44560-44562
EDUCATION CODE
SECTION 44560-44562
44560. (a) The Certificated Staff Mentoring Program is hereby established for the purpose of encouraging excellent, experienced teachers to teach in staff priority schools and to assist teacher interns and beginning teachers during their induction and first years of teaching. (b) The Superintendent shall apportion funds appropriated for purposes of this program to participating school districts and shall determine the amount to be allocated, based on the number of experienced teachers eligible to receive stipends. The total amount allocated under this article shall not exceed the total amount appropriated for the purposes of this article in the annual Budget Act. 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. 44562. (a) To be eligible for a stipend under this article, an experienced teacher must meet all of the following criteria: (1) The experienced teacher must have a professional clear credential that would allow the teacher to instruct at the grade level and in the subject matter to which the beginning teachers or interns that the experienced teacher is assisting are assigned. (2) The experienced teacher must have no less than seven years of recent experience instructing at one or more of the grade levels and in the subject matter to which the beginning teachers or interns that the experienced teacher is assisting are assigned. (3) The experienced teacher must teach in a staff priority school and agree to provide assistance to at least one, but not more than five, intern teachers or beginning teachers, for a period of at least five years. (4) The experienced teacher must meet the needs of the school and have demonstrated ability to foster pupil achievement and learning, as determined by the school principal. (b) An annual stipend for an experienced teacher who meets the criteria of subdivision (a) and agrees to teach in a staff priority school shall be six thousand dollars ($6,000) per year, or another amount as specified in the Budget Act for the fiscal year in which the stipend is provided to the teacher.