HOUSE BILL REPORT

HB 2167

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

As Passed Legislature

Title: An act relating to changing the date by which challenged schools are identified.

Brief Description: Changing the date by which challenged schools are identified.

Sponsors: Representatives Lytton, Haigh, Magendanz, Kagi, Dahlquist and Carlyle; by request of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Brief History:

Committee Activity:

Education: 1/22/14, 2/3/14 [DP].

Floor Activity:

Passed House: 2/11/14, 98-0.

Passed Senate: 3/6/14, 47-0.

Passed Legislature.

Brief Summary of Bill

  • Changes the due date for the first and annual identified list of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction on challenged and persistently lowest-achieving schools to February, rather than December, of each year.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Majority Report: Do pass. Signed by 19 members: Representatives Santos, Chair; Stonier, Vice Chair; Dahlquist, Ranking Minority Member; Magendanz, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Bergquist, Fey, Haigh, Hargrove, Hawkins, Hayes, S. Hunt, Klippert, Lytton, Muri, Orwall, Parker, Pollet, Seaquist and Warnick.

Staff: Megan Wargacki (786-7194).

Background:

In 2013 the Legislature required the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to annually identify "challenged schools in need of improvement" and those schools that are the "persistently lowest-achieving schools." Among other things, the OSPI's criteria must take into account the proficiency of all students and subgroups of students on state assessments and high school graduation rates.

The OSPI was required to make its first report by December 1, 2013. Graduation results are not available until the first week of December each year.

Summary of Bill:

The due date for the OSPI to identify challenged schools in need of improvement and the subset of such schools that are persistently the lowest-achieving is changed to February 1, 2014, rather than December 1, 2013.

The annual due date for such report is changed to each February, rather than each December.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Effective Date: The bill contains an emergency clause and takes effect immediately.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

(In support) This is a simple technical change to a bill that was worked on last year. The date was not right, so it is being corrected in this bill to February 1. The OSPI does not calculate graduation rates until late fall because some of the data depends on what happens over the summer.

(Opposed) None.

Persons Testifying: Representative Lytton, prime sponsor; and Andrea Cobb, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.