Redistribution of certification fees bill heading to Governor

OLYMPIA — Washington’s House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation Wednesday permitting additional uses of educator certification fees.

Senate Bill 6740, sponsored by Sen. Debbie Regala, D-Tacoma, allows for a portion of fees collected for educator certification to be used by Educational Service Districts (ESD) for the certification services they provide.

Under current law, the fees paid by individuals to obtain an educator certificate are used to support and evaluate educator preparation programs, and to support and evaluate professional development in-service programs. Under the rules of the Professional Educator Standards Board, the fees are divided so that half of the fee amount supports each of the two types of programs.

All nine of Washington’s Educational Service Districts (ESDs) believe they should also be eligible to receive a portion of this funding. Currently, ESDs provide technical assistance, applications, and application processing for teacher, administrator, and educational staff associate certification.

SB 6740 clearly defines the uses of fees collected from certification training to be precertification professional preparation, program evaluation, in-service training, and of certification services provided by ESDs.

“This is a very simple bill that will have a big impact on our service districts,” said Regala. “It’s not about increasing fees, just redirecting the current ones.”

SB 6740 unanimously passed the Senate on Feb. 13, and with passage from the House, now goes to Governor Gregoire for her signature. The Governor has 10 days to sign the bill into law. The 2008 Session is scheduled to adjourn March 13.

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