BILL REQ. #:  S-3773.1 

Read first time 01/13/2004.   Referred to Committee on Commerce & Trade.

     AN ACT Relating to teacher strikes; amending RCW 28A.400.200 and 28A.410.010; adding a new chapter to Title 28A RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   INTENT. The legislature recognizes the state's paramount duty to provide a basic education to all students residing in Washington. The legislature also recognizes that various state courts have ruled teachers do not have a right to strike. The legislature recognizes further that when an unlawful teacher strike occurs, it creates significant impacts to students and families. Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to ensure that during a teacher strike, a basic education is provided to all students without significant interruption. The legislature intends that during a strike, the superintendent of public instruction must ensure that schools are opened in a timely fashion to mitigate the impact of a teacher strike on students and families.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   DEFINITIONS. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.
     (1) "Strike" means a concerted work stoppage by one or more teachers in a school district for all or part of a regularly scheduled school day.
     (2) "Strike curriculum" means a program of instruction developed and adopted by a school district for use during a teacher strike and approved by the state board of education for the purpose of providing students a basic education in accordance with the goals defined in RCW 28A.150.210.
     (3) "Strike substitute" means a person qualified under RCW 28A.410.010 for duty as a strike substitute and hired for one hundred eighty days or less by a school district during a strike for the purpose of providing students a basic education by implementing the district's strike curriculum.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   STRIKE CURRICULUM REQUIRED. (1) The superintendent of public instruction in consultation with the state board of education must provide oversight and support to school districts in identifying available and economical resources to develop strike curriculum.
     (2) Not later than August 31, 2004, each school district board of directors must adopt or amend as necessary a strike curriculum for each grade in which the district offers instruction. A district's strike curriculum must be readily available for implementation by a substitute teacher if there is a teacher strike. In developing its strike curriculum, a district may incorporate existing long-term substitute plans, web-based curricula, thematic and interdisciplinary units, and other suitable programs of instruction.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   BASIC EDUCATION DURING A STRIKE. (1) The superintendent of public instruction in consultation with the state board of education must develop a voluntary prescreening process to maintain a confidential list of persons qualified and willing to serve as substitute teachers during a strike. Upon request from a school district board of directors during a strike, the superintendent of public instruction must assist the district with completing the tasks necessary to open the school within the time required in subsection (3) of this section.
     (2) The state board of education must establish rules for eligibility for a strike substitute permit under RCW 28A.410.010. Rules must reflect the legislative intent to ensure that a district can meet the requirements under this section to hire substitutes and open school, and harmonize the need for appropriate minimum qualifications and safeguards based on age, good moral character, and personal fitness, with the need for flexibility in making hiring decisions based on shortages of certificated persons during a strike.
     (3) Beginning on the first regularly scheduled school day following the fifth regularly scheduled school day during which a teacher strike is in effect, a school district must provide a program of instruction by employing strike substitute teachers to implement the district's strike curriculum. Strike days are counted cumulatively for each school calendar year. A district may extend the date for opening school under this section for up to two days to use up to two nonstudent days for the training and orientation of strike substitutes. However, a district may not extend the school calendar more than five days past the previously published one hundred eighty student days.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   STRIKE SUBSTITUTES. (1) A person employed as a strike substitute will be compensated for the duration of employment in the capacity of a strike substitute based on the first year of service under the statewide salary schedule for certificated employees, unless one of the following conditions is present, in which case compensation for service as a strike substitute will be the greater of the two compensation amounts:
     (a) The strike substitute is entitled to compensation under the statewide salary schedule for certificated employees at a rate higher than the first year of service under the schedule; or
     (b) The strike substitute is employed in an administrative or support services capacity in a school district and is entitled to compensation at a rate higher than the first year of service under the statewide salary schedule.
     (2) In making its hiring decisions a school district must comply with RCW 28A.400.303 and the rules adopted by the state board under RCW 28A.410.010.
     (3) A school district must inform parents of children enrolled in the district in writing when a strike substitute is employed who does not meet the requirements to be defined as highly qualified under the federal no child left behind act of 2001.
     (4) To meet the intent of this act, public and private employers are encouraged, but not required, to grant leave to employees to support employees who wish to serve as substitutes during a teacher strike.

