READ FIRST TIME 02/17/09.   

     AN ACT Relating to creating a comprehensive statewide integrated pathway of preparation and professional development for the early learning and school-age program workforce; creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that well-prepared and appropriately supported teachers and caregivers are essential to improving the quality of early learning programs and enhancing the nature of children's experiences in those programs. The legislature also finds that professional development programs and supports are most effective when they are easily accessed by workers; aligned with other elements of quality; and articulated with degree-granting programs and clearly defined career pathways. In addition, the legislature acknowledges the potential for early learning professionals to support effective and positive parenting, and the benefits of making information about early learning and development accessible to the many family, friends, and neighbors providing care for Washington's infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. The legislature further finds that the professional development consortium convened by the early learning advisory council has begun the work necessary to build an integrated system of preparation and ongoing professional development for the state's early learning and school-age program workforce. The legislature intends to promote the momentum of the consortium's work and to request periodic updates from the consortium before receiving a comprehensive report of progress and recommendations.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) In partnership with the department of early learning, the professional development consortium convened by the early learning advisory council in response to the early learning partnership resolution between the department of early learning, the nongovernmental private-public partnership created in RCW 43.215.070, and the office of the superintendent of public instruction, shall develop recommendations for a statewide system of preparation and continuing professional development for the early learning and school-age program workforce. To develop its recommendations, the consortium shall collaborate or consult with existing work groups and similar efforts underway in Washington.
     (2) The professional development consortium shall include representatives from a wide array of organizations, including but not limited to:
     (a) The department of early learning;
     (b) The Washington state department of health;
     (c) Educational service districts and school districts;
     (d) The state board for community and technical colleges;
     (e) The higher education coordinating board;
     (f) The office of the superintendent of public instruction;
     (g) Washington Indian tribes;
     (h) The nongovernmental private-public partnership created in RCW 43.215.070;
     (i) The Washington state child care resource and referral network; and
     (j) Any other organizations that represent, research, or provide professional development to the early learning and school-age program workforce.
     (3) The professional development consortium shall map current professional development resources and strategies across the state to identify gaps in the current system and make recommendations for improving the coordination of existing resources and strategies; define core competencies or core knowledge areas for early learning professionals; and develop recommendations for a plan to implement a statewide, comprehensive, and integrated pathway of preparation and continuing professional development and support for the early learning and school-age program workforce.
     (4) Recommendations for the plan shall include but not be limited to:
     (a) Creation of a coherent system of professional development, including delineation of core competencies for early learning and school-age program staff, directors, and administrators;
     (b) Requirements for articulation agreements between certificate and credential programs, degree-granting programs, professional development programs, and community-based training programs to enable students to transition effectively between two and four-year institutions of higher education and to apply approved training programs toward credit-based learning; and
     (c) Creation of a comprehensive, integrated registry designed to capture information, including workforce and professional development data, for all early learning and school-age programs that is easily accessible, to the extent allowed by law, by early learning and school-age program professionals, directors, trainers, researchers, resource and referral networks, and the department of early learning.
     (5) The report from the professional development consortium shall also include:
     (a) An analysis of gaps in available professional development programs and recommendations for programs to address the needs of early learning and school-age providers who serve children with physical or developmental disabilities, behavioral challenges, and other special needs;
     (b) A discussion of evidence-based incentives and supports for the early learning and school-age program workforce to obtain additional training and education;
     (c) An analysis of evidence-based compensation policies that encourage and reward completion of professional development programs; and
     (d) An exploration of strategies for providing professional development opportunities in languages other than English, and incorporation of these opportunities into the comprehensive pathway for preparation and professional development.
     (6) The department of early learning and the professional development consortium shall report to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature by:
     (a) September 15, 2009, and December 31, 2009, with a brief status update of the consortium's work plan; and
     (b) December 31, 2010, with final recommendations for a comprehensive statewide integrated system of preparation and continuing professional development for the early learning and school-age program workforce.
     (7) This section expires July 1, 2011.