HOUSE BILL REPORT

HB 2575

As Passed Legislature

Title: An act relating to teacher assignment data collection.

Brief Description: Requiring that certain teacher assignment and reassignment data be included in data submitted to the office of the superintendent of public instruction.

Sponsors: Representatives Bergquist, Dahlquist, Stonier and Santos; by request of Professional Educator Standards Board.

Brief History:

Committee Activity:

Education: 1/30/14, 2/3/14 [DP].

Floor Activity:

Passed House: 2/11/14, 92-6.

Passed Senate: 3/7/14, 49-0.

Passed Legislature.

Majority Report: Do pass. Signed by 19 members: Representatives Santos, Chair; Stonier, Vice Chair; Dahlquist, Ranking Minority Member; Magendanz, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Bergquist, Fey, Haigh, Hargrove, Hawkins, Hayes, S. Hunt, Klippert, Lytton, Muri, Orwall, Parker, Pollet, Seaquist and Warnick.

Staff: Barbara McLain (786-7383).

Background:

The Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) is charged with maintaining the state's system of educator preparation and certification. Legislation enacted in 2010 also directed the PESB to convene regional meetings of school districts and educator preparation programs to examine data and discuss topics related to educator workforce supply and demand. In its first report on this topic, the PESB concluded that many school districts do not finalize hiring of new teachers until August or September. Some wait to finalize contracts until after the start of the school year and instead rely on substitute teachers for an indeterminate duration.

The full extent of late hiring practices in Washington is not known. School districts are currently required to record in the statewide student data system the certification number for each teacher assigned to each class, along with the students enrolled in that class. However, the date the teacher is assigned to the class is not recorded.

Summary of Bill:

No later than the beginning of the 2014-15 school year, school districts must report the dates of teacher assignment and reassignment in the statewide student data system.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

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

Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

(In support) The prime sponsor's first job was as a tenth grade English Language Arts teacher, even though his teaching endorsement was in social studies. After one month, the school district was able to hire an appropriately-certified teacher and found a spot for him in social studies. This was not necessarily a good opportunity for the students. The premise behind the bill is to track long-term substitutes at the beginning of the school year and hopefully curtail their use by having districts plan ahead.

Late hiring revealed itself as a problem in a series of meetings on workforce issues between the PESB and school districts. This bill provides a tool to identify the extent of the problem, but it does not solve the problem. School districts that do even a minimal amount of forecasting do a better job in their hiring practices. Stability of resources is a bigger issue. School districts are unwilling to take the risk of a one-year contract in case the students don't show up as expected. School districts do the best they can with hiring decisions. However, if students have a long-term substitute or a series of short-term substitutes, it is the same as repeating the first week of school over and over. This represents a substantial amount of lost learning and opportunity for student growth. The first step in solving this problem is getting more accurate data.

(Opposed) None.

Persons Testifying: Representative Bergquist, prime sponsor; David Brenna, Professional Educator Standards Board; and Lucinda Young, Washington Education Association.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.