(1) The teacher endorsement and certification help program, known as the TEACH program, is created.
(2) The student achievement council, after consultation with the Washington professional educator standards board, shall have the power and duty to develop and adopt rules as necessary under chapter
34.05 RCW to administer the program described in this section. The rules, which must be adopted by November 1, 2019, must include:
(a) A TEACH grant application process;
(b) A financial need verification process;
(c) The order of priority in which the applications will be approved; and
(d) A process for disbursing TEACH grant awards to selected applicants.
(3) A student seeking a TEACH grant to cover the costs of basic skills and content tests required for initial teacher certification and endorsement must submit an application to the student achievement council, following the rules developed under this section.
(4) To qualify for financial assistance, an applicant must meet the following criteria:
(a) Be enrolled in, have applied to, or have completed a Washington professional educator standards board-approved teacher preparation program;
(b) Demonstrate financial need, as defined by the office of student financial assistance and consistent with the income criteria required to receive the state need grant established in chapter
28B.92 RCW or applicable rules;
(c) Apply for a TEACH grant under this section; and
(d) Register for an endorsement competency test in one or more endorsement shortage areas, where "shortage area" has the definition in RCW
28B.102.020.
(5) Beginning November 1, 2019, the student achievement council, in collaboration with the Washington professional educator standards board, shall award a TEACH grant to a student who meets the qualifications listed in this section and in rules developed under this section. The TEACH grant award must cover the costs of basic skills and content tests required for initial teacher certification. The council shall prioritize TEACH grant awards first to applicants registered for competency tests in endorsement shortage areas and second to applicants with greatest financial need. The council shall scale the number of TEACH grant awards to the amount of funds appropriated for this purpose.
(6) The student achievement council and the Washington professional educator standards board shall include information about the TEACH program in materials distributed to schools and students.
(7) Beginning December 1, 2020, and by December 1st each even-numbered year thereafter, in compliance with RCW
43.01.036, the student achievement council, in collaboration with the Washington professional educator standards board, shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of the legislature that details the effectiveness and costs of the program. The report must:
(a) Compare the numbers and demographic information of students taking and passing tests in the endorsement shortage areas before and after implementation of the program;
(b) Determine the amount of TEACH grants awarded each year and per student;
(c) Compare the numbers and demographic information of students obtaining teaching certificates with endorsement competencies in the endorsement shortage areas before and after implementation of the program; and
(d) Recommend whether the program should be modified, continued, and expanded.