Teacher credentialing: administrative services credential: internship program.

Hadwick’s Assembly bill reimagines the administrative services credential pathway by narrowing the one-year, supervised internship option to programs offered by a school district, a county office of education, or a regionally accredited institution of higher education, and it directs the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to revisit preservice, professional development, and supervision requirements for internship pathways the next time it considers administrative services credentials.

Under the amendments to Section 44270, the minimum requirements for the preliminary services credential with a specialization in administrative services retain the core elements: possession of an eligible credential, three years of full-time relevant experience, and completion of either an entry-level program approved by the commission or a one-year internship approved by the commission as satisfying the credential requirements. The bill adds two new avenues and related conditions: (D) licensure to practice occupational therapy or physical therapy issued by the respective California boards as an alternative basis for the minimum credential, with the caveat that a preliminary administrative services credential issued partly on the basis of such licenses shall not authorize supervision of teachers unless the employing local educational agency determines additional education, training, or credentials are required for administrative duties; and (E) continued recognition of a valid credential issued under pre-1971 laws that authorize the same areas as in the existing substitutes. The bill also preserves a waiver mechanism allowing a local educational agency to reduce the required experience by up to two years for a candidate who completes an approved administrative services program, holds an appropriate prerequisite credential or license, and has an employment offer in an administrative position. In addition, the credential remains valid for five years from the start of initial employment and is not renewable, and the legislation defines “local educational agency” as a school district, a county office of education, or a charter school.

A separate provision ensures that the amendments to Section 44270 proposed by this bill and by Assembly Bill 1009 would operate only if both measures are enacted and effective on or before January 1, 2026, with the sequencing specified (this bill taking effect after AB 1009 and only under the stated conditions). The revised text also clarifies the meaning of an LAE for purposes of the section and preserves the mechanism by which the commission reviews internship-related preservice, professional development, and supervision standards when pathway considerations are revisited.