Teacher & principal programs

AN ACT Relating to the ongoing review of approved teacher and 1
principal preparation programs; amending RCW 28A.410.275 and 2
28B.10.033; creating a new section; and providing an effective date.3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature intends to ensure that 5
Washington teacher preparation programs engage in meaningful review 6
processes that strengthen the programs' abilities to prepare 7
educators for the modern classroom. It is critical that Washington's 8
teacher preparation system integrates the knowledge and skills that 9
educators need to effectively serve each and every student and is 10
responsive to the changing needs of the communities being served by 11
the teacher preparation system. This act seeks to streamline existing 12
accountability measures of teacher preparation programs to support 13
meaningful review of and self-reflection by programs, include input 14
from those within the education system that are being served by 15
teacher preparation programs, and facilitate the continuous 16
improvement of Washington's teacher preparation system.17
Sec. 2. RCW 28A.410.275 and 2019 c 386 s 8 are each amended to 18
read as follows: 19
S-3702.1
SENATE BILL 6278
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senator Wellman
Read first time 01/22/26. Referred to Committee on Early Learning &
K-12 Education.
p. 1 SB 6278
(1) The Washington professional educator standards board must 1
periodically review approved preparation programs to assess whether 2
and to what extent the programs are meeting knowledge, skill, and 3
performance standards, and publish on its website the results of the 4
review in a format that facilitates program comparison.5
(2) Ongoing review of fully approved teacher and principal 6
preparation programs must include the following components as 7
established by the Washington professional educator standards board:8
(a) Program standards;9
(b) Educator role standards;10
(c) Evidence submitted by programs; and11
(d) Input from community constituents and prekindergarten and 12
K-12 partners including, but not limited to, input from educators in 13
the classroom and administrators within school districts that may 14
have direct experience with the program being reviewed.15
(3) The Washington professional educator standards board shall 16
regularly update the components established in subsection (2) of this 17
section to reflect the changing needs of the modern classroom as 18
identified by educators in the classroom and as identified through a 19
review of changes to state and federal requirements. This regular 20
update is intended to promote better continuity, communication, 21
consistency, and coherence across the educator preparation system and 22
the prekindergarten and K-12 community it serves, and enable educator 23
preparation programs to better respond and adapt in a timely manner 24
to the changing needs of the prekindergarten and K-12 system.25
(4) Following a review using the components established in 26
subsection (2) of this section, the Washington professional educator 27
standards board will determine a response to any areas of practice 28
where the program's performance is out of alignment with standards 29
and requirements, provide the program notice of that response, and 30
require the program to identify actions that will be taken to come 31
into alignment with the standards and requirements.32
Sec. 3. RCW 28B.10.033 and 2019 c 295 s 202 are each amended to 33
read as follows: 34
(1)(a) Each Washington professional educator standards board-35
approved teacher preparation program, including an alternative route 36
teacher certification program, must develop a plan describing how the 37
program will partner with school districts in the general geographic 38
region of the program regarding field placement of student teachers. 39
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The plans must be developed in collaboration with school districts 1
desiring to partner with the programs, and may include use of 2
unexpended federal or state funds to support residencies and 3
mentoring for students who are likely to continue teaching in the 4
district in which they have a supervised field placement.5
(b) ((Beginning July 1, 2020, the )) The following goals must be 6
considered when developing the plans required under this section:7
(i) Field placement of student teachers should be targeted to 8
high-need subject areas, including special education and English 9
language learner, and high-need geographic areas, including Title I 10
and rural schools; and 11
(ii) Student teacher mentors should be highly effective as 12
evidenced by the mentors having received level 3 or above on both 13
criteria 3 (recognizing individual student learning needs and 14
developing strategies to address those needs) and criteria 6 (using 15
multiple student data elements to modify instruction and improve 16
student learning) on their most recent comprehensive performance 17
evaluation under RCW 28A.405.100. Student teacher mentors should also 18
have received or be concurrently receiving professional development 19
in mentoring skills. 20
(2) The plans required under subsection (1) of this section must 21
be submitted to the Washington professional educator standards board 22
and updated ((by July 1st every even-numbered year )) on a schedule 23
established by the Washington professional educator standards board 24
at a frequency of no less than one submission every three years.25
(3) The Washington professional educator standards board shall 26
post the plans and updates required under this section on its 27
website. 28
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Section 3 of this act takes effect January 29
1, 2027.30
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