BILL REQ. #:  H-4273.1 

Read first time 01/16/08.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     AN ACT Relating to addressing the achievement gap for African-American students; adding a new section to chapter 28A.300 RCW; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that of all the challenges confronting the African-American community, perhaps none is more critical to the future than the education of African-American children. The data regarding inequities, disproportionality, and gaps in achievement is alarming no matter which indicators are used:
     (a) The gap in reading test scores between African-American and white students on the tenth grade Washington assessment of student learning is twenty percentage points, with only two-thirds of African-American students able to meet the upcoming graduation standard in reading on the first attempt compared to eighty-five percent of white students. African-American students are lagging behind other student groups in reading improvement.
     (b) African-American students continue to score lowest among student groups in high school mathematics, with only twenty-three percent able to meet state standard on the first attempt, a thirty-three percentage point lag behind white students who have a fifty-six percent met-standard rate.
     (c) One-fourth of African-American students who enter ninth grade will have dropped out of school by the time their peers graduate in twelfth grade. This measure does not account for the children who, facing significant educational challenges and barriers, have already grown disparaged before the end of middle or junior high school.
     (2) The legislature further finds that although there are multiple initiatives broadly intended to improve student achievement, including a small number of initiatives to address the achievement gap for disadvantaged students generally, there are only a select few efforts targeted to the challenges of African-American students or designed specifically to engage parents and leaders in the African-American community. The efficacy of general supplemental programs in helping African-American students is unknown. A thoughtful, comprehensive, and inclusive strategy for African-American students has not been created.
     (3) Therefore, the legislature intends to commission and then implement a clear, concise, and intentional plan of action, with specific strategies and performance benchmarks, to ensure that African-American students meet or exceed all academic standards and are prepared for a quality life and responsible citizenship in the twenty-first century.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) The center for the improvement of student learning in the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall convene an advisory committee to craft a strategic plan to address the achievement gap for African-American students.
     (a) The advisory committee shall be comprised of fifteen members including educators, parents, representatives of community-based organizations, a representative from the Washington state commission on African-American affairs, and a representative from the office of the education ombudsman. Five members shall be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; five members shall be appointed by the secretary of the senate; and the remaining members shall be appointed by the superintendent of public instruction.
     (b) Members of the advisory committee shall serve without compensation, but are entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.
     (2) The advisory committee shall conduct a detailed analysis of the achievement gap for African-American students; examine the extent to which current initiatives address the needs of African-American students; craft a strategic plan with school and community-based strategies to improve educational outcomes for African-American students; and develop performance improvement measures and benchmarks to monitor progress. The committee shall:
     (a) Examine detailed data on achievement indicators based on grade level, school, gender, migrant status, and income status for African-American students to identify any trends or variances. The Washington state institute for public policy shall assist the committee in providing data analysis under this subsection (2)(a);
     (b) Examine current federal, state, school, and community-based initiatives intended to improve student achievement and identify best practices and promising programs specifically for African-American students, including initiatives in other states as necessary;
     (c) Recommend a comprehensive and specific set of strategies, programs, and interventions to improve the educational attainment of African-American students, along with the funding necessary for implementation. The committee shall include recommendations to implement suggestions from the black education strategy roundtable regarding family engagement and empowerment activities and capacity and community-based supplemental education; and
     (d) Develop educational performance measures and improvement benchmarks to be monitored over time to gauge the progress and success of the strategic plan.
     (3) The center for the improvement of student learning and the advisory committee shall make an interim report to the superintendent of public instruction, the governor, and the education committees of the legislature by December 1, 2008, and a final report by December 1, 2009.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 RCW to read as follows:
     Beginning in January 2011, the center for the improvement of student learning shall report annually to the superintendent of public instruction, the governor, and the education committees of the legislature on the implementation status of strategies to address the achievement gap for Africa-American students and on the progress in improvement of education performance measures for African-American students.