BILL REQ. #:  S-4103.1 

Read first time 02/03/14.   Referred to Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education.

     AN ACT Relating to implementing strategies to close the educational opportunity gap, based on the recommendations of the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee; amending RCW 28A.600.015, 28A.600.020, 28A.600.460, 43.41.400, 28A.405.106, 28A.405.120, 28A.660.045, 28A.660.050, and 28A.180.040; adding a new section to chapter 28A.600 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.415 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.657 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.410 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28B.50 RCW; creating new sections; and providing expiration dates.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature has already established that it is a goal of the state to provide for a public school system that gives all students the opportunity to achieve personal and academic success. This goal contains within it a promise of excellence and opportunity for all students, not just some students. In establishing the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee in 2009, the legislature recognized that additional work was needed to fulfill the promise of excellence and opportunity for students of certain demographic groups, including English language learners and also including students with disabilities.
     (2) In its 2013 report to the legislature, the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee made the following recommendations in keeping with its statutory purpose, which is to recommend specific policies and strategies to close the educational opportunity gap:
     (a) Decrease the disproportionate representation of students of color in disciplinary actions in schools;
     (b) Enhance the cultural competence of current and future educators;
     (c) Provide English language learner and second language acquisition endorsements for all educators;
     (d) Create new English language learner accountability benchmarks;
     (e) Provide tools for deeper data analysis and disaggregation of student demographic data to inform instructional strategies to close the opportunity gap; and
     (f) Invest in the recruitment and retention of educators of color.
     (3) The legislature finds that these recommendations represent a holistic approach to making progress toward closing the opportunity gap. The recommendations are interdependent and mutually reinforcing. Closing the opportunity gap requires highly skilled, culturally competent, and diverse educators who understand the communities and cultures that students come from; it requires careful monitoring of not only the academic performance but also the educational environment for all students, at a fine grain of detail to assure adequate accountability; and it requires a robust program of instruction, including appropriately trained educators, to help English language learners gain language proficiency as well as academic proficiency.
     (4) Therefore the legislature intends to adopt policies and programs to implement the six recommendations of the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 101   A new section is added to chapter 28A.600 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall convene a discipline task force to develop standard definitions for causes of student disciplinary actions taken at the discretion of the school district. The task force must also develop data collection standards for disciplinary actions that are discretionary and for disciplinary actions that result in the exclusion of a student from school. The data collection standards must include data about education services provided while a student is subject to a disciplinary action, the status of petitions for readmission to the school district when a student has been excluded from school, credit retrieval during a period of exclusion, and school dropout as a result of disciplinary action.
     (2) The discipline task force shall include representatives from the K-12 data governance group, the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee, the state ethnic commissions, the governor's office of Indian affairs, the office of the education ombudsman, school districts, and other education and advocacy organizations.
     (3) The office of the superintendent of public instruction and the K-12 data governance group shall revise the statewide student data system to incorporate the student discipline data collection standards recommended by the discipline task force, and begin collecting data based on the revised standards in the 2016-17 school year.

Sec. 102   RCW 28A.600.015 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 18 s 302 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt and distribute to all school districts lawful and reasonable rules prescribing the substantive and procedural due process guarantees of pupils in the common schools. Such rules shall authorize a school district to use informal due process procedures in connection with the short-term suspension of students to the extent constitutionally permissible: PROVIDED, That the superintendent of public instruction deems the interest of students to be adequately protected. When a student suspension or expulsion is appealed, the rules shall authorize a school district to impose the suspension or expulsion temporarily after an initial hearing for no more than ten consecutive school days or until the appeal is decided, whichever is earlier. Any days that the student is temporarily suspended or expelled before the appeal is decided shall be applied to the term of the student suspension or expulsion and shall not limit or extend the term of the student suspension or expulsion. An expulsion or suspension of a student may not be for an indefinite period of time. A suspension or expulsion of a student may not be for an indefinite period of time, and a school district may not suspend the provision of educational services to a student as a disciplinary measure.
     (2) Short-term suspension procedures may be used for suspensions of students up to and including, ten consecutive school days.
     (3) Emergency expulsions must end or be converted to another form of corrective action within ten school days from the date of the emergency removal from school. Notice and due process rights must be provided to students when an emergency expulsion is converted to another form of corrective action.
