BILL REQ. #:  H-0152.2 

Read first time 01/21/13.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     AN ACT Relating to K-12 professional development for teachers and principals; adding a new section to chapter 28B.20 RCW; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that Washington educators possess great skills and knowledge about both subject matter content and instructional pedagogy, and that sharing this knowledge with other educators benefits the entire educational system. The quality of any professional development is enhanced by drawing from experts in the field with deep understanding of the profession. However, the legislature finds that little data is available regarding the quality, quantity, or effectiveness of professional development across school districts, and that a better understanding of best practices would be useful to share with teachers and principals statewide.
     (2) The legislature further finds that technology provides increasing opportunities for educators across Washington state to access professional development regardless of the time of year, time of day, or geographic location, as well as share best practices, experiences, and skills with others. The legislature recognizes that online professional development does not replace in-person, face-to-face dialogue among educators. National standards for professional development emphasize the creation of professional learning communities where educators come together to analyze data, set goals, coach one another, and continuously improve their practice. However, the power and reach of the internet to provide information, resources, videos, and forums for discussion should be harnessed so that all teachers and principals in all districts within the state have free, open access to high quality, robust, and relevant professional development focused on improving instruction and instructional practices. Specialized professional development for principals should include instructional and noninstructional modules such as financial and building management, evaluation methodologies, team building, and community relations, among other topics.
     (3) Therefore it is the legislature's intent to create a dynamic, real-time, and interactive online professional development system to augment the current system. The online professional development system will be designed, managed, and implemented by Washington educators.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28B.20 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Subject to funds appropriated specifically for this purpose, the Washington K-12 online professional development project is established. The purpose of the project is to make online professional development modules for K-12 teachers and principals available on demand and at no cost to any educator who chooses to use them.
     (2) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall develop a request for proposals and select through a competitive process an applicant to serve as the contracted facilitator and administrator for the Washington K-12 online professional development project. School districts, educational service districts, institutions of higher education, and public or private entities or organizations may apply. The facilitator must:
     (a) Appoint and convene a steering committee of K-12 educators that shall be responsible for the overall design and structure of the project, identifying the topics for the online professional development modules, and preparing the project evaluation and report to the legislature;
     (b) Oversee and provide support for creation of the professional development modules by K-12 educators;
     (c) Provide necessary technical support and infrastructure for the project; and
     (d) Actively seek public-private partnerships in the development and implementation of the project.
     (3) The professional development modules for the project must incorporate a variety of media, including demonstration videos, links to research and resources, webinars, and discussion forums. The project must include modules that incorporate hybrid learning through a combination of online and face-to-face collegial interaction among educators. The project must also provide for data collection on usage and customer feedback.
     (4) The professional development modules must cover a range of topics, including but not limited to:
     (a) Academic content that is aligned with and supports the common core state standards;
     (b) Strategies for improving instructional practice, pedagogy, and classroom management;
     (c) Strategies for closing the educational opportunity gap and providing specialized instruction for low-achieving students, English language learners, and students in special education; and
     (d) Topics of particular interest to principals, such as effective leadership, managing people and resources, and community and parent involvement.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   The steering committee for the Washington K-12 online professional development project must submit a status report to the education committees of the legislature by December 1, 2015. At a minimum, the report must address the following topics:
     (1) Data on usage of the professional development modules by teachers and principals;
     (2) Customer feedback on the usefulness of the modules and how to improve the system;
     (3) Recommendations and estimated costs to maintain and regularly refresh the professional development modules;
     (4) Recommendations for expanding the reach and improving the usefulness of the project; and
     (5) Recommendations for how teachers may combine and document successful completion of professional development modules so that the modules may be considered approved in-service training for purposes of the statewide salary allocation schedule.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   The joint legislative audit and review committee must conduct an analysis of K-12 professional development for teachers and principals. The purpose of the analysis is to improve the baseline understanding of policymakers regarding the level of public school resources currently expended to support professional development, the sources of funds, the type and content of professional development purchased, and the extent that professional development is based on individual preference, professional growth plans, school instructional teams, or district priorities. For the purposes of the analysis, "professional development" includes both traditional forms such as seminars, conferences, courses, or training sessions and nontraditional, job-embedded forms such as dedicated time for instructional teams to examine student data, coaching and mentoring, and professional learning communities. In the analysis, the committee must use both qualitative and quantitative methods, access statewide data to the extent available and informative, and select a sample of school districts for more detailed review. The analysis must be submitted to the legislature by December 1, 2014.