H-710                _______________________________________________

                                                    HOUSE BILL NO. 229

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1987 Regular Session

By Representatives Sutherland and P. King

Read first time 1/22/87 and referred to Committee on Education.

AN ACT Relating to teacher and parent cooperation pilot programs; creating new sections; and making an appropriation.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     Home and school are two important segments of a child's life.  For the child to succeed, it is important that the family and school cooperate in addressing the needs of a child.  To encourage the continued cooperation of the schools and parents the teacher visitation pilot program is created.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     The superintendent of public instruction may grant money to ten districts which apply for participation in the teacher visitation pilot program.  The pilot programs shall take place during the 1987-88 school year.  Participation by school districts, parents, administrators, principals, and teachers is voluntary.  To participate a school district must submit a grant application that includes:

          (1)  The number of visitations to be conducted by the teacher;

          (2)  Methods of obtaining consent from parents wishing to participate in the program;

          (3)  Methods of selecting teachers and principals who are willing to participate;

          (4)  Record keeping including the district policies on the confidentiality of records from the visitation; and

          (5)  Evaluation of the attitude of the participants as to the value of the program including the attitudes of parents, teachers, and building principals.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     The teacher visitation pilot program shall require that participating districts, teachers, and principals comply with the following requirements:

          (1) All visitations shall be conducted in the evening or on weekends;

          (2)  Teachers shall conduct at least two visitations to participating families spaced over the year. Each visitation shall last approximately one hour;

          (3)  Teachers shall be compensated at their regular salary rate on a supplemental contract for the time spent in the visitation including time for travel to and from the school to the student's  home;

          (4)  The building principal shall be involved in reviewing the progress of the students participating in the visitation program;

          (5)  The primary aim of the program is to allow teachers and parents to develop strategies for addressing the needs of particular students to assure they develop to the best of their abilities;

          (6)  The pilot program shall be limited to grades kindergarten through six;

          (7)  From applicant districts an effort shall be made to select large, small, urban, rural, and suburban school districts and to ensure that districts from eastern and western Washington are involved in the pilot program;

          (8)  The district shall report the results of its evaluation of the program to the superintendent of public instruction no later than July 1, 1988.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.     The superintendent of public instruction shall appoint an advisory committee composed of representatives from teachers, principals, parents, and administrators to recommend criteria and rules for the selection and administration of the teacher visitation pilot program.  The superintendent of public instruction shall report to the legislature no later than January 1, 1989, on the results of the pilot program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.     The sum of one hundred fifty thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the general fund to the superintendent of public instruction for the purposes of this act.