HOUSE BILL REPORT

2SHB 1304

As Passed House:

March 9, 2019

Title: An act relating to career and technical education in alternative learning experience programs.

Brief Description: Concerning career and technical education in alternative learning experience programs.

Sponsors: House Committee on Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives MacEwen, Stonier, Santos, Harris, Steele, Griffey, Reeves, Stokesbary, Sells, Dolan, Eslick, Lekanoff, Bergquist, Jinkins, Leavitt, Thai and Wylie).

Brief History:

Committee Activity:

Education: 2/14/19, 2/19/19 [DPS];

Appropriations: 2/28/19 [DP2S(w/o sub ED)].

Floor Activity:

Passed House: 3/9/19, 92-4.

Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass. Signed by 19 members: Representatives Santos, Chair; Dolan, Vice Chair; Paul, Vice Chair; Steele, Ranking Minority Member; McCaslin, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Volz, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Bergquist, Caldier, Callan, Corry, Harris, Kilduff, Kraft, Ortiz-Self, Rude, Stonier, Thai, Valdez and Ybarra.

Staff: Ethan Moreno (786-7386).

Majority Report: The second substitute bill be substituted therefor and the second substitute bill do pass and do not pass the substitute bill by Committee on Education. Signed by 26 members: Representatives Bergquist, 2nd Vice Chair; Stokesbary, Ranking Minority Member; MacEwen, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Rude, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Caldier, Chandler, Cody, Dolan, Dye, Fitzgibbon, Hansen, Hoff, Hudgins, Jinkins, Kraft, Macri, Mosbrucker, Pettigrew, Schmick, Springer, Steele, Sullivan, Sutherland, Tarleton, Tharinger and Ybarra.

Minority Report: Without recommendation. Signed by 3 members: Representatives Ormsby, Chair; Robinson, 1st Vice Chair; Senn.

Minority Report: Do not pass. Signed by 3 members: Representatives Pollet, Ryu and Stanford.

Staff: James Mackison (786-7104).

Background:

Alternative Learning Experience Courses.

Alternative learning experience (ALE) courses provide a way for students to be enrolled in public education without being required to meet the in-class seat-time requirements for regular instruction. The ALE courses may be delivered via online courses, remote courses, or site-based courses. Courses offered through ALE programs may be provided to students residing outside of the district offering the course, and may be provided to full or part-time students.

Districts providing ALE programs may claim state basic education funding for students enrolled in ALE courses, and are obligated to satisfy annual reporting requirements. The Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) separately calculates and allocates monies appropriated by the Legislature to school districts for each full-time equivalent student enrolled in an ALE course provided by the district.

Career and Technical Education, Funding Enhancement.

Career and technical education, or CTE, is a planned program of courses and learning experiences that begins with an exploration of career options and supports basic academic and life skills. As articulated in statute, CTE enables the achievement of high academic standards, leadership, options for high skill, high wage employment preparation, and advanced and continuing education.

Career and technical education instruction is provided in two general course classifications—exploratory and preparatory—both of which must comply with numerous standards established by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). Career and technical education instruction is delivered through programs at middle and high schools, through approved online courses, and at skill centers, the regional CTE instructional venues established and operated by a host school district.

Students enrolled in vocational courses are funded at an enhanced rate that reflects lower class sizes and higher funding for materials, supplies, and operating costs. Any CTE funding allocations that exceed general funding allocations may only be used for specified CTE purposes.

Career and Technical Education Credits and Equivalencies.

Credits awarded through a CTE course apply to core academic and graduation requirements if equivalency requirements are met. High schools or school districts must have course equivalencies for CTE courses offered to students in high schools and skill centers.

The OSPI is required to support school district efforts to adopt course equivalencies by, in part, recommending CTE curriculum that is suitable for equivalencies, publicizing best practices of districts in developing and adopting equivalencies, and providing related technical assistance and guidance to school districts.

The OSPI, in consultation with technical work groups, is also required to develop and approve curriculum frameworks for a selected list of CTE courses with academic content that is considered equivalent in full, or part, to academic courses meeting graduation requirements. The content of the courses on the list must be aligned with the state's learning standards as well as industry standards.

