Brief Description: Revising the powers, duties, and membership of the state board of education and the Washington professional educator standards board and eliminating the academic achievement and accountability commission.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Early Learning, K-12 & Higher Education (originally sponsored by Senators McAuliffe, Weinstein, Schmidt, Berkey, Rockefeller, Shin, Prentice, Thibaudeau, Pridemore, Carrell, Kohl-Welles, Regala, Spanel, Fairley, Delvin and Rasmussen).

Senate Committee on Early Learning, K-12 & Higher Education
House Committee on Education
House Committee on Appropriations

Background: The State Board of Education (SBE) is comprised of one member of each Congressional district elected by local school boards of directors, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and one at-large member elected by school boards of directors of all private schools in the state. Each member, except the Superintendent of Public Instruction, serves for four years. The Superintendent of Public Instruction is the Chief Executive Officer and is an ex officio, non-voting member, except in instances of a tie vote. The SBE is responsible for, among other policy areas, the preparation and certification of teachers, administrators, and educational staff associates; the funding distribution for state matching funds for school construction; the establishment of state minimum high school graduation requirements; school accreditation; private school approval; school district boundaries; and monitoring school district compliance with the Basic Education Act.

The Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) is comprised of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and twenty members appointed by the Governor for four-year terms, with four public school teachers, one private school teacher, three who represent higher education educator preparation programs, four school administrators, two educational staff associates, one public school instructional paraprofessional, one parent, and one citizen. The Superintendent of Public Instruction is an ex officio, non-voting member. The PESB serves as the sole advisory body to the SBE on issues related but limited to the recruitment, hiring, preparation and certification of teachers, administrators, and educational staff associates. The PESB is responsible for overseeing alternative routes to certification and teacher basic skills and subject matter assessments.

The Academic Achievement and Accountability Commission (A+ Commission) is comprised of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and eight members appointed by the Governor, four of who are recommended by each major caucus of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The chair of the commission is appointed by the Governor from among the commission members. The A+ Commission oversees the state's K-12 accountability system and is responsible for adopting and revising performance improvement goals in reading, writing, mathematics, and science as well as setting school and school district improvement goals for high school graduation rates and dropout reduction; setting academic achievement standards students must achieve on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) and, for high school students, to acquire a Certificate of Academic Achievement; adopting criteria to identify successful schools and school districts as well as to identify schools and school districts in need of assistance and those in which significant numbers of students persistently fail to meet state academic standards; and identifying performance incentives that have improved or have the potential to improve student achievement.

Summary: The membership of the State Board of Education (SBE) is reconstituted, effective January 1, 2005. The new membership of the SBE is to include sixteen members. Seven members will represent the educational system and seven will be gubernatorial appointees. The seven educational members include: five members elected by school board members, two from eastern Washington and three from western Washington; the Superintendent of Public Instruction; and one member elected by private schools. The final two members will be students. The SBE will elect its own chair to two year terms, with a limit of two terms. All members of the SBE, except for the students, will be voting members on all issues.

With the exception of duties for educator preparation and certification, the SBE will retain its present duties. In addition, it will adopt: performance standards (i.e., cut scores), in consultation with the Superintendent of Public Instruction; performance improvement goals for schools, school districts, and groups of students; and performance standards for the Certificate of Academic Achievement. The improvement goals will focus on improving student learning in reading, writing, mathematics, science, academic, and technical skills in secondary career and technical education programs, student attendance and high school graduation. The performance standards must be adopted by rule by the board. The SBE must present to the education committees of the legislature the standards for review, allowing the legislature time to take any action deemed necessary for each goal implemented. The performance improvement goals must not conflict with the goals included in Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended. Any improvement goals adopted relative to career and technical education must not conflict with the federal Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998, as amended. The board must provide the legislature an opportunity to review and to take any statutory action on the performance standards to attain a Certificate of Academic Achievement before the standards are implemented.

All statutory authority previously held by the SBE pertaining to educator preparation and certification transfers to the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB), effective January 1, 2005. The PESB retains all previous statutory authority for alternative routes to certification and educator assessments. The PESB will adopt policies and practices for teacher, administrator, and educational staff associates preparation and certification. The certification responsibilities include approval of traditional and nontraditional preparation programs, preparation of a list of approved preparation programs, and a review at least every five years of program approval standards. The PESB will specify the types and kinds of educator certificates, hear certification appeals, adopt rules, apply for federal funds, and submit annual reports to agencies and legislative committees. The PESB will also maintain data on educator certification, the quality of preparation programs, and employer needs. The PESB will continue to advise the Superintendent of Public Instruction on the revocation or suspension of educator and administrator certificates. All members, including the Superintendent of Public Instruction, are voting members.

Purpose statements are adopted for the SBE and PESB to clearly align their work and ground it in RCW 28A.150.210, which includes the student achievement goals from the state basic education law.

An interim joint subcommittee of the House and Senate Education Committees is created to review, in collaboration with the SBE, school directors, administrators, educators, parents, and others, the remaining duties of the SBE and to report back to the two full committees with any recommendations by December 15, 2005.

The SBE and PESB are required to jointly produce a biennial report to the legislature on the progress made and obstacles encountered in the work of achieving the student achievement goals in the basic education law. Previous annual reports of these two agencies are repealed.

The PESB is directed to analyze strengths and weaknesses of educator preparation programs and submit a report and recommendations to the legislative education committees by December 1, 2005. This report will also serve as the basis for a PESB planning document to guide its assumption of policy and rule-making authority.

The Academic Achievement and Accountability Commission is abolished effective July 1, 2005 and its powers, duties, and functions are transferred to the State Board of Education.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate      30   19
House      86   11   (House amended)
Senate            (Senate refused to concur)
House      77   19   (House amended)
Senate      33   13   (Senate concurred)

Effective: May 16, 2005 (Section 102)
         July 1, 2005 (Sections 104, 302, 402 and 406-408)
         July 24, 2005
         January 1, 2006 (Sections 101, 103, 105, 106, 201-220, 301, 401 and 403-405)