HB 1115 — Concerning paraeducators.

H-1258.1SUBSTITUTEH-0616.1HOUSE HOUSE BILL 1115State of Washington65th Legislature2017 Regular SessionBy House Education (originally sponsored by Representatives Bergquist, Muri, Ortiz-Self, Harris, Stanford, Stambaugh, Gregerson, and Kilduff)READKilduffRead FIRSTfirst TIMEtime 02/13/17.AN01/11/17. ACT Relating to paraeducators;

amendingReferred RCWto 28A.150.203,Committee 28A.410.062,on 28A.630.400,Education.AN 28A.660.040,ACT 28A.660.042,Relating andto 28B.50.891;paraeducators;

addingamending aRCW new28A.630.400, section28A.150.203, to28A.410.062, chapterand 28A.30028B.50.891; RCW;

addingand acreating new chaptersections.BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.  Paraeducators provide the majority of instruction in programs designed by the legislature to Titlereduce 28Athe RCW;opportunity gap.

By setting common statewide standards, training, and providingcareer expirationdevelopment dates.BEfor ITparaeducators, ENACTEDas BYwell THEas LEGISLATUREtraining OFfor THEteachers STATEand OFprincipals WASHINGTON:NEWwho SECTION.  Sec. 1.  INTENT.have paraeducators in their classroom, students in these programs have a better chance of succeeding in the classroom.NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 28A.410 RCW to read as follows:(1) Effective September 1, 2017, the minimum employment standards for a paraeducator who works in the special education program, the basic education program, the learning assistance program, the federal disadvantaged program, and English language learner programs shall be as provided in this subsection. The paraeducator must:(a) Be at least eighteen years of age, hold a high school diploma or its equivalent, and have received a passing grade on the education testing service paraeducator assessment;

Paraeducators provide the majority of instruction in programs designed by the legislature to reduce the opportunity gap.

By setting common statewide standards, requiring training in the standards, and offering career development for paraeducators, as well as training for teachers and principals who work with paraeducators, students in these programs have a better chance of succeeding.NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.  DEFINITIONS.

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(1) "Board" means the paraeducator board established in section 3 of this act.(2) "English language learner programs" means the English language learners program, the transitional bilingual instruction program, and the federal limited English proficiency program.(3) "English language learner specialty certificate" means a credential earned by a paraeducator working with students in English language learner programs.(4) "Paraeducator" means a classified public school or school district employee who works under the supervision of a certificated or licensed staff member to support and assist in providing instructional and other services to students and their families.

Paraeducators are not considered certificated instructional staff as that term and its meaning are used in this title.(5) "Special education specialty certificate" means a credential earned by a paraeducator working with students in special education programs.NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3.  PARAEDUCATOR BOARD CREATED.

(1)(a) The paraeducator board is created, consisting of nine members to be appointed to four-year terms.(b) Vacancies on the board must be filled by appointment or reappointment as described in subsection (2) of this section to terms of four years.(c) No person may serve as a member of the board for more than two consecutive full four-year terms.(d) The governor must biennially appoint the chair of the board.

No board member may serve as chair for more than four consecutive years.(2) Appointments to the board must be made as follows, subject to confirmation by the senate:(a) The superintendent of public instruction shall appoint a basic education paraeducator, a special education paraeducator, an English language learner paraeducator, a teacher, a principal, and a representative of the office of the superintendent of public instruction;(b) The Washington state parent teacher association shall appoint a parent whose child receives instructional support from a paraeducator;(c) The state board for community and technical colleges shall appoint a representative of the community and technical college system;

and(d) The student achievement council shall appoint a representative of a four-year institution of higher education as defined in RCW 28B.10.016.(3) The professional educator standards board shall administer the board.(4) Each member of the board must be compensated in accordance with RCW 43.03.240 and must be reimbursed for travel expenses incurred in carrying out the duties of the board in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.(5) Members of the board may create informal advisory groups as needed to inform the board's work.(6) The governor may remove a member of the board for neglect of duty, misconduct, malfeasance or misfeasance in office, or for incompetency or unprofessional conduct as defined in chapter 18.130 RCW.

In such a case, the governor shall file with the secretary of state a statement of the causes for and the order of removal from the board, and the secretary of state shall send a certified copy of the statement of causes and order of removal to the last known post office address of the member.NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4.  POWERS AND DUTIES OF PARAEDUCATOR BOARD.

