| Passed by the House April 23, 2005 Yeas 91 FRANK CHOPP ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives Passed by the Senate April 22, 2005 Yeas 41 BRAD OWEN ________________________________________ President of the Senate | I, Richard Nafziger, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1893 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth. RICHARD NAFZIGER ________________________________________ Chief Clerk | |
| Approved May 16, 2005. CHRISTINE GREGOIRE ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | May 16, 2005 - 2:55 p.m. Secretary of State State of Washington |
| State of Washington | 59th Legislature | 2005 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 03/07/05.
AN ACT Relating to certification of teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing; adding a new section to chapter 28A.410 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 The legislature finds that the quality of
education for children who are deaf or hard of hearing and the
expectations for those children's achievement should be equivalent to
those for children throughout the state. The legislature also finds
that deaf and hard of hearing children can benefit greatly if they are
taught by an educator who is trained to understand the learning and
communication issues the children face. Educators who received teacher
training in a program for the deaf and hard of hearing are sensitive to
the needs of deaf and hard of hearing students and are able to provide
appropriate strategies to assist students in reacting to and
interacting with their environment. The legislature intends to assist
school districts in their efforts to attract teachers who are
especially trained to work with deaf and hard of hearing students by
directing the state board of education to establish a certification
endorsement for teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 2 A new section is added to chapter 28A.410
RCW to read as follows:
The agency responsible for teacher certification shall develop
certification endorsement requirements for teachers of deaf and hard of
hearing students. The endorsement shall be focused on the specific
skills and knowledge necessary to serve the education and communication
needs of deaf and hard of hearing students. In establishing rules for
the endorsement of teachers who will be working almost exclusively with
students who are deaf or hard of hearing, the agency shall consider
applicants to have met state endorsement requirements if they possess
a baccalaureate or master's degree in deaf education from a teacher
training program approved by the council on education of the deaf.