HB 1907

HOUSE BILL REPORT
HB 1907

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

As Reported by House Committee On:
Education

Title: An act relating to educator preparation, professional development, and compensation.

Brief Description: Regarding educator preparation, professional development, and compensation.

Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass. Signed by 9 members: Representatives Quall, Chair; Barlow, Vice Chair; Priest, Ranking Minority Member; Anderson, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Haigh, McDermott, Roach, Santos and P. Sullivan.

Background:

The Washington Learns comprehensive education study, chaired by Governor Gregoire, issued final recommendations in November 2006. The Governor proposes implementation of a number of the recommendations regarding educator preparation, professional development, and compensation through her proposed budget for the 2007-09 biennium and proposed legislation.

School and District Leadership. There are two state-supported programs for training and mentoring school administrators. The Education Leadership Internship Program provides funds for release time for individuals to obtain some of the field experience required to complete a principal, program administrator, or superintendent certification program. The Principal Support Program provides new principals with skill assessment, development of a professional growth plan, and mentoring. The Principal Support Program is operated under contract with the Association of Washington School Principals.

Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB). The PESB is a 20 member board responsible for establishing requirements for state certification of educators and approving educator preparation and certification programs. Within five years of receiving an initial or residency teaching certificate, teachers must enroll in a program to earn a professional certificate. Professional certification programs are performance-based and include a pre-assessment seminar, a professional growth team and plan, and a culminating seminar. Reviews of the programs have found variation in their requirements, cost, and accessibility to candidates.

School Staff Salaries. The statewide salary allocation schedule for certificated instructional staff is based on a combination of two factors: (1) years of experience in Washington's public schools; and (2) academic degrees and numbers of continuing education credits. The schedule does not reflect such factors as performance, skill, difficulty of assignment, shortage areas, or level of state certification. There is no statewide salary schedule for classified school employees.

Teacher compensation practices among the 50 states vary widely regarding base pay, supplemental contracts, bonuses, and other benefits. This variation makes it difficult to identify an "average salary" for teachers in comparison to other states.

Professional Development. Professional development for teachers is offered by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Educational Service Districts (ESDs), and local school districts. Much of the professional development provided by ESDs is individual courses on a fee-for-service basis. Core funding for ESDs is allocated to support administration and facilities, cooperative administrative and curriculum services, personnel services, learning resource services, and special needs of local education agencies. The remainder of the ESDs' budgets comes from special programs, fee-for-service, and charges for cooperative services provided under agreement with school districts.

Recruiting Diverse Teachers. According to the PESB, approximately 93 percent of teachers are Caucasian, compared to 74 percent of students. There are currently 554 active public school teachers with a Bilingual Education teaching endorsement, and 1,800 with an English as a Second Language (ESL) endorsement. The Future Teachers Conditional Scholarship and Loan Repayment Program is designed to encourage individuals to become teachers in shortage areas. Individuals with verified bilingual ability in languages needed in schools receive priority in the selection process. One of the findings of a comprehensive review by the PESB of the state's teacher preparation system was a lack of a strategic recruitment approach to increasing diversity among educators.

Summary of Substitute Bill:

School and District Leadership. A public-private partnership is established to develop, pilot, and implement the Washington State Leadership Academy (Academy), whose goal is to develop leadership characteristics, effective practices, and skills for school and district administrators. Academy partners include the superintendent and principal professional associations, private nonprofit foundations, the OSPI, the PESB, the ESDs, and others. The partners must establish a board of directors and designate an independent organization to act as fiscal agent for the Academy. The Academy will be supported by a national research institution with expertise in educational leadership. Initial development of course content and activities must be supported by private funds.

The Academy board must report semi-annually to the OSPI on the financial contributions provided to the Academy, and must report by December 31 of each year on the programs, participants, evaluations, and plans for future development of the Academy.

Professional Educator Standards Board. The PESB must take certain steps to develop quality teaching knowledge and skills in the state's teaching ranks:

(1)   By December 2007: (a) adopt new standards that prepare all individuals seeking a residency teaching certificate to integrate mathematics across all content areas of instruction; and (b) adopt new residency certification requirements for elementary teachers and middle level and secondary mathematics teachers to assure preparation to teach the state's mathematics and science standards.

