Title: An act relating to equitable opportunity for all.

Brief Description: Creating the joint select committee on equitable opportunity for all.

Sponsors: Senators Rasmussen, Schmidt, McAuliffe, Berkey, Jacobsen, Kohl-Welles, Regala and Shin.

Brief History:

Committee Activity: Early Learning, K-12 & Higher Education: 2/25/05.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON EARLY LEARNING, K-12 & HIGHER EDUCATION

Staff: Ingrid Mungia (786-7423)

Background: In 2000, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, through its community outreach office, coordinated the Multi-Ethnic Think Tank (Think Tank). The Think Tank represents an alliance of the African American, American Indian/Alaska Natives, Asian Pacific Islander American, Hispanic, and low socio-economic communities. The work of the Think Tank produced a set of recommended action steps aimed at raising the academic achievement of students in these populations.

Summary of Bill: The Joint Select Committee on Equitable Opportunity For All is established. The committee must evaluate what efforts exists to implement the action steps recommended in the Multi-Ethnic Think Tank's 2002 action paper:

• add a fifth Washington learning goal to ensure culturally competent education;
• infuse multicultural education goals into the existing four Washington state learning goals;
• integrate multicultural and technological learning objectives in the Washington state essential academic learning requirements;
• standardize the data collection, categorization, and reporting of all ethnic groups, including the disaggregation of data sets in to discrete ethnic populations that provide the most accurate information about student achievement;
• recruit and retain racial and ethnic minority staff and administration; and
• require that professional development is culturally and linguistically responsive for all staff, administration, and others.

In its review of implementation efforts, the committee will consult with stakeholders representing communities of color, special education and others. The committee will report its findings to the Legislature by September 1, 2006 and recommend a reasonable time frame for full implementation. The implementation recommendations must be prioritized based on existing efforts and the resources necessary for full implementation.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Requested on February 21, 2005.

Committee/Commission/Task Force Created: Yes.

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

Testimony For: This bill helps bring out who students are and who their classmates are. This will create a better society. The METT document is an authentic document and the state of Washington needs the joint select committee. Not all children learn the same and there needs to be a variety of standards so children can express themselves and succeed. Appreciate the bill because it is reaching out to different stakeholders. Additional training will be a result of the study, so additional funding will be needed. This bill is the right path toward equitable education. Minority students need help and the research will help give solutions. This bill offers continued support for minority students and sets a high structure. Need a broad based group to keep the dialogue going. This bill addresses issue the state needs to address.

Testimony Against: None.

Who Testified: PRO: Senator Rasmussen, prime sponsor; Guadalupe Contreras, Rosa Orozca, Ricardo Espinoza, Paso School District; Uriel Iniguez, Hispanic Commission; Doreen Cato, First Place/MEDC; Renee Kakickoff, DVR; Christie Perkins, Washington State Special Education Coalition; Ben Kodama, METT/APIA; Lucinda Young, WEA; Sapina Pele, citizen.