10383.1. (Added by Stats. 2025, Ch. 165, Sec. 5.)

(a) Notwithstanding Sections 10380 and 10383, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing may issue an assistant teacher permit that authorizes the permitholder to assist in the care, development, and instruction of children, subject to the supervision requirements described in subdivision (b). This assistance may include temporarily supervising children independently for no more than 120 minutes per day while the supervising employee leaves the classroom for purposes of offering flexibility for classroom support, during breaks, or escorting children outside of the classroom. The commission may issue a permit under this section provided that all of the following requirements are met:

(1) The applicant has at least six units from an accredited institution of higher education in early childhood education, child development, or human development, or a combination thereof.

(2) The applicant has an education plan updated each academic year and is enrolled in a course or courses to meet the requirements for the next level permit.

(3) The applicant is sponsored by an employer who has a current contract with the State Department of Social Services to be a child development program provider.

(b) An employee who holds an assistant teacher permit pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be under the supervision of an employee who holds a valid commission-issued child development permit at the teacher level, or at an equivalent or higher permit level.

(c) A contracting agency that employs a person who holds an assistant teacher permit pursuant to subdivision (a) shall maintain a copy of the permitholder’s current education plan in their employee file.

(d) A permit issued pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be valid for no more than two years from the date of issuance and shall not be renewed.

(e) The number of assistant teacher permitholders employed by a contracting agency at one site shall not exceed 50 percent of the number of classrooms at that site. The contracting agency shall not assign more than one assistant teacher to each classroom.

(f) This section shall not be construed to grant to a person issued with an assistant teacher permit pursuant to this section with the rights and responsibilities of an associate teacher permitholder, or equivalent permitholder, or higher permitholder.

(h) The commission shall implement this section by no later than January 30, 2026.

(i) This section shall become inoperative one year after the implementation of the commission’s revised child development permit matrix, or January 1, 2029, whichever is later, and, as of that date, is repealed.