February 12, 2020
This newsletter provides key updates and policy changes that were presented at the January board meeting. See additional actions and annotations from this meeting.
 On January 16, members from the State Board of Education (SBE), the Paraeducator Board, and the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) participated in a collaborative lunch session filled with action planning and table activities. Members heard presentations highlighting current and future agency priorities, areas of alignment, and opportunities for partnership. Members were able to engage in discussion around initiatives to advance equity in education; a focal point for both state agencies.
Members from the Professional Educator Standards Board and the Paraeducator Board finalized an initial outline of the strategic plan, including a mission, vision, guiding principles, values, and goals. Goals will be aligned with the educator career continuum.
 A critical component of the strategic plan will be incorporating community voice. Heading into the Spring, we will kick off our community engagement campaign with a series of community forums, as well as putting out a public survey. The forums and survey will be requesting feedback, and promoting engagement and dialogue in an effort to help inform the plan's priority areas. Information on how to participate will be forthcoming.
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The purpose of the advancing equity grant is to increase systemic equity in educator preparation programs by providing capacity-building grants, technical assistance, training, and a workgroup focused on shared learning and resources. This work also informs policy for monitoring equity and cultural responsiveness of programs.
At the January meeting, PESB staff and board members were joined by one of the grantees, University of Puget Sound (UPS), who presented their equity work on "centering race and unlearning racism in teacher preparation curriculum in the school of education."
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Presenters from UPS highlighted two projects:
- Engaging teaching dilemmas to foster culturally responsive and anti-racist teaching practice. Learn more.
- Undoing miseducation: Centering race and unlearning racism in teacher education. Learn more.
Board members considered changes to the matching of endorsements and courses. These potential changes are the result of modifications to the way courses are coded, and impact whether a teacher is in-endorsement or out-of-endorsement. The main endorsements affected are elementary education, early childhood education, and middle level science, math, and humanities. Board action is anticipated in March.
Members from the PESB and the Paraeducator Board considered an amendment to policy in WAC regarding how certificate fees are used. Certificate fees would be used in three main areas:
- Educator preparation
- Program evaluation
- In-service professional learning
This change would not impact the cost of any certificates. Learn more.
In an effort to reduce barriers, and create more accessible pathways to becoming an educator, PESB has made several administrative enhancements on educator assessments. The highlights of these changes include:
- Reducing test fees of WEST programs
- Increasing the number of assessment vouchers
- Enhancing test preparation materials
- Providing more support for programs and candidates
Learn more about the assessment contract renewal.
Members approved a policy change that allows all candidates to use all assessment options of WEST-B, SAT/ACT (alternatives), and equivalent national or out-of-state (OOS) basic skills tests to meet the basic skills assessment requirement. We anticipate this policy change will become effective in early March.
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View a list of equivalent national and OOS basic skills assessments
The Governor’s office has announced a new chair and member appointment to the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB). Read our announcement to learn more about these member changes.
New chair
Beginning January 20, Amy Frost will serve as Chair of the Professional Educator Standards Board. Amy, who was appointed to the Board in March 2017, has previously served as Vice Chair.
A farewell to Luke Thomas
Luke Thomas, who has served two terms on the Professional Educator Standards Board, has been the Chair since July 21, 2016. Luke has been instrumental in supporting efforts to diversify the educator workforce, reduce barriers to the teaching profession and elevate educator voice in policy work.
New member
Governor Inslee has appointed longtime educator Robert Hand, as the newest member to join the Professional Educator Standards Board. As a new member of the Board, Robert most looks forward to ensuring “we have strong teacher preparation programs in high schools that specifically recruit students of color and multilingual students. I also look forward to ensuring that teachers are being sufficiently prepared to deliver high academic rigor as well as strong social and emotional support.” He believes “the single greatest factor in determining student success is the effectiveness of the teacher in the classroom.”
On January 15, the Paraeducator Board heard presentations and took action on several policies, including:
- Amending WAC to include Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) standards to the paraeducator standards of practice. Beginning February 1, 2020, the FCS must include SEL training. The online course, “Paraeducators: what we do matters”, has been updated to include the new standards.
- Listening to representatives from Pioneer, Steilacoom, and Tukwila school districts on their approaches to implementing the FCS.
- Receiving a presentation from an Auburn school district paraeducator who shared her perspectives on the FCS training.
- Hearing from a PSE representative on how the union will provide training on the FCS.
- A presentation on data collected from school district phone calls.
For a complete review of the board meeting, including summaries for each agenda item, please visit the meetings material folder.
- March 19-20 | Seattle Airport Marriott in SeaTac
- May 20-21 | Hampton Inn in Richland
- July 14-15 | TBD
- September 23-24 | Ruby River Hotel in Spokane
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