(a) For the 2023–24 fiscal year, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall allocate the sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) from the funding appropriated in Provision 3 of Item 6100-488 of the Budget Act of 2023 to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to establish the Diverse Education Leaders Pipeline Initiative program, as set forth in this section.

(b) The purpose of the program is to train, place, and retain diverse and culturally responsive administrators in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to improve pupil outcomes and meet the needs of California’s education workforce. The program shall have the following goals:

(1) Increasing diversity among public school administrators for transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to promote school environments that better represent and reflect the diversity of the pupils served.

(2) Cultivating culturally responsive public school administrators for transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, through professional development that centers diversity, equity, and inclusion.

(3) Mitigating or removing administrator credentialing costs for aspiring public school administrators for transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and administrator preparation and induction programs.

(4) Promoting improved academic and school climate outcomes for all pupils, especially historically underserved pupil subgroups.

(5) Tracking and publicly reporting recruitment, retention, and demographic data for educators that benefit from this program to inform policy, legislation, and practice.

(6) Build capacity and partnerships between local educational agencies, nonprofit educational service providers, and institutions of higher education to meet the needs of administrator candidates with a focus on improving outcomes for pupils and strengthening California’s educator workforce.

(7) Increasing quality school administrators statewide and incorporating culturally diverse practices that prove effective towards increasing local educational agency and school site leadership.

(c) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Administrator candidate” means an individual with a teaching or services credential eligible to pursue an administrative services credential, including individuals who will apply or who have applied to administrator programs.

(2) “Grant recipient” means a local educational agency or a consortium of local educational agencies that is awarded a grant pursuant to this section.

(3) “Institution of higher education” means a California postsecondary college or university accredited by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to offer a preparation program for an administrative services credential.

(4) “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, charter school, or a regional occupational center or program operated by a joint powers authority or a county office of education.

(5) “Nonprofit educational service provider” means either of the following:

(A) A California nonprofit entity accredited by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to offer a preparation program for an administrative services credential.

(B) A California nonprofit entity in partnership with a local educational agency or institution of higher education accredited by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing to offer a preparation program for an administrative services credential.

(d) When selecting grant recipients, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing shall do both of the following:

(1) Develop criteria for the awarding of competitive grants and an application process, request necessary data from participating local educational agencies, and award grants consistent with this section. Successful applicants shall demonstrate an understanding of how diverse and culturally competent school leadership affects pupil academic success and social-emotional well-being, family engagement, and the retention of a diverse educator workforce.

(2) Give priority consideration to grant applicants who demonstrate a commitment to increasing diversity in the teaching workforce, have a higher percentage than other applicants of enrolled unduplicated pupils, as defined in Section 42238.02 of the Education Code, and have one or more schools that exhibit one or both of the following characteristics:

(A) A school where 50 percent or more of the enrolled pupils are eligible for free or reduced-price meals.

(B) A school that is located in either a rural location or a densely populated region.

(e) Grant recipients awarded funding pursuant to this section shall demonstrate a commitment to administrator diversity and culturally responsive school leadership, as evidenced by programmatic pedagogy, curriculum, coursework, mission statements, or any other relevant data, and shall receive an amount of up to thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) per administrator candidate.

(f) (1) Permissible uses of funding allocated pursuant to this section include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Coaching, training, and mentoring activities for current administrators and administrator candidates to serve and educate diverse pupil populations, engage diverse families, and support and retain a diverse educator workforce.

(B) Developing support systems for a diverse administrator workforce that reflects a local educational agency community’s diversity.

(C) Paying for or reimbursing administrator program costs.

(D) Paying for or reimbursing administrator credentialing costs, including administrative services credential clear induction programs.

(2) A grant recipient shall not use more than 5 percent of a grant award for program administration costs.

(3) In performing these activities, a grant recipient is highly encouraged to partner with an institution of higher education or a nonprofit educational service provider, or both, as applicable. These partnerships may require that grant recipients provide fiscal support to partner organizations to support their capacity for meaningful collaboration and implementation of the Diverse Education Leaders Pipeline Initiative program.

(g) An administrator candidate shall agree in writing to serve in a school within the jurisdiction of the grant recipient that sponsored the candidate or another public school in California for a period of at least two school years. The administrator candidate shall also commit in the written agreement to annually report to their sponsoring local educational agency where they are employed and their current contact information until they have completed their service requirement. Upon receiving the preliminary administrator credential, the administrator candidate has four years to complete the two-year service requirement.

(h) If a candidate is unable to complete a school year of service, that school year may still be counted toward the required two complete school years if any of the following occur:

(1) The candidate has completed at least one-half of the school year.

(2) The employer deems the candidate to have fulfilled their contractual requirements for the school year.

(3) The candidate was not able to serve as an administrator due to the financial circumstances of the sponsoring grant recipient, including a decision to not reelect the employee for the succeeding school year.

(4) The candidate has a condition covered under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2601 et seq.) or similar state law.

(5) The candidate was called or ordered to active duty status for more than 30 days as a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States.

(i) (1) If the Commission on Teacher Credentialing is informed that more than 10 percent of sponsored candidates in a local educational agency’s yearly program cohort failed to earn an administrator credential or failed to meet their commitment pursuant to this section, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing shall confirm with the grant recipient the applicable grant amount to be recovered from the grant recipient based on the number of candidates who failed to earn a credential or meet their administrator commitment above a 10-percent attrition rate.

(2) The amount to be recovered shall be adjusted proportionately to reflect the service provided if the candidate served at least one year at a public school in California.

(j) Upon confirming the amount to be recovered from the grant recipient pursuant to subdivision (i), the Commission on Teacher Credentialing shall notify the grant recipient of the amount to be repaid within 60 days. The grant recipient shall have 60 days from the date of the notification to make the required repayment to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. If the grant recipient fails to make the required payment within 60 days, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing shall notify the Controller and the grant recipient of the failure to repay the amount owed. The Controller shall deduct an amount equal to the amount owed to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing from the grant recipient’s next principal apportionment or apportionments of state funds, other than basic aid apportionments required by Section 6 of Article IX of the California Constitution.

(k) An amount recovered by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing or deducted by the Controller pursuant to subdivision (j) shall be deposited into the Proposition 98 Reversion Account.

(l) Grant recipients may recover from a sponsored candidate who fails to earn an administrator credential, or who fails to complete the period of placement, the amount of grant funding invested in the administrator candidate’s training. The amount to be recovered shall be adjusted proportionately to reflect the service provided if the administrator candidate served at least one year, but less than two years, at a public school in California.

(m) Grant recipients shall not charge a sponsored candidate a fee to participate in the Diverse Education Leaders Pipeline Initiative program.

(n) On or before June 30, 2027, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing shall submit a report on the Diverse Education Leaders Pipeline Initiative program to the Department of Finance and the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of both houses of the Legislature. The report shall include an evaluation of the program, including, but not limited to, all of the following information:

(1) The number of local educational agencies awarded a grant and the number of institutions of higher education and nonprofit educational service providers that were included in grantee partnerships.

(2) The number of administrator candidates supported by the grant award and the number of individuals who obtained an administrative services credential and employment as an administrator as a result of the program.

(3) Any relevant demographic data for each participating local educational agency, including the racial, ethnic, and gender demographics and first language of each administrator candidate supported by the grant award.

(4) The types of culturally relevant support provided to administrator candidates and administrators to improve retention and the education, engagement, and retention of diverse pupils, families, and educators.

(5) Where applicable, the impact of the program on pupil academic and school climate outcomes in participating local educational agencies.

Updated September 28, 2023