BILL REQ. #:  H-5033.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/1/06.   

     WHEREAS, The legislature finds that the primary goal underlying state and federal academic accountability systems is to ensure all children are provided with an equal opportunity to obtain a high-quality education; and
     WHEREAS, The legislature also finds that federal accountability under the no child left behind act of 2001 is measured by adequate yearly progress toward specified goals as demonstrated by the number of students who meet or exceed the standard on the Washington assessment of student learning; and
     WHEREAS, The legislature further finds that failure to make adequate yearly progress is most apparent with students of color and students from low-income households; and
     WHEREAS, The legislature finds that the academic achievement gap is the result of many factors, including poverty, educational opportunity of parents, recent immigration, family mobility, societal and institutional bias, and the fact that English is not the primary language in many homes; and
     WHEREAS, The legislature finds that in order to close the achievement gap, the educational system will need to change how it approaches learning and teaching through a greater understanding of the impact of language, culture, race, and poverty on student achievement;
     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, the Senate concurring, That a joint select committee on equitable opportunity for all is created, consisting of two members of each major caucus of the Senate, representing the committees on early learning, K-12 and higher education and on human services and corrections, appointed by the president of the Senate; and two members of each major caucus of the House of Representatives, representing the committees on education and on juvenile justice and family law, appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That every effort shall be made to ensure that members of the joint select committee are appointed promptly; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the joint select committee shall consult with the communities of color stakeholders, the multiethnic think tank, the special education coalition, and the Washington state association on multicultural education, and may form one or more advisory committees that 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, and the governor's office of Indian affairs; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the committee shall determine what efforts, if any, currently exist to implement the following action steps:
     (1) Add a fifth Washington learning goal to ensure culturally competent education;
     (2) Infuse multicultural education goals into the existing four Washington state learning goals;
     (3) Integrate multicultural and technological learning objectives in the Washington state essential academic learning requirements;
     (4) Standardize the data collection, categorization, and reporting of all ethnic groups, including the disaggregation of data sets into discrete ethnic populations that provide the most accurate information about student achievement;
     (5) Recruit and retain racial and ethnic minority staff and administration; and
     (6) Require that professional development is culturally and linguistically responsive for all staff, administration, and others; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the committee shall report its findings, by September 1, 2007, to the Senate committee on early learning, K-12 and higher education, and the House of Representatives committee on education and that the report shall include a determination of the actions and resources necessary to complete the action steps in this resolution, including whether existing basic education moneys can be used and the amount of additional funding needed; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the committee may make recommendations regarding the action steps and may develop other recommendations that support and elucidate the functionality of multicultural education and cultural competency in meeting the goals of education; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the report shall include a reasonable time frame for implementation that is prioritized based on existing efforts and the resources necessary for full implementation; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the joint select committee shall receive staffing support from Senate committee services and the office of program research; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That legislative members of the joint select committee shall receive per diem and travel under RCW 44.04.120.