Recruitment and Hiring of Public School Employees.  In 2016, the Legislature appropriated funds to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to develop and implement a comprehensive, statewide initiative to increase the number of qualified individuals who apply for teaching positions in Washington.  As part of the initiative, OSPI was directed to work with the Employment Security Department (ESD) to incorporate certificated educator positions into the state's existing web-based depository for job applications.  OSPI was directed to report to the Legislature by December 1, 2019, on the efficiency and effectiveness of the centralized web-based depository for job applications and with recommendations on whether the requirement be continued, modified, or terminated.
 
Job sites for educators are also offered through educational service districts, school districts, professional associations, and private companies.
 
Legislation enacted in 2019 provided funding for three educational service districts to employ a regional recruiter for two years.  A report to the Legislature with a summary of the recruitment activities and recommendations on whether the program be continued, modified, or expanded, was due by December 1, 2021.
 
Educator Preparation Programs.  The Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) is a 12-member board that adopts rules and creates policies for the preparation and certification of educators. PESB approves entities, including community colleges, universities, educational service districts, and community-based organizations, to offer educator preparation programs.  There are educator preparation programs for teachers, principals and other administrators, and educational staff associates.
 
Standards for Effective Teaching. PESB must adopt 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. PESB must incorporate into these standards its standards of practice for cultural competency, equity, diversity, and inclusion.  
 
Student Teaching.  To complete a teacher preparation program, a candidate must complete a student teaching experience in a school setting.  The experience must be at least 450 hours, including supervised planning, instruction, and reflection.  The experience must also relate to specific program outcomes and be designed to integrate educational theory, knowledge, and skills in practice under the direction of a certificated teacher with three years of teaching experience.
 
Teacher preparation programs categorized as alternative route programs require candidates to complete a one-year mentored internship, known as a residency, and 540 hours of student teaching.
 
Each teacher preparation program is required to develop, and submit to PESB, a plan describing how the program will partner with local school districts regarding field placement of student teachers.
 
Beginning Educator Support Team Program.  The Beginning Educator Support Team Program (BEST) provides professional development and mentor support for beginning educators. BEST must include specified components such as mentorship, professional development, and adherence to research-based standards for beginning educator induction developed by OSPI.
 
A mentor is defined as a teacher, educational staff associate, or principal who has successfully completed training in assisting, coaching, and advising beginning educators, has been selected using mentor standards developed by OSPI, and is participating in ongoing mentor skills professional development.
 
Subject to appropriation, and on a competitive basis, OSPI distributes grants to individual school districts or consortia of districts.  When allocating funds, OSPI must give priority to districts identified for support and improvement under the state's accountability system, those with a large influx of beginning educators, and those that demonstrate an understanding of OSPI's standards for beginning educator induction.
 
Educator Workforce Data. PESB is required to maintain data concerning educator preparation programs and their quality, educator certification, educator employment trends and needs, and other data deemed relevant by PESB.
 
Each educational service district, in cooperation with PESB, is required to convene representatives from school districts within its region and educator preparation programs to review district and regional educator workforce data, make biennial projections of certificate staffing needs, and identify how recruitment and enrollment plans in educator preparation programs reflect projected need.
 
Kindergarten Through Grade 12 Education Data Improvement System.  In 2009, legislation was enacted stating the Legislature's intent to establish a comprehensive K-12 Education Data Improvement System for financial, student, and educator data.  The stated objective of the system is to monitor student progress, have information on the quality of the educator workforce, monitor and analyze the costs of programs, provide financial integrity and accountability, and have the capability to link across these various data components by student, by class, by teacher, by school, by district, and statewide.
 
The Legislature further specified its goal that all school districts have the capability to collect state-identified common data and export it in a standard format to support a statewide K-12 Education Data Improvement System.
 
The Professional Educator Collaborative.  Legislation enacted in 2019 established the Professional Educator Collaborative to make recommendations on how to improve and strengthen state policies, programs, and pathways that lead to highly effective educators at each level of the public school system.  A report with recommendations on each of eight issues was required to be submitted to the Legislature by November 1, 2021.

Recruitment and Hiring of Public School Employees.  By October 1, 2024, OSPI must report to the Legislature on the results of a feasibility study for the development and implementation of an online platform for the recruitment and hiring of public school employees.  OSPI must contract with a research entity that has sufficient expertise to conduct the study.
 
The feasibility of including the following functions and features in the online platform must be studied:

• a job posting and search or filter function that allows for efficient searching or filtering of job postings by job seekers;
• a resume storage and search or filter function that allows for efficient searching or filtering of resumes by employers;
• a common employment application with a customizable form for employers to add additional questions;
• integration with other relevant state databases;
• a description of and links to the websites of PESB-approved educator preparation programs; and
• links to websites describing state and federal financial aid available to develop and support the workforce of the public school system, including the Educator Conditional Scholarship and Loan Repayment Programs.

 
The feasibility study must consider the extent to which existing applications, platforms, and other technologies may be repurposed to produce an online platform with the functions and features.  When conducting the feasibility study, the contractor must consult with OSPI, PESB, ESD, educational service districts, and representatives of school districts, school building leaders, and school staff.
 
Teacher Residency Program.  Definitions.  A teacher residency is defined as a yearlong preservice clinical practice in a public elementary or secondary school in which the resident coteaches with a preservice mentor, while the resident concurrently completes teacher preparation program coursework.
 
A preservice mentor is defined as a teacher who:

• has at least three years teaching experience;
• has at least three consecutive years of performance evaluations with a performance rating of level 3 or above;
• to the extent possible, has an endorsement deemed by PESB to be equivalent to the endorsement area sought by the preservice mentor's resident or has at least three years of experience teaching in the context area of the resident's desired endorsement; and
• has been trained and selected using the preservice mentor screening tool developed by the PESB, in collaboration with OSPI.

Program Requirements and Approval Process.  OSPI and PESB must collaborate to establish an application and approval process for a school district, state-tribal education compact school, or consortium, in partnership with a teacher preparation program seeking approval to operate a teacher residency program.  A consortium is defined as a group of school districts, state-tribal compact schools, or both, that partners with a teacher preparation program to support a cohort of residents.
 
At a minimum, a teacher residency program must meet the following requirements:

• residents receive compensation equivalent to first year paraeducators;
• each resident is assigned a preservice mentor;
• each preservice mentor is assigned to one resident, except that, on a case-by-case basis, OSPI and PESB may approve an individual preservice mentor to be assigned up to two residents;
• preservice mentors receive a stipend of $2,500 per year;
• residents receive at least 900 hours of preservice clinical practice over the course of the school year and at least half of the residency hours are in a coteaching setting with the resident's preservice mentor and the other half of the residency hours are in a coteaching setting with another teacher;
• residents may not be assigned the lead or primary responsibility for student learning;
• residents are in a cohort of 15 to 20, where cohort means a group of residents enrolled in the same teacher preparation program who begin their residencies at the same time and have the same anticipated completion date;
• preservice mentors use the preservice mentor and induction standards developed by PESB, in collaboration with OSPI;
• coursework taught during the residency is codesigned by the teacher preparation program and the school district,  state-tribal compact schools, or consortium, tightly integrated with residents' preservice clinical practice, and focused on developing culturally responsive teachers;
• the program must prepare residents to meet or exceed teacher knowledge, skills, performance, and competency standards; and
• any additional requirements in the partnership agreement.

 
Grants.  Subject to appropriation, OSPI, in collaboration with PESB, must award grants to school districts, state-tribal compact schools, or consortia with approved teacher residency programs.  Grants must be prioritized to communities anticipated to be most positively impacted by teacher residents who fill teacher vacancies upon completing the teacher residency program and who remain in the communities in which they are mentored.
 
For the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years, grants must be prioritized to teacher residency programs at school districts, state-tribal compact schools, or consortia of school districts, with the highest percentages of teachers with limited certificates, and to support at least three cohorts of residents seeking an endorsement in special education or early childhood special education and at least two cohorts of residents seeking an endorsement in bilingual education.
 
Partnership Agreements.  OSPI and PESB must collaborate to develop and publish a model agreement for school districts, state-tribal compact schools, or consortia and teacher preparation programs partnering to operate teacher residency programs.  The model agreement must include the following provisions:

• the teacher preparation program must provide feedback and instructional support to school district preservice mentors and to residents in curricula, instructional design and planning, and pedagogical practice;
• the school district, state-tribal compact schools, or consortium must support residents in navigating the teacher residency program, as well as school processes and structures; and
• an affirmation by the school district, state-tribal compact schools, or consortium of its capacity and intent to hire its residents into teaching positions, with preference for positions in the resident's endorsement area.

 
Advisory Council.  PESB, in collaboration with OSPI, must coordinate and regularly convene an advisory committee of education partners to study problems of practice within the teacher residency programs and to guide and steer decisions for continuous improvement of the teacher residency programs that result in positive outcomes for students, school districts, state-tribal compact schools, consortia, teacher preparation programs, preservice mentors, and residents participating in the teacher residency programs.  By October 1, 2026, the advisory council must report to the Legislature with its recommendations for improving the teacher residency program to increase positive outcomes.  The advisory council is not required to be convened after June 30, 2033.
 
Evaluation of Effectiveness. PESB must contract with a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization to evaluate the effectiveness and impacts of the teacher residency program over at least the first four years of implementation.  The nonprofit and nonpartisan organization must have at least seven years of experience conducting high quality research to improve evidence-based education policies and practices that support empowering and equitable learning for all students.  By November 1, 2028, PESB must submit a report of the evaluation to the Legislature.
 
Teacher Exchange Program Report.  By October 1, 2023, OSPI must submit to the Legislature a report recommending whether and how the state should establish a teacher exchange program.  At a minimum, the report must include:

• the benefits and challenges of implementing a teacher exchange program in Washington;
• whether, and to what extent, a teacher exchange program would create opportunities for professional growth for teachers in Washington and other countries, facilitate cross-cultural awareness and enrichment, and address Washington's teacher workforce challenges;
• a list of letters, memoranda of understanding, or other documents addressing issues such as teacher qualifications, including licensure and experience, any United States visa requirements, and estimated teacher expenses and salary information; and
• an estimate of the costs to the state and to school districts to implement a teacher exchange program.

 
When developing its recommendations, OSPI must consult with school districts with experience implementing teacher exchanges and school districts interested in participating in a teacher exchange program, the United States Department of State regarding the requirements of the Federal Exchange Visitor Program, and United States embassies and education agencies of other countries.
 
Educator Preparation and Workforce Program Improvement Report.  By October 1, 2024, PESB must submit a report to the Legislature with recommendations for the improvement of the quality and effectiveness of educator preparation and workforce programs.  The report must:

• compare the requirements of the teacher residency program and registered teacher apprenticeship programs;
• include recommendations to increase educator certification reciprocity for residency, professional, and other certificate tiers; and
• include proposals for better coordination between educator preparation partners and opportunities for educator preparation and workforce program improvement and expansion.

Beginning Educator Support Team Program.  OSPI is directed to support local BEST programs by providing technical assistance, intentional and sustained professional learning opportunities, and induction coaching services to school leaders and mentors; and facilitating collaborative, coordinated learning between local BEST programs.

The prioritization requirements for the BEST grants are modified as follows:

• STECSs are made eligible;
• grants must be prioritized to school districts and state-tribal compact schools that have not recently been allocated BEST grants and exhibit a readiness to implement a local BEST program, rather than those that demonstrate an understanding of the research-based standards for BEST; and
• grants must also be prioritized to school districts and state-tribal compact schools expanding existing local BEST programs.

 
A local BEST program must be aligned to the cultural competency, diversity, equity, and inclusion (CCDEI) standards of practice developed by PESB.
 
A definition for beginning educator is added to mean a first through third-year principal, first through third-year teacher, or first through third-year educational staff associate.  
 
The definition of mentor is revised.  In addition to existing requirements, a mentor must:

• have had a certificate for at least three years;
• for principals and teachers, have at least three consecutive years of performance evaluations with a performance rating of level 3 or above;
• have been selected using mentor standards aligned to the CCDEI standards of practice developed by PESB;
• be assigned to a beginning educator in a similar role or field as the mentor; and
• for teachers, to the extent possible, have an endorsement deemed by PESB to be equivalent to the endorsement area sought by the beginning educator.

Preservice Mentoring and Induction.  PESB must collaborate with OSPI to develop, and periodically update standards for preservice mentoring and induction of preservice teachers, based on the standards for beginning educator mentoring and induction; and model screening tools for the identification and selection of residents and preservice mentors.  The standards and tools must be posted on the website of PESB.
 
Educator Workforce Research.  OSPI and PESB must collect, organize, and analyze data to make determinations about the quality and effectiveness of educator workforce programs.  At a minimum, collected data must include educator demographics, assessment scores, program completion rates, endorsement completion rates, program completer rates of retention in the profession, and program costs to the state and to the program participant.  At a minimum, collected data must be analyzed and used to support, evaluate, and approve educator workforce programs.  The data must be maintained in the K-12 Education Data Improvement System.
 
The K-12 Education Data Improvement System is authorized and expanded to include data on paraeducators, certificated administrative staff and all certificated instructional staff, as well as to all public schools.
 
PESB is responsible for the annual convenings of educational service districts and local school districts to review educator workforce data.
 
Short Title.  This act may be known and cited as the Educator Workforce Act.

PRO: Teachers across the state have been asking for professional development and mentoring services.  Research shows that residency programs have led to better teacher retention and preparation.  This bill creates a better system of growth and support for aspiring teachers.  A large-scale systematic approach is needed to elevate educator preparation in Washington.  The traditional, unpaid labor of educator preparation has been a workforce challenge for generations.  Teaching is one of our most important jobs.  This bill will enhance teacher effectiveness in every classroom.  The investment in teacher residency programs will reduce barriers for those currently unable to become teachers.  A residency program aims to prepare educators in communities that deserve great teachers.  Current requirements in the bill may make it difficult for smaller and more rural programs to be able to participate in the residency program.