FINAL BILL REPORT

                           SSB 5556

                          C 147 L 93

                      SYNOPSIS AS ENACTED

Brief Description:  Changing provisions relating to state schools for the blind, deaf, and sensory impaired.

SPONSORS: Senate Committee on Education (originally sponsored by Senators Bauer, Snyder, Deccio and Sutherland; by request of Washington State School for the Blind and Washington State School for the Deaf)

SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

BACKGROUND:

The State School for the Blind and the State School for the Deaf are located in Vancouver, Washington.  The School for the Blind serves 65-80 students on-campus and provides vision services to an additional 60 students.  The School for the Deaf provides services to 160-170 students on-campus.

SUMMARY:

The mandatory requirement that the Department of Social and Health Services provide services if the state schools for the blind, deaf, and sensory impaired request services is deleted.

The mandatory requirement that the superintendents of state schools for the blind, deaf, and sensory impaired adopt rules, consistent with collective bargaining agreements, regarding the transferability of employees between the schools is made permissive.  Working conditions at the schools for the blind, deaf, and sensory impaired are required to be consistent with all state merit rules and regulations as well as collective bargaining agreements.

The duties of the superintendent of each state school are expanded to include providing instructional leadership.

Services may be extended to eligible children ages birth through three years but the state is not obligated to fund these extended services.

Weekend transportation to and from the schools is provided at no cost to the students or their families as allowed within the budgets of each school.

The eligibility for ex-officio membership on the boards is expanded to include a representative of any employee in a bargaining unit for classified employees.  The minimum number of meetings per year required of each board of trustees is changed from six to four.

The requirement for local advisory committees for each school is repealed.

VOTES ON FINAL PASSAGE:

Senate    48   0

House     98   0    (House amended)

Senate    38   0    (Senate concurred)

EFFECTIVE:July 25, 1993