Brief Summary of Bill

Directs the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB), and the Department of Early Learning (DEL) to develop and administer the following two-year grant programs, respectively: the K-12 dual language (DL) grant program, the grow your own bilingual educator grant program, and the early learning DL grant program.
Requires the OSPI, PESB, and DEL to submit a combined report to the Legislature that details the successes, best practices, lessons learned, and outcomes of the grant programs, and the results of a third-party evaluation.
Specifies that the OSPI must facilitate DL learning cohorts for school districts and state-tribal compact schools establishing or expanding DL programs, including technical assistance and support to recipients of the K-12 DL grants.
Requires the DEL to work with community partners to support outreach and education for parents and families around the benefits of native language development and retention, as well as the benefits of DL learning, create culturally responsive resources on DL learning, and support DL learning communities for teachers and coaches.

Background:

Public Schools. The common schools are the kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) schools maintained at public expense in each school district. Public schools include the common schools, charter schools, and other K-12 schools established by law and maintained at public expense, for example the state-tribal compact schools. There are currently four schools operated under a state-tribal education compact.

Dual Language Programs. A dual language (DL) program is an instructional model that provides content-based instruction to students in two languages, generally English and a target language other than English spoken in the local community, for example Spanish, Somali, Vietnamese, Russian, Arabic, native languages, or indigenous languages. The goal of DL programs is usually for the students, over a number of years of participation in the program, to become proficient and literate in both languages, while also meeting high academic standards in all subject areas. Typically, the programs begin at kindergarten or first grade and continue through elementary school, and, if possible, into middle school or high school.

A number of DL programs currently exist in school districts throughout Washington including: Bellevue, Evergreen, Highline, Kennewick, Mount Vernon, North Shore, Pasco, Seattle, Vancouver, Wenatchee, and Yakima. These programs offer instruction in Spanish, Japanese, or Mandarin Chinese.

In 2015, the biennial operating budget provided the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) with funds to implement a K-12 DL expansion grant program for the purpose of building and expanding well-implemented, sustainable DL programs. Two-year grants were awarded to five school districts. The Bethel, Selah, and Mabton school districts were awarded $50,000 each per year for two years to develop and expand their newly implemented DL programs with the guidance of the mentor districts. The Wenatchee school district was awarded $30,000 per year for two years to mentor the Selah and Mabton school districts. And the Bellevue school district was awarded $20,000 per year for two years to mentor the Bethel school district.

Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program. The state preschool program is called the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP). The stated goal of the ECEAP is to help ensure children enter kindergarten ready to succeed. Children are eligible for ECEAP if they are from families with annual incomes at or below 110 percent of the federal poverty level – $26,730 for a family of four, qualify for school district special education services, or have developmental or environmental risk factors that could affect school success. Although the ECEAP prioritizes children who are 4 years old, children who are 3 years old are also eligible for the program.

Approved ECEAPs receive state-funded support through the Department of Early Learning (DEL). Public or private nonsectarian organizations, including school districts, community and technical colleges, local governments, and nonprofit organizations may contract with the DEL to become an ECEAP provider.

Dual Language Teachers. The Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB), a 13-member board, establishes the policies and requirements for the preparation and certification of educators, including approval of endorsements. An endorsement is the subject area in which a certified educator is authorized to teach, along with designated grade levels for that area. There are around 40 endorsements in Washington, not including a large number of career and technical education endorsements. In addition to subjects, such as math, science, English, and history, there are approved endorsements in bilingual education and English language learners (ELL), both for all grade levels. In the 2014-15 school year, the PESB-approved teacher preparation programs had four new teachers complete the bilingual education endorsement and 186 complete the ELL endorsement.

Summary of Bill:

The OSPI, the PESB, and the DEL are directed to develop and administer the following grant programs, respectively: the K-12 DL grant program, the grow your own bilingual educator grant program, and the early learning DL grant program. Each agency must identify criteria for awarding the grants, evaluate applicants, and award grant money. Each agency may adopt rules to implement the necessary provisions.

At the end of the two-year grant period, the grantees must work with the agencies to draft a report to the Legislature. By December 1, 2019, the OSPI, PESB, and DEL must submit a combined report to the Legislature that details the successes, best practices, lessons learned, and outcomes of the grant programs, and the results of a third-party evaluation. The agencies must collaboratively select the third-party evaluator to determine how the early learning and K-12 education systems have met the goals of each grant program and expanded their capacities to support DL models of instruction because of the act, that is, how many more children were educated in DL classrooms as a result of the grants.

K-12 Dual Language Grant Program

The K-12 DL grant program is created to grow capacity for high quality DL programs in the common schools and in state-tribal compact schools. For the purpose of the K-12 grant program: Two-way DL programs begin with a balanced number of native and nonnative speakers of the target language so that both groups of students serve in the role of language modeler and language learner at different times, and one-way DL programs serve only nonnative English speakers.

Minimum application requirements are specified, including a description of how the program will serve the applicant's ELL population, the applicant's plan for student enrollment and outreach to families who speak the target language, and the applicant's commitment to, and plan for, sustaining a DL program beyond the grant period. The OSPI must notify school districts and state-tribal compact schools of the K-12 grant program and provide ample time for the application process.

By October 1, 2017, the OSPI must award ten, two-year grants of up to $200,000 each to school districts or state-tribal compact schools interested in establishing or expanding a two-way DL program, or a one-way DL program in a school with predominantly ELL students. The OSPI must provide a bonus of up to $20,000 to applicants proposing to establish a DL program in a target language other than Spanish. The grant money must be used for DL program start-up and expansion costs, for example staff training, teacher recruitment, and development and implementation of DL curriculum, but not for ongoing program costs.

The OSPI must, within existing resources, facilitate DL learning cohorts for school districts and state-tribal compact schools establishing or expanding DL program, including technical assistance and support to the grant program grantees.

Grow Your Own Bilingual Educator Grant Program.

The bilingual educator grant program is created to support and recruit a pipeline of talented teachers who are invested in their local communities, can diversify the educator workforce, and fill the bilingual teacher shortage.

By September 1, 2017, the PESB must award ten, two-year grants of up to $100,000 each to school districts or state-tribal compact schools interested in supporting and recruiting community members to become bilingual teachers. Minimum application requirements are specified, including whether the applicant has the infrastructure to support bilingual education through a bilingual teacher pipeline.

The grant money must be used for a teacher advancement position, within a school district, state-tribal compact school, or community-based organization, that provides recruitment, support, and coordination for the grow your own bilingual educator pipeline. The PESB must encourage grantees to partner with community-based organizations that represent the local community.

The PESB must coordinate with, and provide technical assistance to, school districts and state-tribal compact schools to develop grow your own bilingual educator pipelines.

Early Learning Dual Language Grant Program.

The early learning DL grant program is created to grow capacity for high quality DL learning in the ECEAP in order to better meet the needs of ELL students.

By September 1, 2017, the DEL must award ten, two-year grants of up to $100,000 each to ECEAP contractors interested in establishing or converting to a DL program. Minimum application requirements are specified, including how the DL early learning program will reflect the languages spoken in the classroom, the school, and the community, and the plan for student enrollment and outreach to families who speak the target language.

The DEL must work with community partners to support outreach and education for parents and families around the benefits of native language development and retention, as well as the benefits of DL learning. Native language means the language normally used by an individual or, in the case of a child or youth, the language normally used by the parents or family of the child or youth. Within existing resources, the DEL must create culturally responsive training and professional development resources on DL learning, such as supporting ELL students, working in culturally and linguistically diverse communities,strategies for family engagement; and must support DL learning communities for teachers and coaches.