Edward Henderson | California Black Media
For about 28,000 student teachers in California, their first year in the classroom can be a challenge.
It’s not just because of managing oversized classrooms, creating lesson plans or grading papers.
Their largest issue is doing all of this without getting paid.
Ronald Council, a teacher in his second year living in San Diego, shared his experience with California Black Media (CBM).
“I found the expectation to survive in California, pay for my credential and work for free to be unrealistic,” Council recalled.
“I had to work a full-time job and two part time jobs to help make ends meet,” he continued. “I barely had enough energy to give to my students. They are the reason I was able to make it through, but being paid for my work would’ve been extremely helpful and relieved so much stress.”
To become a K-12 public school teacher in California, candidates need a bachelor’s degree and a teaching credential. This is usually earned after completing a one-year program combining coursework and 600 hours of classroom experience. Student teachers work with veteran teachers or sometimes lead their own classes. While these credential programs cost between $20,000 and $40,000, first year teachers in the program do not get paid.
To lift some of the burden from student teachers, Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) wrote Assembly Bill (AB) 1128. The bill would establish the California Student Teacher Support Grant Program for local education agencies to compensate teacher candidates during student teaching hours as part of their teacher preparation programs.
The grant would be used to pay student teachers the same amount as substitute teachers, which is $140 a day. The cost of maintaining the grant could cost the state up to $300 million a year, according to Assembly analysts.
However, this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom already set aside $100 million for the program in his 2025-26 budget.
“As the world’s fourth largest economy, California must invest in our students and our educators to support student success and well-being,” said Muratsuchi in a statement about AB 1128 and a package of other education bills he is supporting.
“These bills will advance critical educational priorities like teaching every child to read, protecting immigrant and undocumented students, increasing pay for teachers and school employees, strengthening charter school oversight and accountability, providing affordable education workforce housing, and addressing California’s ongoing teacher shortage,” Muratsuchi continued.
AB 1128 is currently awaiting second committee review in the Senate and hasn’t received public opposition. Before that, on June 2, the Assembly voted to advance the bill with a 79-0 floor vote.
Troubling statistics on teacher shortages in the state and the financial realities they face may have contributed to the bill gaining overwhelming support in the Legislature, supporters say.
According to a recent study by the Learning Policy Institute, 60% of teachers borrowed money to finish their degrees in 2020. Their loans normally averaged about $30,000 for a four-year bachelor’s degree and a credential program.
One of the bill’s largest supporters is the California Teachers Association (CTA), which represents the largest teachers’ union in the state.
“Aspiring educators should not be expected to work for free,” CTA Vice President Leslie Littman told CBM.
“This essential legislation helps eliminate barriers to attracting a qualified and diversified workforce. Research shows that unpaid student teaching remains a major barrier to entering the profession, disproportionately impacting educators that we need in the workforce – educators of color, those with low-income backgrounds — thus adding more pressures to the educator shortage,” Littman continued.
Diversifying workforces has been a goal of school districts around the state. Research shows that Black and Latino students tend to do better academically when they have at least one teacher of the same race. Muratsuchi also has another bill working its way through the Legislature. Assembly Bill 477, which passed the Assembly last month. It proposes salary raises for teachers. would raise teacher salaries.
“In order for California to build a pipeline of educators, we need to do everything we can to ensure that our aspiring educators have the stability and the means to focus on their training, and AB 1128 helps aspiring educators do just that,” Littman said.
