(a) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this chapter to make complete, current, and reliable information relating to education available to the Legislature and to all public educational agencies in California at maximum efficiency and economy through statewide compatibility in the development and application of information systems and electronic data-processing techniques insofar as they relate to data required in reports to the department.

(b) It is the further intent of the Legislature to recognize the importance, and enhance the stature, of the education profession throughout the state.

(c) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) According to recent studies, there is a shortage of qualified teachers, particularly in the areas of special education, English language acquisition and development, mathematics, and science, throughout California.

(2) In order for California to remain competitive in the global economy, the Legislature recognizes the necessity of continuing to support the recruitment of individuals to the teaching profession and effective teacher preparation and professional development programs. The Legislature also recognizes the importance of quality instruction to the academic achievement of pupils and of providing each pupil in the public schools with instruction by a highly qualified teacher.

(3) State and local policymakers, local educational agencies, teachers, parents, and pupils all need reliable information regarding participation in the teacher workforce, teacher movement between schools and school districts, the departure of teachers from the workforce before retirement, the appropriateness of teacher assignments, and the effectiveness of teacher credentialing, preparation, induction, recruitment, and support, and would benefit from the availability of more extensive information regarding the teaching profession.

(4) Data regarding the teacher workforce is currently collected and maintained by numerous state and local educational agencies. In order for the Legislature to fulfill its intent in enacting this chapter, it is necessary to integrate the data collected by those existing data systems to provide an understanding of the teacher workforce in the state and the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs. For purposes of integrating data regarding the teacher workforce in the state, Item 6110-001-0890 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2005 (Chapter 38 of the Statutes of 2005) appropriated funds for the department to contract for a teacher data system feasibility study to determine the feasibility of converting existing data systems into an integrated, comprehensive, longitudinally linked teacher information system that can yield high-quality program evaluations.

(5) It is important that policymakers and teacher candidates have access to information on the quality of teacher preparation programs. It is also the intent of the Legislature that the quality indicators include the extent to which teachers are prepared to work effectively with all pupils, including, but not necessarily limited to, English language learners, special education pupils, and socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils.

(6) It is the intent of the Legislature that, as the California Education Information System is implemented over time, access to public information already available on various measures of the quality of teacher preparation programs be available in electronic format and be accessible to the extent practicable through downloadable pages and reports accessible to the public in a consolidated manner.

(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the vital goals described in this section be accomplished through the establishment of a comprehensive state education data information system in the department that includes information regarding the teacher workforce.

(Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 248, Sec. 1. (AB 2086) Effective January 1, 2011.)