BP BHEAD INT H [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to the master teacher pilot program; adding new sections to chapter 28A.405 RCW; creating a new section; making an appropriation; providing an expiration date; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that good teachers are the foundation of the state's education system. These educators are central to assuring excellence and rigor in the educational experience of every student. The legislature also finds that the state has many experienced and exemplary teachers who could help enrich the teaching experiences of other teachers in their buildings, including beginning teachers. The legislature further finds that the state lacks a career advancement structure that provides administrative level compensation packages for outstanding teachers who continue classroom teaching while they act as instructional leaders for their buildings. The legislature intends to create a pilot program designed to keep master teachers working directly with students in the classroom while they are providing instructional leadership and mentoring for other teachers in their buildings.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The master teacher pilot program is established. The purposes of the program are to:

(1) Provide exemplary teachers with career advancement opportunities to serve as master teachers while they remain in their own classrooms half time working directly with students;

(2) Provide an opportunity for experienced and exemplary teachers to help and mentor new teachers and other teachers in the building;

(3) Help beginning teachers work toward mastery of state-defined knowledge and skill standards for effective teaching;

(4) Advance school or district student learning objectives;

(5) Create master teacher selection processes that will permit master teachers to be effective instructional resources for other educators in their buildings; and

(6) Help the state design a career advancement program for educators that effectively uses and compensates the instructional skills and knowledge of master teachers, good teachers, beginning teachers, and other educators.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The master teacher pilot program shall be administered by the office of the superintendent of public instruction. The office shall design and administer the program with the assistance of an advisory committee that shall include, but need not be limited to teachers, administrators, school directors, parents, and representatives of higher education and business and labor organizations.

(2) The program shall include, but need not be limited to the following components:

(a) Master teachers shall be assigned to teach in their own classrooms half time and act as instructional leaders and mentors for other teachers in the building half time;

(b) Master teachers should have compensation levels approximately comparable to those of principals;

(c) Master teachers should be selected through processes that have the support of parents, teachers, principals, building staff, school directors, and members of the community;

(d) One master teacher may be selected for approximately every two hundred fifty students;

(e) With very limited exceptions, master teachers are not expected to assume building level administrative duties; and

(f) Master teachers will be expected to work beyond the districts' contracted days for certificated personnel.

(3) The selection criteria for master teachers shall include, but need not be limited to:

(a) The ability to demonstrate exemplary skills and knowledge about effective instructional and classroom management practices, the implementation and interpretation of student assessment strategies, and planning and instruction aligned with the essential academic learning requirements;

(b) Training and experience as a coach and mentor;

(d) A commitment to the purposes of the program.

(4) At least annually, the office shall provide or fund training specifically designed to train and support master teachers.

(5) Participation in the pilot program shall have the demonstrated support of, at a minimum, the school's board of directors, superintendent, principal, and teachers.

(6) Participating master teachers, beginning teachers, cooperating teachers, school administrators, and others involved in the pilot program shall annually evaluate the effectiveness of the program and share with the office of the superintendent of public instruction information on the role of master teachers in the school, any results from the program, and any recommendations for program improvements.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The duties of master teachers should include, but need not be limited to:

(1) Observing and providing feedback to other teachers in the building;

(2) Conducting demonstration classes;

(3) Working with teachers to develop specific knowledge and skills that improve student learning;

(4) Working with teachers to measure and analyze improvements in student learning;

(5) Assisting other mentors, beginning teachers, and cooperating teachers;

(6) Working with other teachers in the building on school and district student learning objectives;

(7) Working with teachers to formulate clear plans with specific benchmarks and improvement indicators over time for the improvement of knowledge and skills. The knowledge and skills should be based on state-wide standards for effective teaching practices; and

(8) Instructing students half time.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) By May 31, 2000, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall provide to interested school districts a preliminary program design including a process for the selection of pilot schools for the 2000-01 school year. The program design shall incorporate, at a minimum, the provisions of sections 2 and 3 of this act, and any additional requirements contained in this section or any act containing an appropriation for the program.

(2) By August 1, 2000, to the extent that funding is provided through appropriation for this purpose, the office of the superintendent of public instruction, with the assistance of the advisory committee created in section 3 of this act, and subject to the following conditions, shall select pilot schools for the 2000-01 school year.

(a) The process used to select pilot schools shall be reviewed in advance by the advisory committee.

(b) Each participating school may select a maximum of two master teachers.

(c) The pilot schools, to the extent feasible, shall include at least one elementary school, one middle or junior high school, and one high school, and shall be geographically and demographically varied.

(d) Master teachers shall be appointed for approximately an eleven-month to one-year period.

(e) Master teachers shall receive the full-time salary to which they would normally be entitled as certificated teachers plus an additional stipend of ten thousand dollars.

(3) By September 30, 2000, pilot schools shall select their master teachers and commence the program.

(4) By December 1, 2000, the office shall provide to the governor and appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the house of representatives and the senate a preliminary report on the program. The report shall include an estimate of the number of schools that wish to participate during the 2001-03 biennium, the approximate cost of funding participation of interested schools, and any recommendations for program improvements. The report may include estimates of the cost of phasing-in additional participation in the program. The report, or a subsequent report, shall include one or more possible designs for articulated, educator career advancement programs that create opportunities for and recognize the skills and contributions of paraprofessional, beginning teachers, good teachers, and master teachers.

(5) By December 1, 2006, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall provide to the governor and the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the house of representatives and the senate a final report on the master teacher pilot program. The report shall include an analysis of the effectiveness of the program for improving both student learning and the teaching experiences of teachers in pilot schools. The report shall also include the findings and recommendations of the office and of the advisory committee for continuation, modification, or elimination of the program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. Sections 2 through 5 of this act are each added to chapter 28A.405 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Sections 1 through 5 of this act expire June 30, 2007.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The sum of two hundred fifty dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001, from the general fund to the office of the superintendent of public instruction for the purposes of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.