Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Education

 

 

HB 1400

 

Brief Description:  Changing provisions relating to cooperating teachers.

 

Sponsors:  Representatives Romero, Talcott, Quall, Hunt, Keiser, Rockefeller, Linville, Haigh and Schual‑Berke.

 

Brief Summary of Bill

 

$Requires the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to distribute money to school districts for stipends for public school teachers who are supervising student teachers if funding for that purpose is provided in the budget.

 

$Requires colleges and universities to maintain their level of previous support to the supervising teachers if the state provides additional funding for the stipends.

 

 

Hearing Date:  2/7/01

 

Staff:  Susan Morrissey (786‑7111).

 

Background: 

 

In order to graduate from an approved teacher education program in Washington, students must participate in an internship, usually called student teaching.  The student teaching internship usually lasts between ten weeks and one academic term.  Each student teacher spends those weeks observing an experienced teacher and teaching classes under the supervision of that teacher.  The supervising teacher is often called a cooperating teacher.  In addition to supervision by the cooperating teacher, student teachers are also observed and assisted by professionals from the colleges that the students attend.  Although the student teaching model usually involves one cooperating teacher working with one student teacher, some colleges are moving toward different student teaching models.   In one model that is becoming increasingly popular,  the student teaching experience lasts much longer than ten or so weeks, sometimes up to an entire school year.  In another, a team of cooperating teachers works with teams of student teachers. 

 

School districts and institutions of higher education usually adopt agreements that define the level of compensation that the institutions will provide to the school district for the work of the cooperating teachers.  School districts then determine the level of compensation cooperating teachers receive for that work.   As a result, stipends for cooperating teachers vary significantly across the state

 

Summary of Bill: 

 

The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) will distribute funding for cooperating teacher stipends if money for this purpose is provided in the state budget.  OSPI  will provide the funding to school districts or educational service districts, as appropriate, for distribution to the cooperating teachers.  If the stipends are funded directly through the budget,  the money will be used to supplement money currently provided to cooperating teachers by colleges and universities with approved teacher education programs.  The cooperating teachers may receive stipends for working with student teachers who are attending either public or private colleges as long as the students are student teaching in the public schools.   The colleges and universities must continue to support cooperating teachers with stipends and other forms of monetary assistance at no less than the level of support provided the previous year.  The additional money may be used for higher stipends, material and supplies, and tuition assistance or academic scholarships.

 

The following terms are defined:  cooperating teacher, student teacher, and student teaching.

 

Appropriation:  None.

 

Fiscal Note:  Requested on January 30, 2001.

 

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