Passed by the Senate April 20, 2021 Yeas 29 Nays 19 President of the Senate Passed by the House April 11, 2021 Yeas 57 Nays 40 Speaker of the House of Representatives	CERTIFICATE I, Brad Hendrickson, Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5044 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth. Secretary Secretary
Approved	FILED
	Secretary of State State of Washington

BySenate Early Learning & K-12 Education (originally sponsored by Senators Das, Wellman, Darneille, Hasegawa, Hunt, Lovelett, Nguyen, Nobles, Robinson, Saldaña, Stanford, and Wilson, C.)

AN ACT Relating to equity, cultural competency, and dismantling institutional racism in the public school system; amending RCW 28A.410.260, 28A.415.445, 28A.405.106, 28A.410.270, 28A.413.050, and 28B.50.891; adding a new section to chapter 28A.415 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 28A.345 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.410 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.343 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.710 RCW; creating a new section; and repealing RCW 28A.345.100, 28A.415.420, 28A.415.440, and 28A.657.140.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that state resources have been invested to: (a) Identify model standards for cultural competency; (b) incorporate these cultural competency standards into both the standards for effective teaching and the standards of practice for paraeducators; (c) develop cultural competency training programs for school district staff from paraeducators to administrators; and (d) develop a plan for the creation and delivery of cultural competency training for school board directors and superintendents.

(2) The legislature plans to continue the important work of dismantling institutional racism in public schools and recognizes the importance of increasing equity, diversity, inclusion, antiracism, and cultural competency training throughout the entire public school system by providing training programs for classified staff, certificated instructional staff, certificated administrative staff, superintendents, and school directors that will be provided in an ongoing manner.

(1) "Cultural competency" includes knowledge of student cultural histories and contexts, as well as family norms and values in different cultures; knowledge and skills in accessing community resources and community and parent outreach; and skills in adapting instruction to students' experiences and identifying cultural contexts for individual students.

(2) "Diversity" describes the presence of similarities and differences within a given setting, collective, or group based on multiple factors including race and ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, age, educational status, religion, geography, primary language, culture, and other characteristics and experiences.

(3) "Equity" includes developing, strengthening, and supporting procedural and outcome fairness in systems, procedures, and resource distribution mechanisms to create equitable opportunities for all individuals. The term also includes eliminating barriers that prevent the full participation of individuals and groups.

(4) "Inclusion" describes intentional efforts and consistent sets of actions to create and sustain a sense of respect, belonging, safety, and attention to individual needs and backgrounds that ensure the full access to engagement and participation in available activities and opportunities.

(b) Collaborate with the Washington professional educator standards board to compare and align the standards for school director governance developed under (a) of this subsection with the standards of practice developed under RCW 28A.410.260. The review must include the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee and may include the office of equity established under RCW 43.06D.020; and

(2) By November 1, 2030, and every 10 years thereafter, the Washington state school directors' association shall review the definitions in section 2 of this act and the cultural competency, diversity, equity, and inclusion standards for school director governance developed under subsection (1) of this section and report, in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, to the appropriate committees of the legislature with any recommendations for revising the definitions in section 2 of this act.

(1) ((The professional educator standards board, in consultation and collaboration with the achievement gap oversight and accountability committee established under RCW 28A.300.136, shall identify a list of model standards for cultural competency and make recommendations to the education committees of the legislature on the strengths and weaknesses of those standards.

(b) Collaborate with the Washington state school directors' association to compare and align the standards of practice developed under (a) of this subsection with the standards of governance developed under section 3 of this act. The review must include the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee and may include the office of equity established under RCW 43.06D.020; and

(2) The Washington professional educator standards board shall develop and periodically update rubrics to evaluate the alignment of training and professional development programs and related materials with the cultural competency, diversity, equity, and inclusion standards of practice for school district staff developed under subsection (1) of this section.

(3) By November 1, 2030, and every 10 years thereafter, the Washington professional educator standards board shall review the definitions in section 2 of this act and the cultural competency, diversity, equity, and inclusion standards of practice for school district staff developed under subsection (1) of this section and report, in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, to the appropriate committees of the legislature any recommendations for revising the definitions in section 2 of this act.