(2)   By June 2009: (a) set standards for and develop, pilot, and implement a uniform and externally administered professional-level certification assessment based on demonstrated teaching skill; and (b) review and revise the approval standards for teacher preparation programs to reflect a knowledge and skill-based performance system.

(3)   By December 2009: review and revise teacher preparation standards to focus on diversity in cultural knowledge and respect.

School Staff Salaries. The Office of Financial Management (OFM) leads a committee to develop recommendations for a new comprehensive expertise and incentive pay structure for K-12 staff. Committee members include four legislators, representatives of the OSPI and the PESB, and members from various statewide education organizations and business organizations.

The committee's recommendations include:

The recommendations also include a plan to implement the expertise and incentive pay structure and the transition from the current model to the new structure. The committee's final recommendations must be submitted to the Governor and the fiscal committees of the Legislature by December 15, 2008.

The OFM and the OSPI must jointly conduct a review of pay systems for teachers and classified school employees in other states and develop a methodology for comparing salaries among the states. Findings from this review and the initial comparisons must be reported to the Governor and the Legislature by January 10, 2008.

Professional Development. A comprehensive initiative is created to improve mathematics, science, and targeted secondary reading education and achievement through educator professional development and support.

The OSPI creates a partnership with the ESDs to develop and deliver professional development opportunities, and the partners enter into performance agreements to clearly articulate responsibilities. The OSPI and the ESDs develop a methodology for distributing resources under the initiative. Guidelines and a common reporting format for collecting data and outcomes are developed, including common diagnostic assessments for monitoring student achievement. Roles and responsibilities of the ESDs under the initiative are outlined, and professional development services identified in statute or the operating budget become part of ESD core funding.

The Legislature's intent is to provide resources for the initiative through a three-tiered support system for a four-year period. Tier I is initiative grants where districts can apply on competitive basis and demonstrate how other resources from the district and public-private partnerships will be used to leverage the grant funds. Tier II is improvement agreements where school districts can work with the OSPI and the ESDs to plan, develop, and implement an improvement initiative tailored to the needs of the district. Tier III offers intensive intervention and support to schools and districts identified by the OSPI with low performance in mathematics and science. Intensive intervention includes an audit of the instructional delivery system, development of an intervention plan, and professional development using a technical assistance team, experienced facilitator, and coaches.

All recipients of resources under the initiative must identify measurable outcomes from the activities and report results, including student achievement data from designated diagnostic assessments.

Recruiting Diverse Teachers. The Recruiting Diverse Washington Teachers (RDWT) Program is created, to be administered by the PESB. The RDWT provides targeted recruitment of diverse high school students, especially multilingual, multicultural students, to encourage them to consider becoming future teachers in mathematics, science, bilingual education, special education, and English as a second language. The RDWTs include a curriculum, academic and community support, and future teacher camps held on college campuses.

The PESB develops the curriculum guidelines in consultation with an advisory group. If funding is made available, the PESB allocates grant funds to design and deliver RDWT programs. The PESB must also conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of current strategies and programs for recruiting diverse and multilingual, multicultural teachers in Washington and in other states. A minority teacher recruitment program enacted in 1989 is repealed.

In addition, a Bilingual Teacher Mentoring and Training Program (BTMT) is created as a pilot project between the OSPI and the Latino/a Educational Achievement Project (LEAP). The LEAP develops a curriculum for the BTMT with assistance from the OSPI. Participating bilingual students are recruited in their junior year and assigned a teacher/mentor. The pilot projects, to be chosen by LEAP, are conducted in Eastern and Western Washington and serve 50 students in the 2007-09 biennium.

The qualifications and responsibilities of teacher/mentors are described. Teacher/mentors mentor two students and receive a $1,000 annual stipend. Students who successfully complete the program are eligible for scholarship awards under the Future Teachers Conditional Scholarship and Loan Repayment Program. Successful completion means the student graduates with at least a C average, is a Washington resident student, has no felony convictions, and devotes 100 hours per year to activities of the BTMT. The OSPI reports to the Legislature on the outcomes of the pilot project by December 1, 2008.

Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill:

The original bill specified the nature of the professional development to be provided by the OSPI and the ESDs through the regional delivery system by fiscal year, by topic, and by grade level of mathematics and science teacher. The OSPI was directed to develop a methodology for providing formula-driven resources for the professional development. The substitute bill creates a mathematics, science, and targeted secondary reading education and achievement improvement initiative. Roles of the OSPI and the ESDs under the initiative are specified and a three-tiered support system for schools and school districts is created. The OSPI and the ESDs develop a methodology for distributing resources under the initiative.

