ADOPTED 3/4/04

5139-S AMH KENN MCLA 113

SSB 5139 - H AMD

By Representative Kenney

   Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

   "NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature recognizes that state education and higher education agencies are working on initiatives to communicate with parents and students about how high school graduates should gain and maintain the reading, writing, and mathematics skills they need to start immediately in college-level work. However, the legislature finds that insufficient progress has been made in reducing the proportion of recent high school graduates who must enroll in remedial or precollege classes at Washington's public colleges and universities. More than seventeen million dollars in state and tuition resources is being spent each year to provide these students with skills they should have gained before graduating from high school. It is the intent of the legislature that state education and higher education agencies place a higher priority on their work to address the issue of remediation and take concrete steps to make measurable improvements.

   NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) Within current budgets, the higher education coordinating board, the office of the superintendent of public instruction, and the state board for community and technical colleges shall convene a work group that includes representatives of the two and four-year institutions of higher education and school districts to address remediation issues. The work group shall:

   (a) Discuss standards and expectations for the knowledge and skills high school graduates need for college-level work and strategies for communicating those standards to all Washington high schools;

   (b) Identify the causes of current gaps in knowledge and skills of recent high school graduates;

   (c) Identify innovative strategies currently used by school districts and other initiatives or programs designed to provide graduates with the knowledge and skills for college-level work; and

   (d) Develop and initiate actions to address the gaps in knowledge and skills so that the need for remediation of recent high school graduates in public higher education institutions is significantly reduced.

   (2) The state education and higher education agencies shall jointly submit a report to the education and higher education committees of the legislature by December 15, 2004. The report shall summarize the findings of the work group and describe actions taken by the agencies, higher education institutions, and school districts to enhance the knowledge and skills of high school graduates. The report shall also recommend additional strategies, timelines, and measurable benchmarks for reducing remediation of recent high school graduates over the next three years."

EFFECT: Rather than having the Institute for Public Policy study availability of college-preparatory courses in high schools, the HECB, OSPI, and SBCTC will convene a work group to discuss standards and expectations for college-level work, identify the causes of current gaps in students' knowledge and skills, and initiate actions to address those gaps so that the need for remediation of recent high school graduates is reduced. A report is due December 15, 2004 to legislative education and higher education committees, including strategies, timelines, and benchmarks for reducing remediation over the next three years.