Legislative wrap-up: PESB

The 2009 Legislature passed, and the Governor is expected to sign House Bill 2003 that charges the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) to change its composition and continue and start work in educator preparation, certification and ongoing professional development. These changes, and in general the work of the PESB, have a significant impact the teaching profession.

House Bill 2003 added some additional duties and changes to their plate.

Section 1 of the bill:

• Before the bill, the PESB was… Charged with developing and implementing state policies and rules for educator preparation, certification and ongoing continuing education, as well as administering specific conditional scholarship programs for individuals going into shortage teaching areas
• After the bill, the PESB will… Solidify some of what they already do and acquire new duties -
• Develop and maintain research on educator preparation;
• Develop and coordinate educator preparation initiatives that address high-demand fields, like math and science, and recruit underrepresented populations into teaching; and
• Prepare and maintain a policy framework for educator development.
• Provide technical assistance and compliance assurance to higher education preparation programs. This will result in transferring the Professional Education Division of OSPI to the PESB.

Section 2 of the bill:

• Before the bill, the PESB was… composed of 21 Governor-appointed members that were representative of different educator stakeholder groups, such as K-12 teachers, educational staff associates, principals and higher education.
• After the bill, the PESB will… Lower their members to 12, and require that a majority will be composed of educator-practitioners with current classroom-based experience.

Sections 3 & 4 of the bill:

• Before the bill, the PESB was… tasked to hear and decide upon certification appeals by educators.
• After the bill, the PESB will… No longer have this duty.

Click on the link to the bill as it passed the legislature: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2009-10/Pdf/Bills/House%20Pass...

Background. The state created the PESB in 2000 as an advisory board on educator preparation, certification and ongoing continuing education. In 2005, the Legislature decided to restructure education policy governance and transferred those duties and rule-making / policy development to the PESB as its own independent board appointed by the Governor. The PESB is unique in many ways in Washington and around the country - it is a board of educator-practitioners appointed to serve and work for their own profession, unlike other boards or commissions that are composed of laypeople. To find out more about this and the work accomplished and underway at the PESB go to their website - www.pesb.wa.gov.

A quick plug - the PESB often has teacher vacancies on the board, and is always interested in filling those with committed teachers who want to impact state educator policies.

If you are interested in being nominated for a PESB position, please contact Jeanne Harmon Jeanne@cstp-wa.org or 253-752-2082.