Provisions establishing bonuses for teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) are removed. The expertise and incentive pay structure for K-12 staff includes teachers and classified school employees. The comparison of pay systems is to other states, rather than being limited to Global Challenge States, and also includes classified employees. The RDWT program is created. In addition, a Bilingual Teacher Mentoring and Training Program is created as a pilot project between the OSPI and the LEAP.

Effective Date of Substitute Bill: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

(Invited Testimony) Research and best practices point out the essence and importance of leadership in buildings and districts. An initial credential isn't enough, and the old model of professional development through isolated workshops isn't working. The proposal for a Leadership Academy is a work in progress. The development of leadership needs to occur in a systemic way through a long-term commitment and partnership.

There is a well-balanced group, led by the PESB, meeting with the goal of a comprehensive review of all teacher certification standards. New teachers do need higher mathematics skills, but we must recognize that not all teachers need the same level of mathematics knowledge. It might be better to identify a common performance rubric for professional certification rather than an external assessment. The strength of the current programs is that they are contextual.

A recurring theme is that there needs to be a systems approach to providing support for schools and districts. The current professional development model is market-driven and fragmented. The ESDs respond to districts' perceived needs, but not with purpose and intentionality. The ESDs and the OPSI want to create a true partnership to support schools. The ESDs need core funding to create capacity and provide services more equitably across districts.

Teachers certified by the NBPTS really make a difference in their schools and with their students. In many districts, NBPTS teachers take on significant additional responsibilities. An initiative to pay them bonuses to work in high need schools is a good incentive. That's where they should be assigned. Too often high need schools are training grounds for both teachers and principals.

(In support) The focus on professional development and support for improved teaching is positive. It is a very important aspect of "where we go from here" regarding student achievement. Many of the PESB deliverables are underway and will be completed later this year. There is support for the external assessment of professional certification, but it would need to be funded. The compensation structure for teachers should be studied. The increase for NBPTS teachers and the bonuses are wonderful. The ESD regional delivery system component has exciting potential.

When professional development is discussed, there is a tendency to forget classified instructional staff. All staff in high need schools would benefit from additional pay and training to address the needs of their students. The School Business Officers should be included in the Leadership Academy and compensation study. Additional professional development could help improve differentiated instruction to meet the learning needs of all students.

The focus on mathematics and science for both teachers and students is appreciated. We need a structure and systems to ensure that something as important as professional development to improve mathematics and science instruction is delivered across the state in a consistent fashion. The proposed content is very focused and targeted. These are not just additional days.

(In support with concerns) The PESB is working very hard, but it is important to make sure that all content areas are addressed and not just mathematics and science. Teachers continue to struggle with professional certification. Changes are being made in the right direction, but the process needs to lead to good teaching. Additional professional development is needed, but it can't be focused entirely on two subject areas and only at certain grade levels. Bonuses for NBPTS teachers are very supported, but not for specific subject areas. Mathematics and science can't be the only focus.

(Concerns) Teachers in difficult areas need support, but it should take different forms. Perhaps they should be provided more assistance with paying back their school loans.

(Opposed) None.

Persons Testifying: (Invited testimony) Gary Kipp, Association of Washington School Principals; Mack Armstrong, Washington Association of School Administrators; Dr. Frank Kline, Seattle Pacific University; Dr. Ginger MacDonald, University of Washington Tacoma; Ian Grabenhorst, Educational Service District 105; John Nelson, Educational Service District 112; Dana Anderson, Educational Service District 113; Kim Norris, Thorndyke Elementary; Michaela Miller, River Ridge High School; and Andy Coons, Stewart Middle School.

(In support) Representative P. Sullivan, prime sponsor; Nasue Nishida, Professional Educator Standards Board; Jennifer Priddy, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction; Randy Dorn, Public School Employees; Mitch Denning, Washington Association of School Business Officers; Donna Christensen, Coalition of Gifted Education; Nancy Atwood, American Electronics Association; Judy Hartmann, Governor's Policy Office; and Dan Steele, Washington State School Directors Association

(In support with concerns) Lucinda Young, Washington Education Association.

(Concerns) Laurel Carter.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: Christie Perkins, Washington State Special Education Coalition.