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Weekly Legislative Update – February 24, 2023

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Education Policy | , , , , , , , , , , ,

CSTP Updates

Hello and happy Friday! The 105-day schedule does not allow for much time to take in the loss or celebration of bills as they move quickly through the committee process. Last Friday, February 17, was the policy committee cut-off in the house of origin. The OSPI sponsored bill, SB 5505, which introduced the idea of a “balanced school calendar,” failed to make it out of committee alongside several other bills. Today, February 24 is the fiscal committee cut-off. Bills that are not passed out of the House Appropriations or Senate Ways & Means Committees by end of day today will not move forward. 

This session, bills that expand access to education programs that allow many students to earn college credit while in high school have received broad support thus far, and continue to be progressing toward the governor’s desk. Dual-credit programs, such as Running Start and College in the High School, give Washington State students the opportunity to earn college credit and their high school diploma simultaneously.  Crosscut reports that these dual credit programs also happen to cost significantly less than traditional four-year universities for both students and the state. The four dual credit bills still in play are: HB 1146, which requires students and families to be informed of dual credit opportunities offered in their district, SSB 5048, which eliminates College in the High School fees, and both HB 1316 and HB 1003 which aim to expand access more broadly by removing barriers such as add-on course fees and lack of financial coverage for summer classes.

Education Committee Hearings for Next Week on TVW.org

House Appropriations Committee

  • Friday, February 24 at 9:00 am

House Education Committee

  • Wednesday, March 1 at 8:00 am

House Bills:

HB 1003: which would lower dual credit program costs for eligible students with financial need by creating a subsidy program, reducing per college credit fees for college in the high school students, and revising eligibility for the Running Start program tuition fee waiver, and would also make the Running Start program permanent to pilot institutions. The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee.

HB 1013: which would require OSPI and Washington ESDs to jointly establish a regional apprenticeship pilot program with one site each in Eastern and Western Washington. The bill has passed out of the House Appropriations Committee.

SHB 1015: which revises minimum employment requirements for paraeducators. The bill is in the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Committee.

HB 1057: which would provide a benefit increase to certain retirees of the public employees’ retirement system plan 1 and the teachers’ retirement system plan 1. The bill has passed out of the House Appropriations Committee. 

HB 1109: which would provide additional special education funding to school districts in order to increase initial evaluations during summers. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.

SHB 1113: which would require the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) to adopt rules for reviewing and vacating reprimands issued to certificated professional educators. The bill is in the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Committee.

HB 1146: which would require schools to notify high school students and their families about available dual credit programs and any available financial assistance. The bill is in the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Committee.

HB 1207: which aims to prevent and respond to harassment, intimidation, bullying, and discrimination in schools through updated policies and procedures. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.

SHB 1238: which requires public schools, beginning with the 2023-24 school year, to provide breakfast and lunch each school day to any requesting students and at no charge to the students. The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee and scheduled for executive session today at 9am.

SHB 1239: which would establish a simple and uniform system for complaints related to, and instituting a code of educator ethics for, conduct within or involving public elementary and secondary schools. The bill has passed out of the House Appropriations Committee.

SHB 1277: which would establish rules to improve the consistency and quality of the implementation of the fundamental courses of study for paraeducators. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.

SHB 1305: which would make changes to the requirements to initial student evaluations for special education and to the development and implementation of individualized education programs (IEPs) in order to improve access to a free appropriate public education for students with disabilities. The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee and scheduled for executive session today at 9am.

​​HB 1308: which establishes a graduation pathway option that enables students to meet pathway requirements by completing a performance-based learning experience. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.

SHB 1316:  which would lower dual enrollment program costs for eligible students from $65 to $42.50 per credit by creating a subsidy program, incentivizing reduction of per college credit fees charged to college in the high school students, and revising eligibility for the Running Start (RS) program tuition fee waiver. The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee. 

SHB 1332: which would require all school districts to incorporate a tribal sovereignty curriculum into their social studies curricula by September 1, 2023, as well as require districts to consult with the nearest federally recognized Indian tribe(s) about incorporating materials about their history, culture, and government into their social studies curricula by September 1, 2025. The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee. 

SHB 1377:  which would require the posting of approved courses and providers of continuing education. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.

HB 1436: which authorizes school districts to apply to OSPI for additional special education funding beyond state excess cost allocations, and increases excess cost multipliers for special education students over four school years. The bill has passed out of the House Appropriations Committee. 

HB 1478: which establishes a statement of student rights for public schools and requires public schools to develop student-focused educational and promotional materials that incorporate the statement and to include the materials into required civics instruction. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.

HB 1479: which would prohibit students from being subjected to isolation, mechanical restraint, or chemical restraint by school staff, except for school resource officers under some circumstances, and specifies that existing isolation rooms must remain unlocked, and no new isolation rooms may be created, and, by January 1, 2024, isolation rooms must be removed or repurposed. The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee and scheduled for executive session today at 9am.

SHB 1504: which requires public schools, beginning with the 2024-25 school year, to provide daily recess for all students in kindergarten through grade 5, and grade 6 if the students attend an elementary school. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.

HB 1550: which would establish the transition to kindergarten program to provide no-charge assistance to eligible children in need of additional preparation to be successful kindergarten students in the following school year. The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee and scheduled for executive session today at 9am.

SHB 1565: which requires the development of an online platform for the recruitment and hiring of public school employees and establishes a teacher residency program. The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee. 

HB 1622: which aims to support the needs of students experiencing homelessness by aligning program goals, establishing common reporting requirements, and establishing examples of permitted expenditures for the OSPI program. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.

SHB 1658:which would authorize high school students aged 16 and above to earn up to two elective credits through paid work experience if approval and alignment with the student’s High School and Beyond Plan are met. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.

HB 1701: which concerns basic education services to youth who are served through institutional education programs. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.

Senate Bills:

SB 5019: which removes “classified staff providing student and staff safety” from the definition of physical, social, and emotional support staff and the specific funding considerations for that group. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.

SSB 5048: which would eliminate college in the high school fees. The bill has passed out of the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

SSB 5054: which would modify instructional hours to include time students spend in educational activities under the supervision of non-certificated staff while teachers participate in professional learning communities (PLCs) as well as encourage school districts to adopt a school calendar that includes at least four hours per week for teachers to engage in PLCs during the school day. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.

SSB 5072: which would establish new requirements for identifying students who may be eligible for highly capable services, including conducting universal screenings once in or before second grade, and again before sixth grade.The bill is in the House Education Committee.

SSB 5085: which would remove statutory limitations on the scope of collective bargaining in regards to supervisors, or principals and assistant principals, and would require specific evaluation criteria when transferring a principal/assistant principal to a subordinate certificated position. This bill would prohibit school district employment applications from including a question asking whether the applicant has ever been on a plan of improvement, or under an investigation. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.

SSB 5102: which requires school districts and school boards to provide every student with access to school library information and technology programs. The bill has passed out of the Senate Ways & Means Committee. 

SSB 5127: which would clarifyschool districts’ ability to redact personal information related to a student. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.

SSB 5174: which would modify the student transportation allocation formula and expand the definition of “to and from school” to include the transportation of students participating in career connected and work based learning opportunities. The bill has passed out of the Senate Ways & Means Committee. 

SB 5175: which would allow employment contracts between a school board and principal to be up to three years in length, as opposed to limited to a term of one year. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.

SB 5180: which aims to support the retention of teachers by removing barriers to licensure and creating a streamlined pathway to licensure mobility. The bill has passed out of the Senate Ways & Means Committee. 

SSB 5243: which revises high school and beyond plan (HSBP) requirements, and would require OSPI to facilitate the transition and adoption of a common online platform for HSBPs. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.

SSB 5248: which would reappropriate COVID-19 relief funding for grants to be used on high quality tutoring and rigorous extended learning programs. The bill is in the Senate Ways & Means Committee and scheduled for executive session today at 9am.

ESSB 5257: which would ensure that public schools provide daily recess for all elementary students with a minimum of 45 minutes when the school day is longer than five hours and a minimum of 30 minutes when the school day is shorter, as well as prohibit schools from withholding recess as a punitive action. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.

SSB 5311: which would increase the special education excess cost multipliers for pre-K and K12 students over a four-year period and increase the special education enrollment funding cap from 13.5 percent to 14.5 percent. The bill has passed out of the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

SSB 5315: which would require OSPI to establish standards for approval, monitoring, and investigating school district contracts with nonpublic agencies (NPAs) operating special education programs for students with disabilities, and requires that restraint and isolation procedures and notification requirements apply to NPAS. The bill has passed out of the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

SB 5355: which requires school districts to provide instruction on sex trafficking prevention and identification at least once between grades 7 and 12 beginning in the 2024-25 school year. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.

SB 5462: which would direct OSPI to review and update relevant state learning standards at all grade levels to include the histories, contributions, and perspectives of LGBTQ people, and historically marginalized and underrepresented groups, by December 1, 2024. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.

SB 5527: which would add additional courses to the list of courses approved as a graduation pathway option. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.

SSB 5617: which would require  interdistrict cooperative agreements in a skill center to stipulate that any course equivalencies approved by OSPI or a host district must be honored by other participating school districts. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.

SSB 5626: which requires OSPI to establish a grant program for expanding the capability of school districts to integrate media literacy and digital citizenship into public school instruction. The bill has passed out of the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

SB 5647: which requires safe school plans to include how substitute teachers and other temporary employees receive necessary information, including school safety policies and procedures and the three basic functional drill responses. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.

SB 5650: which concerns salary inflationary increases for K-12 employees. The bill has passed out of the Senate Ways & Means Committee. 

Odds and Ends:

“How can educators establish opportunities for students to tell their stories and find themselves in the stories of others?” From MindShift, Matching Students with Books is a Sacred Task. How Can Educators Select Stories that Boost Belonging?

