BILL REQ. #:  S-3276.3 

Read first time 01/16/12.   Referred to Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education.

     AN ACT Relating to the quality education council and the state board of education; amending RCW 28A.175.075, 28A.290.010, 28A.290.020, and 28A.400.201; adding a new section to chapter 28A.305 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.300 RCW; creating a new section; and recodifying RCW 28A.290.020.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature recognizes that the duty given to the quality education council to recommend and inform the legislature on the ongoing implementation of the evolving program of basic education and the financing to support it is a duty of utmost importance and should not have had a time limit imposed upon it. The legislature finds that the duty given to the quality education council includes recommending an implementation schedule for the education reforms enacted by the legislature in 2009 and developing goals and priorities for the educational system. The legislature appreciates that the quality education council has made recommendations to the legislature regarding basic education issues but regrettably has not yet provided a complete and comprehensive implementation for all of the 2009 reforms nor for the goals and priorities for the educational system. The legislature acknowledges that these duties are detailed and complex, require a focus that is time consuming, and that the quality education council is limited in the number of times it can meet. Because the legislature deems these tasks to be necessary to assist the legislature in complying with its constitutional duty to define and amply fund a program of basic education, the legislature intends to transfer to a different state entity the tasks of recommending an implementation schedule for the reforms, goals, and priorities for the educational system and to report back to the quality education council and the legislature.
     The legislature acknowledges that the purpose of the state board of education already includes providing strategic oversight of public education, leadership for the system, and promotion of the basic education student learning goals. Therefore, the legislature anticipates that the board can reasonably provide the quality education council and the legislature with assistance regarding recommendations for the implementation of the 2009 reforms and the financing to support it.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28A.305 RCW to read as follows:
     In addition to any other powers and duties provided by law, the state board of education shall:
     (1) Recommend to the quality education council and the legislature an implementation schedule for the concurrent phase-in by the legislature of the changes to the instructional program of basic education and the implementation of the funding formulas and allocations to support the new instructional program of basic education as established under RCW 28A.150.200, 28A.150.220, and 28A.150.260. Full implementation of the phase-in schedule must be completed by September 1, 2018;
     (2) Recommend to the quality education council an implementation schedule for the phased-in implementation of the new distribution formula for allocating state funds to school districts for the transportation of students to and from school, in accordance with RCW 28A.160.192;
     (3) Develop strategic recommendations on the program of basic education for the common schools. The board must take into consideration the capacity report produced under RCW 28A.300.172 and the availability of data and the progress of implementing the data systems required under RCW 28A.655.210. Any recommendations for modifications to the program of basic education must be based on an educational policy reason and evidence that the programs effectively support student learning. The board shall update the statewide strategic recommendations every four years. The recommendations are intended to:
     (a) Inform future educational policy and funding decisions of the legislature and governor;
     (b) Identify measurable goals and priorities for the educational system in Washington state for a ten-year time period, including the goals of basic education and ongoing strategies for coordinating statewide efforts to eliminate the achievement gap and reduce student dropout rates. The board shall work collaboratively with the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee to develop the strategies to close the achievement gap; and
     (c) Enable the state of Washington to continue to implement an evolving program of basic education; and
     (4) Submit an annual report to the quality education council, the governor, and the legislature by January 1st, detailing its recommendations. The first report due to the legislature by January 1, 2013, must include a complete and comprehensive implementation schedule as required under subsections (1) and (2) of this section and the initial measurable goals and priorities for the educational system the initial measurable goals and priorities for the educational system in Washington.

Sec. 3   RCW 28A.175.075 and 2010 c 243 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall establish a state-level building bridges work group that includes K-12 and state agencies that work with youth who have dropped out or are at risk of dropping out of school. The following agencies shall appoint representatives to the work group: The office of the superintendent of public instruction, the workforce training and education coordinating board, the department of early learning, the employment security department, the state board for community and technical colleges, the department of health, the community mobilization office, and the children's services and behavioral health and recovery divisions of the department of social and health services. The work group should also consist of one representative from each of the following agencies and organizations: A statewide organization representing career and technical education programs including skill centers; the juvenile courts or the office of juvenile justice, or both; the Washington association of prosecuting attorneys; the Washington state office of public defense; accredited institutions of higher education; the educational service districts; the area workforce development councils; parent and educator associations; ((achievement)) educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee; office of the education ombudsman; local school districts; agencies or organizations that provide services to special education students; community organizations serving youth; federally recognized tribes and urban tribal centers; each of the major political caucuses of the senate and house of representatives; and the minority commissions.
