education
Experienced California teachers could get mentor stipends
Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi's AB 2060 would create a state grant program to pay teachers who coach student teachers in the classroom. It also says those stipends count as wages in bargaining.
In California, AB 2060 would turn mentor work for student teachers into paid work. The bill would create a grant program under the Commission on Teacher Credentialing for local school agencies that want to compensate experienced teachers for classroom coaching. It also would treat mentor stipends as wages for collective bargaining.
- AB 2060 would create the California Teacher Mentor Grant Program.
- The program would pay experienced teachers who mentor student-teacher candidates.
- The Commission on Teacher Credentialing would run the program.
- Local educational agencies such as school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education could apply.
- The bill says mentor stipends would count as wages for bargaining purposes.
In California, a bill called AB 2060 would pay experienced teachers who mentor student-teacher candidates. The goal is to make that coaching more than an extra task schools hope someone will take on.
Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi’s proposal would create the California Teacher Mentor Grant Program under the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. The program would only move forward if lawmakers provide one-time funding for it.
Who the program would help
The bill is aimed at teacher mentors, the experienced educators who guide student-teacher candidates during classroom placements. Those candidates are already required to complete 600 hours of clinical practice, including student teaching.
The proposal says that kind of hands-on support is part of the path into the profession. It also reflects a basic problem in teacher preparation. Student teachers need steady guidance, and the people who provide it are not always paid for the time it takes.
How the grant program would work
If funded, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing would issue a request for applications to local educational agencies across the state. That term includes school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education.
The commission would also set the criteria for choosing which agencies take part. The bill does not set a stipend amount. Instead, it leaves the payment level open and focuses on creating a state-run way to reimburse mentor teachers for nonevaluative coaching and support.
AB 2060 also would require the commission to report each year on the program, including how many mentors are paid, whether the student teachers meet local shortage needs, and the racial and ethnic makeup of participants.
What it changes for teacher pay rules
The bill would also make one narrow change to school employee bargaining rules. It says wages would include stipends for mentor teachers. That matters because it puts the payment for mentoring inside the normal labor rules that govern pay discussions in public schools.
In plain terms, the proposal would treat mentor stipends as a kind of compensation, not just a separate grant detail. For school systems and teacher unions, that could affect how the money is negotiated and used.