BILL REQ. #:  H-3379.1 

Read first time 04/23/09.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     AN ACT Relating to providing salary bonuses for nationally certified educational staff associates; and amending RCW 28A.405.415.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 28A.405.415 and 2008 c 175 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a) 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: The annual bonus shall be five thousand dollars in the 2007-08 school year. Thereafter, the annual bonus shall increase by inflation.
     (b) Beginning in the 2011-12 school year, educational staff associates certified as a school speech-language pathologist, audiologist, psychologist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, social worker, or school nurse who have attained a national certificate within their respective profession shall receive a bonus each year in which they maintain the certification. The bonus shall be calculated as follows: The annual bonus is five thousand dollars, increased by inflation beginning with the 2007-08 school year.
     (2) Certificated instructional staff who have attained certification from the national board for professional teaching standards shall be eligible for bonuses in addition to that provided by subsection (1) of this section if the individual is in an instructional assignment in a school in which at least seventy percent of the students qualify for the free and reduced-price lunch program. Beginning in the 2011-12 school year, educational staff associates certified as a school speech-language pathologist, audiologist, psychologist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, social worker, or school nurse who have attained a national certificate within their respective profession and are in an assignment in a school in which at least seventy percent of the students qualify for the free and reduced-price lunch program are eligible for bonuses in addition to that provided by subsection (1) of this section.
     (3) The amount of the additional bonus under subsection (2) of this section for those meeting the qualifications of subsection (2) of this section is five thousand dollars.
     (4) The bonuses provided under this section are in addition to compensation received under a district's salary schedule adopted in accordance with RCW 28A.405.200 and shall not be included in calculations of a district's average salary and associated salary limitations under RCW 28A.400.200.
     (5) The bonuses provided under this section shall be paid in a lump sum amount.