Read first time 03/21/2003.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     AN ACT Relating to alternative route teacher certification; and amending RCW 28A.660.020, 28A.660.030, and 28A.660.050.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 28A.660.020 and 2001 c 158 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Each district or consortia of school districts applying for ((state funds through this)) the alternative route certification program shall submit a proposal to the Washington professional educator standards board specifying:
     (a) The route or routes the partnership program intends to offer and a detailed description of how the routes will be structured and operated by the partnership;
     (b) The number of candidates that will be enrolled per route;
     (c) An identification, indication of commitment, and description of the role of approved teacher preparation programs that are partnering with the district or consortia of districts;
     (d) An assurance of district provision of adequate training for mentor teachers either through participation in a state mentor training academy or district-provided training that meets state-established mentor-training standards specific to the mentoring of alternative route candidates;
     (e) An assurance that significant time will be provided for mentor teachers to spend with the alternative route teacher candidates throughout the internship. Partnerships must provide each candidate with intensive classroom mentoring until such time as the candidate demonstrates the competency necessary to manage the classroom with less intensive supervision and guidance from a mentor;
     (f) A description of the rigorous screening process for applicants to alternative route programs, including entry requirements specific to each route, as provided in RCW 28A.660.040; and
     (g) The design and use of a teacher development plan for each candidate. The plan shall specify the alternative route coursework and training required of each candidate and shall be developed by comparing the candidate's prior experience and coursework with the state's new performance-based standards for residency certification and adjusting any requirements accordingly. The plan may include the following components:
     (i) A minimum of one-half of a school year, and an additional significant amount of time if necessary, of intensive mentorship, starting with full-time mentoring and progressing to increasingly less intensive monitoring and assistance as the intern demonstrates the skills necessary to take over the classroom with less intensive support. For route one and two candidates, before the supervision is diminished, the mentor of the teacher candidate at the school and the supervisor of the teacher candidate from the higher education teacher preparation program must both agree that the teacher candidate is ready to manage the classroom with less intensive supervision. For route three candidates, the mentor of the teacher candidate shall make the decision;
     (ii) Identification of performance indicators based on the knowledge and skills standards required for residency certification by the state board of education;
     (iii) Identification of benchmarks that will indicate when the standard is met for all performance indicators;
     (iv) A description of strategies for assessing candidate performance on the benchmarks;
     (v) Identification of one or more tools to be used to assess a candidate's performance once the candidate has been in the classroom for about one-half of a school year; and
     (vi) A description of the criteria that would result in residency certification after about one-half of a school year but before the end of the program.
     (2) ((Districts may apply for program funds to pay stipends to both mentor teachers and interns during their mentored internship. For both intern stipends and accompanying mentor stipends, the per intern district request for funds may not exceed the amount designated by the BA+0 cell on the statewide teacher salary allocation schedule. This amount shall be prorated for internships and mentorships that last less than a full school year. Interns in the program for a full year shall be provided a stipend of at least eighty percent of the amount generated by the BA+0 cell on the statewide teacher salary allocation schedule. This amount shall be prorated for internships that last less than a full school year)) To the extent funds are appropriated for this purpose, districts may apply for program funds to pay stipends to trained mentor teachers of interns during the mentored internship. The per intern amount of mentor stipend shall not exceed five hundred dollars.

Sec. 2   RCW 28A.660.030 and 2001 c 158 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The professional educator standards board, with support from the office of the superintendent of public instruction, shall select school districts and consortia of school districts to receive partnership grants from funds appropriated by the legislature for this purpose. Factors to be considered in selecting proposals include, but are not limited to:
     (a) The degree to which the district, or consortia of districts in partnership, are currently experiencing teacher shortages;
     (b) The degree to which the proposal addresses criteria specified in RCW 28A.660.020 and is in keeping with specifications of program routes in RCW 28A.660.040;
     (c) The cost-effectiveness of the proposed program; and
     (d) Any demonstrated district and in-kind contributions to the program.
     (2) Selection of proposals shall also take into consideration the need to ensure an adequate number of candidates for each type of route in order to evaluate their success.
     (3) Funds appropriated for the partnership grant program in this chapter shall be administered by the office of the superintendent of public instruction.

Sec. 3   RCW 28A.660.050 and 2001 c 158 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
     The alternative route conditional scholarship program is created under the following guidelines:
     (1) The program shall be administered by the higher education coordinating board. In administering the program, the higher education coordinating board has the following powers and duties:
     (a) To adopt necessary rules and develop guidelines to administer the program;
     (b) To collect and manage repayments from participants who do not meet their service obligations; and
     (c) To accept grants and donations from public and private sources for the program.
     (2) Participation in the alternative route conditional scholarship program is limited to ((classified staff in routes one and two)) interns of the partnership grant programs under RCW 28A.660.040. The Washington professional educator standards board shall select ((classified staff)) interns to receive conditional scholarships.
     (3) In order to receive conditional scholarship awards, recipients shall be accepted and maintain enrollment in alternative certification routes through the partnership grant program, as provided in RCW 28A.660.040. Recipients must continue to make satisfactory progress towards completion of the alternative route certification program and receipt of a residency teaching certificate.
     (4) For the purpose of this chapter, a conditional scholarship is a loan that is forgiven in whole or in part in exchange for service as a certificated teacher employed in a Washington state K-12 public school. The state shall forgive one year of loan obligation for every two years a recipient teaches in a public school. Recipients that fail to continue a course of study leading to residency teacher certification or cease to teach in a public school in the state of Washington in their endorsement area are required to repay the remaining loan principal with interest.
     (5) Recipients who fail to fulfill the required teaching obligation are required to repay the remaining loan principal with interest and any other applicable fees. The higher education coordinating board shall adopt rules to define the terms for repayment, including applicable interest rates, fees, and deferments.
     (6) To the extent funds are appropriated for this specific purpose, the annual amount of the scholarship is the annual cost of tuition for the alternative route certification program in which the recipient is enrolled, not to exceed ((four)) eight thousand dollars. The board may adjust the annual award by the average rate of resident undergraduate tuition and fee increases at the state universities as defined in RCW 28B.10.016.
     (7) The higher education coordinating board may deposit all appropriations, collections, and any other funds received for the program in this chapter in the student loan account authorized in RCW 28B.102.060.