BILL REQ. #:  H-3731.1 

Read first time 01/29/14.   Referred to Committee on Early Learning & Human Services.

     AN ACT Relating to early childhood development as it relates to school success; creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that neuroscience research about the effects of toxic stress on human development promises to reshape our understanding and expectations about excellence in human practices. The answer to improving educational success for the approximately forty-two percent of Washington students who experience significant amounts of toxic stress is to develop a broad and trauma-sensitive public policy agenda in which schools, communities, and families play key roles. In order to do this, we must know more about community variation in the prevalence of childhood toxic stress, as well as the factors that predict resilience and prevention.
     Family well-being during child development has a powerful effect on traditional academic skills. By developing maps that overlay Washington's family well-being and related data with academic, behavioral, and school performance data, policymakers can learn about barriers to school success and help pinpoint ways that adults can change the response to children who learn differently because of their experiences, making sure that all children are on track for success.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) The education data center shall contract with a nonprofit organization that provides resources, connections, and support to the people who are most affected by health inequities so they can live healthier lives and build healthier communities, to conduct a geographic analysis using existing data to identify areas where the cumulative effect of family factors, such as employment, health status, safety, and stability correlate with academic and behavioral indicators of student success. The education data center shall submit this analysis in the form of a report to the appropriate committees of the legislature by January 31, 2015. This report must include maps that illustrate community variation in family factors as they relate to K-12 and postsecondary education outcomes and keeping all children on track for success.
     (2) At a minimum, the report must include:
     (a) The prevalence of family and community health, safety, and stability factors relevant to student success;
     (b) Resilience factors that are statistically correlated with improved population outcomes even in populations with family, health, safety, and stability challenges;
     (c) Correlation of the factors in (b) of this subsection with community variation in academic, behavior, and graduation outcomes; and
     (d) Implications for policy targeted at improving K-12 or postsecondary outcomes.
     (3) This section expires August 1, 2015.