     (4) For any circumstance where disciplinary action is discretionary on the part of the school district, a school district may not impose a disciplinary action that results in the suspension of educational services to a student. A student may be excluded from a particular classroom or instructional or activity area for the period of suspension, but the school district must provide an opportunity for the student to receive educational services in an alternative manner, which may include services provided through an alternative program, at an alternative school, or at an alternative location within the student's regular school.

Sec. 103   RCW 28A.600.020 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 18 s 303 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The rules adopted pursuant to RCW 28A.600.010 shall be interpreted to ensure that the optimum learning atmosphere of the classroom is maintained, and that the highest consideration is given to the judgment of qualified certificated educators regarding conditions necessary to maintain the optimum learning atmosphere.
     (2) Any student who creates a disruption of the educational process in violation of the building disciplinary standards while under a teacher's immediate supervision may be excluded by the teacher from his or her individual classroom and instructional or activity area for all or any portion of the balance of the school day, or up to the following two days, or until the principal or designee and teacher have conferred, whichever occurs first. Except in emergency circumstances, the teacher first must attempt one or more alternative forms of corrective action. In no event without the consent of the teacher may an excluded student return to the class during the balance of that class or activity period or up to the following two days, or until the principal or his or her designee and the teacher have conferred.
     (3) In order to preserve a beneficial learning environment for all students and to maintain good order and discipline in each classroom, every school district board of directors shall provide that written procedures are developed for administering discipline at each school within the district. Such procedures shall be developed with the participation of parents and the community, and shall provide that the teacher, principal or designee, and other authorities designated by the board of directors, make every reasonable attempt to involve the parent or guardian and the student in the resolution of student discipline problems. Such procedures shall provide that students may be excluded from their individual classes or activities for periods of time in excess of that provided in subsection (2) of this section if such students have repeatedly disrupted the learning of other students. The procedures must be consistent with the rules of the superintendent of public instruction and must provide for early involvement of parents in attempts to improve the student's behavior.
     (4) The procedures shall assure, pursuant to RCW 28A.400.110, that all staff work cooperatively toward consistent enforcement of proper student behavior throughout each school as well as within each classroom.
     (5)(a) A principal shall consider imposing long-term suspension or expulsion as a sanction when deciding the appropriate disciplinary action for a student who, after July 27, 1997:
     (i) Engages in two or more violations within a three-year period of RCW 9A.46.120, 28A.320.135, 28A.600.455, 28A.600.460, 28A.635.020, 28A.600.020, 28A.635.060, 9.41.280, or 28A.320.140; or
     (ii) Engages in one or more of the offenses listed in RCW 13.04.155.
     (b) The principal shall communicate the disciplinary action taken by the principal to the school personnel who referred the student to the principal for disciplinary action.
     (6) Any corrective action involving a suspension or expulsion from school for more than ten days must have an end date of not more than one calendar year from the time of corrective action. Districts shall make reasonable efforts to assist students and parents in returning to an educational setting prior to and no later than the end date of the corrective action. Where warranted based on public health or safety, a school may petition the superintendent of the school district, pursuant to policies and procedures adopted by the office of the superintendent of public instruction, for authorization to exceed the one calendar year limitation provided in this subsection. The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules outlining the limited circumstances in which a school may petition to exceed the one calendar year limitation, including safeguards to ensure that the school district has made every effort to plan for the student's return to school. School districts shall report to the office of the superintendent of public instruction the number of petitions made to the school board and the number of petitions granted on an annual basis.
     (7) Nothing in this section prevents a public school district, educational service district, the Washington state center for childhood deafness and hearing loss, or the state school for the blind if it has suspended or expelled a student from the student's regular school setting from providing educational services to the student in an alternative setting or modifying the suspension or expulsion on a case-by-case basis.
     (8) As provided in RCW 28A.600.015, for any circumstance where disciplinary action is discretionary on the part of the school district, a school district may not impose disciplinary action that results in the suspension of educational services to a student.

Sec. 104   RCW 28A.600.460 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 18 s 305 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) School district boards of directors shall adopt policies that restore discipline to the classroom. Such policies must provide for at least the following: Allowing each teacher to take disciplinary action to correct a student who disrupts normal classroom activities, abuses or insults a teacher as prohibited by RCW 28A.635.010, willfully disobeys a teacher, uses abusive or foul language directed at a school district employee, school volunteer, or another student, violates school rules, or who interferes with an orderly education process. Disciplinary action may include but is not limited to: Oral or written reprimands; written notification to parents of disruptive behavior, a copy of which must be provided to the principal.
