Senate adopts fix to 1,080 hours issue

The Senate passed E2SSB 6552 today by a vote of 45 to 4. The bill would make the following changes:

• Change the requirement for 1,080 instructional hours from grades 7-12 to grades 9-12;
• Allow for a district-wide averaging of instructional hours for purposes of basic education apportionment;
• Authorize a 24-credit framework for the class of 2019, as adopted by the State Board of Education on January 9, 2014;
• Require district boards of directors to grant academic credit for math and science CTE courses, starting in the 2015-16 school year; and
• Redirect the $97 million appropriated in the 2013-15 operating budget for the 1,080 hours to be used for an additional $130 in MSOC per student in grades 9-12, additional high school guidance counselors, and reduced lab science spaces.

Speaking in favor were co-sponsors Sen. Bruce Dammeier, R-Puyallup, and Christine Rolfes, D-Bainbridge Island.

"We need to be about the what, not the how," said Dammeier, telling the Senate that the legislature should set the target - in this case, 24 credits - but not how districts get there. - the hours.

Reminding the Senate that getting to 24 credits would require additional funding beyond the $97 million was former Northshore school director Rosemary McAuliffe. "By the year 2019, we need to make sure our schools are whole and can take advantage of this opportunity for our students," she said.

Speaking against the bill was Sen. Bob Hasegawa, D-Beacon Hill, who raised concerns about students who are already behind trying to get to 20 credits. Hasegawa likened it to a high jump set at 6 feet, and said many students of poverty and color aren't able to get over this height.

"This is like raising the bar to 7 feet, without providing the springboard to get them over the 6 feet first." He argued the legislature should focus on the recommendations put forth by the Educational Opportunity Gap Accountability & Oversight Committee the past few years.

House and Senate working bills

The House and Senate have been meeting in caucuses and spending time on the floor today passing bills in time for next Tuesday's 5:00 p.m. deadline.

That also means keeping a steady supply of fresh bills in the pipeline. The Senate today "pulled" 10 education-related bills from the Rules committee straight to the floor.

This included bills that would require OSPI to keep a web portal of all school district collective bargaining agreements, including whether the CBA has a "no strike" clause and how the CBA will help close the education opportunity gap. (2SSB 6062 and SSB 6250).

Also pulled to the floor was SB 6061, which would mandate that districts use an automatic enrollment policy, placing students who pass a statewide assessment in a specific subject area into the next most rigorous level of courses. A bill that made the policy permissive was adopted by the legislature last session, and WSSDA issued a model policy that could be adopted by districts seeking to have an academic acceleration policy and take advantage of a small grant program created to help districts get their program started.

The Rules committee was also relieved of 2SSB 6163, which started out life as a summer learning pilot program of 20 additional days for up to 10 school districts and has been whittled down to a study of the feasibility of creating a program to mitigate summer learning loss.

Also potentially of interest is SB 6242, which would allow up to five school districts with fewer than 500 students to apply to the State Board of Education for an economy & efficiency waiver, which is a fancy way of saying a four-day school week.

For its part, the House passed the school equipment nutrition grant program bill and a bill designed to help student who are homeless. Last night the House passed a number of education bills. Check www.leg.wa.gov and use the House and Senate floor tracking sheets for the latest information on bills.

Next up on today's Senate's schedule is 2SSB 6552, the omnibus bill that spans the 1080 hours, 24 credits and academic course equivalencies along with repurposing the $97 million appropriated last year.

House Education Committee hears simple majority for bonds bill

Articulate parents from Tacoma, Lake Washington and Vancouver spoke strongly in favor of HB 2441 and HJR 4216, bills that would lower the 60% requirement to a simple majority for school bond elections. The parents are active members of their local PTAs and have worked on their bond measures.

Also speaking in favor were WSSDA, WEA, the Education Alliance, and the Puget Sound Schools Coalition.

Of the 24 bond measures on the ballot February 11, representing nearly $3 billion in requests, in unofficial results, 13 are failing. Of those, 10 would have also passed with a simple majority.

Speaking on other bills were school directors Anne Moore (Issaquah) and Glen Morgan (Rochester) on a bill that would allow school districts to post legal notices on their web site instead of in the closest daily newspaper. While the savings to the district isn't huge, both argued that it would cut some costs and provide broader reach in many cases.

