SENATE BILL REPORT

SB 6168

As Reported by Senate Committee On:

Ways & Means, April 18, 2009

Title: An act relating to reducing costs in state elementary and secondary education programs.

Brief Description: Reducing costs in state elementary and secondary education programs.

Sponsors: Senators Tom and Prentice.

Brief History:

Committee Activity: Ways & Means: 4/18/09 [DP, DNP, w/oRec].

Majority Report: Do pass.

Signed by Senators Prentice, Chair; Fraser, Vice Chair, Capital Budget Chair; Tom, Vice Chair, Operating Budget; Fairley, Hewitt, Hobbs, Honeyford, Keiser, Kline, Kohl-Welles, McDermott, Murray, Oemig, Pridemore, Regala, Rockefeller and Schoesler.

Minority Report: Do not pass.

Signed by Senator Carrell.

Minority Report: That it be referred without recommendation.

Signed by Senator Parlette.

Staff: Elise Greef (786-7708)

Background: The Senate Ways & Means Committee (SWM) Chair's proposed 2009-11 Operating Budget was first released on March 30, 2009. The budget proposed K-12 Near General Fund-state expenditure reductions of $1.658 billion compared to the 2009-11 maintenance level. Among the reductions proposed were programs and initiatives that must be implemented under current law, unless amendments to statute provide otherwise.

Summary of Bill: The following Revised Code of Washington (RCW) statutes are amended to allow the associated programs to be implemented contingent on the availability of funds:

28A.415.380 - Mathematics and Science Instructional Coach Program;

28A.320.190 - Extended Learning Opportunities Program, English-language learners;

28A.415.340 - Leadership Academy;

28A.300.515 - statewide coordination for science, technology, engineering, and math

(STEM Office);

28A.630.035 - civics education;

28A.300.130 - Center for the Improvement of Student Learning;

28A.245.060 - director of skill centers;

28A.625.020 - Employee Award Program;

28A.300.520 - incarcerated family contacts; and

28A.320.125 - school safety plans.

Appropriation: The level of funding provided in the SWM Chair's proposed 2009-11 Omnibus Appropriations Act assumes savings related to this bill.

Fiscal Note: Not requested.

Committee/Commission/Task Force Created: None.

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

Staff Summary of Public Testimony: OTHER: Statewide coordination for the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Office receives matching funds from the federal government. Urge continued funding of activities that leverage federal matching dollars.

CON: The STEM Office receives a dollar-for-dollar match in federal Carl Perkins Act funding. Likewise, the skills center director position receives a dollar-for-dollar federal match. The Center for Improvement of Student Learning is listed as an implementing agency in a separate Senate bill, Engrossed 2SSB 5973, closing the achievement gap in K-12 schools. School safety planning is very important because people in the schools are the first responders in the case of any kind of major emergency. During the Nisqually Earthquake, school personnel were the individuals who shut off gas lines, evacuated buildings, set up staging areas, and sheltered children. It took fire and emergency medical services personnel over an hour to arrive and, during that crucial time, school personnel themselves managed the emergency.

Persons Testifying: OTHER: Tom McBride, Tech America.

CON: John Aultman, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.