Assembly BillPassed first houseEducation
AB 2325: Teachers: bilingual teachers: Pathways to Bilingual Teaching Program.
What AB 2325 does, verified August 15, 2026
<p>The bill establishes the Pathways to Bilingual Teaching Program, requiring the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to develop a competitive grant program. Grants up to $600,000 will be awarded to consortia of local educational agencies, community colleges, and four-year institutions to create or expand pathways for bilingual pupils to earn teaching credentials with bilingual authorization. The commission must conduct outreach and support partnerships among eligible institutions. Annual reports on funded grants are required until funds are fully expended.</p>
Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
✓In CommitteeComplete
✓First Chamber FloorComplete
4Second ChamberCurrent
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: In committee: Held under submission. (2026-08-13)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions20 total · showing 5
| Aug. 13, 2026 | In committee: Held under submission. |
| Aug. 03, 2026 | In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| Jun. 25, 2026 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 24). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun. 15, 2026 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on ED. |
| Jun. 10, 2026 | Referred to Com. on ED. |
Latest bill textAmended version, June 15, 2026 · 1,113 words
| Amended IN Senate June 15, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly April 20, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly March 19, 2026 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2325
| Introduced by Assembly Member Alvarez (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Patel) (Coauthor: Assembly Member Bonta) |
February 19, 2026 |
An act to add Section 44259.4 to the Education Code, relating to teachers.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2325, as amended, Alvarez. Teachers: bilingual teachers: Pathways to Bilingual Teaching Program.
Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary schools in this state and authorizes local educational agencies throughout the state to operate schools and provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Existing law establishes various programs for the recruitment of teachers. Existing law establishes the Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program, administered by the State Department of Education in consultation with the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, for teachers seeking to provide instruction in bilingual and multilingual settings.
This bill, which would be operative upon appropriation by the Legislature, would establish the Pathways to Bilingual Teaching Program and would require the commission to develop and implement a program to award, on a competitive basis, grants of up to $600,000 to consortia of local educational agencies, community colleges, and agencies to form consortia with 4-year institutions of higher education education, or 4-year institutions of higher education and community colleges, to establish or expand pathways to bilingual teaching to enable bilingual pupils to earn a multiple subject, single subject, PK-3 early childhood education specialist, or education specialist teaching credential, with a bilingual authorization, as provided. The bill would require the commission to conduct outreach to eligible institutions to encourage applications and support institutions that need assistance in developing partnerships, as provided. The bill would require the commission to annually report to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature on any grants funded until funds are fully expended, as specified.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 44259.4 is added to the Education Code, to read:44259.4.
(a) Subject to an appropriation pursuant to subdivision (j), there is hereby established the Pathways to Bilingual Teaching Program, to be administered by the commission, for the purpose of increasing the number of California teachers qualified to teach in bilingual settings.(b) (1) The commission shall develop and implement a program to award, on a competitive basis, grants of up to six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000), which may be expended over five six years, to consortia of local educational agencies, community colleges, and agencies to form consortia with four-year institutions of higher education education, or four-year institutions of higher education and community colleges, for the purpose of establishing or expanding existing pathways to bilingual teaching to enable bilingual pupils candidates to earn a multiple subject, single subject, PK-3 early childhood education specialist, or education specialist credential credential, with a bilingual authorization.
(2) The commission shall give priority for grants to local educational agencies whose applications demonstrate a high need for teachers with a bilingual authorization by meeting one or both of the following:
(A) The local educational agency includes one or more local educational agencies with a high concentration of pupils who are English language learners.
(B) The local educational agency includes one or more local educational agencies located in a rural area or a geographic region experiencing an acute systemic shortage of teachers with a bilingual authorization, characterized by a significant gap between available teacher preparation programs and the needs of local pupils who are English language learners.
(2)
(3)
For purposes of this section, “pathway to bilingual teaching” means an articulated, guided sequence of secondary education, postsecondary education, and teacher preparation, including preparation to earn a bilingual authorization, leading to employment as a bilingual teacher.(c) Under a grant pursuant to subdivision (e), a participant (d), a local educational agency shall develop and implement the following sequence a consortium through a partnership between local educational agencies, community colleges, and four-year institutions of higher education: with one or more four-year institutions of higher education, or one or more four-year institutions of higher education and one or more community colleges. The consortium shall do all of the following:
(1) Recruitment of Recruit bilingual candidates by local educational agencies for the pathway to bilingual teaching based on candidates’ interest in teaching, including, but not limited to, high school pupils with experience working in after school programs, participation in a career technical education pathway in education, and candidates’ proficiency in a language other than English, including, but not limited to, those or participation in future teacher clubs, and candidates who are likely to be eligible meet the eligibility criteria to receive the State Seal of Biliteracy.
(2)Partnership with a
(2) Partner with at least one of the following:
(A) A
community college or four-year institution of higher education to use dual enrollment, including early and middle college programs, to enable these candidates to earn part or all of their associate’s degrees(3)Partnership with an
(B) A four-year
institution of higher education(4)An
(C) Enter into an
agreement with one or more local educational agencies, including, but not limited to, local educational agencies enrolling candidates in the pathway, to hire qualified graduates of the pathway in bilingual teaching positions.(d)The commission shall conduct outreach to eligible institutions to encourage applications and support institutions that need assistance in developing partnerships.
(e)
(d) Through the program, the commission shall award one-time grants to consortia through grants to local educational agencies pursuant to subdivision (b) to fund proposals to establish new or expand existing pathways to bilingual teaching. teaching, with the first year of the grant for planning purposes and the subsequent five years of the grant for implementation purposes. These funds may be expended for any proper purpose in support of this section, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(1) To provide teacher, administrator, and faculty release time or stipends to design the pathway and obtain any necessary agreements to implement the pathway.
(2)To pay for the cost of any necessary professional preparation or certification of participating teachers.
(3)
(2)
To create or redesign courses for candidates in a pathway to bilingual teaching.(4)
(3)
To design appropriate recruitment, guidance, and support strategies for candidates participating in the pathway.Text of AB 2325 as amended, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions