure the professional success and retention of new teachers.
  • Ensure that a support provider provides intensive individualized support and assistance to each participating beginning teacher.
  • Improve the rigor and consistency of individual teacher performance assessments and the usefulness of assessment results to teachers and decision makers.
  • Establish an effective, coherent system of performance assessments that are based on the California Standards for the Teaching Profession.
  • Examine alternative ways in which the general public and the education profession may be assured that new teachers who remain in teaching have attained acceptable levels of professional competence.
  • Ensure that an individual induction plan is in place for each participating beginning teacher and is based on an ongoing assessment of the development of the beginning teacher.
  • Ensure continuous program improvement through ongoing research, development, and evaluation.
  1. How much funding is available for the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant?

    The Budget Act for 2005-06 provides $87,850,000 in funding for the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant. Of this amount, an estimated $3,360,000 will be set aside for the statewide cluster staff.

  2. How much funding will each local educational agency and consortia receive from this block grant in support of their approved programs?

    For 2005-06, block grant allocations will be based on the number of eligible participants (first and second year teacher counts) in each approved program. In subsequent years, local education agencies and consortia will receive the level of funding they received in the 2005-06 fiscal year adjusted for annual statewide growth in average daily attendance and cost of living.

  3. Will local educational agencies and consortia receive annual funding adjustments for growth and cost of living? If yes, at what rates?

    Yes, local educational agency and consortia allocations are to be adjusted each year, beginning in 2006-07, based on the rate of growth in statewide average daily attendance and the cost of living adjustment on district base revenue limits. We note that in any year the statutory rates for growth and cost of living may be increased, reduced, or eliminated by provisions negotiated as part of the annual State Budget Act and related legislation.

  4. When will Teacher Credentialing Block Grant funding be allocated?

    In 2005-06, the funding cycle for the block grant will be similar to the funding cycle for the program prior to its inclusion with the block grant. A first payment will be made in the fall for 50 percent of the funds, based on prior year eligible teacher counts. The remaining payments will be based on the current year eligible teacher counts reported to the California Department of Education in February.

  5. Can funds be transferred out of the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant?

    No. The Teacher Credentialing Block Grant does not allow funds to be transferred out of this block grant.

  6. Can funds be transferred to the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant?

    Yes, funds may be transferred to the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant with the following limitations:
  • The total funding received for any fiscal year for this block grant after transfers may not exceed 120 percent of the amount of state funding allocated to the local educational agency or consortia for the block grant for the same fiscal year.
  • Prior to the expenditure of transferred funds, the local educational agency's governing board is required to hold a noticed public meeting to discuss the matter.
  • Local educational agencies must track transfers in and transfers out of the block grants. Assembly Bill 831, Chapter 118, Statutes of 2005 was recently enacted, striking the requirement in AB 825 that Object Code 8998 be used to track the transfers. Please use Object Code 8995 to track the transfers in and out of the School and Library Improvement Block Grant.
  1. Did the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program receive basic aid reductions in 2003-04, pursuant to Section 38 of Chapter 227, Statutes of 2003?

    No.

  2. Has the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant been assigned a Resource Code?

    Yes, the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant has been assigned Resource Code 7392.

  3. Has the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant been assigned a Revenue Object Code?

    Yes, all six block grants should use Revenue Object Code 8590.

  4. Can indirect costs be charged to the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant? If yes, at which rate?

    Yes, consistent with the California Department of Education's existing indirect cost rate guidance, the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant may be charged for indirect costs, provided the amount charged does not exceed the local educational agency's approved indirect cost rate. Further information on indirect costs can be found on the California Department of Education Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/ac/ic/.

  5. How should carryover from programs included in the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant from fiscal years prior to 2005-06 be used?

    Carryover funds for programs included in the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant from fiscal years prior to 2005-06 must be used according to the laws governing the original appropriation of such funds.

  6. Will carryover be allowed for the block grant?

    The block grant funds will be in support of the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program as it was in effect on January 1, 2004. Funds not expended in one year in support of the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program, may be carried over and expended in the next year.

  7. Prior to inclusion in the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant, increases to the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program have been contingent upon the annual review and approval of an expenditure plan as required by provisional language in the annual Budget Act. Now that the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program is included in the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant, does the Department of Finance still have to review an expenditure plan?

    The Budget Act for 2005-06 does not include provisional language for the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant requiring the Department of Finance to approve an expenditure plan.

  8. Are consortia still allowed to administer local teacher induction programs as currently permitted under the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program?

    Yes.

  9. Will regional support and technical assistance continue with the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant?

    Yes, the Education Code sections governing the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program were not repealed by Assembly Bill 825. Thus, California Education Code Section 44279.7, which allows for competitive supplemental grants to assist teacher induction program clusters remains in effect. Successful grantees will identify a teacher induction program consultant to meet the purpose and functions defined in the request for application. The funding will continue to be through a grant process jointly approved by the California Department of Education and California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
Questions:   Janice Huarte| jhuarte@cde.ca.gov | 916-322-9128
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