BILL REQ. #:  H-2370.1 

READ FIRST TIME 03/07/05.   

     AN ACT Relating to equitable opportunity for all; creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that the primary goal underlying state and federal academic accountability systems is to ensure all children are provided with an equal opportunity to obtain a high-quality education. The legislature also finds that federal accountability under the no child left behind act of 2001 is measured by adequate yearly progress toward specified goals as demonstrated by the number of students who meet or exceed the standard on the Washington assessment of student learning. The legislature further finds that failure to make adequate yearly progress is most apparent with students of color and students from low-income households.
     (2) The legislature recognizes that research from the office of the superintendent of public instruction concludes that low-income and minority students encounter fewer opportunities to learn, inadequate instruction and support, and lower expectations from their schools and teachers, and that schools are not sufficiently inclusive of all cultures represented in the state's public schools. The legislature also recognizes that the multiethnic think tank coordinated within the office of the superintendent of public instruction has identified five factors contributing to inequitable education: (a) The existing cultural paradigm; (b) the biases of the testing instruments; (c) socioeconomic disparities; (d) postsecondary education and work force ramifications; and (e) insufficient data collection and reporting.
     (3) The legislature further recognizes that the national association of state boards of education reports that: (a) Disproportionate numbers of students of color are placed in special education and other lower-track programs; (b) students of color get a lower-level curriculum; (c) most students do not receive a full curriculum that presents a complete picture of diverse contributions to the American way of life; (d) diverse learning styles are not addressed in many schools; and (e) many schools do not encourage students to engage in cultural inquiry based on shared values.
     (4) The legislature finds that the academic achievement gap is the result of many factors, including poverty, educational opportunity of parents, recent immigration, family mobility, societal and institutional bias, and the fact that English is not the primary language in many homes. The legislature finds that in order to close the achievement gap, the educational system will need to change how it approaches learning and teaching through a greater understanding of the impact of language, culture, race, and poverty on student achievement. The legislature declares that closing the achievement gap will require a comprehensive and coordinated approach designed to: (a) Create more learning environments that are intolerant of racism and exclusion and in which high expectations are held for all students; (b) develop curricula and teaching practices that recognize the differences in ethnicity, language, and culture; and (c) require that teacher training and professional development programs include opportunities to learn cultural responsiveness skills and effective instructional strategies that are successful in raising the academic achievement of traditionally underachieving students.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) The joint select committee on equitable opportunity for all is created. The committee shall consist of two members of each major caucus of the senate, representing the committees on early learning, K-12 and higher education and on human services and corrections, appointed by the president of the senate; and two members of each major caucus of the house of representatives, representing the committees on education and on juvenile justice and family law, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives. Every effort shall be made to ensure that members of the joint select committee are appointed by the effective date of this section.
     (2) The joint select committee shall consult with the communities of color stakeholders, the multiethnic think tank, the special education coalition, and the Washington state association on multicultural education, and may form one or more advisory committees that may include, but need not be limited to, representation from the Washington state commissions on African-American affairs, Asian Pacific American affairs, and Hispanic affairs, and the governor's office of Indian affairs. The committee shall determine what efforts, if any, currently exist to implement the following action steps:
     (a) Add a fifth Washington learning goal to ensure culturally competent education;
     (b) Infuse multicultural education goals into the existing four Washington state learning goals;
     (c) Integrate multicultural and technological learning objectives in the Washington state essential academic learning requirements;
     (d) Standardize the data collection, categorization, and reporting of all ethnic groups, including the disaggregation of data sets into discrete ethnic populations that provide the most accurate information about student achievement;
     (e) Recruit and retain racial and ethnic minority staff and administration; and
     (f) Require that professional development is culturally and linguistically responsive for all staff, administration, and others.
     (3) The committee shall report its findings, by September 1, 2006, to the senate committee on early learning, K-12 and higher education, and the house of representatives committee on education. The report shall include a determination of the actions and resources necessary to complete the action steps in this section, including whether existing basic education moneys can be used and the amount of additional funding needed. The committee may make recommendations regarding the action steps and may develop other recommendations that support and elucidate the functionality of multicultural education and cultural competency in meeting the goals of education. The report shall include a reasonable time frame for implementation that is prioritized based on existing efforts and the resources necessary for full implementation.
     (4) The joint select committee shall receive staffing support from senate committee services and the office of program research.
     (5) Legislative members of the joint select committee shall receive per diem and travel under RCW 44.04.120.
     (6) This section expires April 1, 2007.