SENATE BILL REPORT

                  SSB 5792

               As Passed Senate, March 13, 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:  Senate Committee on Education (originally sponsored by Senator McAuliffe; by request of Board of Education).

Brief History:

Committee Activity:  Education:  2/22/99, 3/3/99 [DPS].

Passed Senate, 3/13/99, 44-0.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Majority Report:  That Substitute Senate Bill No. 5792 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.

  Signed by Senators McAuliffe, Chair; Eide, Vice Chair; Bauer, Benton, Brown, Finkbeiner, Goings, Hochstatter, Kohl‑Welles, Rasmussen, Sellar, Swecker and Zarelli.

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 their related statutes.  In January 1999, the committee issued a report recommending that the Legislature revise or repeal a number of statutes concerning the SBE.

Summary of Bill:  The SBE committee's recommendations are enacted.

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 Preadmission 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.

Administration of SBE Rules.  SPI administers SBE rules in the following areas:  (1) the regulation of certification programs offered by institutions of higher education; and (2) the issuance and revocation of certificates.  An obsolete reference to teacher testing is removed from SPI's duties.

Certification Responsibilities of SBE.  The certification responsibilities of SBE are moved from the statutes governing certification to the statutes describing SBE=s authority.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not requested.

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

Testimony For:  This bill is more of a "clean up" bill than it is a substantive bill.  The SBE is not giving up any duties.  The bill removes obsolete language and inserts new language that is necessary to implement education reform.  The bill also makes changes that promote the general efficiency and order of the school system.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  Larry Davis, State Board of Education (pro).