H-255                _______________________________________________

                                                    HOUSE BILL NO. 871

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1987 Regular Session

By Representatives Holm, Ebersole, Cole, Allen, Pruitt, Cooper, Brough, May, Rayburn, Wineberry and Schoon

Read first time 2/13/87 and referred to Committee on Education.

AN ACT Relating to teachers; and adding a new section to chapter 28A.70 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 28A.70 RCW to read as follows:

          (1) Commencing on February 1, 1988, the state board of education shall not issue initially any certificate or renewal of an emergency certificate to any person to serve in the public schools unless the person has demonstrated proficiency by taking a basic skills proficiency test in basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills in the English language.  However, an emergency certificate holder who has passed the basic skills proficiency test shall not be required to repeat the test in order to obtain a renewal of his or her emergency certificate.  The board shall exempt from the test requirement a person certificated in another state who is an applicant for employment in a school district in this state who has passed a basic skills proficiency examination which has been developed and administered by the school district offering that person employment.  Such a applicant shall be granted a nonrenewable emergency certificate, valid for not longer than one year, pending fulfillment of the basic skills proficiency test requirement.  The board shall report to the legislature no later than January 1, 1990, on the number of teachers receiving emergency certificates without fulfilling the basic skills proficiency test requirement, the districts in which these teachers are employed, the number of teachers granted clear credentials after the expiration of an emergency certificate granted under these conditions, and a comparison of success rate of these teachers on the basic skills test with the success rate of the general pool of certificate applicants.

          (2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require certificated personnel employed under a foreign exchange program to take the state basic skills proficiency test.  The maximum period of exemption under this subsection shall be one year.

          (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a school district may hire a certificated teacher who has not taken the state basic skills proficiency test if that person has not yet been afforded the opportunity to take the test.  The person shall then take the test at the earliest opportunity and may remain employed by the district pending the receipt of his or her test results.

          (4) The board shall require that each applicant for a certificate issued by the board, unless exempted, take the state basic skills proficiency test for diagnostic purposes.  Each applicant shall take the test no later than the deadline for the submission of his or her application for entrance to a  program of education qualifying a candidate to apply for a teaching certificate.  Test results shall be forwarded to each Washington postsecondary institution to which the applicant has applied.

          (5) By December 31, 1988, the board shall adopt an appropriate state test to measure proficiency in these basic skills.  In adopting the test, the superintendent shall seek assistance from an advisory board.  A majority of the members of the advisory board shall be classroom teachers.  The board shall also include representatives of local school boards, school administrators, parents, and postsecondary institutions.  The board shall adopt any normed test that the board determines will sufficiently test basic skills for purposes of this section.  The board, in conjunction with approved teacher training institutions, shall take steps necessary to insure the effective implementation of this section.

          (6) The board shall compile data regarding the rate of passing the state basic skills proficiency test by persons who have been trained in various postsecondary institutions.

          (7) The board shall administer the state basic skills proficiency test in accordance with rules adopted by the board.  The board shall adopt rules to implement this section by January 1, 1988.

          (8) A fee shall be charged to individuals being tested to cover the costs of the test, including the costs of developing, administering, and grading the test.  The board shall establish the amount of this fee.  However, the fee shall not exceed forty dollars.

          (9) Any individual who passes the state basic skills proficiency test, as adopted by the board, shall be considered proficient in the skills of reading, writing, and mathematics.  Any individual who passes one or more components of the state basic skills proficiency test in the subjects of basic reading, writing, or mathematics, shall be deemed to have demonstrated his or her proficiency in these subject areas and shall not be required to be retested in these subjects during subsequent test administrations.