     (2) To assist and enhance the work of the building bridges programs established in RCW 28A.175.025, the state-level work group shall:
     (a) Identify and make recommendations to the legislature for the reduction of fiscal, legal, and regulatory barriers that prevent coordination of program resources across agencies at the state and local level;
     (b) Develop and track performance measures and benchmarks for each partner agency or organization across the state including performance measures and benchmarks based on student characteristics and outcomes specified in RCW 28A.175.035(1)(e); and
     (c) Identify research-based and emerging best practices regarding prevention, intervention, and retrieval programs.
     (3)(a) The work group shall report to the quality education council, the state board of education, appropriate committees of the legislature, and the governor on an annual basis beginning December 1, 2007, with proposed strategies for building K-12 dropout prevention, intervention, and reengagement systems in local communities throughout the state including, but not limited to, recommendations for implementing emerging best practices, needed additional resources, and eliminating barriers.
     (b) By September 15, 2010, the work group shall report on:
     (i) A recommended state goal and annual state targets for the percentage of students graduating from high school;
     (ii) A recommended state goal and annual state targets for the percentage of youth who have dropped out of school who should be reengaged in education and be college and work ready;
     (iii) Recommended funding for supporting career guidance and the planning and implementation of K-12 dropout prevention, intervention, and reengagement systems in school districts and a plan for phasing the funding into the program of basic education, beginning in the 2011-2013 biennium; and
     (iv) A plan for phasing in the expansion of the current school improvement planning program to include state-funded, dropout-focused school improvement technical assistance for school districts in significant need of improvement regarding high school graduation rates.
     (4) State agencies in the building bridges work group shall work together, wherever feasible, on the following activities to support school/family/community partnerships engaged in building K-12 dropout prevention, intervention, and reengagement systems:
     (a) Providing opportunities for coordination and flexibility of program eligibility and funding criteria;
     (b) Providing joint funding;
     (c) Developing protocols and templates for model agreements on sharing records and data;
     (d) Providing joint professional development opportunities that provide knowledge and training on:
     (i) Research-based and promising practices;
     (ii) The availability of programs and services for vulnerable youth; and
     (iii) Cultural competence.
     (5) The building bridges work group shall make recommendations to the governor and the legislature by December 1, 2010, on a state-level and regional infrastructure for coordinating services for vulnerable youth. Recommendations must address the following issues:
     (a) Whether to adopt an official conceptual approach or framework for all entities working with vulnerable youth that can support coordinated planning and evaluation;
     (b) The creation of a performance-based management system, including outcomes, indicators, and performance measures relating to vulnerable youth and programs serving them, including accountability for the dropout issue;
     (c) The development of regional and/or county-level multipartner youth consortia with a specific charge to assist school districts and local communities in building K-12 comprehensive dropout prevention, intervention, and reengagement systems;
     (d) The development of integrated or school-based one-stop shopping for services that would:
     (i) Provide individualized attention to the neediest youth and prioritized access to services for students identified by a dropout early warning and intervention data system;
     (ii) Establish protocols for coordinating data and services, including getting data release at time of intake and common assessment and referral processes; and
     (iii) Build a system of single case managers across agencies;
     (e) Launching a statewide media campaign on increasing the high school graduation rate; and
     (f) Developing a statewide database of available services for vulnerable youth.

Sec. 4   RCW 28A.290.010 and 2011 1st sp.s. c 21 s 54 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The quality education council is created to recommend and inform the ongoing implementation by the legislature of an evolving program of basic education and the financing necessary to support such program. ((The council shall develop strategic recommendations on the program of basic education for the common schools. The council shall take into consideration the capacity report produced under RCW 28A.300.172 and the availability of data and progress of implementing the data systems required under RCW 28A.655.210.)) Any recommendations for modifications to the program of basic education shall be based on an educational policy reason and evidence that the programs effectively support student learning. ((The council shall update the statewide strategic recommendations every four years. The recommendations of the council are intended to:
     (a) Inform future educational policy and funding decisions of the legislature and governor;
     (b) Identify measurable goals and priorities for the educational system in Washington state for a ten-year time period, including the goals of basic education and ongoing strategies for coordinating statewide efforts to eliminate the achievement gap and reduce student dropout rates; and
     (c) Enable the state of Washington to continue to implement an evolving program of basic education.))
