BILL REQ. #:  H-2187.1 

READ FIRST TIME 03/02/05.   

     AN ACT Relating to academic achievement for recent immigrant students; adding a new section to chapter 28A.180 RCW; creating a new section; providing an expiration date; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 28A.180 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The legislature finds that immigrants add immeasurably to the health and vitality of our state and nation and to the quality of life for all Americans. The legislature further finds that the state's new graduation requirements will be difficult to meet for recent immigrant students who are dominant in a language other than English. The legislature intends to support immigrant students who are eligible for the state's transitional bilingual program to continue to pursue a high school diploma beyond the twelfth grade by enrolling in an integrated program of academic and language skills development that is offered by a community college or technical college.
     (2) By no later than the beginning of the 2006-07 school year, the state board for community and technical colleges and the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall design one or more options to address the educational needs of recent immigrant high school students. The purpose of the options is to provide, in an age-appropriate setting, an integrated program of academic and English language skills development for immigrant students who have taken the high school Washington assessment of student learning but have not obtained a certificate of academic achievement or met other state and district graduation requirements. The options may be provided through the high school completion programs offered by community and technical colleges or through the creation of new courses or programs, including programs based on local contracts.
     (3) The options shall be designed for recent immigrant students who are eligible, or who, within the preceding two years, have been enrolled in the state's transitional bilingual program. The options shall include but need not be limited to at least one approach that:
     (a) Is a program that is coordinated between one or more school districts and one or more community colleges or technical colleges that have entered a cooperative agreement for the approach;
     (b) Includes an individualized or group plan that describes the steps the district, college, and participants will take to help participants meet state and district graduation requirements;
     (c) Includes an explanation of the program and the plan to participants and their families through an outreach effort in which the district or college meets directly with the families of potential participants;
     (d) Permits participants to coenroll in the high school and college and to take the high school Washington assessment of student learning at least twice a year; and
     (e) Provides instruction either in a community college or technical college facility, or in a school district or other facility through a community college or technical college.
     (4) Beginning with the 2006-07 school year, the superintendent of public instruction and the state board for community and technical colleges shall pilot the approach described in subsection (3) of this section. The pilot shall include at least two school districts, one east of the mountains and one west of the mountains. The pilot will also include a focus on two different types of recent immigrants, one group of students who do not share a common first language, and one group of students who do.
     (5) By December 15, 2007, the superintendent of public instruction and state board for community and technical colleges shall report to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the legislature on the status of the pilots required in subsection (4) of this section. The report shall include any recommendations for statewide implementation of the approach in the pilot and any additional options, including coenrollment options, identified by the superintendent and the board. The board and superintendent shall begin statewide implementation of the options required in subsection (2) of this section in the 2008-09 school year.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) The joint select committee on immigrant education is created. The committee shall consist of one member of each major caucus of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate, and one member of each major caucus of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives. The governor and the superintendent of public instruction may each appoint a representative to join the committee in its deliberations. Members of the joint select committee shall be appointed within fourteen days of the effective date of this act.
     (2) The committee shall make recommendations to improve educational opportunities and attainment for recent immigrant students from diverse backgrounds and nations for whom English is a second language.
     (3) To assist the joint select committee in its work, it shall seek advice from an advisory committee that shall analyze and make recommendations to the joint select committee on the following issues:
     (a) The incorporation of international distance learning programs into the state's transitional bilingual program, so students may better maintain progress in subject areas while developing English language proficiency;
     (b) The availability of distance learning international high school degree programs;
     (c) Strategies to increase the number of teachers who are culturally and linguistically prepared to teach students from diverse backgrounds for whom English may be a second language. The strategies to be considered shall include, but need not be limited to, alternative K-12 certification opportunities for:
     (i) Paraprofessionals with cultural and linguistic competence;
     (ii) Immigrants who have educational credentials from their native countries but whose credentials are not recognized by the state; and
     (iii) Refugees who left their country of origin without the necessary documentation of their qualifications and work experience;
     (d) Recommendations on ways to infuse cultural awareness and understanding into preparation programs for educators and educational administrators;
     (e) Strategies to increase the consultation of and involvement with community-based organizations, including faith-based organizations, in the design of professional development programs intended to improve the cultural competence of educators, administrators, and school staff when the organizations represent the ethnicity and national origin of the immigrant students in the school or school district; and
     (f) Other actions and strategies to improve educational opportunities and attainment for recent immigrant students.
     (4) The advisory committee may include, but need not be limited to, representation from the Washington state commissions on African-American affairs, Asian Pacific American affairs, and Hispanic affairs, the superintendent of public instruction, and teachers and administrators who provide educational services to recent immigrant students.
     (5) The joint select committee shall report its findings and recommendations, by December 15, 2005, to the governor, the house of representatives and senate fiscal and education committees, the superintendent of public instruction, the state board of education, the professional educator standards board, and the higher education coordinating board.
     (6) The joint select committee shall receive staffing support from senate committee services, the house of representatives office of program research, and the superintendent of public instruction.
     (7) Legislative members of the joint select committee shall receive per diem and travel as provided in RCW 44.04.120.
     (8) Per diem and travel for advisory committee members shall be the responsibility of the agency, organization, or school district that the advisory committee member represents.
     (9) This section expires April 1, 2006.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.