The paraeducator board has the following powers and duties:(1) Based on the recommendations of the paraeducator work group established in chapter 136, Laws of 2014, adopt:

(a) Minimum employment requirements for paraeducators, as described in section 5 of this act;

and (b) paraeducator standards of practice, as described in section 6 of this act;(2) Based on the recommendations of the paraeducator work group established in chapter 136, Laws of 2014, establish requirements and policies for paraeducator specialty certificates in the following subject areas:

English language learner and special education, as described in section 7 of this act;(3) Approve courses of study necessary to meet the state standards of practice for paraeducators and the requirements for specialty certificates, where the courses of study are offered in a variety of means that will limit cost and improve access;(4) Collaborate with the office of the superintendent of public instruction to adapt the electronic educator certification process to include paraeducator specialty certificates;

and(5) Adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW that are necessary for the effective and efficient implementation of this chapter.NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5.  PARAEDUCATOR MINIMUM EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS.

Effective September 1, 2017, the minimum employment requirements for paraeducators are as provided in this section.

The paraeducator must:(1) Be at least eighteen years of age and hold a high school diploma or its equivalent;

and(2)(a) Have received a passing grade on the education testing service paraeducator assessment;

or(d) Have completed a registered apprenticeship program.NEWprogram.(2)(a) SECTION.  Sec. 6.  PARAEDUCATORBy STANDARDSSeptember OF1, PRACTICE.2017, members of the paraeducator board must be appointed.

(1) The board shall adoptbe statecomposed standardsof one paraeducator, one teacher, one principal, one parent whose child receives instructional support from a paraeducator, one representative of practicea forcommunity paraeducatorsor thattechnical arecollege, basedand onone representative of a four-year institution of higher education as defined in RCW 28B.10.016.(b) Appointments to the recommendationsboard shall be made as follows:(i) The superintendent of public instruction shall appoint the paraeducatorparaeducator, workthe groupteacher, establishedthe inoffice chapterof 136,the Lawssuperintendent of 2014.public instruction representative, and the principal;(ii) The Washington state parent teacher association shall appoint the parent whose child receives instructional support from a paraeducator;(iii) The state board for community and technical colleges shall appoint the representative of a community or technical college;

Theseand(iv) The student achievement council shall appoint the representative of an institution of higher education.(c) A representative from the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall be the nonvoting facilitator of the board.(d) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall be the administrator of the board.(3) Beginning September 1, 2017, the paraeducator board must administer policies and rules for the preparation and certification of paraeducators who work in special education, basic education, the learning assistance program, the federal disadvantaged program, or the English language learners program, the paraeducator career ladder, or the pathway to teacher certification.(4)(a) During the 2018-19 school year, grants, as funded by the legislature, shall be distributed by the board to a diverse set of school districts that volunteer to field test the implementation of the paraeducator certification, special education, and English language learner endorsement.(b) Effective September 1, 2019, all school districts must begin implementing the paraeducator certification for paraeducators working in the programs in special education, basic education, the learning assistance program, the federal disadvantaged program, or the English language learner program. Paraeducators have three years to acquire their certification.(c) The certification standards shall be adopted by the board and must include:(a)include:(i) Supporting instructional opportunities;(b)opportunities;(ii) Demonstrating professionalism and ethical practices;(c)practices;(iii) Supporting a positive and safe learning environment;(d)environment;(iv) Communicating effectively and participating in the team process;

and(e)and(v) Demonstrating cultural competency aligned with standards developed by the professional educator standards board under RCW 28A.410.270.(2)28A.410.270.(d) The board shall develop a practicum and must ensure that paraeducators have multiple methods to access training necessary to become certificated.(e) The board has the authority to establish certification fees paid by paraeducators, however the board shall adapt the current teacher e-certification process to be used for paraeducator certification.(f) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall be provided the necessary funds to administer the board and the paraeducator certificates and endorsements.(g) The board shall develop competency-based testing to allow paraeducators to use their prior experience or training to meet paraeducator standards.(5) Beginning September 1, 2019, schoolall districtsparaeducators mustworking in special education and English language learning programs have three years to acquire their endorsement.(a) The board may adopt rules to implement the endorsement and training standards.(b) The board shall ensure that training is made available to paraeducators in a coursevariety of studymeans forthat paraeducatorswill onlimit thecost stateand standardsimprove ofaccess.(6) practice.Paraeducators must renew their certificate or necessary endorsements every five years.

