Policy 4131 - Staff Development - Certificated
Series: 4000 - Personnel
Policy: 4131 - Staff Development - Certificated
Adopted: 09/01/2026
Last Revised: n/a
Last Reviewed: 09/01/2026
Download Policy 4131 - Staff Development-Certificated PDF (English)
staff development - certificated
The Board of Education believes that, in order to maximize student learning, achievement, and well-being, certificated staff members must be continuously learning and improving relevant skills. The Superintendent or designee shall develop a program of ongoing professional development which includes opportunities for teachers to enhance their instructional and classroom management skills, become informed about changes in pedagogy and subject matter, and strengthen practices related to social-emotional development and learning.
The Superintendent or designee shall involve teachers, site and district administrators, and others, as appropriate, when creating, reviewing, and amending the district's staff development program. The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that the district's staff development program is aligned with district priorities for student learning, achievement and well-being, school improvement objectives, the local control and accountability plan, and other district and school plans.
The district's staff development program shall assist certificated staff in developing knowledge and skills, and will include all legally mandated trainings as well as, but not limited to:
- Mastery of subject-matter knowledge, including current state and district academic standards
- Use of effective, subject-specific teaching methods, strategies, and skills
- Use of technologies to enhance instruction and learning
- Sensitivity to and ability to meet the needs of diverse student populations, including, but not limited to, students with characteristics specified in Education Code 200 and/or 220, Government Code 11135, and/or Penal Code 422.55
- Understanding of how academic and career technical instruction can be integrated and implemented to increase student learning
- Knowledge of strategies that encourage parents/guardians to participate fully and effectively in their children's education
- Effective classroom management skills and strategies for establishing a climate that promotes respect, fairness, acceptance, and civility, including conflict resolution, hatred prevention, and positive behavioral interventions and supports
- Ability to relate to students, understand their various stages of growth and development, and motivate them to learn
- Ability to interpret and use data and assessment results to guide instruction
- Knowledge of topics related to student mental and physical health, safety, and welfare, which may include social-emotional learning and trauma-informed practices
The Superintendent or designee shall, in conjunction with teachers, interns, and administrators, as appropriate, develop an individualized program of professional growth to increase competence, performance, and effectiveness in teaching and classroom management and, as necessary, to assist them in meeting state or federal requirements to be fully qualified for their positions.
Professional learning opportunities offered by the district shall be evaluated based on the criteria specified in Education Code 44277. Such opportunities may be part of a coherent plan that combines school activities within a school, including lesson study or co-teaching, and external learning opportunities that are related to academic subjects taught, provide time to meet and work with other teachers, and support instruction and student learning. Learning activities may include, but are not limited to, mentoring projects for new teachers, extra support for teachers to improve practice, and collaboration time for teachers to develop new instructional lessons, select or develop common formative assessments, or analyze student data.
The district's staff evaluation process may be used to recommend additional individualized staff development for individual employees.
The Board may budget funds for actual and reasonable expenses incurred by staff who participate in staff development activities.
The Superintendent or designee shall provide a means for continual evaluation of the benefit of staff development activities to both staff and students and shall report to the Board regarding the effectiveness of the staff development program, as needed. Based on the Superintendent's report, the Board may revise the program as necessary to ensure that the staff development program supports the district's priorities for student achievement and well-being.
Legal References
Policy Reference Disclaimer:
These references are not intended to be part of the policy itself, nor do they indicate the basis or authority for the Board to enact this policy. Instead, they are provided as additional resources for those interested in the subject matter of the policy.
STATE
CALIFORNIA CODE OF REGULATIONS
5 CCR 13025-13044 Professional development and program improvement
5 CCR 80021.1 Provisional internship permit
5 CCR 80023-80026.6 Emergency permits
5 CCR 80334 Unauthorized private gain or advantage
EDUCATION CODE
200 Equal rights and opportunities in state educational institutions
218 Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning student resources
218.3 Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning staff training
220 Prohibition of discrimination
244 Nondiscrimination in staff development
33319.6 Literacy instruction training
44032 Travel expense payment
44259.5 Standards for teacher preparation
44277 Professional growth programs for individual teachers
44300 Emergency permits
44325-44328 District interns
44450-44468 University internship program
44691 Mandated reporter training
44830.3 Employing district interns
45028 Salary schedule and exceptions
48980 Parent/Guardian notifications
49428.2 Youth behavioral health training
51221.1 California Teachers Collaborative for Holocaust and Genocide Education
51221.2 Holocaust education grant program
51744-51749.6 Independent study
52060-52077 Local control and accountability plan
53008 Reading difficulties screening
56240-56245 Staff development; service to persons with disabilities
60152 Complaint procedures
99200-99204 Subject matter projects
GOVERNMENT CODE
11135 Prohibition of discrimination
Gov. Code 12940.2 Bias mitigation training
Gov. Code 3543.2 Scope of representation
PENAL CODE
11165.7 Mandated reporter; definition
422.55 Definition of hate crime
FEDERAL
UNITED STATES CODES
20 USC 1681-1688 Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; discrimination based on sex
20 USC 6601-6692 Preparing, training, and recruiting high quality teachers and principals
29 USC 794 Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Section 504
42 USC 12101-12213 Americans with Disabilities Act
42 USC 2000d-2000d-7 Title VI, Civil Rights Act of 1964
MANAGEMENT RESOURCES
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PUBLICATION
Social and Emotional Learning in California: A Guide to Resources, October 2018
California Digital Learning Integration and Standards Guidance, rev. 2024
COMMISSION ON TEACHER CREDENTIALING PUBLICATION
California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP), April 2024
COURT DECISION
Dodge v. Evergreen School District (2022) 56 F.4th 767
CSBA PUBLICATIONS
Practical Steps Toward Advancing Equitable and Supportive Discipline, 2025
Governing to the Core: Professional Development for Common Core, Governance Brief, May 2013
PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS BOARD DECISION
United Faculty of Contra Costa Community College District v. Contra Costa Community College District (1990) PERB Dec. No. 804, 14 PERC P21-085
WEBSITES
University of California, Los Angeles’ and University of California, Berkeley’s Race, Education, and Community Healing (REACH) Network https://transformschools.ucla.edu/research/race-education-and-community-healing-reach-network/
PRISM, LGBTQ+ cultural competency training https://prismcalifornia.org/home
CSBA District and County Office of Education Legal Services https://legalservices.csba.org/
Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning https://casel.org/
California Department of Education, Supporting LGBTQ+ Students https://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ee/supportlgbtq.asp
California Subject Matter Project http://csmp.ucop.edu/
California Public Employment Relations Board http://www.perb.ca.gov/
California Department of Education, Professional Learning http://www.cde.ca.gov/pd
Commission on Teacher Credentialing http://www.ctc.ca.gov/
CSBA http://www.csba.org/