LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY REPORT
End of Session Report
The 2008 Washington State Legislative Session came
to a close on March 13, 2008. This concluded a 60
day session during which the legislature made
mid-cycle budget adjustments.
There were gains for issues related to education.
How did we do on our top priorities?
The following bills related to Washington State
PTA's top priority issues were passed and signed by
the Governor:
-
K-12 Education Funding-
SSB 6879- In 2007 the Legislature created the Joint
Task Force on Basic Education Finance which was
directed to review the definition of basic education
and the current basic education funding formulas,
develop options for a new funding structure and all
necessary formulas, and propose a new definition of
basic education. This bill sets a Dec 1st completion
date for the work of the Basic Education Finance
task force.
-
Math and Science Education-
SB 6534- Regarding the revision of mathematics
standards. This bill requires the State Board of
Education to retain a national consultant to analyze
the February 2008 version of the mathematics
standards revised by OSPI.
2SHB
2598- Regarding development of an online
mathematics curriculum.
-
Quality Teaching-
SHB 2775- Providing an additional bonus for
Nationally Board certified teachers who teach in
high poverty areas- The bill died, but $577,000 has
been written into the final budget reconciliation,
which means that this will receive funding.
HB
2870- Providing opportunities for professional
development for instructional assistants.
SB
6726- Granting the professional educator standards
board ongoing authority to establish
professional-level certification assessments and
performance standards.
Special Education Funding- No bills currently fit
our issue. However, additional funding ($23.2
million) is being added to the Special Education
safety net funding, based on approved awards.
Other issues on our platform were also addressed by
the legislature:
Technical Skill Center- Funding was included for
preconstruction and design of the Northeast King
County Technical Skill Center, co-located with Lake
Washington Technical College in Kirkland. Serving 15
school districts, including Shoreline School
District, it will prepare high school students for
employment in our area's highest-demand careers
(health care, IT, architecture/construction, etc.)
HB
3212- Directs Center for the Improvement of Student
Learning (CISL) and the Education Ombudsman to
include students with disabilities in the groups of
students for whom they identify strategies to
improve success. Also requires OSPI in its WASL
results to report assessment data that is
disaggregated based on specified student groups
HB
2722- Directs the Center for the Improvement of
Student Learning to convene an advisory committee to
create a comprehensive strategic plan for addressing
the achievement gap for African-American students
SB
6377- Supports career and technical education
-
World Language-
2SHB 2523- Creating the position of world language
supervisor in the Office of the Superintendent of
Public Instruction. This bill died, but again
funding ($136,000) was provided in the budget.
-
Foster Kids-
SHB 2679- Creating programs to improve educational
outcomes for students in foster care.
-
Autism-
SB 6743- Regarding educational guidelines for
parents and educators of students with autism. This
bill is designed to assist all involved in the
education system, including parents, to make
improvements in educational services for children
with autism.
-
I-732 COLA-
In 2000, voters passed I-732, mandating that school
employees receive an annual cost-of-living
adjustment (COLA). These COLAs were not funded
during 2003-05. There was a change in the
configuration of the senate and since the 2005
session, these COLAs have been funded. In this
year's supplemental budget, another ½% was added to
make up towards those missed COLAs.
-
Child Health and Safety-
'Local Farms-Healthy Kid' legislation helps make it
easier for public schools to procure foods grown in
WA State and also funded a fresh food snack program
for schools with large numbers of low-income
students.
SB
6556- - Requiring OSPI to develop anaphylactic policy
guidelines to help protect students with
life-threatening allergies.
HB
2647- Regarding the children's safe products act
(Dickerson).
HB
2647- Prohibits the manufacturing, selling, offering
for sale, distributing for sale, or distributing for
use, a children's product or product component that
contains a certain concentration of lead, cadmium,
or phthalates
The Political Picture - Election Update
The
2008 election cycle appears to be well under way
given all of the attention nationally to the
presidential campaign. Here in Washington State all
of the major executive offices will be up for
election, from Governor to Superintendent of Public
Instruction. In the Legislature, the entire House is
up for election, as their seats are on a two-year
cycle. The Senate is on a four year cycle, so every
two years either 24 or 25 members are up for
election.
This
year is unique in that we already have ten members
of the House who have announced they will not run
for re-election.
The Economic Picture - Revenue Forecast
The
latest report from the Washington Economic and
Revenue Forecast Council indicates that although
Washington is still expected to outperform the U.S.
economy, the weaker national outlook will affect us
here as well.
The
2009 session of the Legislature may be quite
challenging, especially if the expectations are that
the Basic Education Finance Task Force will provide
recommendations for an updated version of the
definition of basic education and the Legislature
will provide adequate and ample funding to meet the
needs of students.
Thank you for your interest in legislative issues.
-
Judy Simon and Karen Meyer
Co-Representatives of Legislation for Shorewood PTSA