     (2) The council may request updates and progress reports from the office of the superintendent of public instruction, the state board of education, the professional educator standards board, and the department of early learning on the work of the agencies as well as educational working groups established by the legislature. The council may use these reports when making the council's annual report to the legislature.
     (3) The chair of the council shall be selected from the councilmembers. The council shall be composed of the following members:
     (a) Four members of the house of representatives, with two members representing each of the major caucuses and appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;
     (b) Four members of the senate, with two members representing each of the major caucuses and appointed by the president of the senate;
     (c) One representative each from the office of the governor, office of the superintendent of public instruction, state board of education, professional educator standards board, and department of early learning; and
     (d) One nonlegislative representative from the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee established under RCW 28A.300.136, to be selected by the members of the committee.
     (4) The council shall meet no more than four days a year.
     (5)(((a))) The council shall submit an ((initial)) annual report to the governor and the legislature by January 1st((, 2010, detailing its recommendations, including recommendations for resolving issues or decisions requiring legislative action during the 2010 legislative session, and recommendations for any funding necessary to continue development and implementation of chapter 548, Laws of 2009.
     (b) The initial report shall, at a minimum, include:
     (i) Consideration of how to establish a statewide beginning teacher mentoring and support system;
     (ii) Recommendations for a program of early learning for at-risk children;
     (iii) A recommended schedule for the concurrent phase-in of the changes to the instructional program of basic education and the implementation of the funding formulas and allocations to support the new instructional program of basic education as established under chapter 548, Laws of 2009. The phase-in schedule shall have full implementation completed by September 1, 2018; and
     (iv) A recommended schedule for phased-in implementation of the new distribution formula for allocating state funds to school districts for the transportation of students to and from school, with phase-in beginning no later than September 1, 2013.
     (6) The council shall submit a report to the legislature by January 1, 2012, detailing its recommendations for a comprehensive plan for a voluntary program of early learning. Before submitting the report, the council shall seek input from the early learning advisory council created in RCW 43.215.090.
     (7) The council shall submit a report to the governor and the legislature by December 1, 2010, that includes:
     (a) Recommendations for specific strategies, programs, and funding, including funding allocations through the funding distribution formula in RCW 28A.150.260, that are designed to close the achievement gap and increase the high school graduation rate in Washington public schools. The council shall consult with the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee and the building bridges work group in developing its recommendations; and
     (b) Recommendations for assuring adequate levels of state-funded classified staff to support essential school and district services)) each year.
     (((8))) (6) The council shall be staffed by the office of the superintendent of public instruction and the office of financial management. Additional staff support shall be provided by the state entities with representatives on the council. Senate committee services and the house of representatives office of program research may provide additional staff support.      
     (((9))) (7) Legislative members of the council shall serve without additional compensation but may be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120 while attending sessions of the council or on official business authorized by the council. Nonlegislative members of the council may be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

Sec. 5   RCW 28A.290.020 and 2010 c 236 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The legislature intends to continue to redefine the instructional program of education under RCW 28A.150.220 that fulfills the obligations and requirements of Article IX of the state Constitution. The funding formulas under RCW 28A.150.260 to support the instructional program shall be implemented to the extent the technical details of the formula have been established and according to an implementation schedule to be adopted by the legislature. The object of the schedule is to assure that any increases in funding allocations are timely, predictable, and occur concurrently with any increases in program or instructional requirements. It is the intent of the legislature that no increased programmatic or instructional expectations be imposed upon schools or school districts without an accompanying increase in resources as necessary to support those increased expectations.
