SENATE BILL REPORT

                  SHB 1770

              As Reported By Senate Committee On:

                   Education, April 1, 1999

Title:  An act relating to the recommendations of the state board of education based on its review of its statutory authority.

Brief Description:  Adopting recommendations of the state board of education.

Sponsors:  House Committee on Education (originally sponsored by Representatives Stensen and Talcott; by request of Board of Education).

Brief History:

Committee Activity:  Education:  3/31/99, 4/1/99 [DPA, DNPA].

SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Majority Report:  Do pass as amended.

  Signed by Senators McAuliffe, Chair; Eide, Vice Chair; Brown, Finkbeiner, Kohl-Welles, Rasmussen and Zarelli.

Minority Report:  Do not pass as amended.

  Signed by Senator Benton.

Staff:  William Bridges (786-7424)

Background:  From 1997 to 1998, a committee of the State Board of Education (SBE) reviewed the board=s rules and its related statutes.  In January 1999, the committee issued a report recommending that the Legislature revise or repeal a number of statutes concerning SBE.

Summary of Amended Bill: Education Centers.  SBE approves tests used to determine a student=s eligibility to enroll in an education center.  In place of the current statutory fee limits, the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) determines the amount it pays to education centers for diagnostic tests and student enrollments.

Fees for K-1 Pre-admission Screening.  In place of the current statutory fee limit, school districts may establish the level of fees for screening certain students before they enroll in school.  The affected students are those who request an exception to district rules for entry into kindergarten or first grade.

Recodified and Repealed Statutes.  Statutory sections concerning joint school districts, divided school districts, school board members, and school district boundaries are recodified in a new RCW chapter.  A decodified law concerning master in teaching degrees is repealed.  The statute concerning an obsolete study on assessments for teacher candidates is repealed.

Amended Bill Compared to Substitute Bill:  The requirement that education centers must teach the essential academic learning requirements is removed.  The State Board's recommended changes regarding the preparation, assessment, certification, and standards of practice for teachers, educational staff associates, and administrators is removed.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not requested.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  None.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  No one.