BILL REQ. #: Z-0389.1
| State of Washington | 63rd Legislature | 2013 Regular Session |
Read first time 02/13/13. Referred to Committee on Education.
AN ACT Relating to establishing a comprehensive initiative to increase learning opportunities and improve educational outcomes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through multiple strategies and statewide partnerships; amending RCW 28B.77.020 and 28A.290.010; adding a new chapter to Title 28A RCW; and recodifying RCW 28A.300.515, 28A.630.065, 28A.630.066, 28A.700.120, 28A.625.200, 28A.625.210, 28A.625.220, 28A.625.230, and 28A.625.240.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1
(2) To provide focus and clarity to efforts to increase learning
opportunities and improve educational outcomes in STEM, the following
definition of STEM literacy is adopted: STEM literacy means the
ability to identify, apply, and integrate concepts from science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics to understand complex problems
and to innovate to solve them. STEM literacy is achieved when a
student is able to apply his or her understanding of how the world
works within and across the four interrelated STEM disciplines to
improve the social, economic, and environmental conditions of the local
and global community.
(3) The component parts of STEM literacy are:
(a) Scientific literacy, which is the ability to use scientific
knowledge and processes in physics, chemistry, biology, and earth and
space science to understand the natural world and to participate in
decisions that affect it;
(b) Technological literacy, which is the ability to use new
technologies, understand how technologies are developed, and have
skills to analyze how new technologies affect individuals, the nation,
and the world. Technology is the innovation, change, or modification
of the natural environment to satisfy perceived human needs and wants;
(c) Engineering literacy, which is the understanding of how
technologies are developed through the engineering design process.
Engineering design is the systematic and creative application of
scientific and mathematical principles to practical ends, such as the
design, manufacture, and operation of efficient and economic
structures, machines, processes, and systems; and
(d) Mathematical literacy, which is the ability to analyze, reason,
and communicate ideas effectively through posing, formulating, solving,
and interpreting solutions to mathematical problems in a variety of
situations.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2
(2) The governor's office, in consultation with the superintendent
of public instruction, shall invite representatives of STEM businesses,
business and labor organizations with expertise in STEM fields, one or
more nonprofit organizations with a mission to enhance STEM education
from early learning through postsecondary education, school districts
and institutions of higher education that have demonstrated leadership
and innovation in STEM education, and STEM educators to participate in
the alliance. Representatives from the governor's office, the office
of the superintendent of public instruction, and other state education
agencies shall also participate as members of the alliance.
(3) The STEM education innovation alliance shall initiate its work
by aligning and combining previous STEM education strategic plans into
a single, cohesive, and comprehensive STEM framework for action and
accountability. The framework must concentrate on a limited number of
selected and specific measures that are meaningful indicators of
progress in increasing STEM learning opportunities and in achieving the
intended longer-term outcomes of such efforts. The framework must use
measures that are quantifiable and based on data that are regularly and
reliably collected statewide.
(4) Staff support for the STEM education innovation alliance shall
be provided by the governor's office and the office of financial
management, with support from the office of the superintendent of
public instruction and other state education agencies as necessary.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3
(2) The report card must:
(a) Illustrate the most recent data for the indicators and measures
of the STEM framework for action and accountability;
(b) Provide information from state education agencies that
indicates the extent that activities and resources are aligned with and
support the STEM framework for action and accountability;
(c) Provide data regarding current and projected STEM job openings
in the state; and
(d) Be prominently displayed on a web site designed for this
purpose.
(3) The education data center under RCW 43.41.400 must coordinate
data collection and analysis to support the report card.
(4) The state education agencies must annually report on how their
policies, activities, and expenditures of public resources align with
and support the STEM framework for action and accountability. The
focus of the reporting under this subsection is on programs and
initiatives specifically identified in law or budget proviso as related
to STEM education. The agencies must use a common metric for the
reporting, designed by the education data center in consultation with
the STEM education innovation alliance. For the purposes of this
section, "state education agencies" includes the office of the
superintendent of public instruction, the student achievement council,
the state board for community and technical colleges, the workforce
training and education coordinating board, the professional educator
standards board, the state board of education, and the department of
early learning.
(5) The employment security department must create an annual report
on current and projected job openings in STEM fields and submit the
report to the education data center for inclusion in the STEM education
report card.