     (2) The office of financial management, with assistance and support from the office of the superintendent of public instruction, shall convene a technical working group to:
     (a) Develop the details of the funding formulas under RCW 28A.150.260;
     (b) Recommend to the legislature an implementation schedule for phasing-in any increased program or instructional requirements concurrently with increases in funding for adoption by the legislature; and
     (c) Examine possible sources of revenue to support increases in funding allocations and present options to the legislature and the quality education council created in RCW 28A.290.010 for consideration.
     (3) The working group shall include representatives of the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee, school district and educational service district financial managers, the Washington association of school business officers, the Washington education association, the Washington association of school administrators, the association of Washington school principals, the Washington state school directors' association, the public school employees of Washington, and other interested stakeholders with expertise in education finance. The working group may convene advisory subgroups on specific topics as necessary to assure participation and input from a broad array of diverse stakeholders.
     (4) The working group shall be monitored and overseen by the legislature and the quality education council established in RCW 28A.290.010. The working group shall submit its recommendations to the legislature by December 1, 2009.
     (5) After the 2009 report to the legislature, the ((office of financial management)) state board of education and the office of the superintendent of public instruction ((shall)) may periodically reconvene the working group to monitor and provide advice and technical assistance on further development and implementation of the funding formulas under RCW 28A.150.260 ((and provide technical assistance to the ongoing work of the quality education council)).

Sec. 6   RCW 28A.400.201 and 2011 1st sp.s. c 43 s 468 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The legislature recognizes that providing students with the opportunity to access a world-class educational system depends on our continuing ability to provide students with access to world-class educators. The legislature also understands that continuing to attract and retain the highest quality educators will require increased investments. The legislature intends to enhance the current salary allocation model and recognizes that changes to the current model cannot be imposed without great deliberation and input from teachers, administrators, and classified employees. Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to begin the process of developing an enhanced salary allocation model that is collaboratively designed to ensure the rationality of any conclusions regarding what constitutes adequate compensation.
     (2) Beginning July 1, 2011, the office of the superintendent of public instruction, in collaboration with the human resources director in the office of financial management, shall convene a technical working group to recommend the details of an enhanced salary allocation model that aligns state expectations for educator development and certification with the compensation system and establishes recommendations for a concurrent implementation schedule. In addition to any other details the technical working group deems necessary, the technical working group shall make recommendations on the following:
     (a) How to reduce the number of tiers within the existing salary allocation model;
     (b) How to account for labor market adjustments;
     (c) How to account for different geographic regions of the state where districts may encounter difficulty recruiting and retaining teachers;
     (d) The role of and types of bonuses available;
     (e) Ways to accomplish salary equalization over a set number of years; and
     (f) Initial fiscal estimates for implementing the recommendations including a recognition that staff on the existing salary allocation model would have the option to grandfather in permanently to the existing schedule.
     (3) As part of its work, the technical working group shall conduct or contract for a preliminary comparative labor market analysis of salaries and other compensation for school district employees to be conducted and shall include the results in any reports to the legislature. For the purposes of this subsection, "salaries and other compensation" includes average base salaries, average total salaries, average employee basic benefits, and retirement benefits.
     (4) The analysis required under subsection (1) of this section must:
     (a) Examine salaries and other compensation for teachers, other certificated instructional staff, principals, and other building-level certificated administrators, and the types of classified employees for whom salaries are allocated;
     (b) Be calculated at a statewide level that identifies labor markets in Washington through the use of data from the United States bureau of the census and the bureau of labor statistics; and
     (c) Include a comparison of salaries and other compensation to the appropriate labor market for at least the following subgroups of educators: Beginning teachers and types of educational staff associates.
     (5) The working group shall include representatives of the office of financial management, the professional educator standards board, the office of the superintendent of public instruction, the Washington education association, the Washington association of school administrators, the association of Washington school principals, the Washington state school directors' association, the public school employees of Washington, and other interested stakeholders with appropriate expertise in compensation related matters. The working group may convene advisory subgroups on specific topics as necessary to assure participation and input from a broad array of diverse stakeholders.
     (6) The working group shall be monitored and overseen by the legislature ((and)), the quality education council created in RCW 28A.290.010, and the state board of education. The working group shall make an initial report to the legislature by June 30, 2012, and shall include in its report recommendations for whether additional further work of the group is necessary.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   RCW 28A.290.020 is recodified as a section in chapter 28A.300 RCW.