SENATE BILL REPORT

SHB 2590

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Brief Summary of Bill

Requires the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) to compile information and data on the Transitional Bilingual Instruction Program (TBIP), and on preparation of teachers and paraeducators with specialties in bilingual education and/or English language learners.
Requires that the information and data collected be presented to the Legislature by December 15, 2018.

Background: The TBIP. The TBIP provides supplemental instruction to English-learning students, and is part of Washington's program of basic education. Students are eligible for TBIP if their primary language is not English, and their English language skills are deficient enough to impair learning. A student's primary language is the language that is most often used for communication in the student's home.

According to OSPI, TBIP students learn language concepts and knowledge in their primary language at the same time that they receive instruction in English. TBIP students take tests in English, and are measured on improvement in English skills at the end of each school year.

In the 2016-17 school year, TBIP served 134,014 students, who spoke 225 different home languages. Sixty-five percent of these students use Spanish as their primary language.

Bilingual Education and English Language Learner Specialties. Teaching certification and endorsement standards are established in Washington by the PESB. The PESB grants endorsements to teachers in approximately 40 areas, authorizing them to teach in specific subjects.

The PESB grants endorsements in bilingual education and English language learner (ELL) for all grade levels. In the 2015-16 school year, PESB-approved teacher preparation programs graduated 12 teachers with a bilingual education endorsement and 306 teachers with an ELL endorsement.

Beginning in the 2019-20 school year, teachers in TBIP must have a bilingual education endorsement, an ELL endorsement, or both.

Starting September 1, 2018, paraeducators may earn a subject matter certificate in ELL by completing 20 hours of professional development in ELL and fulfilling any other requirements adopted by the Paraeducator Board. These certificates expire after five years.

Summary of Bill: OSPI and PESB must compile information on TBIP program data from the 2017-18 school year and present it to the education committees of the Legislature by December 15, 2018. This information includes:

the number of eligible pupils;
the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) classroom teachers with and without endorsements in bilingual education or ELL;
the number of FTE paraeducators;
classroom teacher applicants with an endorsement in these areas;
the number of vacant FTE teacher and paraeducator positions in these areas; and
barriers to hiring classroom teachers with endorsements in bilingual education or ELL.

In addition, OSPI and PESB must collect data from the 2017-18 school year from each community and technical college and teacher-preparation program, including:

the number of students in the pipeline to become teachers or paraeducators with endorsements in bilingual education or ELL; and
the barriers to developing a pipeline for preparing teachers and paraeducators in these areas, if the schools do not have one.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony: PRO: Currently, paraeducators perform most of the instruction of English-language learning students, when this instruction should be done by certificated staff. There is not sufficient data on instruction in these areas, and more data will help address gaps in instruction that currently exists. The bill aligns with federal civil rights and education law.