H-681                _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1750

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Representatives Dorn, Rasmussen, Pruitt, Holland, Brumsickle, Betrozoff, R. Meyers, Heavey, Anderson, Ferguson, Basich, Wang and Doty

Read first time 2/3/89 and referred to Committee on Education.

AN ACT Relating to foreign language instruction; and adding new sections to chapter 28A.125 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     (1) In a world where it is essential that the citizens of one country understand other countries, it is essential that we encourage our citizens to learn the languages of the nations with which we trade and who are our partners in the world job market.  This should include a special emphasis on the language of the Pacific Rim nations including, but not limited to the languages of Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese.

          (2) All school districts shall conduct a study to determine how they may incorporate at least one of the languages of the Pacific Rim nations in their foreign language curriculum.  The reports shall be submitted to the superintendent of public instruction no later than November 1, 1989.  The report shall include the selection of the Pacific Rim language that shall be incorporated in the school district curriculum by September 1, 1991, and the procedure by which a district will hire or acquire  a teacher for the foreign language selected.  Districts that already offer a Pacific Rim language are required to report on the programs that already exist in their districts.  The superintendent of public instruction shall compile the reports and make a summary report to the legislature no later than January 20, 1990.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     The foreign language incentive scholarship program is created to provide scholarships to teachers selected by school districts to obtain training and an endorsement in a Pacific Rim language.  School districts shall apply for such funding to the superintendent of public instruction.  Scholarships for individual teachers shall not exceed two thousand dollars per year for a maximum of three years.  The superintendent of public instruction is authorized to adopt rules to carry out the purposes of sections 1 and 2 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     Sections 1 and 2 of this act are each added to chapter 28A.125 RCW.