HB 2319 is sponsored by Rep. Chad Magendanz, R-Issaquah, and is a WSSDA-adopted position titled "Legal Notices." Magendanz said that legal notices,in all but one case, were significantly more expensive than the general advertising rate. "School district need the flexibility to communicate in the best way," he said. "We require that school districts buy a product," and it's time to change that practice, he said.

Speaking against the bill were representatives of the newspaper industry.

School director Karen Vialle (Tacoma) testified in favor HB 2291, a bill that would require a majority of school board members on both of the boards considering a boundary change to agree before school boundaries could be changed.

Sponsored by Rep. Liz Pike, R-Camas, the bill was shared with the WSSDA legislative committee last summer; the committee did not adopt a position but was split on the issue. Lawmakers also seemed unconvinced, and Rep. Kathy Haigh, D-Shelton, said she had put the ESD as the neutral party in place years ago to avoid some of the issues that were being raised in the hearing.

WSSDA president Mari Taylor speaks in favor of professional development

WSSDA President Mari Taylor kicked off a panel of school district representatives during a work session on professional development before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education..

Taylor, a 14-year veteran of the Lake Stevens School Board of Directors, said that state funding for professional learning for our classroom teachers, paraeducators and principals is critical, particularly in light of recent changes in the past few years.

Districts specifically need to focus on training around common core state standards and the next generation science standards, along with using data to improve student achievement and the new evaluation system.

Taylor shared how Lake Stevens is embedding professional learning throughout the district on an on-going basis and in a collaborative manner. The best learning doesn't occur in short bursts, said Taylor. Rather, learning occurs throughout the year, and is intimately connected to daily work, she said..

WSSDA has prioritized professional development funding as one of its top priorities, and is promoting companion bills in the House and Senate (HB 2313/SB 6161) that would require at least two days of state funding for training for all certificated instructional staff, building-level administrators, and paraeducators who work with LAP, ELL, highly capable, and special education students.

School leaders from North Thurston, Tacoma, Vancouver, and Mary M. Knight school districts also discussed the importance of systematic professional learning and collaboration that is thoughtful and relevant.

Choose kids over big oil, say HB 2465 proponents

Supporters of closing a tax preference policy that has been extended to oil refineries testified in favor of HB 2465 this morning. Sporting buttons that read, "Choose little kids over big oil," several bill proponents said that the state's paramount duty is to fund education and closing this loophole would add $30 million a year for education..

In addition to Shawn Lewis of WEA, Clifford Traisman, representing the Washington Environmental Council, flagged passing this bill as one of its top two priorities this session. The WEC represents 23 environmental organizations; Traisman said that the bill is about fairness and it was more important to invest in kids over investing in fossil fuel companies.

On the other side of the debate were representatives of oil refineries and business organizations. Company owners said they already made significant contributions to education in their communities and through taxes, and closing this tax preference would have a negative impact on their business.

A similar bill passed the House twice in 2013 and has been targeted by former Gov. Christine Gregoire and by Gov. Jay Inslee as part of a larger package to reach $200 million for investments in education this session..

Senate and House education committees act on bills

Earlier this morning, the House Education Committee moved four out of more than a dozen bills before the House policy deadline took effect. Left on the table were bills that would have authorized the 24-credit framework and fixing the 1,080 minimum instructional hours requirement.

3SHB 1680 passed out of committee on nearly a party-line vote, with  Republican Kevin Parker, R-Spokane, joining all Democratic members to pass the bill from committee. The bill would implement recommendations from the Educational Opportunity Gap Oversight & Accountability Committee, and ranges from changes to discipline to requiring bilingual instructors in ELL classes.

Democratic committee members turned down several amendments offered by ranking member Cathy Dahlquist, R-Enumclaw, designed to minimize the impact on school districts and students.

The bill moves to the House Appropriations Committee.

The House Education Committee also moved out SHB 2540, which would require school districts to grant course equivalency to CTE courses starting in the 2015-16 school year.

In the Senate, a majority voted in favor of SSB 5986, a bill that would restore basic education apportionment payments to 215 school districts that receive federal forest payments. Voting against the school-director supported bill were Senators McAuliffe, D-Bothell; Billig, D-Spokane; Mullet, D-Issaquah; and Cleveland, D-Vancouver.

The bill moves onto the Senate Ways and Means Committee.