Sec. 6   RCW 28A.400.200 and 2002 c 353 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Every school district board of directors ((shall)) must fix, alter, allow, and order paid salaries and compensation for all district employees in conformance with this section.
     (2)(a) Salaries for certificated instructional staff ((shall)) may not be less than the salary provided in the appropriations act in the statewide salary allocation schedule for an employee with a baccalaureate degree and zero years of service; and
     (b) Salaries for certificated instructional staff with a masters degree ((shall)) may not be less than the salary provided in the appropriations act in the statewide salary allocation schedule for an employee with a masters degree and zero years of service;
     (3)(a) The actual average salary paid to certificated instructional staff ((shall)) may not exceed the district's average certificated instructional staff salary used for the state basic education allocations for that school year as determined pursuant to RCW 28A.150.410.
     (b) Fringe benefit contributions for certificated instructional staff ((shall)) must be included as salary under (a) of this subsection only to the extent that the district's actual average benefit contribution exceeds the amount of the insurance benefits allocation provided per certificated instructional staff unit in the state operating appropriations act in effect at the time the compensation is payable. For purposes of this section, fringe benefits ((shall)) do not include payment for unused leave for illness or injury under RCW 28A.400.210; employer contributions for old age survivors insurance, workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, and retirement benefits under the Washington state retirement system; or employer contributions for health benefits in excess of the insurance benefits allocation provided per certificated instructional staff unit in the state operating appropriations act in effect at the time the compensation is payable. A school district may not use state funds to provide employer contributions for such excess health benefits.
     (c) Salary and benefits for certificated instructional staff in programs other than basic education ((shall)) must be consistent with the salary and benefits paid to certificated instructional staff in the basic education program.
     (4) Salaries and benefits for certificated instructional staff may exceed the limitations in subsection (3) of this section only by separate contract for additional time, additional responsibilities, or incentives. Supplemental contracts ((shall)) may not cause the state to incur any present or future funding obligation. Supplemental contracts ((shall be)) are subject to the collective bargaining provisions of chapter 41.59 RCW and the provisions of RCW 28A.405.240, ((shall)) may not exceed one year, and if not renewed ((shall)) do not constitute adverse change in accordance with RCW 28A.405.300 through 28A.405.380. No district may enter into a supplemental contract under this subsection for the provision of services which are a part of the basic education program required by Article IX, section 3 of the state Constitution.
     (5) Employee benefit plans offered by any district ((shall)) must comply with RCW 28A.400.350 and 28A.400.275 and 28A.400.280.
     (6) No moneys appropriated under this section may be expended for sick leave benefits, compensation, or health benefits during the time an employee engages in a strike or work stoppage. During a strike or work stoppage, a school district board of directors may require a signed statement from a licensed health care provider certifying that an employee's absence was due to illness or injury.

Sec. 7   RCW 28A.410.010 and 2001 c 263 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     The state board of education ((shall)) must establish, publish, and enforce rules and regulations determining eligibility for and certification of personnel employed in the common schools of this state, including certification for emergency or temporary, substitute or provisional duty, and duty as a strike substitute consistent with section 4 of this act, and under such certificates or permits as the board ((shall)) deems proper or as otherwise prescribed by law. The rules ((shall require)) must provide that the initial application for certification ((shall)) requires a record check of the applicant through the Washington state patrol criminal identification system and through the federal bureau of investigation at the applicant's expense. The record check ((shall)) must include a fingerprint check using a complete Washington state criminal identification fingerprint card. The superintendent of public instruction may waive the record check for any applicant who has had a record check within the two years before application. The rules ((shall)) must permit a holder of a lapsed certificate but not a revoked or suspended certificate to be employed on a conditional basis by a school district with the requirement that the holder ((must)) complete any certificate renewal requirements established by the state board of education within two years of initial reemployment. The rules must permit a person otherwise qualified for duty as a strike substitute to be employed on a provisional basis by a school district during a strike pending the results of the record check required under this section.
     In establishing rules pertaining to the qualifications of instructors of American sign language the state board shall consult with the national association of the deaf, "sign instructors guidance network" (s.i.g.n.), and the Washington state association of the deaf for evaluation and certification of sign language instructors.
     The superintendent of public instruction ((shall)) acts as the administrator of any such rules and regulations and ((have the power to)) may issue any certificates or permits and revoke the same in accordance with board rules and regulations.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   Section captions used in this act constitute no part of the law.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   Sections 1 through 5 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 28A RCW.