BILL REQ. #:  H-3485.1 

Read first time 01/22/14.   Referred to Committee on Higher Education.

     AN ACT Relating to establishing statewide educational attainment goals; creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that increasing educational attainment is vital to the well-being of Washingtonians and critical to the health of the state's economy. Education opens doors to gainful employment, higher wages, increased job benefits, improved physical health, and increased civic engagement. Educated workers who are capable of competing for high-demand jobs in today's global economy sustain existing employers and attract new businesses. These individuals with competitive higher education credentials directly contribute to the state's economic growth and vitality.
     (2) The legislature finds that workforce and labor market projections estimate that by 2020 the vast majority of jobs in Washington will require at least a high school diploma or equivalent and seventy percent of those jobs will also require some postsecondary education.
     (3) The legislature finds that current levels of educational attainment are inadequate to address the educational needs of the state. In 2013, eighty-nine percent of Washington adults ages twenty-five to forty-four had a high school diploma or equivalent, and less than fifty percent of Washington adults ages twenty-five to forty-four have a postsecondary credential.
     (4) The legislature recognizes that one of the most important duties of the student achievement council is to propose educational attainment goals to the governor and legislature and develop a ten-year roadmap to achieve those goals, to be updated every two years.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   Following recommendations in the higher education ten-year roadmap in RCW 28B.77.003 and 28B.77.020, the legislature declares that the statewide educational attainment goals required to meet the societal and economic needs of the future are as follows:
     (1) All adults in Washington ages twenty-five to forty-four will have a high school diploma or equivalent by 2023; and
     (2) At least seventy percent of Washington adults ages twenty-five to forty-four will have a postsecondary credential by 2023.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   This act expires July 1, 2016.