"NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that the quality of education for children who are deaf or hard of hearing and the expectations for those children's achievement should be equivalent to those for children throughout the state. The legislature also finds that deaf and hard of hearing children can benefit greatly if they are taught by an educator who is trained to understand the learning and communication issues the children face. Educators who received teacher training in a program for the deaf and hard of hearing are sensitive to the needs of deaf and hard of hearing students and are able to provide appropriate strategies to assist students in reacting to and interacting with their environment. The legislature intends to assist school districts in their efforts to attract teachers who are especially trained to work with deaf and hard of hearing students by directing the state board of education to establish a certification endorsement for teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28A.410 RCW to read as follows:
     The state board of education, with advice from the professional educator standards board, shall develop certification endorsement requirements for teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students. The endorsement shall be focused on the specific skills and knowledge necessary to serve the education and communication needs of deaf and hard of hearing students. In establishing rules for the endorsement of teachers who will be working almost exclusively with students who are deaf or hard of hearing, the state board of education shall consider applicants to have met state endorsement requirements if they possess a baccalaureate or master's degree in deaf education from a teacher training program approved by the council on education of the deaf.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 28A.410 RCW to read as follows:
     The definitions in this section apply throughout sections 4 and 5 of this act unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Educational interpreters" means school district employees providing sign language translation and further explanation of concepts introduced by the teacher for students who are deaf, deaf-blind, or hard of hearing.
     (2) "Educational interpreter written and performance assessment" means a national performance assessment offered by a national organization of professional sign language interpreters and transliterators, that is designed to evaluate more than one sign system or language.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 28A.410 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) By 2009, educational interpreters must have completed the educational interpreter written and performance assessments, and must achieve the standard on both, established by the office of the superintendent of public instruction. For those interpreters not achieving the established standard, the interpreter must continue training until he or she is able to pass the assessments.
     (2) By 2012, all educational interpreters must pass the written assessment, meet the standard on the educational interpreter performance assessment, and become nationally certified by the national association of the deaf registry of interpreters for the deaf.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 28A.410 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The state board of education, with advice from the professional educator standards board, shall develop educational staff associate certification requirements for educational interpreters of deaf and hard of hearing students. The certification shall focus on the specific skills and knowledge necessary to serve the educational and communication needs of deaf and hard of hearing students.
     (2) In establishing rules of the educational staff associate certification for educational interpreters who will be working almost exclusively with students who are deaf or hard of hearing, the state board of education shall consider applicants to have met state endorsement requirements if they:
     (a) Hold national certification and pass the educational interpreter performance assessment and written test at the standard established by the office of superintendent of public instruction; and
     (b) Hold a bachelor's degree in education or educational interpreting from a regionally accredited institution of higher education; or a bachelor's degree in another field of study unrelated to education, from a regionally accredited institution of higher education and thirty hours of course work in education.
     (3) The state board of education may adopt rules to implement this section."