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.

Provides that certificated instructional staff who have attained certification from the national board for professional teaching standards shall receive a bonus each year in which they maintain the certification. The bonus shall be calculated as follows: (1) The annual bonus shall be five thousand two hundred fifty dollars for fiscal year 2008 and five thousand four hundred dollars for fiscal year 2009. Thereafter, the annual bonus shall be an amount established in the omnibus appropriations act; and

(2) State appropriations for this bonus may be limited to the amount of funding required to provide the full amount of the bonus to five percent of the certificated instructional staff who are eligible to receive certification from the national board for professional teaching standards.