(4) For ((the)) purposes of this section, "cultural ((competency" includes knowledge of student cultural histories and contexts, as well as family norms and values in different cultures; knowledge and skills in accessing community resources and community and parent outreach; and skills in adapting instruction to students' experiences and identifying cultural contexts for individual students))competency," "diversity," "equity," and "inclusion" have the same meaning as in section 2 of this act.

(1) The Washington state school directors' association shall identify or develop and periodically update governance training programs that align with the cultural competency, diversity, equity, and inclusion standards for school director governance developed under section 3 of this act. The governance training programs must also include building government-to-government relationships with federally recognized tribes, multicultural education, and principles of English language acquisition. Governance training programs may be developed in collaboration with other entities.

(2) Beginning with the 2022 calendar year, the Washington state school directors' association shall provide a governance training program identified or developed under subsection (1) of this section at the frequency necessary for school directors to meet the requirement in section 7 of this act.

(1) In establishing policies and requirements for the preparation and certification of educators under RCW 28A.410.210, the Washington professional educator standards board shall require that the programs of courses, requirements, and other activities leading to educator certification incorporate the cultural competency, diversity, equity, and inclusion standards of practice developed under RCW 28A.410.260 and include the foundational elements of cultural competence, focusing on multicultural education and principles of English language acquisition, including information regarding best practices to implement the tribal history and culture curriculum.

(1) Except as provided otherwise by this subsection (1), beginning with the 2022 calendar year, each member of a board of directors shall complete a governance training program once per term of elected office. If the director is appointed or elected to a first term of office, the director must complete a governance training required by this subsection (1) within two years of appointment or certification of the election in which they were elected.

(2) Governance training programs completed by directors in accordance with subsection (1) of this section must be aligned with the cultural competency, diversity, equity, and inclusion standards for school director governance developed under section 3 of this act and provided by the Washington state school directors' association.

(1) Beginning in the 2020-21 school year, and every other school year thereafter, school districts must use one of the professional learning days funded under RCW 28A.150.415 to train school district staff in one or more of the following topics: Social-emotional learning, trauma-informed practices, using the model plan developed under RCW 28A.320.1271 related to recognition and response to emotional or behavioral distress, consideration of adverse childhood experiences, mental health literacy, antibullying strategies, or culturally sustaining practices.

(2)(a) In the 2021-22 school year, school districts must use one of the professional learning days funded under RCW 28A.150.415 to train school district staff in one or more of the following topics: Cultural competency, diversity, equity, or inclusion.

(b) Beginning in the 2023-24 school year, and every other school year thereafter, school districts must use one of the professional learning days funded under RCW 28A.150.415 to provide to school district staff a variety of opportunities for training, professional development, and professional learning aligned with the cultural competency, equity, diversity, and inclusion standards of practice developed by the Washington professional educator standards board under RCW 28A.410.260. Alignment with the standards of practice must be evaluated using the rubrics developed under RCW 28A.410.260. The opportunities must also include training on multicultural education and principles of English language acquisition.

(1) Subject to funds appropriated for this purpose, the office of the superintendent of public instruction must develop and make available a professional development program to support the implementation of the evaluation systems required by RCW 28A.405.100. The program components may be organized into professional development modules for principals, administrators, and teachers. The professional development program shall include a comprehensive online training package.

(3) The training program must also include the foundational elements of cultural competence, focusing on multicultural education and principles of English language acquisition, including information regarding best practices to implement the tribal history and culture curriculum. The content of the training must be aligned with the standards ((for cultural competence))of practice developed by the Washington professional educator standards board under ((RCW 28A.410.270))RCW 28A.410.260. The office of the superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with the Washington professional educator standards board, the steering committee established in RCW 28A.405.100, and the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee, must integrate the content for cultural competence into the overall training for principals, administrators, and teachers to support the revised evaluation systems.

(4) To the maximum extent feasible, the professional development program must incorporate or adapt existing online training or curriculum, including securing materials or curriculum under contract or purchase agreements within available funds. Multiple modes of instruction should be incorporated including videos of classroom teaching, participatory exercises, and other engaging combinations of online audio, video, and print presentation.

(6) The office of the superintendent of public instruction must maintain a website that includes the online professional development materials along with sample evaluation forms and templates, links to relevant research on evaluation and on high quality teaching and leadership, samples of contract and collective bargaining language on key topics, examples of multiple measures of teacher and principal performance, suggestions for data to measure student growth, and other tools that will assist school districts in implementing the revised evaluation systems.

