Brief Description: Requiring annual meetings to focus on implementing cross-sector education policies.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Higher Education (originally sponsored by Senators McAuliffe, Carlson, Parlette, Eide, Rasmussen, Regala, Schmidt, Kohl-Welles and Shin).

Brief Summary of Substitute Bill

(As Amended by House Committee)

• Requires an annual meeting of the State Board of Education, the Higher Education Coordinating Board, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, the Council of Presidents, the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board, and legislators for the purpose of discussing issues of cross-sector relevance.

• Requires the Council of Presidents to coordinate the meeting and to prepare a follow-up report and proposed action plan to the Legislature.

Majority Report: Do pass as amended. Signed by 10 members: Representatives Kenney, Chair; Fromhold, Vice Chair; Cox, Ranking Minority Member; Boldt, Chase, Condotta, Jarrett, McCoy, Morrell and Ormsby.

The state's various education and higher education boards and agencies may, and in some cases are directed to, collaborate, communicate, and coordinate their efforts for specific cross-sector goals and projects. Examples of cross-sector issues include dual enrollment programs, articulation between high school and college, use of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning as a factor in college placement, and the need for a rigorous and challenging 11th and 12th-grade curriculum.

Although education and higher education boards and agencies may, and on occasion do, communicate regarding specific issues, there is no regularly-scheduled forum for comprehensive discussions about issues of cross-sector relevance involving all boards and agencies.

An annual meeting, coordinated by the Council of Presidents (COP), will be held in September or December for the purpose of focused discussions about cross-sector issues. A specific agenda will focus on improving articulation between the K-12 and higher education systems; alignment of math standards for improved instruction, advising, and assessment; and development of standards for necessary college-level knowledge and skills. The COP will summarize the results of each meeting and propose an action plan to the Legislature for the ensuing year.

Participants in the annual meeting will be the State Board of Education, the Higher Education Coordinating Board, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, the COP, the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board (WTECB), and members of the legislative committees for education, higher education, and fiscal matters.

The amended bill adds the WTECB to the list of annual meeting participants, and directs the COP to coordinate the meeting and prepare a follow-up action plan for the Legislature each year.

Effective Date of Amended Bill: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For: (In support of substitute bill) Education and higher education policy boards used to hold these types of summits in the 1990s but have since stopped, and this has created a lack of communication between the education sectors. This bill completes what was started in the education reform movement. It is the next step in articulation from high school to higher education and is necessary to help students succeed. At the 10th grade level, some students are ready for college-level work and instead of wasting time they should be challenged. Teacher preparation is essential so that teachers know and are prepared to teach what they are supposed to teach in order to get students ready for college.

This approach is very consistent with the information from the National Collaborative Work Group in stressing the need for cross-sector collaboration and ownership of issues. It is important to include representation from the legislative fiscal committees to avoid the disconnect that sometimes occurs between fiscal and policy discussions.

The WTECB can bring an important perspective for career and technical education issues and for coordination of these programs across the K-12 and higher education systems.

Persons Testifying: (In support of substitute bill) Senator McAuliffe, prime sponsor; Terry Teale, Council of Presidents; and Wes Pruitt, Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board.