Brief Description: Providing opportunities for professional development for instructional assistants.

Sponsors: By House Committee on Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives Liias, Sullivan, Ericks, Williams, Loomis, Simpson, Ormsby, Miloscia, Hasegawa, Roberts, Santos, Quall and Nelson).

House Committee on Education
House Committee on Appropriations
Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education
Senate Committee on Ways & Means

Background:

In the 1999-01 biennium, the Legislature consolidated professional development funds from a variety of sources and provided funding specifically for Summer Accountability Institutes (Summer Institutes) to be organized by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). The Summer Institutes are intended to provide school district staff with training in assessment, data analysis, successful teaching models, research on curriculum and instruction, and planning tools to improve instruction.

In recent years, the Summer Institutes have become five-day conferences held at three locations across the state with attendance of 800 to 1,000 teachers and staff at each conference. There is also a three-day January Conference, usually in Spokane. Each conference has strands of presentations focused on a particular theme or target audience.

Summary:

The OSPI, in consultation with various groups representing classified school employees, must develop and offer a training strand through the Summer Institutes and the January Conference that is targeted to classified instructional assistants and designed to help them maximize their effectiveness in improving student achievement.

Votes on Final Passage:

House   95   0
Senate   47   2

Effective: June 12, 2008