HOUSE BILL REPORT

                  HB 1754

             As Reported By House Committee On:

                          Education

Title:  An act relating to cooperating teachers.

Brief Description:  Requiring a payment schedule for salary stipends for cooperating teachers.

Sponsors:  Representatives Romero, Cole, O'Brien, Costa, Doumit, Kessler, Hatfield, Blalock and Ogden.

Brief History:

Committee Activity:

Education:  2/24/97, 3/4/97 [DP].

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Majority Report:  Do pass.  Signed by 11 members:  Representatives Johnson, Chairman; Hickel, Vice Chairman; Cole, Ranking Minority Member; Keiser, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Linville; Quall; Smith; Sterk; Sump; Talcott and Veloria.

Staff:  Bronwyn Mauldin (786-7093).

Background:  Students in accredited teacher preparation programs must complete student teaching internships in order to graduate.  For the internship, every student teacher is paired with a cooperating teacher, who supervises and coaches the student in the classroom.  A teacher must hold a continuing certificate to qualify as a cooperating teacher.

A statewide network of Student Teaching Centers provides support for the field-based component of teacher preparation programs, primarily through providing cooperating teachers for all student teachers during their internships.  Individual teacher preparation programs also place their student teachers with cooperating teachers.  Prior to 1995 the Legislature had specific authorization to appropriate funds to pay salary stipends to the cooperating teachers.

Summary of Bill:  Institutions of higher learning whose students are placed with cooperating teachers must pay salary stipends for the cooperating teachers.  The stipends must be paid through supplemental contracts that may not exceed one year.  The State Board of Education must consult with representatives of teachers and teacher preparation programs to establish a payment schedule to determine stipend levels, by February 1, 1998.  The payment schedule must reflect the amount of tuition paid by student teachers, as well as the amount of contact the student teacher has with the institution of higher learning compared to the amount of contact the student teacher has with the cooperating teacher during the term.  Institutions of higher learning may not require student teachers placed with cooperating teachers to pay additional fees or tuition as a result of the salary stipend.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Requested on February 19, 1997.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  Right now, cooperating teachers are paid inadequate stipends by institutions of higher education.  This bill does not call for new spending, but for a redistribution of funds to the cooperating teachers, who actually serve as adjunct faculty to the institutions of higher learning.

Testimony Against:  Institutions of higher learning already pay stipends to cooperating teachers.  If the State Board of Education adopts statewide rates that are higher than what the institutions pay now, the institutions will either have to make cuts elsewhere, or the state will have to provide additional funds for that purpose.

Testified:  Representative Romero, prime sponsor; Larry Davis, State Board of Education (opposed); and Gery Gerst, teacher (supports).