     (2) A student committing an offense under chapter 9A.36, 9A.40, 9A.46, or 9A.48 RCW when the activity is directed toward the teacher, shall not be assigned to that teacher's classroom for the duration of the student's attendance at that school or any other school where the teacher is assigned.
     (3) A student who commits an offense under chapter 9A.36, 9A.40, 9A.46, or 9A.48 RCW, when directed toward another student, may be removed from the classroom of the victim for the duration of the student's attendance at that school or any other school where the victim is enrolled. A student who commits an offense under one of the chapters enumerated in this section against a student or another school employee, may be expelled or suspended.
     (4) Nothing in this section is intended to limit the authority of a school under existing law and rules to expel or suspend a student for misconduct or criminal behavior. However, as provided in RCW 28A.600.015, for any circumstance where disciplinary action is discretionary on the part of the school district, a school district may not impose disciplinary action that results in the suspension of educational services to a student.
     (5) All school districts must collect data on disciplinary actions taken in each school and must record these actions using the statewide student data system, based on the data collection standards established by the office of the superintendent of public instruction and the K-12 data governance group. The information shall be made available to the public, but public release of the data shall not include personally identifiable information including, but not limited to, a student's social security number, name, or address.

Sec. 105   RCW 43.41.400 and 2012 c 229 s 585 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) An education data center shall be established in the office of financial management. The education data center shall jointly, with the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee, conduct collaborative analyses of early learning, K-12, and higher education programs and education issues across the P-20 system, which includes the department of early learning, the superintendent of public instruction, the professional educator standards board, the state board of education, the state board for community and technical colleges, the workforce training and education coordinating board, the student achievement council, public and private nonprofit four-year institutions of higher education, and the employment security department. The education data center shall conduct collaborative analyses under this section with the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee and provide data electronically to the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee, to the extent permitted by state and federal confidentiality requirements. The education data center shall be considered an authorized representative of the state educational agencies in this section under applicable federal and state statutes for purposes of accessing and compiling student record data for research purposes.
     (2) The education data center shall:
     (a) In consultation with the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee and the agencies and organizations participating in the education data center, identify the critical research and policy questions that are intended to be addressed by the education data center and the data needed to address the questions;
     (b) Coordinate with other state education agencies to compile and analyze education data, including data on student demographics that is disaggregated by distinct ethnic categories within racial subgroups, and complete P-20 research projects;
     (c) Collaborate with the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee and the education and fiscal committees of the legislature in identifying the data to be compiled and analyzed to ensure that legislative interests are served;
     (d) Annually provide to the K-12 data governance group a list of data elements and data quality improvements that are necessary to answer the research and policy questions identified by the education data center and have been identified by the legislative committees in (c) of this subsection. Within three months of receiving the list, the K-12 data governance group shall develop and transmit to the education data center a feasibility analysis of obtaining or improving the data, including the steps required, estimated time frame, and the financial and other resources that would be required. Based on the analysis, the education data center shall submit, if necessary, a recommendation to the legislature regarding any statutory changes or resources that would be needed to collect or improve the data;
     (e) Monitor and evaluate the education data collection systems of the organizations and agencies represented in the education data center ensuring that data systems are flexible, able to adapt to evolving needs for information, and to the extent feasible and necessary, include data that are needed to conduct the analyses and provide answers to the research and policy questions identified in (a) of this subsection;
     (f) Track enrollment and outcomes through the public centralized higher education enrollment system;
     (g) Assist other state educational agencies' collaborative efforts to develop a long-range enrollment plan for higher education including estimates to meet demographic and workforce needs;
     (h) Provide research that focuses on student transitions within and among the early learning, K-12, and higher education sectors in the P-20 system; ((and))
     (i) Prepare a regular report on the educational and workforce outcomes of youth in the juvenile justice system, using data disaggregated by ethnic categories, racial subgroups, and age; and
     (j) Make recommendations to the legislature as necessary to help ensure the goals and objectives of this section and RCW 28A.655.210 and 28A.300.507 are met.