(6) The STEM education innovation alliance must publish the first
STEM education report card with baseline data on the identified
measures by January 10, 2014, and must update the report card by each
January 10th thereafter.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4
(2) Under the terms of the contract, the organization selected
under this section shall:
(a) Conduct a statewide communications campaign to expand awareness
of the importance of STEM literacy and the opportunities presented by
STEM education and careers, particularly as a strategy to close the
educational opportunity gap for disadvantaged students and promote
economic development in disadvantaged communities;
(b) Expand regional networks of schools, institutions of higher
education, educational service districts, STEM businesses, and
community-based organizations to align STEM learning opportunities with
best practices and local economic development;
(c) Establish an innovation fund and offer competitive grants to
support innovative practices in STEM education, from early learning
through postsecondary education, including developing models of
interdisciplinary instruction and project-based learning;
(d) Expand STEM professional development opportunities for
educators, faculty, and principals, including developing technology-enabled learning systems to support implementation of state learning
standards; and
(e) Create opportunities to extend STEM learning into early
learning programs.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5
(2) In collaboration with work groups of STEM educators and using
the work of regional STEM networks and innovation grant recipients
under section 4 of this act, the office of the superintendent of public
instruction must:
(a) Identify interdisciplinary STEM instructional modules
appropriate for different grade levels;
(b) Identify project-based learning models, projects, lessons, and
guides appropriate for different grade levels; and
(c) Make the information collected in this section, including
online resource guides, available for teachers to incorporate into
their classroom instruction.
(3) The office of the superintendent of public instruction must
also disseminate information and research on best practices in
interdisciplinary instruction and project-based learning in STEM.
Sec. 6 RCW 28B.77.020 and 2012 c 229 s 104 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) Aligned with the state's biennial budget and policy cycles, the
council shall propose educational attainment goals and priorities to
meet the state's evolving needs. The council shall identify strategies
for meeting the goals and priorities by means of a short-term strategic
action plan and a ten-year plan that serves as a roadmap.
(a) The goals must address the needs of Washington residents to
reach higher levels of educational attainment and Washington's
workforce needs for certificates and degrees in particular fields of
study.
(b) The council shall identify the resources it deems appropriate
to meet statewide goals and also recognize current state economic
conditions and state resources.
(c) In proposing goals, the council shall collaborate with the
superintendent of public instruction, the professional educator
standards board, the state board of education, the state board for
community and technical colleges, the four-year institutions of higher
education, independent colleges and degree-granting institutions,
certificate-granting institutions, and the workforce training and
education coordinating board.
(2) The council shall update the strategic action plan every two
years with the first strategic action plan to be submitted to the
governor and the legislature by December 1, 2012. The ten-year roadmap
must be updated every two years with the first roadmap to be submitted
to the governor and the legislature by December 1, 2013. The council
must provide regular updates to the joint higher education committee
created in RCW 44.04.360 as needed.
(3) In order to develop the ten-year roadmap, the council shall
conduct strategic planning in collaboration with agencies and
stakeholders and include input from the legislature. The council must
also consult with the STEM education innovation alliance established
under section 2 of this act in order to align strategies under the
roadmap with the STEM framework for education and accountability
developed by the alliance. The roadmap must encompass all sectors of
higher education, including secondary to postsecondary transitions.
The roadmap must outline strategies that address:
(a) Strategic planning, which includes setting benchmarks and goals
for long-term degree production generally and in particular fields of
study;
(b) Expanding access, affordability, quality, efficiency, and
accountability among the various institutions of higher education;
(c) Higher education finance planning and strategic investments
including budget recommendations necessary to meet statewide goals;
(d) System design and coordination;
(e) Improving student transitions;
(f) Higher education data and analysis, in collaboration with the
education data center, which includes outcomes for recruitment,
retention, and success of students;
(g) College and career access preparedness, in collaboration with
the office of the superintendent of public instruction and the state
board of education;
(h) Expanding participation and success for racial and ethnic
minorities in higher education;
(i) Development and expansion of innovations in higher education
including innovations to increase attainment of postsecondary
certificates, and associate, baccalaureate, graduate, and professional
degrees; and innovations to improve precollege education in terms of
cost-effectiveness and transitions to college-level education; ((and))
(j) Strengthening the education pipeline and degree production in
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, and aligning
strategies under the roadmap with the STEM framework for action and
accountability developed under section 2 of this act; and
(k) Relevant policy research.
(4) As needed, the council must conduct system reviews consistent
with RCW 28B.77.080.
(5) The council shall facilitate the development and expansion of
innovative practices within, between, and among the sectors to increase
educational attainment and assess the effectiveness of the innovations.
