Read first time 01/29/09.   Referred to Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education.

     AN ACT Relating to conditional funding for teachers to pursue national board for professional teaching standards certification; amending RCW 28A.405.415; 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 and declares:
     (1) The national board for professional teaching standards has established high and rigorous standards for what highly accomplished teachers should know and be able to do in order to increase students' learning results;
     (2) The national board certifies teachers who meet these standards through a rigorous, performance-based assessment process;
     (3) A certificate awarded by the national board attests that a teacher has met high and rigorous standards and has demonstrated the ability to make sound professional judgments about how to best meet students' learning needs and effectively help students meet challenging academic standards; and
     (4) Teachers who pursue national board certification should receive funding assistance in order to encourage more teachers to pursue certification for the benefit of Washington students.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28A.410 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Certificated instructional staff who have met the eligibility requirements and have applied for certification from the national board for professional teaching standards shall receive a conditional two thousand dollars or the amount set by the office of the superintendent of public instruction to reflect the current assessment fee, not including the initial up-front candidacy payment. The fee shall be an advance on the first annual bonus under RCW 28A.405.415. The assessment fee for national certification is provided in addition to compensation received under a district's salary schedule adopted in accordance with RCW 28A.405.200 and shall not be included in calculations of a district's average salary and associated salary limitation under RCW 28A.400.200.
     (2) Recipients who fail to receive certification after three years are required to repay the assessment fee, not including the initial up-front candidacy payment, as set by the national board for professional teaching standards and administered by the office of the superintendent of public instruction. The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules to define the terms for initial grant of the assessment fee and repayment, including applicable fees.

Sec. 3   RCW 28A.405.415 and 2008 c 175 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a) Except as provided in section 2 of this act, certificated instructional staff who have attained certification from the national board for professional teaching standards shall receive a bonus each year in which they maintain the certification. The bonus shall be calculated as follows: The annual bonus shall be five thousand dollars in the 2007-08 school year. Thereafter, the annual bonus shall increase by inflation.
     (b) Certificated instructional staff who receive an advance under section 2 of this act shall receive the remainder of their first annual bonus during the first year they are eligible for the bonus under this section.
     (2) Certificated instructional staff who have attained certification from the national board for professional teaching standards shall be eligible for bonuses in addition to that provided by subsection (1) of this section if the individual is in an instructional assignment in a school in which at least seventy percent of the students qualify for the free and reduced-price lunch program.
     (3) The amount of the additional bonus under subsection (2) of this section for those meeting the qualifications of subsection (2) of this section is five thousand dollars.
     (4) The bonuses provided under this section are in addition to compensation received under a district's salary schedule adopted in accordance with RCW 28A.405.200 and shall not be included in calculations of a district's average salary and associated salary limitations under RCW 28A.400.200.
     (5) Except for an advance received under section 2 of this act, the bonuses provided under this section shall be paid in a lump sum amount.