SB 5731-S - DIGEST
(DIGEST AS ENACTED)

Finds that Washington needs to produce eight to ten thousand additional baccalaureate degrees per year so that Washington employers will not have to look out of state to find employees.

Establishes a committee on the education of students in high demand fields to: (1) Develop a plan to increase the capacity of Washington institutions of higher education by ten thousand students per year by 2020 to produce baccalaureate and advanced degrees in high impact, high demand areas of study;

(2) Develop a marketing project to inform students, parents, and educators of opportunities in high demand fields;

(3) Investigate ways to motivate students to take more mathematics and science courses in high school and college; and

(4) Identify ways that the business community can enter into more partnerships with the state to ensure that Washington institutions of higher education produce graduates in high demand fields that are ready and able to find employment in Washington.

Requires the committee to report its findings and recommendations to appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2007.