     (3) The department of early learning, superintendent of public instruction, professional educator standards board, state board of education, state board for community and technical colleges, workforce training and education coordinating board, student achievement council, public four-year institutions of higher education, department of social and health services, and employment security department shall work with the education data center to develop data-sharing and research agreements, consistent with applicable security and confidentiality requirements, to facilitate the work of the center. The education data center shall also develop data-sharing and research agreements with the administrative office of the courts to conduct research on educational and workforce outcomes using data maintained under RCW 13.50.010(11) related to juveniles. Private, nonprofit institutions of higher education that provide programs of education beyond the high school level leading at least to the baccalaureate degree and are accredited by the Northwest association of schools and colleges or their peer accreditation bodies may also develop data-sharing and research agreements with the education data center, consistent with applicable security and confidentiality requirements. The education data center shall make data from collaborative analyses available to the education agencies and institutions that contribute data to the education data center to the extent allowed by federal and state security and confidentiality requirements applicable to the data of each contributing agency or institution.

Sec. 201   RCW 28A.405.106 and 2012 c 35 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Subject to funds appropriated for this purpose, the office of the superintendent of public instruction must develop and make available a professional development program to support the implementation of the evaluation systems required by RCW 28A.405.100. The program components may be organized into professional development modules for principals, administrators, and teachers. The professional development program shall include a comprehensive online training package.
     (2) The training program must include, but not be limited to, the following topics:
     (a) Introduction of the evaluation criteria for teachers and principals and the four-level rating system;
     (b) Orientation to and use of instructional frameworks;
     (c) Orientation to and use of the leadership frameworks;
     (d) Best practices in developing and using data in the evaluation systems, including multiple measures, student growth data, classroom observations, and other measures and evidence;
     (e) Strategies for achieving maximum rater agreement;
     (f) Evaluator feedback protocols in the evaluation systems;
     (g) Examples of high quality teaching and leadership; and
     (h) Methods to link the evaluation process to ongoing educator professional development.
     (3) The training program must also include the foundational elements of cultural competence, focusing on multicultural education and principles of English language acquisition. The content of the training must be aligned with the standards for cultural competence developed by the professional educator standards board under RCW 28A.410.270. The office of the superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with the professional educator standards board, the steering committee established in RCW 28A.405.100, and the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee, must integrate the content for cultural competence into the overall training for principals, administrators, and teachers to support the revised evaluation systems.
     (4) To the maximum extent feasible, the professional development program must incorporate or adapt existing online training or curriculum, including securing materials or curriculum under contract or purchase agreements within available funds. Multiple modes of instruction should be incorporated including videos of classroom teaching, participatory exercises, and other engaging combinations of online audio, video, and print presentation.
     (((4))) (5) The professional development program must be developed in modules that allow:
     (a) Access to material over a reasonable number of training sessions;
     (b) Delivery in person or online; and
     (c) Use in a self-directed manner.
     (((5))) (6) The office of the superintendent of public instruction must maintain a web site that includes the online professional development materials along with sample evaluation forms and templates, links to relevant research on evaluation and on high quality teaching and leadership, samples of contract and collective bargaining language on key topics, examples of multiple measures of teacher and principal performance, suggestions for data to measure student growth, and other tools that will assist school districts in implementing the revised evaluation systems.
     (((6))) (7) The office of the superintendent of public instruction must identify the number of in-service training hours associated with each professional development module and develop a way for users to document their completion of the training. Documented completion of the training under this section is considered approved in-service training for the purposes of RCW 28A.415.020.
     (((7))) (8) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall periodically update the modules to reflect new topics and research on performance evaluation so that the training serves as an ongoing source of continuing education and professional development.
     (((8))) (9) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall work with the educational service districts to provide clearinghouse services for the identification and publication of professional development opportunities for teachers and principals that align with performance evaluation criteria.

Sec. 202   RCW 28A.405.120 and 2012 c 35 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) School districts shall require each administrator, each principal, or other supervisory personnel who has responsibility for evaluating classroom teachers or principals to have training in evaluation procedures.
     (2) Before school district implementation of the revised evaluation systems required under RCW 28A.405.100, principals and administrators who have evaluation responsibilities must engage in professional development designed to implement the revised systems and maximize rater agreement. The professional development to support the revised evaluation systems must also include foundational elements of cultural competence, focusing on multicultural education and principles of English language acquisition.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 203   A new section is added to chapter 28A.415 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The office of the superintendent of public instruction, in collaboration with the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee, the professional educator standards board, colleges of education, and representatives from diverse communities and community-based organizations, must develop a content outline for professional development and training in cultural competence for school staff.
     (2) The content of the cultural competence professional development and training must be aligned with the standards developed by the professional educator standards board under RCW 28A.410.270.
