H-3671.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 2797
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 53rd Legislature 1994 Regular Session
By Representatives G. Cole, Moak, Wineberry, Leonard, Holm, Conway, Karahalios and Cothern
Read first time 01/24/94. Referred to Committee on Education.
AN ACT Relating to education of juvenile offenders; and creating new sections.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that institutionalized juvenile offenders have special educational needs. Fulfillment of these needs is essential to an effective program of juvenile offender rehabilitation.
Serious fragmentation in the administration and organizational structure has hampered correctional education. Complex funding formulae prevent planning for allocation of scarce resources. Resource needs are acute in the area of correctional education, due to the students' educational deficits and remedial needs. Lack of access to levy revenues aggravates the funding shortfalls.
The legislature finds that significant revisions to the current correctional education system will help resolve these problems. Assigning responsibility for correctional education to a single entity will provide the special educational services necessary to rehabilitate juvenile offenders.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The legislature plans significant revisions to chapter 28A.190 RCW, which deals with residential education. The legislature intends to consolidate within a single entity the responsibility for providing educational services to juvenile offenders who are in the custody of the department of social and health services. The legislature intends to implement this change beginning with the 1995-96 school year. To this end, a juvenile offender education task force is created.
(1) The membership of the task force shall consist of the following:
(a) The superintendent of public instruction, or the superintendent's designee;
(b) The superintendents of state juvenile rehabilitation institutions or facilities;
(c) A legislator, to be appointed by the chair of the house of representatives committee on corrections;
(d) The secretary of the department of social and health services, or the secretary's designee; and
(e) Members of two school boards of districts in which state juvenile offender residential facilities are located.
(2) The task force shall:
(a) Review the educational needs of juvenile offenders within state facilities, including:
(i) Determine the need for special or remedial education;
(ii) Determine the special teaching qualifications necessary to fulfill these educational needs;
(iii) Determine the need for vocational education; and
(iv) Determine the length of the school year;
(b) Review the current system of funding residential education for juvenile offenders;
(c) Determine a teacher-student funding ratio to ensure adequate funding and to compensate for lack of levy revenue; and
(d) Review the current system of administering the residential education within state facilities for juvenile offenders.
(3) After conducting the reviews listed in subsection (2) of this section, the task force shall develop a report containing recommendations to the legislature. This report shall be delivered to the legislature by October 1, 1994, and shall contain:
(a) A recommendation on consolidation within a single entity of the responsibility for providing educational services to juvenile offenders in state custody. This recommendation shall state whether an existing governmental agency should perform this function or a new agency should be created;
(b) Recommendations on organization and administration within the single entity;
(c) Recommendations on funding of juvenile offender education, including compensation for lack of levy revenue;
(d) Recommendations on curricula, including special education and vocational education; and
(e) Recommendations on special teacher qualifications, teacher-student ratio, and security issues.
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