(d)

1. (1) If a local educational agency offers a program of professional growth for teachers, administrators, paraprofessional educators, or other classified employees involved in the direct instruction of pupils, the local educational agency shall evaluate professional learning based on all of the following criteria, and the local educational agency is encouraged to choose professional learning that meets any of the following criteria:

   1. (A) Helps attract, grow, and retain effective educators.
   2. (B) Is a part of every educator’s experience in order to accelerate instructional improvement and support pupil learning.
   3. (C) Is based on needs assessment of educators and tied to supporting pupil learning.
   4. (D) Emphasizes the importance of meeting the needs of all pupils.
   5. (E) Is grounded in a description of effective practice, as articulated in the California Standards for the Teaching Profession.
   6. (F) Affords educators opportunities to engage with others to develop their craft, including, but not limited to, opportunities to increase their content knowledge.
   7. (G) Ensures educators have adequate time to learn about, practice, reflect, adjust, critique, and share what educators need to ensure that all pupils, especially high-needs pupils, develop knowledge and lifelong learning skills that will help the pupils to be successful.
   8. (H) Recognizes and uses expert teaching and leadership skills.
   9. (I) Attends to collective growth needs as well as educators’ individual growth needs.
   10. (J) Contributes to a positive, collaborative, and supportive adult learning environment.
   11. (K) Contributes to cycles of inquiry and improvement.
   12. (L) Is not limited to a single instance, but supports educators through multiple iterations or engagements.
   13. (M) Is based on a coherent and focused plan.

2. (2) Professional learning activities may also include collaboration time for teachers to develop new instructional lessons, to select or develop common formative assessments, to analyze pupil data, for mentoring projects for new teachers, or for extra support for teachers to improve practice. Appropriate professional learning may be part of a coherent plan that combines school activities within the school, including, but not necessarily limited to, lesson study or coteaching, and external learning opportunities that meet all of the following criteria:

   1. (A) Are related to the academic subjects taught.
   2. (B) Provide time to meet and work with other teachers.
   3. (C) Support instruction and pupil learning to improve instruction in a manner that is consistent with academic content standards.