Title: An act relating to monitoring and addressing achievement of groups of students.

Brief Description: Monitoring and addressing achievement of groups of students.

Sponsors: House Committee on Education (originally sponsored by Representatives Santos and Hudgins).

Brief History: Passed House: 2/14/08, 95-0.

Committee Activity: Early Learning & K-12 Education: 2/21/08, 2/25/08 [DPA].

SENATE COMMITTEE ON EARLY LEARNING & K-12 EDUCATION

Majority Report: Do pass as amended.Signed by Senators McAuliffe, Chair; Tom, Vice Chair; King, Ranking Minority Member; Brandland, Eide, Hobbs, Holmquist, Kauffman, McDermott, Oemig, Rasmussen, Weinstein and Zarelli.

Staff: Roman Dixon (786-7438)

Background: Legislation in 2006 reactivated the Center for Improvement of Student Learning (CISL) within the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). The duties of the CISL include providing best practices research that can be used by schools to develop and implement programs and practices to meet the diverse needs of students based on various characteristics and strategies to improve the success rates of students in certain ethnic and racial groups with disproportionate academic achievement.

Legislation in 2006 also created the Office of the Education Ombudsman within the Office of the Governor. The Education Ombudsman's duties include identifying and recommending strategies for improving success for student groups with disproportionate academic achievement.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is one of two federal acts which provide the basic requirements for educating students with disabilities and ensures that all children with disabilities have access to a free and appropriate public education.

Currently under the Federal No Child Left Behind Act, states are required to report yearly student achievement and progress by student population groups such as: race/ethnicity; students with disabilities; limited English proficient students; and students who are economically disadvantaged.

Summary of Bill (Recommended Amendments): CISL must provide best practices research that can be used to help schools develop and implement programs and practices to meet the needs of students with disabilities. In addition, CISL must also ensure that the best practices research help schools identify strategies for improving the success rates of students with disabilities, with disproportionate academic achievement.

The Education Ombudsman must identify and recommend strategies for improving the success rates of students with disabilities, with disproportionate academic achievement.

OSPI's annual Washington Assessment of Student Learning report must include disaggregation results by at least the following subgroups of students: White, Black, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, Pacific Islander/Hawaiian Native, low income, transitional bilingual, migrant, special education, students in the foster care system, and, beginning with the 2009-10 school year, students covered by section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act.

EFFECT OF CHANGES MADE BY EARLY LEARNING & K-12 EDUCATION COMMITTEE (Recommended Amendments): Ensures that the disaggregated subgroups include students in the foster care system.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Requested on February 19, 2008.

Committee/Commission/Task Force Created: No.

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

Staff Summary of Public Testimony on Substitute Bill: PRO: Through education reform, as a state, we have been relentless in pursuing better education for all students. However, it is hard to measure progress without accurate data. Many groups are left behind because we don't see the numbers which would help us to better measure academic achievement or the lack there of. The OSPI strongly supports the bill. As for data collection, as it relates to the Pacific Islander and Hawaiian native groups, OSPI already collects this data and can break down the data as early as this reporting period. As for information pertaining to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the earliest OSPI can collect that data is 2009-10.

Not all Section 504 students are special education students. It's the academic achievement (or lack there of) of this group of 504 students that this bill is designed to illuminate.

OTHER: This bill is too little, too late. We should've been doing this in years past. These achievement issues are crippling our children before high school. In fact, many are dropping out before high school.

Persons Testifying: PRO: Representative Santos, prime sponsor; Brian Jeffries, OSPI; Christie Perkins, Washington State Special Education Coalition.

OTHER: Christie Perkins, Washington State Special Education Coalition.