Multidistrict Online Programs.

Online school programs offer a sequential set of online courses or grade-level coursework in a manner that could provide a full-time basic education program. Students may enroll in the programs as part-time or full-time students. A multidistrict provider of online programs can either be a private or nonprofit organization that contracts with districts to provide online courses to students from more than one district, or a school district providing an online program with at least ten percent of its enrollment from outside the district.

Summary of Second Substitute Bill:

Establishment of Pilot Program.

The Vocational Alternative Learning Experience Pilot Program (Program) is created. The purpose of the Program is to assess the feasibility and accountability in various course types, and implementation strategies for providing a vocational program funding enhancement to students enrolled in qualifying ALE courses.

The OSPI must select up to 10 school districts to participate in the Program. Each district selected to participate in the Program must agree to do so for four complete school years, with the initial selections beginning their participation in the 2019-20 school year.

Schools participating in the Program are eligible for the vocational program funding enhancement for CTE courses, and restrictions that limit the uses of CTE funding allocations that exceed general funding allocations to specified CTE purposes continue to apply.

The OSPI must submit a report on the Program to education committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate by January 1, 2025, that includes:

• the number of students participating in the Program that received the vocational program funding enhancement;

• the impact of the Program to CTE;

• the fiscal impact of the Program;

• recommendations for statewide implementation; and

• any other information deemed relevant by the OSPI.

Career and Technical Education Equivalencies.

Requirements governing the CTE curriculum framework approval process of the SPI are modified to specify that the list of CTE courses approved by the SPI must also include CTE courses that may be offered through ALE courses. Additionally, the SPI, before the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, must develop a list of CTE courses meeting equivalency requirements that may be offered in ALE courses.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Requested March 12, 2019.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed. However, the bill is null and void unless funded in the budget.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony (Education):

(In support) The education of our students will continue to evolve, and the funding needs to respond to those changes.  The bill will remove a penalty on the funding of vocational ALE courses.

Students taking ALE courses are not alternative students—they are public school students and they also need access to CTE courses.  Prior to recent legislation, the ALE programs had access to CTE funding.  This bill corrects that funding error and will help keep students engaged through meaningful educational opportunities provided to them.  The ALE programs that receive CTE funding will have to abide by the same requirements as brick and mortar CTE programs.

The delivery of CTE instruction online is important and will be needed throughout life as employees navigate career changes.  The work integrated learning partnerships that are part of CTE instruction are difficult to develop and sustain; doing so requires a committed staff.  This bill will help with those partnership efforts.

(Opposed) None.

(Other) This bill will assist in providing students more access to quality CTE instruction. It is worth noting that CTE is a model of implementation, not a specific topic.  An amendment for the bill that would reflect recent work of a CTE work group is being developed.

The Legislature should examine the report of the CTE work group to make sure that we have successful standards and delivery models for CTE instruction.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony (Appropriations):

(In support) Students need online options for CTE courses.  These programs used to receive CTE funding enhancements.  The CTE online programs are unique compared to brick and mortar programs and cost additional amounts.  Delivering these programs requires partnerships with the community, additional materials and supplies, and efforts to meet state CTE standards to put students on the path to a job after graduation.  Including at least two online programs in the pilots would improve the bill.  Students often come to these programs as a last chance, and providing CTE would fill a gap.  The CTE enhancement will fill a funding gap and benefit students.  Online programs are doing the best they can with the funding they have.  The OSPI's help is needed to make the programs robust.  The four-year pilots are a good start.

(Opposed) None.

Persons Testifying (Education): (In support) Representative MacEwen, prime sponsor; Carolyn Logue, K12 Incorporated; and Mark Christiano, Washington Virtual Academy.

(Other) Becky Wallace and Rhett Nelson, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction; and Tim Knue, Washington Association for Career and Technical Education.

Persons Testifying (Appropriations): Carolyn Logue, K12 Incorporated; and Cecily Keister, Insight School of Washington.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying (Education): None.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying (Appropriations): None.