FINAL BILL REPORT

SB 5028

C 144 L 18

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Requiring teacher preparation programs to integrate Native American curriculum developed by the office of the superintendent of public instruction into existing Pacific Northwest history and government requirements.

Sponsors: Senators McCoy, Billig, Carlyle, Hasegawa, Chase, Rolfes, Saldaña, Pedersen and Keiser.

Senate Committee on Higher Education

Senate Committee on Ways & Means

House Committee on Education

House Committee on Appropriations

Background: Teacher Preparation Programs. All teachers' colleges and teachers' courses at institutions of higher education in Washington must include a one quarter or semester course in either Washington State history and government or Pacific Northwest history and government with the curriculum. No person may graduate from a teachers college or teacher program without completing this course of study, unless otherwise determined by the Washington Professional Educator Standards Board. Courses used to fulfill this requirement must include information on culture, history, and government of American Indian peoples.

Since Time Immemorial Curriculum. In 2005, the Legislature encouraged the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to help school districts identify federally recognized Indian tribes within or near school districts and school districts were encouraged to do the following:

• incorporate curricula about tribal history, culture, and government of the nearest federally recognized tribe and work with tribes to develop such materials;

• collaborate with tribes to create materials, programs, and cultural exchanges; and

• collaborate with OSPI on curricular areas of tribal government and history that are statewide in nature.

The Legislature directed OSPI to create the Office of Native Education (ONE) in 2011. ONE was tasked with several duties, including facilitating the development and implementation of curricula and instructional materials regarding native languages, culture and history, and the concept of tribal sovereignty.

OSPI, private and public agencies, and several of the 29 federally recognized tribes in Washington State partnered and funded the Since Time Immemorial curriculum. The curriculum includes courses and materials on Washington State and United States Tribal history for elementary, middle, and high school students. OSPI must make the curriculum available free of charge.

Summary: Washington State history and government, and Pacific Northwest history and government courses, that are incorporated in the curriculum of all teacher preparation programs, must integrate the Native American curriculum, developed by OSPI, into the course. Institutions may modify the curriculum in order to incorporate elements that have a regionally specific focus.

Votes on Final Passage: