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.

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 least three cohorts of residents seeking an endorsement in special 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.
 
Short Title.  This act may be known and cited as the Educator Workforce Act.

• Removes provisions relating to an online platform for the recruitment and hiring of public school employees, preservice and in-service mentoring, educator workforce research and data, and various reports, while retaining provisions relating to teacher residency programs.
• Limits teaching residency grant support to three cohorts of residents seeking an endorsement in special education.

The committee recommended a different version of the bill than what was heard. 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.

PRO:  We recommend some small changes to the bill. We would like to see the feasibility study that was in the original version of the bill which cost half a million dollars. Kids with medical and behavioral needs deserve to be supported. This bill is a big solution to helping with the special education teacher shortage. Residency models are impactful as they create authentic learning experiences. We encourage you to add back funds for parts of previous versions of the bill.