(6) The council shall use the data and analysis produced by, and in
consultation with, the education data center created in RCW 43.41.400
in developing policy recommendations and proposing goals. In
conducting research and analysis the council at a minimum must:
(a) Identify barriers to increasing educational attainment,
evaluate effectiveness of various educational models, identify best
practices, and recommend methods to overcome barriers;
(b) Analyze data from multiple sources including data from academic
research and from areas and agencies outside of education including but
not limited to data from the department of health, the department of
corrections, and the department of social and health services to
determine best practices to remove barriers and to improve educational
attainment;
(c) Assess educational achievement disaggregated by income level,
age, gender, race and ethnicity, country of origin, and other relevant
demographic groups working with data from the education data center;
(d) Track progress toward meeting the state's goals;
(e) Communicate results and provide access to data analysis to
policymakers, the superintendent of public instruction, institutions of
higher education, students, and the public; and
(f) Use data from the education data center wherever appropriate to
conduct duties in (a) through (e) of this subsection.
(7) The council shall collaborate with the appropriate state
agencies and stakeholders, including the state board of education, the
office of the superintendent of public instruction, the state board for
community and technical colleges, the workforce training and education
coordinating board, and the four-year institutions of higher education
to improve student transitions and success including but not limited
to:
(a) Setting minimum college admission standards for four-year
institutions of higher education, including a requirement that
coursework in American sign language or an American Indian language
satisfies any requirement for instruction in a language other than
English that the council or the institutions may establish as a general
undergraduate admissions requirement;
(b) Proposing comprehensive policies and programs to encourage
students to prepare for, understand how to access, and pursue
postsecondary college and career programs, including specific policies
and programs for students with disabilities;
(c) Recommending policies that require coordination between or
among sectors such as dual high school-college programs, awarding
college credit for advanced high school work, and transfer between two
and four-year institutions of higher education or between different
four-year institutions of higher education; and
(d) Identifying transitions issues and solutions for students, from
high school to postsecondary education including community and
technical colleges, four-year institutions of higher education,
apprenticeships, training, or workplace education; between two-year and
four-year institutions of higher education; and from postsecondary
education to career. In addressing these issues the council must
recognize that these transitions may occur multiple times as students
continue their education.
(8) The council directs the work of the office, which includes
administration of student financial aid programs under RCW 28B.76.090,
including the state need grant and other scholarships, the Washington
advanced college tuition payment program, and work-study programs.
(9) The council may administer state and federal grants and
programs including but not limited to those programs that provide
incentives for improvements related to increased access and success in
postsecondary education.
(10) The council shall protect higher education consumers
including:
(a) Approving degree-granting postsecondary institutions consistent
with existing statutory criteria;
(b) Establishing minimum criteria to assess whether students who
attend proprietary institutions of higher education shall be eligible
for the state need grant and other forms of state financial aid.
(i) The criteria shall include retention rates, completion rates,
loan default rates, and annual tuition increases, among other criteria
for students who receive state need grant as in chapter 28B.92 RCW and
any other state financial aid.
(ii) The council may remove proprietary institutions of higher
education from eligibility for the state need grant or other form of
state financial aid if it finds that the institution or college does
not meet minimum criteria.
(iii) The council shall report by December 1, 2014, to the joint
higher education committee in RCW 44.04.360 on the outcomes of students
receiving state need grants, impacts on meeting the state's higher
education goals for educational attainment, and options for
prioritization of the state need grant and possible consequences of
implementing each option. When examining options for prioritizing the
state need grant the council shall consider awarding grants based on
need rather than date of application and making awards based on other
criteria selected by the council.
(11) The council shall adopt residency requirements by rule.
(12) The council shall arbitrate disputes between and among four-year institutions of higher education and the state board for community
and technical colleges at the request of one or more of the
institutions involved, or at the request of the governor, or from a
resolution adopted by the legislature. The decision of the council
shall be binding on the participants in the dispute.
(13) The council may solicit, accept, receive, and administer
federal funds or private funds, in trust, or otherwise, and contract
with foundations or with for-profit or nonprofit organizations to
support the purposes and functions of the council.
(14) The council shall represent the broad public interest above
the interests of the individual institutions of higher education.
Sec. 7 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
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 strategies to increase learning opportunities in
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics that are aligned with
the STEM framework for action and accountability developed under
section 2 of this act; 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.
(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 report to the governor
and the legislature by January 1, 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.
(8) 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) 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.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8 RCW 28A.300.515, 28A.630.065, 28A.630.066,
28A.700.120, 28A.625.200, 28A.625.210, 28A.625.220, 28A.625.230, and
28A.625.240 are each recodified as sections in the new chapter created
in section 9 of this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9 Sections 1 through 5 of this act constitute
a new chapter in Title