CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2870

Chapter 65, Laws of 2008

60th Legislature
2008 Regular Session



INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANTS--PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT



EFFECTIVE DATE: 06/12/08

Passed by the House February 13, 2008
  Yeas 95   Nays 0

FRANK CHOPP
________________________________________    
Speaker of the House of Representatives


Passed by the Senate March 6, 2008
  Yeas 47   Nays 2


BRAD OWEN
________________________________________    
President of the Senate
 
CERTIFICATE

I, Barbara Baker, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2870 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth.


BARBARA BAKER
________________________________________    
Chief Clerk
Approved March 18, 2008, 2:06 p.m.








CHRISTINE GREGOIRE
________________________________________    
Governor of the State of Washington
 
FILED
March 19, 2008







Secretary of State
State of Washington


_____________________________________________ 

SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2870
_____________________________________________

Passed Legislature - 2008 Regular Session
State of Washington60th Legislature2008 Regular Session

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

READ FIRST TIME 02/12/08.   



     AN ACT Relating to professional development for instructional assistants; adding a new section to chapter 28A.415 RCW; and creating new sections.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that classified instructional assistants are key partners with classroom teachers in improving student achievement. Research on rigorous reading programs, including the reading first programs in our own state, proves that when instructional assistants are skilled, well-trained in a particular intervention, and positively supported by the classroom teacher or coach, they can have a significant impact on student reading attainment. The legislature further finds that school district practice provides sufficient evidence of the need for instructional assistants. Statewide, school districts relied on more than nineteen thousand classified instructional assistants, equal to nearly ten thousand full-time equivalent staff, during the 2006-07 school year. Therefore, the legislature intends to support instructional assistants by providing opportunities for high quality professional development to make them more effective partners in the classroom.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28A.415 RCW to read as follows:
     The office of the superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with various groups representing school district classified employees, shall develop and offer a training strand through the summer institutes and the winter conference targeted to classified instructional assistants and designed to help them maximize their effectiveness in improving student achievement.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 2008, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void.


         Passed by the House February 13, 2008.
         Passed by the Senate March 6, 2008.
         Approved by the Governor March 18, 2008.
         Filed in Office of Secretary of State March 19, 2008.