Background: Professional Educator Standards Board. Established by the Legislature in 2000, the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) is a 12-member board that adopts rules and creates policies for the preparation and certification of educators. PESB's statutory duties include the following:

establishing policies and practices for the approval of programs of courses, requirements, and other activities leading to educator certification, such as for teachers and school administrators; and
specifying the types and kinds of educator certificates to be issued and the conditions for certification.

Administrator Certificates. Washington has two levels of certification for administrators, principals, and program administrators — residency and professional. To obtain a residency administrator certificate, applicants must complete an approved administrator preparation program, have documented successful school-based experience in an instructional role with students, and hold, or have held, a valid residency or professional teacher or educational staff associate certificate. To obtain a professional administrator certificate, applicants must hold a residency administrator certificate, complete an approved professional administrator certificate program, and complete coursework in issues of abuse. In addition, principals must have documentation of three contracted school years of employment as a principal or assistant principal.

There is currently no national principal certificate.

Teacher Certificates. Washington also has two levels of certification for classroom teachers — residency and professional. To obtain a residency teacher certificate, applicants must complete an approved teacher preparation program and pass a basic skills test and a content knowledge test. To obtain a professional teacher certificate, applicants must either: (1) have at least two years of successful teaching experience and complete the ProTeach Portfolio, an external, uniform assessment adopted by PESB; or (2) have at least three years of experience and become certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, which offers a voluntary advanced teaching credential.

Educational service districts may offer programs leading to professional certification. PESB must encourage institutions of higher education and educational service districts to partner with school districts to provide instruction for teachers seeking professional certification. However, PESB may not require teachers to enroll in a professional certification program to become eligible for the professional certificate.

ProTeach Portfolio. Legislation adopted in 2007 required PESB to set performance standards and develop, pilot, and implement a uniform and externally administered professional-level certification assessment based on demonstrated teaching skill. The assessment, called the ProTeach Portfolio, was developed by a team of Washington educators facilitated by a nonprofit with expertise in assessment development, implementation, and administration.

The ProTeach Portfolio measures the three standards and 12 criteria for professional certification established by PESB. The portfolio consists of three entries (1) professional growth and contributions, (2) building a learning community, and (3) curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Teachers must submit evidence for each entry, in the form of artifacts and student work samples, and must include written commentary to explain the interactions with the students by whom the student work was generated. A 2016 report from PESB states that about 83 percent of teachers pass the ProTeach Portfolio.

Professional Certificate Renewal. There are a variety of options available for professional certificate renewal, depending on the type of certificate and when it was issued. Some teachers and administrators have the option, or are required, to create four annual Professional Growth Plans (PGPs) over a five-year period. PGPs are a plan that an educator intends to implement for growth over the coming year. Some teachers can use the PGP option, accumulate 150 continuing education clock-hours in five years, or combine the options to renew the professional certificate. Teachers who earned a professional certificate by obtaining a National Board Certificate may renew the certificate by renewing the National Board Certificate.

Summary of Bill: Certification of Teachers and Principals. By September 1, 2017, teachers and principals with at least two years of experience, who hold or have held a residency certificate but have not obtained a professional certificate, may renew their residency certificate in five-year intervals by completing ten credits or 100 clock-hours.

The Professional Educator Collaborative. The Professional Educator Collaborative (Collaborative) is established to make recommendations on how to improve and strengthen state policies, programs, and pathways that lead to highly effective educators at each level of the public school system. The Collaborative must examine issues related to educator recruitment, certification, retention, professional learning and development, leadership, and evaluation for effectiveness. The examination must consider what barriers and deterrents hinder the recruitment and retention of professional educators, including those from underrepresented populations. The Collaborative must also consider what incentives and supports could be provided at each stage of an educator's career to produce a more effective educational system.

The members of the Collaborative must include representatives from the Legislature, education agencies, educator preparation programs, and educator associations. Staff support for the Collaborative must be provided by PESB, and other state agencies, including the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, as requested by the Collaborative.

The Collaborative must contract with a nonprofit, nonpartisan institute that conducts education policy research and meets certain specified criteria for the purpose of consultation and guidance on developing meeting agendas and materials, facilitating meetings, documenting collaborative discussions and recommendations, locating and summarizing useful policy and research documents, and drafting required reports.

By November 1, 2018, the Collaborative must submit a preliminary report to the Legislature that makes recommendations on specific educator certificate types, tiers, and renewal issues. By November 1, 2019, the Collaborative must submit a final report to the Legislature that makes recommendations on additional issues.

Miscellaneous. Technical changes are made, including removing provisions related to expired reporting requirements and preparation programs for professional teacher certification that are no longer necessary.