After my 2nd grader came home asking me how to write her name in cursive it got me thinking, will her generation ever know how to read or write in cursive? From the Atlantic Magazine, I found this thought provoking article. Gen Z Never Learned to Read Cursive.

Meet CSTP’s Legislative Update Coordinator Samantha Miller

Samantha Miller returns as CSTP’s Legislative Updates Coordinator for the 2023 legislative session. She writes weekly emails during the legislative session focusing on bills that impact Washington educators. Samantha has degrees in both Political Science and History, as well as a Master in Teaching. Samantha has worked in Elementary Education for 6 years, most recently as a 3rd Grade general education teacher. The majority of her time is spent chasing around her two children who keep her very busy. Samantha enjoys running, working in her yard, listening to political podcasts, and spending time with her family.

The Worldwide Woes of Rural Education

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Education, Education Policy, Life in the Classroom, Teacher Leadership, Uncategorized | , , ,

It’s no secret that there is a shortage of teachers entering the workforce in Washington (OSPI has a page on this). But have you seen the news from rural China? Recent articles explain how education in rural China is in a crisis. Due to the developmental divide between urban and rural areas, and the low wages for teachers, young Chinese teachers entering the profession have little incentive to work in rural areas, far from the conveniences of the larger towns and cities. Likewise, wealthier rural families send their children to schools in more urban areas for better opportunities. Meanwhile, the students who remain in rural schools suffer from ever-decreasing quality of education, high teacher turnover, and limited programs of instruction.

Yunnan Rice Fields

I wish these articles were as exotic and foreign to me as the locale would suggest, but, line after line, I kept seeing a parallel to my own teaching context.

First of all, Chinese villages are inconvenient, with transportation issues for students and teachers. Transportation is a problem in rural Lewis County, too. Some students who attend my small, rural school in Southwest Washington, ride the bus for more than an hour from their remote homes. And, teachers who want to eat at a nice restaurant, shop at a large store, or get the oil changed in their car will have to drive at least forty minutes from our little neighborhood. Okay, it is probably worse in rural China, but who wants to drive forty minutes for fast food?

Another parallel? Rural Chinese teachers have little or no social life. Likewise, although many young teachers take rural teaching jobs in our region, it takes very little time before they realize that these remote, depressed areas are not exactly conducive to meeting other young singles. They have to travel for socialization, and, let’s face it, first-year teachers don’t have the time or money for the traveling.

Yamdrok Lake, Tibet, China

Other Chinese programs have cropped up to create incentives for teachers and young college graduates, even if they have no long-term wish to teach at all. These young people are encouraged to “volunteer” to perform a service for less privileged populations. They often start out enthusiastic and effective, but rarely last as teachers. They are a temporary fix that leaves needy rural students feeling abandoned after a short time.

This is a problem in our school, too. We have several positions filled by people who would not normally qualify for the jobs. For instance, our secondary special education teacher is a long-term substitute without prior experience in special ed. This is her second year. That would be especially terrible, but we are lucky, and she is doing a super job. But how fair is it that someone is doing a job they were not trained to do, without receiving benefits? She doesn’t plan to stay in the job.

Riffe Lake, Mossyrock WA

Another program that China is developing is a pipeline for rural educators, starting with high school students. They are incentivizing young people, getting them to promise to work in rural areas in exchange for their college education. This is where the parallel ends. I wish we had incentives for young people in rural communities to go into teaching. Our rural county is lacking in high school programs for future educators (such as Recruiting Washington Teachers), and that is especially frustrating.

Look, it takes a certain kind of educator to work in a poor, rural area. We are remote. We lack conveniences. Plus, we have kids that need us desperately due to poverty, homelessness, and domestic issues. We have diverse populations with needs that are sometimes hard to meet with limited resources and staff. It is hard to come from somewhere else and fall in love with this community, despite its beauty and the charm of the people who live here. Candidates for teaching jobs need to be up to the challenge.

My idea of a solid solution is our own local pipeline. I can imagine some of my current students as future teachers in rural Washington. They would know what they were getting into. They would understand the rhythm of the place. They would know the people. They would speak the languages. They wouldn’t mind the drive “out town,” which is our particular colloquialism for the big cities of Chehalis and Centralia. These kids would be perfect for the jobs. And we need them- desperately.

Lewis County Blueberry Fields

But this is not China, and no one is offering them money to become teachers and come back home to teach. In fact, we struggle to get programs for these promising students to earn college credit in high school. Unlike most urban schools who can attract teachers with advanced degrees to teach college courses in a high school setting, our teachers are often teaching several subjects, some of them far removed from their original major. Like rural China, our best students leave us for the better offerings of larger towns, such as Running Start or schools that offer more AP courses, clubs, or arts programs.

So, despite having students who would be excellent future teachers, we are losing the opportunity to give them an early start on that journey, to win them over to the joys of rural education.

Because it is joyous.

It would take so little to solve so much. Before it is worse, before we seem even more like rural China, we need to get our policy leaders to incentivize the education of future rural teachers.