5636-S

AN ACT Relating to lifelong learning and community involvement in education; adding a new chapter to Title 28A RCW; and making an appropriation.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that citizens in communities throughout Washington face many challenges that education can help them to meet and overcome. Transitions between home life and school, between school and work, between careers, and between phases of life demand that ongoing education and readiness for change be fostered throughout the lives of Washington citizens. The legislature finds that lifelong learning, and the community involvement it promotes, will help Washington meet the challenges of the next century and of our changing economy. The legislature further finds that, through effective and efficient pooling of educational resources, citizens' educational opportunities will be enhanced and tied in a relevant way to the community outside the school. The legislature finds that educational opportunities in a community might include early childhood education; parenting education and parent involvement; literacy training; job training and retraining; technical preparation programs; student career academies and career centers for all citizens; student apprenticeships, internships, and job mentor programs; tutoring; school staff sabbaticals; programs for business and labor participation in schools; release-time programs for community members to participate in schools; and other types of adult education, including programs for senior citizens. These services might be provided by state or community-based agencies including, but not limited to: Public schools, including skills centers; counties, cities, and towns, including parks departments, health departments, and libraries; community and technical colleges; business and labor organizations; service organizations; and private and nonprofit organizations.

The legislature finds that effective and efficient coordination of all community educational services can provide for the life-long learning and positive community involvement of Washington's citizens. To promote lifelong learning and community involvement in education, the legislature intends:

(1) That coordination of local services that promote lifelong learning and community involvement in education be improved by coordinating efforts of relevant state agencies to encourage local flexibility, provide technical assistance, and provide grants to promote community-based collaboration;

(2) That lifelong learning and community involvement in education be fostered through creating opportunities for local citizens to be involved in coordinated planning of community efforts.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, as used in this chapter, "lifelong learning and community involvement in education" means coordinated efforts in communities that provide education to citizens of all ages, in a variety of settings, and, to the extent possible, with shared funding, sites, and staffing.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The superintendent of public instruction shall coordinate with the family policy council and the state board of education, the state board for community and technical colleges, the higher education coordinating board, the department of labor and industries, the state library, and other groups, including business and labor, that provide lifelong learning and community involvement services.

(2) The superintendent of public instruction shall:

(a) Provide assistance to local communities to coordinate programs for lifelong learning and community involvement in education and encouraging communities to coordinate resources for programs and resources for facilities;

(b) Identify statutory changes required to promote local collaboration for lifelong learning and community involvement in education; and

(c) Promote different models of developing lifelong learning and community involvement in education programs throughout the state and help the exchange of information among communities.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Each local community shall be encouraged to identify all federal, state, and local resources available at the local level for lifelong learning and community involvement in education, assess the lifelong learning needs of persons in the community, and assign a lead agency to coordinate collaborative delivery of services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The sum of forty-nine thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1995, from the general fund to the superintendent of public instruction for the purposes of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. Sections 1 through 4 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 28A RCW.