[atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to recognition for teachers certified by the national board for professional teaching standards; adding new sections to chapter 28A.405 RCW; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

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. Effective teachers are essential if students are to achieve the state's high academic standards. In fact, recent studies have shown that the most important factor in student achievement is effective teaching. The legislature also finds that teachers who have obtained certification from the national board for professional teaching standards have proven that they have the knowledge and skills necessary to increase student achievement. Since the board's certification process is the most rigorous process in the teaching profession, these excellent teachers have earned state recognition as well.

Research has shown that teachers with national board certification possess the characteristics of expert teaching that have emerged from the body of research on teaching and learning. To a far greater extent than noncertificated teachers, these teachers possess pedagogical content knowledge that is flexibly and innovatively employed in instruction. They are also more able than noncertificated teachers to improvise and alter instruction in response to student needs and they understand at a deeper level the reasons for student success and failure on any given academic task. In addition, these expert teachers are able to provide developmentally appropriate tasks that engage, challenge, and intrigue students but that do not bore or overwhelm them, and they are able to anticipate and plan for difficulties and can improvise when things do not run smoothly. The evaluation of student responses to teacher assignments provides compelling and consistent evidence that the learning experiences of students who are taught by nationally certificated teachers differ in profound and important ways from the experiences of students taught by less proficient teachers.

The legislature further finds that the dedicated and talented teachers who have obtained national board certification are an important resource for children and for other teachers. Nationally certified teachers who mentor beginning teachers and other interested colleagues could accelerate the rate at which those teachers become good and great educators. Yet, a sample of forty teachers certificated by the national board found that, with rare exceptions, those teachers had not noticed an increase in the use of their expertise by their school or district since the teachers had obtained certification.

Therefore, the legislature intends to provide recognition awards to teachers who have obtained national certification. The legislature further intends that the amount of these awards be continued for the duration of the certification and that those recipients who are selected to mentor their colleagues while continuing to teach children in the public schools receive an additional stipend for their mentoring duties.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.405 RCW to read as follows:

Subject to funding provided for this specific purpose, the superintendent of public instruction may provide the following types of recognition to Washington's public school teachers who have attained certification from the national board for professional teaching standards:

(1) Beginning with the 2001-02 school year, for the duration of the national certification, a five thousand dollar annual salary bonus which shall be paid in a lump sum and shall not be included in the definition of "earnable compensation" under RCW 41.32.010(10); and

(2) For the duration of the national certification, a five thousand dollar supplemental contract in any year in which a teacher is selected by his or her school district to mentor other teachers while continuing to teach in the classroom. The money shall not be included in the definition of "earnable compensation" under RCW 41.32.010(10). However, the funds in this section may not be used to provide mentor stipends to more than one teacher for every three hundred full-time equivalent students in a school.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 28A.405 RCW to read as follows:

(1) By August 1, 2004, and periodically thereafter, the Washington professional educator standards board shall review the national board certification standards to determine whether the standards are sufficiently rigorous and aligned to student achievement. The board shall also determine whether additional requirements are needed to ensure that the national standards meet the needs of Washington's students.

(2) By October 15, 2010, the Washington professional educator standards board shall report to the appropriate house of representatives and senate committees on the results and accomplishments of the salary bonuses and supplemental contracts. The report may include recommendations for the continuation, modification, or elimination of the bonuses and contracts.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Sections 1 through 3 of this act expire July 1, 2012.