Legislative Review this week on Senate education bills

Go to TVW or look at this week's Legislative Review for a synopsis of the Senate action on education bills. The action took place on Wednesday, with more than an hour debate on grading schools A-F. For true TVW wonks, or for a rainy day, watch the debate on the Senate floor for March 6 to get a sense of the arguments for and against these bills. (The total debates spanned several hours.)

Bills that passed include:

• E2SSB 5237 - 3rd grade reading assessment failure consequences;
• SSB 5242 - requiring the consent of the principal in teacher transfers;
• E2SSB 5243 - requiring all high schools to automatically enroll students who pass the statewide assessments or end-of-course exams in the next more rigorous course;
• E2SSB 5244 - eliminating indefinite suspensions or expulsions except in certain circumstances;
• ESSB 5328 - grading schools A-F;
• E2SSB 5330 - changing various educational programs;
• ESSB 5587 - requiring students in 2018 to pass the statewide comprehensive English Language Arts and math assessments to graduate (exam first rolls out in 2014-15 school year); and
• 2SSB 5794 - changing Alternative Learning Experience courses, including weekly contact time requirements.

To see how your Senate voted on these bills, please go to the legislative web site and type in the bill number. Then review the "Roll Call."

The House passed HB 1652, an bill that would defer impact fees, including school impact fees, from the time of a building permit to time of occupancy. Instead of allowing local jurisdictions to decide whether to defer the impact fees, the bill would require it. A similar bill in the Senate is stalled.

Finally, a number of House education bills passed this week as well. Check out the floor calendar for today's action.