HOUSE BILL ANALYSIS

                 ESSB 6462

Title:  An act relating to salary bonuses for teachers attaining certification by the national  board for professional teaching standards.

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Brief Description:  Providing a salary bonus for teachers receiving national board for professional teaching standards certification.

Sponsors:  Senators McAuliffe, Kohl‑Welles, Eide, Brown, Rasmussen, Bauer, Goings, Patterson, Winsley and Jacobsen; by request of Governor Locke.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Meeting Date:  February 21, 2000

Bill Analysis Prepared by:  Susan Morrissey (786-7111).

Background:  The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that provides advanced, voluntary certification for experienced teachers.  The board was created to provide the teaching profession a method for recognizing highly accomplished teaching practices.  A certificate awarded by the board is intended to show that a teacher has been judged by his or her peers as one who meets high and rigorous professional standards. The NBPTS is governed by a 63 member board of directors, of whom a majority are classroom teachers.  The organization is funded through gifts and grants from foundations, corporations, individuals, the U.S. Department of Education, and the National Science Foundation.

The board certifies teachers in 21 fields using a rigorous process of assessment and evaluation, for which those seeking certification pay a fee.  The standards used in the process are developed by committees of teachers and other experts, and structured around student developmental levels and subject areas.  There are about 28 educators teaching in Washington who have obtained NBPTS certification. 

The 1999-00 biennial budget provided funding for a 15 percent salary bonus for teachers who obtained NBPTS certification before or during the 1999-2000 school year.  The bonus was intended to provide recognition for the teachers' outstanding performance.   The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) was directed to establish a competitive selection process for teachers who applied for a bonus after September 1, 1999.  The process was intended to ensure that the number of bonuses requested did not exceed the 45 bonuses funded through the budget for the 2000-01 school year.  In addition, the budget required OSPI to establish an advisory committee to review the NBPTS standards to determine whether additional requirements are needed to align the board's standards with the state's standards for students and teachers under education reform.

Summary:  In addition to their standard salaries, teachers who have attained NBPTS certification will receive a bonus; however, the timing and amount of the bonus is subject to funding by the Legislature.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note:  None

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of the session in which bill is passed.