Several years ago I was on the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and these very issues pertaining to adult education came up for review. An adult education committee was formed by the Commission and the study continued for two years. This committee was very representative of the adult education field . Both instructors and administrators from the K-12 and community college system were represented. The representatives even included members from large urban districts and those from rural areas because of the wide range of diversity in California.
There was a major focus on the reciprocity issue. The K-12 system requires a credential and the community college system does not. They have chosen to determine minimum qualifications for their instructors.
My resonsibility as an ESL resource teacher is to work directly with classroom teachers. I have found that our teachers with a credential have had much more practical undertanding of how to teach. Most of them have actually had teaching experience and they know how to apply classroom management techniques, write lesson plans, follow curriculum etc. We are constantly being used as an observation site for students required to do only a few hours of classroom observation Depending on the community college and their minimun qualifications, instructors are teaching without actually being taught how to teach.Only academic preparation is not sufficient to be successul in the classroom.
At the conclusion of the study conducted by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, it was determined that both systems serve a unique purpose,and neither system wanted to change their certification process.
A few reasons for the systems to remain separate and to continue what each does best:
The K-12 system interacts consistently with the high schools and high school counselors - we have high school diploma programs and GED preparation.
Our ESL program has become very involved in a collaborative way with the CEBET program and offering child care for our students.
Many of our ESL students have tried the college setting and have come back to us because the system is too large and overwheming to them.
Many of the areas do not have the convenience of Community Colleges for the students to attend. The K-12 adult school programs are much more readily available.
Great progress is being made by our students as is evidenced by the CASAS test results and benchmark reports. Our students are learning. We are also working directly with our vocational programs in order to transition students into the area of job preparation.
For many of the high school drop outs, the adult school provides the only opportunity for them to achieve success.
There are many reasons to allow these two systems to function independently and no need to focus on adult education being place under one umbrella.
Jody Kirkwood
ESL Resource Teacher
Posted as a reply to:
SB 823 - Adult Education by Charles Ratliff 
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