     (3) The cultural competence professional development and training must contain components that are appropriate for classified school staff and district administrators as well as certificated instructional staff and principals at the building level. The professional development and training must also contain components suitable for delivery by individuals from the local community or community-based organizations with appropriate expertise.
     (4) The legislature encourages educational service districts and school districts to use the cultural competence professional development and training developed under this section and provide opportunities for all school and school district staff to gain knowledge and skills in cultural competence, including in partnership with their local communities.

Sec. 301   RCW 28A.660.045 and 2007 c 396 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The educator retooling (to teach mathematics and science)) conditional scholarship program is created. Participation is limited to current K-12 teachers and individuals having an elementary education certificate but who are not employed in positions requiring an elementary education certificate. It is anticipated that candidates enrolled in this program will complete the requirements for a mathematics ((or)), science, special education, bilingual education, or English language learner endorsement((, or both,)) in two years or less.
     (2) Entry requirements for candidates include:
     (a) Current K-12 teachers shall pursue a middle level mathematics or science, ((or)) secondary mathematics or science, special education, bilingual education, or English language learner endorsement.
     (b) Individuals having an elementary education certificate but who are not employed in positions requiring an elementary education certificate shall pursue an endorsement only in middle level mathematics or science ((only)), special education, bilingual education, or English language learner.

Sec. 302   RCW 28A.660.050 and 2012 c 229 s 507 are each amended to read as follows:
     Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for these purposes, the conditional scholarship programs in this chapter are created under the following guidelines:
     (1) The programs shall be administered by the student achievement council. In administering the programs, the council has the following powers and duties:
     (a) To adopt necessary rules and develop guidelines to administer the programs;
     (b) To collect and manage repayments from participants who do not meet their service obligations; and
     (c) To accept grants and donations from public and private sources for the programs.
     (2) Requirements for participation in the conditional scholarship programs are as provided in this subsection (2).
     (a) The alternative route conditional scholarship program is limited to interns of professional educator standards board-approved alternative routes to teaching programs under RCW 28A.660.040. For fiscal year 2011, priority must be given to fiscal year 2010 participants in the alternative route partnership program. In order to receive conditional scholarship awards, recipients shall:
     (i) Be accepted and maintain enrollment in alternative certification routes through a professional educator standards board-approved program;
     (ii) Continue to make satisfactory progress toward completion of the alternative route certification program and receipt of a residency teaching certificate; and
     (iii) Receive no more than the annual amount of the scholarship, not to exceed eight thousand dollars, for the cost of tuition, fees, and educational expenses, including books, supplies, and transportation for the alternative route certification program in which the recipient is enrolled. The council may adjust the annual award by the average rate of resident undergraduate tuition and fee increases at the state universities as defined in RCW 28B.10.016.
     (b) The pipeline for paraeducators conditional scholarship program is limited to qualified paraeducators as provided by RCW 28A.660.042. In order to receive conditional scholarship awards, recipients shall:
     (i) Be accepted and maintain enrollment at a community and technical college for no more than two years and attain an associate of arts degree;
     (ii) Continue to make satisfactory progress toward completion of an associate of arts degree. This progress requirement is a condition for eligibility into a route one program of the alternative routes to teacher certification program for a mathematics, special education, or English as a second language endorsement; and
     (iii) Receive no more than the annual amount of the scholarship, not to exceed four thousand dollars, for the cost of tuition, fees, and educational expenses, including books, supplies, and transportation for the alternative route certification program in which the recipient is enrolled. The student achievement council may adjust the annual award by the average rate of tuition and fee increases at the state community and technical colleges.
     (c) The educator retooling ((to teach mathematics and science)) conditional scholarship program is limited to current K-12 teachers. In order to receive conditional scholarship awards:
     (i) Individuals currently employed as teachers shall pursue a middle level mathematics or science, ((or)) secondary mathematics or science, special education, bilingual education, or English language learner endorsement; or
     (ii) Individuals who are certificated with an elementary education endorsement shall pursue an endorsement in middle level mathematics or science, ((or both)) special education, bilingual education, or English language learner; and
     (iii) Individuals shall use one of the pathways to endorsement processes to receive ((a mathematics or science)) the endorsement, ((or both,)) which shall include passing ((a mathematics or science)) the associated endorsement test((,)) or ((both)) tests, plus observation and completing applicable coursework to attain the proper endorsement; and
     (iv) Individuals shall receive no more than the annual amount of the scholarship, not to exceed three thousand dollars, for the cost of tuition, test fees, and educational expenses, including books, supplies, and transportation for the endorsement pathway being pursued.
