H-1168.1  _______________________________________________

                          HOUSE BILL 1940

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      57th Legislature     2001 Regular Session

By Representatives Pearson, Quall, Talcott, Cox, Anderson, D. Schmidt, Morell, O'Brien and Kessler

Read first time 02/09/2001.  Referred to Committee on Education.

Rewarding schools for meeting fourth grade reading goals.

    AN ACT Relating to rewarding schools for meeting fourth grade reading goals; adding a new section to chapter 28A.655 RCW; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  The legislature finds that the purpose of Washington's accountability system is to improve student learning and student achievement of the essential academic learning requirement standards so that each individual student will be given the opportunity to become a responsible citizen and successfully live, learn, and work in the twenty-first century.  The legislature has the ability and the responsibility to acknowledge the difficult work educators and students have done by meeting the standards set by the legislature.  The legislature intends to reward the staff in schools that have met or exceeded their fourth grade reading goals early.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 28A.655 RCW to read as follows:

    (1) The superintendent of public instruction shall award a banner honoring each school that has met or exceeded its fourth grade reading goals, as defined in RCW 28A.655.050, on the 2000 and 2001 Washington assessment of student learning, plus five dollars for each fourth grade full-time equivalent student in the school.  For schools with less than twenty-five fourth grade full-time equivalent students, a minimum recognition award of one hundred dollars is to be sent to the school.

    (2) The staff in each school shall also have the opportunity to choose their form of recognition and shall determine who shares in the recognition.  The recognition may include, but is not limited to:

    (a) A community-wide celebration;

    (b) A school-wide event, such as a spaghetti feed or dessert night, including staff, parents, and other community members chosen by the staff; or

    (c) An off-campus event such as a dinner or day trip for selected school staff.

    (3) The superintendent of public instruction shall administer the program and distribute recognition banners and cash awards directly to individual schools.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 2001, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void.

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