JOHN K. VAN DE KAMP Attorney General
RONALD M. WEISKOPF Deputy Attorney General
AGO 82-1203
No. 82-1203
California Attorney General Opinion
Office of the Attorney General State of California
June 30, 1983
THE
CALIFORNIA COMMISSION FOR TEACHER PREPARATION AND LICENSING
has requested our opinion on the following question:
May a
person who was appointed to the Commission for Teacher
Preparation and Licensing under Government Code section
44210(a) continue to serve thereon when, though still in the
employ of her district, she takes a one year's leave of
absence to be a consultant to a county office of
education's drug education project?
CONCLUSION
A
person who was appointed to the Commission for Teacher
Preparation and Licensing under Education Code section
44210(a) may not continue to serve on the commission when she
takes a one year leave of absence to be a consultant to a
county office of education's drug education project.
ANALYSIS
The
Teacher Preparation and Licensing Law of 1970 also known as
the Ryan Act (Ed. Code, tit. 2, div. 3 (pt. 25), ch. 2,
§ 44200 et seq.; § 44200) was enacted to promote
excellence in education by establishing "minimum
standards and guidelines for teacher preparation and
licensing" (§ 44201). It creates a Commission for
Teacher Preparation and Licensing (§ 44210) (hereinafter
"the Commission") (cf. §44203, subd. (a)) and
mandates it to establish and promulgate flexible, realistic,
responsive and simple standards and procedures for certifying
qualified educational personnel to be licensed to provide
services to pupils in grades 12 and below in the public
schools of California, as well as to support, facilitate and
delineate functions and programs of teacher preparation.
(§ 44225; cf. §§ 44201, 44202.) The Commission
is composed of 17 members, the septendecillion prescribed as
follows: (a) five persons employed as certified personnel
in public elementary schools in California, three of
whom are full time teachers, one of whom is the holder of a
services credential in administrative services, and the
fifth the holder of a services credential in another
specialization;1 (b) three faculty members of accredited
public or private colleges or universities in California; (c)
two school board members; and (d) seven representatives of
the public (§ 44210).2
To
maintain the varied composite membership from those several
specifically defined areas, the Legislature has provided
that, with the exception of the seven representatives of the
public, the appointment of a member must terminate if his or
her status changes, as for example, no longer being "a
certified employee in a public elementary or secondary
school." (§ 44210.) This opinion is concerned with
that directive as it affects a person appointed under the
first of the statutory categories and particularly the fifth
person to fill it: the one of the five persons
employed as "certified personnel in public
elementary and secondary schools" who holds a credential
other than a teaching credential or a services credential
with a specialization in administrative services. We are
asked whether a person who was appointed to the Commission to
fill such position, by reason of her holding a standard
services credential with a specialization in pupil personnel
services, may continue to serve when, though remaining
employed by her school district, she takes a one year leave
of absence during which her...