FINAL BILL REPORT

ESHB 2116

C 226 L 20

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Establishing a task force on improving institutional education programs and outcomes.

Sponsors: House Committee on Education (originally sponsored by Representatives Callan, Eslick, Frame, Klippert, Blake, Ramos, Lovick, Davis, Doglio, Leavitt, Senn, Pollet and Santos).

House Committee on Education

Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education

Senate Committee on Ways & Means

Background:

Article IX of the Washington Constitution (Constitution) establishes that the paramount duty of the state is to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste, or sex.

Article XIII of the Constitution requires the state to foster and support educational, reformatory, and penal institutions, institutions for the benefit of youth who are blind or deaf or otherwise disabled, institutions for persons who are mentally ill or developmentally disabled, and other institutions as the public good may require.

Institutional facilities that provide services for youth are operated by the Department of Social and Health Services, the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), the Department of Corrections (DOC), and counties. These institutional facilities include residential habilitation facilities, long-term juvenile institutions (juvenile rehabilitation facilities), community facilities, and county detention centers.

State law also includes specific requirements establishing and governing residential education programs and education programs for juvenile inmates and juveniles in adult jails.

Summary:

An 11-member Task Force on Improving Institutional Education Programs and Outcomes (Task Force) is established. The membership of the Task Force is as follows:

• the President of the Senate must appoint one member from each of the two largest caucuses of the Senate, with each member serving on the committee with jurisdiction over education issues, and one member serving on the committee with jurisdiction over basic education funding;

• the Speaker of the House of Representatives must appoint one member from each of the two largest caucuses of the House of Representatives, with one member serving on the committee with jurisdiction over education issues, and one member serving on the committee with jurisdiction over basic education funding;

• the Governor must appoint one member from the State Board of Education, one member from the DCYF, and one member representing an organization that provides free legal advice to youth who are involved in, or at risk of being involved in, the juvenile justice system;

• the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) must appoint three members: one member representing the SPI; one member who is a principal from a school district with at least 20,000 enrolled students that provides education services to a juvenile rehabilitation facility; and one member who is a teacher with expertise in providing education services to residents of a juvenile rehabilitation facility; and

• the Educational Opportunity Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee (EOGOAC) must select one member representing the EOGOAC.

The Task Force is directed to examine delineated issues, including:

• goals and strategies for improving the coordination and delivery of education services to youth involved with the juvenile justice system;

• the transmission of student records for students in institutional facilities;

• goals and strategies for increasing the graduation rate of youth in institutional facilities;

• an assessment of the level and adequacy of basic and special education funding for institutional facilities;

• school safety, with a focus on school safety issues that are applicable in institutional facilities; and

• special skills and services of faculty and staff, including associated professional development and nonacademic supports for addressing social emotional and behavioral health needs.

The Task Force, in completing its duties, must solicit and consider information and perspectives provided by the DOC and persons and entities with relevant interest and expertise, including from persons with experience reintegrating youth from institutional facilities into school and the community at large, and from persons who provide education services in secure facilities housing persons under the age of 25.

Governance and initial meeting provisions are also established for the Task Force. The Task Force must choose its cochairs from among its legislative membership. The initial meeting of the Task Force, which is to be called by a member from the majority caucus of the House of Representatives, must be by May 1, 2020.

Staff support for the Task Force must be provided by Senate Committee Services and the Office of Program Research of the House of Representatives. The Office of Financial Management, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the DCYF, and the DOC must cooperate with the Task Force and provide information as the cochairs may reasonably request.

The findings and recommendations to the Governor and the appropriate committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate by December 15, 2020. The findings and recommendation may also include recommendations for extending the duration of the Task Force.

Provisions establishing and governing the Task Force expire on June 30, 2021.

Votes on Final Passage: