(4) State agencies in the building bridges work group shall work together, wherever feasible, on the following activities to support school/family/community partnerships engaged in building K-12 dropout prevention, intervention, and reengagement systems:

• (a) Providing opportunities for coordination and flexibility of program eligibility and funding criteria;
• (b) Providing joint funding;
• (c) Developing protocols and templates for model agreements on sharing records and data;
• (d) Providing joint professional development opportunities that provide knowledge and training on:
• (i) Research-based and promising practices;
• (ii) The availability of programs and services for vulnerable youth; and
• (iii) Cultural competence.

(1) Subject to funds appropriated for this purpose, the office of the superintendent of public instruction must develop and make available a professional development program to support the implementation of the evaluation systems required by RCW 28A.405.100. The program components may be organized into professional development modules for principals, administrators, and teachers. The professional development program shall include a comprehensive online training package.

(3) The training program must also include the foundational elements of cultural competence, focusing on multicultural education and principles of English language acquisition, including information regarding best practices to implement the tribal history and culture curriculum. The content of the training must be aligned with the Standard for cultural competence developed by the professional educator Standard board under RCW 28A.410.270. The office of the superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with the professional educator Standard board, the steering committee established in RCW 28A.405.100, and the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee, must integrate the content for cultural competence into the overall training for principals, administrators, and teachers to support the revised evaluation systems.

(1) School districts shall require each administrator, each principal, or other supervisory personnel who has responsibility for evaluating classroom teachers or principals to have training in evaluation procedures.

(2) Before school district implementation of the revised evaluation systems required under RCW 28A.405.100, principals and administrators who have evaluation responsibilities must engage in professional development designed to implement the revised systems and maximize rater agreement. The professional development to support the revised evaluation systems must also include foundational elements of cultural competence, focusing on multicultural education and principles of English language acquisition.

(c) By January 1, 2020, in order to ensure that teachers can recognize signs of emotional or behavioral distress in students and appropriately refer students for assistance and support, the Washington professional educator Standard board shall incorporate along the entire continuum the social-emotional learning Standard and benchmarks recommended by the social-emotional learning benchmarks work group in its October 1, 2016, final report titled, “addressing social emotional learning in Washington’s K-12 public schools.” In incorporating the social-emotional learning Standard and benchmarks, the Washington professional educator Standard board must include related competencies, such as trauma-informed practices, consideration of adverse childhood experiences, mental health literacy, antibullying strategies, and culturally sustaining practices.

(1) Subject to funds appropriated specifically for this purpose, the office of the superintendent of public instruction, in collaboration with the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee, the professional educator Standard board, colleges of education, and representatives from diverse communities and community-based organizations, must develop a content outline for professional development and training in cultural competence for school staff.

(2) The content of the cultural competence professional development and training must be aligned with the Standard developed by the professional educator Standard board under RCW 28A.410.270. The training program must also include the foundational elements of cultural competence, focusing on multicultural education and principles of English language acquisition, including information regarding best practices to implement the tribal history and culture curriculum.

(3) The cultural competence professional development and training must contain components that are appropriate for classified school staff and district administrators as well as certificated instructional staff and principals at the building level. The professional development and training must also contain components suitable for delivery by individuals from the local community or community-based organizations with appropriate expertise.

(4) The legislature encourages educational service districts and school districts to use the cultural competence professional development and training developed under this section and provide opportunities for all school and school district staff to gain knowledge and skills in cultural competence, including in partnership with their local communities.

At the beginning of each school year, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall identify schools in the top five percent of schools with the highest percent growth during the previous two school years in enrollment of English language learner students as compared to previous enrollment trends. The office shall notify the identified schools, and the school districts in which the schools are located are strongly encouraged to provide the cultural competence professional development and training developed under RCW 28A.405.106, 28A.405.120, and 28A.415.420 for classified, certificated instructional, and administrative staff of the schools. The professional development and training may be delivered by an educational service district, through district in-service, or by another qualified provider, including in partnership with the local community.