     (3) The Washington professional educator standards board shall select individuals to receive conditional scholarships. In selecting recipients, preference shall be given to eligible veterans or national guard members. In awarding educator retooling scholarships to support additional bilingual education and English language learner endorsements, the board shall give preference to: Teachers seeking endorsements in order to be assigned to the transitional bilingual instructional program under the provisions of RCW 28A.180.040(2), teachers assigned to schools required under state or federal accountability measures to implement a plan for improvement, and teachers assigned to schools whose enrollment of English language learner students has increased an average of more than five percent per year over the previous three years.
     (4) For the purpose of this chapter, a conditional scholarship is a loan that is forgiven in whole or in part in exchange for service as a certificated teacher employed in a Washington state K-12 public school. The state shall forgive one year of loan obligation for every two years a recipient teaches in a public school. Recipients who fail to continue a course of study leading to residency teacher certification or cease to teach in a public school in the state of Washington in their endorsement area are required to repay the remaining loan principal with interest.
     (5) Recipients who fail to fulfill the required teaching obligation are required to repay the remaining loan principal with interest and any other applicable fees. The student achievement council shall adopt rules to define the terms for repayment, including applicable interest rates, fees, and deferments. The student achievement council must provide regular reports to the professional educator standards board that include the enrollment, employment, and repayment status of recipients of all scholarships under this section and the certificate number of recipients who have successfully completed a certification program.
     (6) The student achievement council may deposit all appropriations, collections, and any other funds received for the program in this chapter in the future teachers conditional scholarship account authorized in RCW 28B.102.080. Funds received by the professional educator standards board for the program in this chapter may be transferred to the student achievement council for deposit in the future teachers conditional scholarship account.

Sec. 303   RCW 28A.180.040 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 9 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Every school district board of directors shall:
     (a) Make available to each eligible pupil transitional bilingual instruction to achieve competency in English, in accord with rules of the superintendent of public instruction;
     (b) Wherever feasible, ensure that communications to parents emanating from the schools shall be appropriately bilingual for those parents of pupils in the bilingual instruction program;
     (c) Determine, by administration of an English test approved by the superintendent of public instruction the number of eligible pupils enrolled in the school district at the beginning of a school year and thereafter during the year as necessary in individual cases;
     (d) Ensure that a student who is a child of a military family in transition and who has been assessed as in need of, or enrolled in, a bilingual instruction program, the receiving school shall initially honor placement of the student into a like program.
     (i) The receiving school shall determine whether the district's program is a like program when compared to the sending school's program; and
     (ii) The receiving school may conduct subsequent assessments pursuant to RCW 28A.180.090 to determine appropriate placement and continued enrollment in the program;
     (e) Before the conclusion of each school year, measure each eligible pupil's improvement in learning the English language by means of a test approved by the superintendent of public instruction;
     (f) Provide in-service training for teachers, counselors, and other staff, who are involved in the district's transitional bilingual program. Such training shall include appropriate instructional strategies for children of culturally different backgrounds, use of curriculum materials, and program models; and
     (g) Make available a program of instructional support for up to two years immediately after pupils exit from the program, for exited pupils who need assistance in reaching grade-level performance in academic subjects even though they have achieved English proficiency for purposes of the transitional bilingual instructional program.
     (2) Beginning in the 2018-19 school year, all classroom teachers assigned using funds for the transitional bilingual instructional program to provide supplemental instruction for eligible pupils must hold an endorsement in bilingual education or English language learner, or both.
     (3) The definitions in Article II of RCW 28A.705.010 apply to subsection (1)(d) of this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 401   (1) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall convene an English language learner accountability task force to design a performance-based accountability system for the transitional bilingual instructional program. The task force must include representatives from the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee, the state ethnic commissions, the governor's office of tribal affairs, the office of the education ombudsman, the civil rights office within the office of the superintendent of public instruction, parents, community representatives, and program directors and teachers from school districts of different sizes and with different English language learner student populations.
     (2) The task force must review the research literature to identify evidence-based program designs and instructional strategies for English language learners to achieve English proficiency.
