BILL REQ. #:  Z-0448.1 

Read first time 01/21/2003.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     AN ACT Relating to salary bonuses for certificated instructional staff attaining certification by the national board for professional teaching standards; adding a new section to chapter 28A.405 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds and declares:
     (1) The national board for professional teaching standards has established high and rigorous standards for what highly accomplished teachers should know and be able to do in order to increase student learning results;
     (2) The national board certifies teachers who meet these standards through a rigorous, performance-based assessment process;
     (3) A certificate awarded by the national board attests that a teacher has met high and rigorous standards and has demonstrated the ability to make sound professional judgments about how to best meet students' learning needs and effectively help students meet challenging academic standards; and
     (4) Teachers who attain national board certification should be acknowledged and rewarded in order to encourage more teachers to pursue certification for the benefit of Washington students.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28A.405 RCW to read as follows:
     Certificated instructional staff who have attained certification from the national board for professional teaching standards shall receive a bonus of three thousand five hundred dollars each year in which they maintain their certification from the national board for professional teaching standards. The annual bonus for national board certification is provided in addition to compensation received under a district's salary schedule adopted in accordance with RCW 28A.405.200 and shall not be included in calculations of a district's average salary and associated salary limitations under RCW 28A.400.200.