HOUSE BILL REPORT

                  HB 1770

             As Reported By House Committee On:

                          Education

Title:  An act relating to the recommendations of the state board of education based on its review of its statutory authority.

Brief Description:  Adopting recommendations of the state board of education.

Sponsors:  Representatives Stensen and Talcott; by request of Board of Education.

Brief History:

  Committee Activity:

Education:  2/24/99, 2/25/99 [DPS].

           Brief Summary of Substitute Bill

$The basic skills taught to state funded students enrolled in education centers will be aligned with the state's essential academic learning requirements and the OSPI will determine the amount of funding that will be provided to the centers for diagnostic tests and student enrollments.

$School districts may determine the level of fees needed to cover the cost of prescreening kindergarten and first grade students who wish to enroll at a younger age than is generally permitted by district policies.

$A number of laws related to school districts and the State Board of Education are moved from their current placement in the Revised Code of Washington to different chapters in the code.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Majority Report:  The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  Signed by 14 members:  Representatives Quall, Democratic Co-Chair; Talcott, Republican Co-Chair; Haigh, Democratic Vice Chair; Schindler, Republican Vice Chair; Carlson; Cox; Keiser; Rockefeller; Santos; D. Schmidt; Schual-Berke; Stensen; Sump and Wensman.

Staff:  Susan Morrissey (786-7111).

Background:

During 1997 and 1998, the State Board of Education (SBE) convened a Mandate Review Committee to study all of the board's rules and their related laws.  The committee recommended the revision or repeal of a number of existing state laws.  The recommendations included the establishment of a linkage between an education center's program and the state's essential academic learning requirements and the reassignment of the responsibility to approve certain tests from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to the SBE.  The committee recommended the revision of language on fees for education centers and kindergarten prescreening.   The committee also recommended the repeal of outdated language on teacher testing and clarification of OSPI's administrative role in the implementation of rules adopted by the SBE.  Finally, the committee recommended the consolidation of the SBE's certification authority into one chapter in the Revised Code of Washington.

Summary of Substitute Bill:

The basic academic skills taught to state funded students enrolled in education centers will be coordinated with the state's essential academic learning requirements.  The SBE will approve tests used to determine a student's eligibility to enroll in an education center.  In place of the current amounts in law, the OSPI will determine the amount of the fees paid by the state to education centers for diagnostic tests and student enrollments.

In place of the current amount in law, school districts may determine the level of fees needed to cover the cost of prescreening kindergarten and first grade students who wish to enroll at a younger age than is generally permitted by district policies.

The OSPI will administer rules adopted by the SBE for some, but not all, of the board's responsibilities.

The certification responsibilities of the SBE are moved from the laws governing certification to the laws describing the SBE's authority.   The responsibility of the OSPI to issue and revoke professional certificates is moved from the certification section of the code to the sections describing the superintendent's duties.  Finally, obsolete references to a teacher test are removed.

The following laws are moved from their existing sections of the Revised Code of Washington to new chapters in the code:

CLaws for joint school districts;

CLaws related to the election, meetings, expenses, and vacancies of school board members;

CLaws related to first and second class school districts, including special provisions; and

CLaws related to school directors - director districts.

The following laws are repealed:

CA decodified law related to master in teaching degrees;

CA law describing the SBE's certification authority; and

CA law that requires the SBE to present a report on assessments for teacher candidates to the 1997 Legislature.

Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill:  A number of laws affecting school boards, school districts, and boundaries are moved from their current placement in the Revised Code of Washington into new chapters in the code.  One code section for joint school districts is added to the list of codes moved into the new chapter on joint school districts.  The authority of the OSPI to issue and revoke professional certificates is added to the superintendent's rule making authority.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not requested.

Effective Date of Substitute Bill:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  (Original bill) The legislation clarifies and streamlines certain existing laws and aligns educational programs offered to state funded students at education centers to the state's essential academic learning requirements.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  (Original bill) Rep. Stensen, prime sponsor; Larry Davis, State Board of Education; and Dwayne Slate, Washington State School Directors' Association.