AB 1871, introduced by Assemblymember Joe Coto, expands the paths by which teachers may earn a Bilingual, Cross-Cultural Language and Academic Development (BCLAD) credential. 

More than one quarter of California’s 6.3 million public school students are English Language Learners (ELLs).  These students are faced with the daunting challenge of learning California’s highest-in-the-nation content standards at the same time they are learning a new language.  A powerful way for them to learn is through teachers who have second language knowledge, language acquisition skills, and cultural awareness.

BCLAD credentialed teachers are uniquely equipped with the knowledge, skills, and awareness to serve ELL students in bilingual and other ELL classroom settings.  Currently in California, the test-only method of earning a BCLAD credential is discouraging to many potential BCLAD applicants.  This bill expands to two paths, the examination path as well as a successful completion of coursework path, as ways teachers can earn BCLAD credentials. The Commission on Teacher Credentialing will establish rigorous standards for the required coursework, ensuring that the second path maintains high expectations for teacher applicants.

NEWSLETTER JUNE 2008

Contact the Office of
Assemblymember Joe Coto
100 Paseo de San Antonio Ste:319
San Jose, CA 95113
Phone: (408) 277-1220
E-mail:
Assemblymember.Coto@assembly.ca.gov

Over 350 People Attend Budget Town Hall

Last Thursday, the Center for Employment and Training’s auditorium was overflowing with people advocating against the governor’s proposed budget cuts to education, health and human services. Over 350 people participated in the Assembly Budget Town Hall and close to 100 spoke as Assemblymembers Jim Beall, Joe Coto, Sally Lieber, Ira Ruskin, and Alberto Torrico listened intently. 

Students, clients of Medi-Cal, In-Home Support Services, and CalWorks who are directly impacted by the proposed cuts, as well as advocates, educators and organizational leaders spoke against the cuts.  They urged the legislators to oppose an “all cuts budget.”

According to the California Budget Project, the potential impact to residents in Santa Clara County include:

• Funding allocations for the 239,030 students in Santa Clara County schools would be cut by $525 per pupil;
• 5,350 low-income children would be dropped from the CalWorks Program;
• 14,170 low-income seniors and persons with disabilities would receive fewer hours of services through the In-Home Supportive Services Program;
• 228,560 low-income Medi-Cal recipients may have reduced access to health-care services because of the payment cuts to providers;
• 30,960 children in the Healthy Families Program could be dropped or services drastically reduced.

Other areas targeted for reductions in the community are:

• Group Home for Foster Care will lose $5 million in funding;
• Juvenile Justice Preventative Programs will be reduced by $1 million at a time when crime is on the rise;
• Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and the war on Methamphetamine will be reduced by $8.1 million in grant funding statewide; and
• Reductions in Health Care for the Poor:
• Hospital and Community Clinics Systems -  $18 million,      
• Drug and Alcohol Services  - almost $1 million,
• Mental Health: outpatient services for children, seniors and adults many on the brink of homelessness  - $2.5 million,
• Medical Health Services such as dental, podiatry and vision services for diabetics; speech therapy following strokes; emergency health services for immigrants, senior and child abuse and neglect support. 

All the legislators vowed to keep working on a more compassionate and balanced approach to solving the state’s fiscal problems.

Keep our students healthy and safe this graduation season

As the tassel turns from left to right, it is a moment of closure for the graduate, for the chapter of high school has elapsed, and a new chapter as an adult has begun. It is a time of achievement, nostalgia, hopes, dreams, choices and opportunity; not only for the graduate, but for the family and friends, as well. It is a time of celebration.

This season, let’s do all that we can to keep our young adults safe. Many graduates participate in a variety of celebration parties that sometimes include alcohol and drugs, which not only have legal implications that include fines and possibly jail time, but, more importantly, they can negatively impact good judgment. Graduates will sometimes underestimate the effect of alcohol and drugs on their ability to drive and the results can be deadly. More and more communities and schools are providing safe places, free of alcohol and drugs, to minimize any potential safety issues. If, however, graduates do attend outside parties and decide to drink, we should reinforce that they need to call for a ride and leave the car behind.

Before your graduate leaves the house to celebrate, provide them with phone numbers of family, friends, or a taxi cab company that they can call if they need a ride.

Let’s keep them off the road and safe to pursue their dreams.

Congratulations to all of our 2008 graduates.

Congratulations to the 2008 COMCAST Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Recipients

Each of the students listed below has demonstrated leadership skills, academic achievement and a commitment to community service: