BILL REQ. #:  S-3989.1 

READ FIRST TIME 01/27/14.   

     AN ACT Relating to the definition of school day; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The Washington state institute for public policy shall conduct an analysis of how school districts use school days. The analysis must include:
     (a) How school districts define classroom time, nonclassroom time, instructional time, noninstructional time, and any other definitions of how the school day is divided or used;
     (b) Estimates of time in each category;
     (c) When noninstructional hours occur;
     (d) How noninstructional hours are used including how much of the noninstructional time is devoted to professional development for the purposes of teacher and principal evaluation training or common core state standards training;
     (e) A review of student achievement data and, to the extent possible, a determination of whether there is a causal link between improvement in student achievement and the amount of quality professional development teachers receive; and
     (f) The extent to which the use of each category of time is identified or defined in collective bargaining agreements.
     (2) To the extent data is not available at the statewide level, the Washington state institute for public policy may use case studies or other methods to conduct the analysis.
     (3) The Washington state institute for public policy shall submit an initial report of its findings to the education committees of the legislature by December 1, 2014, and a final report by December 1, 2015.