AN ACT Relating to standards for educator quality; adding new sections to chapter 28A.410 RCW; creating new sections; repealing RCW 28A.410.020; and declaring an emergency.

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

PART 1

PROFESSIONAL EDUCATOR STANDARDS BOARD

NEW SECTION. Sec. 101. INTENT. The legislature finds and declares:

(1) Creation of a public, rule-making body whose focus is educator assessment would be likely to bring greater focus and attention to the profession;

(2) Professional educator standards boards are consumer protection boards, establishing assessment policies to ensure the public that its practitioners are competent;

(3) The highest possible standards for all educators are essential in ensuring attainment of high academic standards by all students;

(4) Teacher assessment for certification can guard against admission to the teaching profession of persons who have not demonstrated that they are knowledgeable in the subjects they will be assigned to teach; and

(5) Teacher assessment for certification should be implemented as an additional element to the system of teacher preparation and certification.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 102. A new section is added to chapter 28A.410 RCW to read as follows:

WASHINGTON PROFESSIONAL EDUCATOR STANDARDS BOARD. (1) The Washington professional educator standards board is created, consisting of twenty members to be appointed by the governor to four-year terms. No person may serve as a member of the board for more than two consecutive full terms. The governor shall annually appoint the chair of the board from among the teachers and administrators on the board. No board member may serve as chair for more than two consecutive years.

(2) Seven of the members shall be public school teachers, one shall be a private school teacher, three shall represent higher education educator preparation programs, four shall be school administrators, two shall be educational staff associates, one shall be a parent, and one shall be a member of the public. The superintendent of public instruction shall be an ex officio, nonvoting member.

(3) Public school teachers appointed to the board must:

(a) Have at least three years of teaching experience in a Washington public school;

(b) Be currently certificated and actively employed in a teaching position; and

(c) Include one teacher currently teaching at the elementary school level, one at the middle school level, one at the high school level, and one vocationally certificated.

(4) Private school teachers appointed to the board must:

(a) Have at least three years of teaching experience in a Washington private school; and

(b) Be currently certificated and actively employed in a teaching position.

(5) Appointees from higher education educator preparation programs must include one representative from an institution of higher education as defined in RCW 28B.10.016 and one representative from a Washington private institution of higher education.

(6) School administrators appointed to the board must:

(a) Have at least three years of administrative experience in a Washington public school district;

(b) Be currently certificated and actively employed in a school administrator position; and

(7) Educational staff associates appointed to the board must:

(a) Have at least three years of educational staff associate experience in a Washington public school district; and

(b) Be currently certificated and actively employed in an educational staff associate position.

(8) The governor shall appoint the members of the board from a list of qualified nominees submitted to the governor by organizations representative of the constituencies of the board, from applications from other qualified individuals, or from both nominees and applicants.

(9) All appointments to the board made by the governor shall be subject to confirmation by the senate.

(10) The governor shall appoint the members of the initial board no later than June 1, 2000.

(11) Board members shall represent the racial, geographic, and gender diversity of the state.

(12) Each member of the board shall be compensated in accordance with RCW 43.03.240 and shall be reimbursed for travel expenses incurred in carrying out the duties of the board in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

(13) The governor may remove a member of the board for neglect of duty, misconduct, malfeasance or misfeasance in office, or for incompetency or unprofessional conduct as defined in chapter 18.130 RCW. In such a case, the governor shall file with the secretary of state a statement of the causes for and the order of removal from office, and the secretary of state shall send a certified copy of the statement of causes and order of removal to the last known post office address of the member.

(14) If a vacancy occurs on the board, the governor shall appoint a replacement member from the nominees as specified in subsection (8) of this section to fill the remainder of the unexpired term.

(15) Members of the board shall hire an executive director and an administrative assistant to reside in the office of the superintendent of public instruction for administrative purposes only.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 103. A new section is added to chapter 28A.410 RCW to read as follows:

POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE BOARD. The Washington professional educator standards board shall:

(1) Serve as the sole advisory body to the state board of education on issues related to educator recruitment, hiring, preparation, certification including high quality alternate routes to certification, mentoring and support, professional growth, retention, and governance; and

(2) Submit annual reports, beginning December 1, 2000, to the governor and the legislature concerning duties and activities within the board's advisory capacity. The Washington professional educator standards board shall submit a separate report by December 1, 2000, to the governor and the legislature, providing recommendations for at least two high quality alternate routes to teacher certification.

PART 2

TEACHER ASSESSMENT

NEW SECTION. Sec. 201. A new section is added to chapter 28A.410 RCW to read as follows:

(1)(a) Beginning not later than September 1, 2001, the Washington professional educator standards board shall make available a means of assessing an applicant's knowledge in the basic skills. For the purposes of this section, "basic skills" means the subjects of at least reading, writing, and mathematics. Beginning August 1, 2002, passing this assessment shall be required for admission to approved teacher preparation programs and for persons from out-of-state applying for a Washington state residency teaching certificate.

