SENATE BILL REPORT

E2SHB 1526

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.

Majority Report: Do pass as amended and be referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

Signed by Senators Litzow, Chair; Dammeier, Vice Chair; McAuliffe, Ranking Member; Rolfes, Assistant Ranking Member; Billig, Cleveland, Fain, Hill and Mullet.

Background: The Running Start Program (Running Start) allows juniors and seniors in high school to enroll in college courses offered at a community or technical college or a participating public baccalaureate institution, and receive both high school and college credit. Students must demonstrate that they are ready for college-level work, usually through a placement test administered by the participating institution. Institutions may use different tests or have different readiness standards.

Running Start students do not pay tuition. Instead, the student is reported as enrolled in the school district for purposes of state funding allocations, and the district pays the institution an amount equal to the statewide average basic education allocation, minus 7 percent, which is retained by the district. The allocation amount for the 2012-13 school year is $4,961.76 per full time equivalent student for regular courses, and $5,856.48 for vocational

courses.

Students must purchase textbooks, provide for their own travel, and pay any fees associated with the course. Since 2009, students have also been required to pay other mandatory fees. Institutions must waive the mandatory fees for low-income students. In the 2011-12 academic year, 18,604 students participated in Running Start, primarily through a community or technical colleges.

Summary of Bill (Recommended Amendments): Meetings are required between participating Running Start institutions that have over 50 Running Start students and school districts to develop a plan for increasing enrollment of underrepresented students in Running Start. The plans must include strategies to provide outreach to underrepresented populations in middle and high schools regarding Running Start. The plans must also include details regarding coordination between high schools and participating institutions to provide academic guidance to underrepresented students. School districts without a high school or with fewer than 2000 students do not need to participate in these meetings.

Plans identified by the school district and participating institution must be provided to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) by August 1, 2014. OSPI must then provide guidelines to the appropriate committees of the Legislature regarding outreach and collaboration based on the plans provided by districts.

OSPI must collect current demographic data from each school district related to student participation in Running Start and compare that with data to be collected after two years of collaboration and submit that data to the Legislature by December 1, 2016.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony on Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill (Early Learning & K-12 Education): PRO: We support this bill but want it in its original version, as a pilot project. Our students need support too. It would not take much extra funding to roll out the bill in its original form. We would love to be the first state to get kids into Advancement Via Individual Determination in third and fourth grade. Many people benefit from Running Start.

OTHER: We have concerns. We would prefer to see a pilot project rather than rolling this out statewide. Running Start is important. The concepts in this bill are critical. We need to help kids be successful after high school.

Persons Testifying (Early Learning & K-12 Education): PRO: Erin Jones, Federal Way School District; Bailey Stober, WA State Commission on African American Affairs.

OTHER: Lucinda Young, WA Education Assn.; Jerry Bender, Assn. of WA School Principals.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony (Ways & Means): PRO: Low-income students and students of color are underrepresented in the Running Start program. This bill will increase these students' access to the Running Start program and will also connect the Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) program, a program that targets support services to the population not being served in Running Start, to higher education. There is the potential for savings to the College Bound program with this bill as 80 percent of the students this bill would target are eligible for the College Bound program and, if these students completed an associate's degree while in high school, there would only be a need to provide two years of college with the College Bound scholarship. Additionally, a lot of the underrepresented students are undocumented, so participation in Running Start would have implications for their future. The pilot program would allow acclimation to these students to a community college setting and would provide them an incredible opportunity to save some money.