     (3) The task force must identify performance benchmarks for transitional bilingual instructional programs, including:
     (a) Benchmarks based on performance of eligible and exited students, including performance in English language and performance in other academic areas, based on state learning standards; and
     (b) Benchmarks based on program characteristics that research suggests are associated with students achieving English proficiency, such as staff qualifications and training and the level of supplemental instruction for students.
     (4) The task force must design an accountability system for the program that includes reporting and monitoring of benchmark performance and tiered levels of support and technical assistance for schools and districts based on benchmark performance. The design of the system must also include a reduction in requirements for schools and districts to submit program applications and program plans for state approval, to be replaced with a focus on program outcomes.
     (5) The task force must submit a report first to the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee and the quality education council, and then to the education committees of the legislature, with recommendations for the design of the accountability system and any policy changes, statutory changes, or resources necessary for its implementation. An interim report is due to the legislative education committees by January 15, 2015, and a final report is due by September 30, 2015.
     (6) This section expires July 1, 2016.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 402   A new section is added to chapter 28A.657 RCW to read as follows:
     At the beginning of each school year, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall identify schools that experienced a significant increase during the previous two school years in enrollment of English language learner students as compared to previous enrollment trends. The office shall notify the schools, and school districts in which the schools are located must provide the cultural competence professional development and training developed under section 203 of this act for classified, certificated instructional, and administrative staff of the schools. The professional development and training may be delivered by an educational service district, through district in-service, or by another qualified provider, including in partnership with the local community.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 501   (1) The professional educator standards board and the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall convene a work group to revise and update the model framework and curriculum, as well as the program of study, for high school career and technical education courses related to careers in education.
     (2) The revised careers in education courses must incorporate:
     (a) Standards for cultural competence developed by the professional educator standards board under RCW 28A.410.270;
     (b) The most recent competency standards established by the professional educator standards board and new research on best practices for educator preparation and development; and
     (c) Curriculum and activities used by the recruiting Washington teachers program under RCW 28A.415.370.
     (3) The revisions must be completed before the 2015-16 school year.
     (4) This section expires September 1, 2016.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 502   A new section is added to chapter 28A.410 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Subject to funds appropriated specifically for this purpose, the professional educator standards board shall convene a work group to design an articulated pathway for teacher preparation and certification that has the characteristics described in this section. The work group must include representatives of community and technical college paraeducator apprenticeship and certificate programs, colleges of education, teacher and paraeducator associations, and the office of the superintendent of public instruction.
     (2) An articulated pathway for teacher preparation and certification includes:
     (a) Paraeducator certificate and apprenticeship programs that offer course credits that apply to transferrable associate degrees and are aligned with the standards and competencies for teachers adopted by the professional educator standards board;
     (b) Associate degree programs that build on and do not duplicate the courses and competencies of paraeducator certificate programs, incorporate field experiences, are aligned with the standards and competencies for teachers adopted by the professional educator standards board, and are transferrable to bachelor's degree in education programs and teacher certification programs;
     (c) Bachelor's degree programs that lead to teacher certification that build on and do not duplicate the courses and competencies of transferrable associate degrees; and
     (d) Incorporation of the standards for cultural competence developed by the professional educator standards board under RCW 28A.410.270 throughout the courses and curriculum of the pathway, particularly focusing on multicultural education and principles of language acquisition.
     (3) The professional educator standards board must submit a report to the education committees of the legislature by January 10, 2015, comparing the current status of pathways for teacher certification to the elements of the articulated pathway. The report must highlight gaps and recommend strategies to address them.
     (4) The professional educator standards board and the state board for community and technical colleges may exercise their respective authorities regarding program approval to implement the articulated pathway for teacher preparation and certification under this section in approved teacher certification programs and certificate and degree programs offered by community and technical colleges.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 503   A new section is added to chapter 28B.50 RCW to read as follows:
     Beginning with the 2015-16 academic year, any community or technical college that offers an apprenticeship program or certificate program for paraeducators must provide candidates the opportunity to earn transferrable course credits within the program. The programs must also incorporate the standards for cultural competence, including multicultural education and principles of language acquisition, developed by the professional educator standards board under RCW 28A.410.270.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 504   If specific funding for the purposes of section 202 of this act, referencing section 202 of this act by bill or chapter number and section number, is not provided by June 30, 2014, in the omnibus appropriations act, section 202 of this act is null and void.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 505   If specific funding for the purposes of section 402 of this act, referencing section 402 of this act by bill or chapter number and section number, is not provided by June 30, 2014, in the omnibus appropriations act, section 402 of this act is null and void.