Z-1480               _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1801

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1986 Regular Session

By Representatives Sommers, Grimm, Ebersole, Miller, Betrozoff, Basich, Wineberry, Long and Wang;by request of Board for Community College Education

Read first time 1/23/86 and referred to Committee on Higher Education.

AN ACT Relating to adult literacy; adding new sections to chapter 28A.03 RCW; making an appropriation; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature intends to establish a state-wide program designed to raise the reading and writing levels of illiterate adults by providing and coordinating volunteer tutorial services.  This program shall be known as the adult literacy program.  It is the intent of the legislature that through this program:  (1) The number, training, and utilization of volunteer literacy tutors will be increased; (2) all geographical areas of the state, to the extent possible, will be served; and (3) cooperative connections will be made between the adult literacy programs of other community-based organizations and public education institutions.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     The adult literacy program shall be jointly coordinated by the superintendent of public instruction and the state board for community college education in consultation with nonprofit state-wide private adult literacy organizations.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout sections 1 through 5 of this act:

          (1) "Adult" means a person sixteen years of age or older who is not enrolled in the common school system.

          (2) "Illiterate" means the inability to read and write at or above the sixth grade level.

          (3) "Adult literacy program" means the delivery of tutorial services in reading and writing by a volunteer tutor to an illiterate adult.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.     The moneys shall not be provided to an adult literacy program unless the recipients:

          (1) Are community-based nonprofit adult literacy organizations, vocational-technical institutes, or community colleges.

          (2) Include in the grant application the methods for cooperation between local nonprofit adult literacy organizations and the public educational institutions.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.     The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 34.04 RCW which he or she deems necessary to implement sections 2 through 4 of this act.  The superintendent of public instruction shall include in the rules guidelines for:  (1) The identification of adults to be served by the adult literacy program; (2) training adult literacy tutors; (3) matching volunteer tutors with the adults to be served; and (4) providing technical assistance to adult literacy tutors.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6.     There is appropriated the sum of three hundred fifty thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, for the biennium ending June 30, 1987, from the general fund to the superintendent of public instruction for the purpose of establishing an adult literacy program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7.     If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8.     Sections 1 through 5 of this act are each added to chapter 28A.03 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9.     This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, the support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.