TheIn schoolorder districtto mustrenew usethe thirty-twocertificate hoursor ofendorsement, state-fundedthey paraeducatormust professionalcomplete learningthe timeclock forhours thisdetermined courseby ofthe study.board.

SchoolThe districtsboard may usedevelop the coursetraining ofmodules studyas approvedwell byas ensure that the board.NEWclock SECTION.  Sec. 7.  PARAEDUCATORhour SPECIALTYtraining CERTIFICATES.is made available to paraeducators in a variety of means that will limit cost and improve access.(7) The professional educator standards board must design and implement a training program for teachers and principals as it relates to their role working with paraeducators.

(1)Teacher Thetraining board shall adopt requirements and policies for paraeducator specialty certificates in special education and English language learner programs that are based on the recommendations of the paraeducator work group established in chapter 136, Laws of 2014.(2) The rules adopted by the board for paraeducator specialty certificates must include thehow followingto requirements:(a)direct A specialty certificate is not a prerequisite for a paraeducator working inwith anystudents program;(b) Paraeducators may become eligible for a specialty certificate by completing twenty hours of professional development in the subjectparaeducator's areaclassroom. of the certificate;

and(c)Principal Specialtytraining certificatesmust expireinclude afterhow fiveto years.NEWsupervise SECTION.  Sec. 8.  PILOTS.and evaluate paraeducators.(8)(a) The board shall develop the rules for an advanced paraeducator endorsement, training modules, and renewal process that must be implemented by September 1, 2019.(b) Some responsibilities of the advanced paraeducator position are mentoring or coaching other paraeducators, assisting in highly impacted classrooms, short-term teacher substitution, and assistance in specific specialized instruction support or technology applications.(c) The rules must include provisions regarding the ability of a person holding an advanced paraeducator endorsement that will qualify the paraeducator to replace a teacher in short absence situations in those districts that are experiencing difficulty finding substitute teachers.(9) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section.(a) "Board" means the paraeducator board.(b) "English language learner programs" or "English language learner endorsement" refers to the English language learners program, the transitional bilingual instruction program, and the federal limited English proficiency program.(c) "Paraeducator" means a classified school district employee who works under the supervision of a certificated or licensed staff member to support and assist in providing instructional services to students and their families.

(1)Paraeducators Byare Septembernot 1,considered 2018,certificated andinstructional subjectstaff toas the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the board shall distribute grants to a diverse set of school districts that volunteermeaning to pilot the state paraeducator standards of practice and theterm paraeducatoris specialtyused certificates.(2)in Bythis Septembertitle.(10) 1,This 2019,section theis volunteersubject districts must report to the boardavailability with the outcomes of theamounts pilotspecifically andappropriated any recommendations for implementingthis thespecific paraeducatorpurpose.Sec. 3.  RCW standards28A.630.400 of practice and paraeducator2011 specialty1st certificatessp.s. statewide.

Thec outcomes11 reporteds must132 include:(a)are Aneach analysisamended ofto theread costsas tofollows:(1) theThe districtprofessional toeducator implementstandards board and the state standardsboard offor practicecommunity byand makingtechnical availablecolleges, thein requiredconsultation coursewith the superintendent of study;(b)public Theinstruction, numberthe ofstate paraeducatorsapprenticeship whotraining completedcouncil, theand coursecommunity ofcolleges, studyshall inadopt therules stateas standardsnecessary ofunder practice;(c)chapter The34.05 numberRCW ofto paraeducatorsimplement whothe earnedparaeducator aassociate specialof educationarts ordegree.(2) EnglishAs languageused learnerin specialtythis certificate;(d)section, Anya cost"paraeducator" tois thean districtindividual andwho thehas paraeducatorcompleted toan earnassociate aof specialtyarts certificate;degree for a paraeducator.

and(e) The impactparaeducator onmay thebe sizehired andby assignment of the paraeducator workforce as a resultschool ofdistrict theto pilot.(3)assist Bycertificated Novemberinstructional 1,staff 2019, and in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, the boarddirect shallinstruction submit a report to the appropriate committees of thechildren legislaturein thatsmall summarizes the outcomes of the pilots and recommendslarge anygroups, statutoryindividualized changesinstruction, necessarytesting to improve the statewide standards of practice,children, paraeducatorrecordkeeping, specialty certificate requirements, and coursespreparation of studymaterials. necessary to meet these standards and requirements, among other things.(4) This section expires July 1, 2020.NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9.  STUDY ON EFFECTIVENESS OF PARAEDUCATORS.

(1)The paraeducator shall work under the direction of instructional certificated staff.(3)(a) If amounts are not appropriated specifically for the purpose of (b) of this subsection, the training program for a paraeducator associate of arts degree shall include, but is not limited to, the general requirements for receipt of an associate of arts degree and training in the areas of introduction to childhood education, orientation to children with disabilities, fundamentals of childhood education, creative activities for children, instructional materials for children, fine art experiences for children, the psychology of learning, introduction to education, child health and safety, child development and guidance, first aid, and a practicum in a school setting.(b) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the Washingtontraining program for a paraeducator associate of arts degree shall include, but is not limited to, the general requirements for receipt of an associate of arts degree and training in the adopted state institutestandards for publicparaeducators, policywhich shallinclude conductcore knowledge and skill competencies in (i) supporting instructional opportunities, (ii) demonstrating professional and ethical practices, (iii) supporting a studypositive onand safe learning environment, (iv) communicating effectively and participating in the effectivenessteam process, and (v) demonstrating cultural competency aligned with standards developed by the professional educator standards board under RCW 28A.410.270.(4) Consideration shall be given to transferability of paraeducatorscredit earned in improvingthis program to teacher preparation programs at colleges and universities.Sec. 4.  RCW 28A.150.203 and 2009 c 548 s 102 are each amended to read as follows:The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(1) "Basic education goal" means the student outcomeslearning goals and the student knowledge and skills described under RCW 28A.150.210.(2) "Certificated administrative staff" means all those persons who are chief executive officers, chief administrative officers, confidential employees, supervisors, principals, or assistant principals within the meaning of RCW 41.59.020(4).(3) "Certificated employee" as used in this chapter and RCW 28A.195.010, 28A.405.100, 28A.405.210, 28A.405.240, 28A.405.250, 28A.405.300 through 28A.405.380, and chapter 41.59 RCW, means those persons who hold certificates as authorized by rule of the Washington state.professional educator standards board.(4) "Certificated instructional staff" means those persons employed by a school district who are nonsupervisory certificated employees within the meaning of RCW 41.59.020(8), except for paraeducators.(5) "Class size" means an instructional grouping of students where, on average, the ratio of students to teacher is the number specified.(6) "Classified employee" means either a person who is employed as a paraeducator or who does not hold a professional education certificate or is employed in a position that does not require such a certificate.(7) "Classroom teacher" means a person who holds a professional education certificate and is employed in a position for which such certificate is required whose primary duty is the daily educational instruction of students.

The study must examine variation in the use of paraeducators across public schools and school districts and analyze whether and the extent that any differences in students' academic progress can be attributed to the use of paraeducators.

The office of the superintendent of public instruction and the education data center shall provide the data necessary to conduct the analysis.

The study must also include a review of the national research literature on the effectiveness of paraeducators in improving student outcomes.(2) By December 15, 2017, and in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, the institute must submit a final report to the appropriate committees of the legislature.(3) This section expires July 1, 2020.NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10.  A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 RCW to read as follows:TEACHER AND ADMINISTRATOR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING.

(1) The superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with the paraeducator board created in section 3 of this act and the professional educator standards board, shall design a training program for teachers and administrators as it relates to their role working with paraeducators.

Teacher training must include how to direct a paraeducator working with students in the paraeducators' classroom.

Administrator training must include how to supervise and evaluate paraeducators.(2) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the training program designed under subsection (1) of this section must be made available to public schools, school districts, and educational service districts.NEW SECTION.  Sec. 11.  A new section is added to chapter 28A.410 RCW to read as follows:TEACHER AND ADMINISTRATOR PREPARATION.

The professional educator standards board, in consultation with the paraeducator board created in section 3 of this act and the office of the superintendent of public instruction, shall incorporate into the content required to complete a professional educator standards board-approved teacher or administrator preparation program the following:(1) For teachers, information on how to direct a paraeducator working with students in the paraeducators' classroom;