FINAL BILL REPORT

ESSB 6403

PARTIAL VETO

C 243 L 10

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Regarding accountability and support for vulnerable students and dropouts.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education (originally sponsored by Senators Kauffman, McAuliffe, Hargrove, Hobbs, Regala, Oemig, McDermott and Shin; by request of Superintendent of Public Instruction).

Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education

House Committee on Education

Background: In 2007 the Legislature directed the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to create the Building Bridges grant program to begin the phase-in of a statewide comprehensive dropout prevention, intervention, and retrieval system. Building Bridges, the state-level work group (work group) was directed to assist and enhance the work of the grantees.

The Quality Education Council (QEC) was created in 2009 to recommend and inform the ongoing legislative implementation of a program of basic education and necessary financing. The QEC is composed of eight legislative members, and one representative each from the Office of the Governor, OSPI, the State Board of Education (SBE), the Professional Educator Standards Board, and the Department of Early Learning (DEL).

Summary: In order to significantly improve statewide high school graduation rates, the Legislature intends to facilitate the development of a collaborative infrastructure at the local, regional, and state level between systems that serve vulnerable youth.

Several new terms are defined in statute, including a K-12 dropout prevention, intervention, and reengagement system which means a system that provides the following functions: engaging in school improvement planning, specifically improving graduation rates; providing prevention activities; identifying vulnerable students based on a dropout early warning and intervention data system; coordinating a school/family/community partnership; and providing group and individual interventions, one-on-one adult relationships, retrieval or reentry activities, and alternative educational programming.

By September 15, 2010, OSPI, in collaboration with the work group, must develop and report recommendations to the QEC and the Legislature for the development of a comprehensive K-12 dropout reduction initiative. The initiative is designed to integrate multiple tiers of dropout prevention, intervention and technical assistance and to support a K-12 dropout prevention, intervention, and reengagement system.

The work group must include representatives appointed by OSPI, the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board (Workforce Board), DEL, the Employment Security Department, the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, the Department of Health, the Community Mobilization Office, and specified divisions of the Department of Social and Health Services. The work group should also include representatives from other agencies and organizations, including representatives from the Achievement Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee and the Office of the Education Ombudsman. State agencies in the work group must work together to support school/family/community partnerships engaged in: building K-12 dropout prevention, intervention, and reengagement systems by coordinating program eligibility and funding; developing protocols and templates for sharing records and data; and providing joint professional development.

The work group must report to the QEC on an annual basis. By September 15, 2010, the work group must report on the following recommendations: state goals and annual targets for the percentage of students graduating from high school and youth who have dropped out who should be reengaged; funding for career guidance and dropout prevention and intervention systems; and a plan to expand the current school improvement planning program to include state-funded technical assistance for districts that need to significantly improve high school graduation rates.

By December 1, 2010, the work group must make recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor about the infrastructure for coordinating services for vulnerable youth. These recommendations must address: adopting an official conceptual framework for all entities that can support coordinated planning and evaluation; creating a performance-based management system; developing a regional and county multi-partner youth consortia; developing specific integrated school-based services; launching a statewide media campaign; and developing a statewide database of available services for vulnerable youth.

The Washington State Institute for Public Policy must annually calculate savings resulting from changes in the extended graduation rates from the prior school year. The SPI must include the estimate in its annual dropout and graduation report beginning in 2010.

Votes on Final Passage:

Partial Veto Summary: The Governor vetoed the intent section.