(7) The office of the superintendent of public instruction must identify the number of in-service training hours associated with each professional development module and develop a way for users to document their completion of the training. Documented completion of the training under this section is considered approved in-service training for the purposes of RCW 28A.415.020.

(8) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall periodically update the modules to reflect new topics and research on performance evaluation so that the training serves as an ongoing source of continuing education and professional development.

(9) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall work with the educational service districts to provide clearinghouse services for the identification and publication of professional development opportunities for teachers and principals that align with performance evaluation criteria.

(1)(a) The Washington professional educator standards board shall adopt a set of articulated teacher knowledge, skill, and performance standards for effective teaching that are evidence-based, measurable, meaningful, and documented in high quality research as being associated with improved student learning. The standards shall be calibrated for each level along the entire career continuum.

(b) ((In developing the standards, the board shall, to the extent possible, incorporate standards for cultural competency along the entire continuum. For the purposes of this subsection, "cultural competency" includes knowledge of student cultural histories and contexts, as well as family norms and values in different cultures; knowledge and skills in accessing community resources and community and parent outreach; and skills in adapting instruction to students' experiences and identifying cultural contexts for individual students.))The Washington professional educator standards board shall incorporate along the entire continuum the standards of practice developed under RCW 28A.410.260.

(c) By January 1, 2020, in order to ensure that teachers can recognize signs of emotional or behavioral distress in students and appropriately refer students for assistance and support, the Washington professional educator standards board shall incorporate along the entire continuum the social-emotional learning standards and benchmarks recommended by the social-emotional learning benchmarks work group in its October 1, 2016, final report titled, "addressing social emotional learning in Washington's K-12 public schools." In incorporating the social-emotional learning standards and benchmarks, the Washington professional educator standards board must include related competencies, such as trauma-informed practices, consideration of adverse childhood experiences, mental health literacy, antibullying strategies, and culturally sustaining practices.

(2) The Washington professional educator standards board shall adopt a definition of master teacher, with a comparable level of increased competency between professional certification level and master level as between professional certification level and national board certification. Within the definition established by the Washington professional educator standards board, teachers certified through the national board for professional teaching standards shall be considered master teachers.

(3) The Washington professional educator standards board shall maintain a uniform, statewide, valid, and reliable classroom-based means of evaluating teacher effectiveness as a culminating measure at the preservice level that is to be used during the student-teaching field experience. This assessment shall include multiple measures of teacher performance in classrooms, evidence of positive impact on student learning, and shall include review of artifacts, such as use of a variety of assessment and instructional strategies, and student work.

(4) Award of a professional certificate shall be based on a minimum of two years of successful teaching experience as defined by the board, and may not require candidates to enroll in a professional certification program.

(5) Educator preparation programs approved to offer the residency teaching certificate shall be required to demonstrate how the program produces effective teachers as evidenced by the measures established under this section and other criteria established by the Washington professional educator standards board.

(1) The board shall adopt state standards of practice for paraeducators that are based on the recommendations of the paraeducator work group established in chapter 136, Laws of 2014. These standards must include:

(e) ((Demonstrating cultural competency aligned with))The standards of practice developed by the Washington professional educator standards board under ((RCW 28A.410.270))RCW 28A.410.260.

(2) By January 1, 2020, in order to ensure that paraeducators can recognize signs of emotional or behavioral distress in students and appropriately refer students for assistance and support, the board shall incorporate into the standards of practice for paraeducators adopted under subsection (1) of this section the social-emotional learning standards, benchmarks, and related competencies described in RCW 28A.410.270.

Beginning with the 2015-16 academic year, any community or technical college that offers an apprenticeship program or certificate program for paraeducators must provide candidates the opportunity to earn transferable course credits within the program. The programs must also incorporate the standards ((for cultural competence, including))of practice developed by the Washington professional educator standards board under RCW 28A.410.260 and include multicultural education and principles of language acquisition((, developed by the professional educator standards board under RCW 28A.410.270)). Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, by September 1, 2018, the paraeducator apprenticeship and certificate programs must also incorporate the state paraeducator standards of practice adopted by the paraeducator board under RCW 28A.413.050.