(b) On an individual student basis, approved teacher preparation programs may admit into their programs a candidate who has not achieved the minimum basic skills assessment score established by the Washington professional educator standards board. Individuals so admitted may not receive residency certification without passing the basic skills assessment under this section.

(c) The Washington professional educator standards board by rule shall establish criteria to ensure that persons from out-of-state who are applying for residency certification can demonstrate to the board's satisfaction that they have the requisite basic skills based upon having completed another basic skills assessment acceptable to the Washington professional educator standards board or by some other alternative approved by the Washington professional educator standards board.

(2) Beginning not later than September 1, 2002, the Washington professional educator standards board shall provide for the initial implementation of a means of assessing an applicant's knowledge in the subjects for which the applicant has applied for an endorsement to his or her residency or professional certificate. The assessment of subject knowledge shall not include instructional methodology. Beginning May 1, 2003, passing this assessment for the applicable endorsements shall be required to receive a residency certificate and for candidates desiring to add an endorsement to their residency or professional teaching certificate.

(3) On each of the assessments under subsections (1) and (2) of this section, an applicant must achieve a minimum assessment score or scores established by the Washington professional educator standards board.

(4) The Washington professional educator standards board and superintendent of public instruction, as determined by the Washington professional educator standards board, may contract with one or more third parties for:

(a) The development, purchase, administration, scoring, and reporting of scores of the assessments established by the Washington professional educator standards board under subsections (1) and (2) of this section;

(b) Related clerical and administrative activities; or

(5) Unless funds are appropriated for the costs associated with any of the assessments under this section, applicants for admission to a Washington teacher preparation program and applicants for residency teaching certificates shall pay fees established by the Washington professional educator standards board for initial assessments, reassessments, scoring of assessments, reporting of assessment scores, and clerical and administrative activities related thereto. Such fees shall be reasonably related to the direct and indirect costs of the Washington professional educator standards board and superintendent of public instruction in implementing subsections (1) and (2) of this section, including contractual costs.

(6) Fee revenues received by the superintendent of public instruction under this section shall be deposited in the teacher assessment account hereby created in the custody of the state treasurer. Moneys deposited in the account shall be expended exclusively for the direct and indirect costs of implementing this section. Only the superintendent of public instruction or the superintendent's designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is subject to the allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is required for disbursement.

(7) The superintendent of public instruction is responsible for supervision and providing support services to administer this section.

(8) The Washington professional educator standards board shall collaboratively select or develop and implement the assessments and minimum assessment scores required under this section with the superintendent of public instruction and shall provide opportunities for representatives of other interested educational organizations to participate in the selection or development and implementation of such assessments in a manner deemed appropriate by the Washington professional educator standards board.

(9) The Washington professional educator standards board shall adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW that it determines are reasonably necessary for the effective and efficient implementation of this section. The board may adopt rules allowing exceptions from taking any of the assessments under this section on a case-by-case basis. Appropriate accommodations shall be made for individuals who have learning or other disabilities.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 202. A new section is added to chapter 28A.410 RCW to read as follows:

The Washington professional educator standards board shall report the proposed assessments to the legislative education committees for review and comment prior to implementing the assessments by contractual agreement with the selected vendor or vendors.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 203. A new section is added to chapter 28A.410 RCW to read as follows:

(1) By December 1, 2003, and annually thereafter, the Washington professional educator standards board shall prepare a report that includes the following information:

(a) The range of scores on the basic skills assessment under section 201(1) of this act for persons who passed the assessment and were admitted to a Washington preparation program; and

(b) The range of scores on the subject assessments under section 201(2) of this act for persons who passed the assessments and earned an endorsement.

(2) The information under subsection (1) of this section shall be reported for the individual public and private colleges and universities in Washington, as well as reported on an aggregate basis. The report shall also include results disaggregated demographically. The report shall include information on the number and percentage of candidates exempted from assessments, demographic information on candidates exempted, institutions attended and endorsements sought by exempted candidates, and reasons for exclusion from the required assessments. The report shall be made available through the state library, on the website of the office of superintendent of public instruction, and placed on the legislative alert list.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 204. RCW 28A.410.020 (Requirements for admission to teacher preparation programs--Rules) and 1996 c 309 s 1, 1991 c 116 s 20, 1988 c 251 s 4, & 1987 c 525 s 202, as now or hereafter amended, are each repealed, effective September 1, 2002.

PART 3

MISCELLANEOUS

NEW SECTION. Sec. 301. PART HEADINGS AND SECTION CAPTIONS NOT LAW. Part headings and section captions used in this act are not any part of the law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 302. 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.