BILL REQ. #:  H-2156.1 

Read first time 02/21/2007.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     AN ACT Relating to establishing a system to support a comprehensive mathematics and science improvement initiative; amending RCW 28A.310.350; adding new sections to chapter 28A.415 RCW; and repealing RCW 28A.300.350.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   Sections 1 through 4 of this act represent core components of a comprehensive initiative to improve mathematics and science education and achievement. The initiative focuses on:
     (1) A regional delivery system to provide professional development and support to schools and school districts through the educational service districts;
     (2) A tiered support system that provides resources, services, assistance, and intervention for schools and districts, depending on their levels of need;
     (3) Leveraging existing public and private resources and district-initiated activities; and
     (4) Accountability through outcome-oriented performance agreements, contracts, reporting, and data collection.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) The mathematics and science improvement initiative shall provide the capacity and resources for educational service districts, school districts, and schools to conduct a broad range of activities, depending on the level of need and priority of the school or district. The focus of the initiative is on building and enhancing the quality of mathematics and science instruction.
     (2) Activities supported by the initiative include, but are not limited to:
     (a) Targeted professional development in content knowledge, content-specific pedagogy, differentiated instruction, effective teaching strategies, learning modules, and mathematics and science standards and curriculum;
     (b) Use and analysis of diagnostic assessments and other data on student achievement to improve instruction;
     (c) Curriculum alignment and development or purchase of supplemental materials;
     (d) Integration of technology; and
     (e) Mentors and instructional coaches.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   Resources for the mathematics and science improvement initiative shall be provided through educational service districts to schools and school districts based on a tiered support system. The legislature's intent is that resources from the mathematics and science improvement initiative are provided over a four-year period.
     (1) Tier one: Initiative grants. School districts may apply on a competitive basis to their educational service district for grants to support activities to improve mathematics and science instruction. A district may contract with the educational service district for services, use the grant for district-initiated activities, or both. Tier one districts must demonstrate how district resources and resources from public-private partnerships shall be used to leverage the grant funds. Tier one grant recipients must identify measurable outcomes from the activities supported by the grant and report results in a prescribed format, including student achievement data from designated diagnostic assessments.
     (2) Tier two: Improvement agreements. School districts may work with educational service districts to plan, develop, and implement a mathematics and science improvement initiative tailored to the needs of the district. The educational service district and the school district shall develop a joint agreement that identifies the services and support to be provided by the educational service district, the activities to be conducted by the district using improvement agreement funds, and the expected measurable outcomes from the activities. Recipients of funds under a tier two improvement agreement must report results of the activities supported by the agreement in a prescribed format, including student achievement data from designated diagnostic assessments.
     (3) Tier three: Intensive intervention and support. School districts and schools with low student performance in mathematics or science as identified by the superintendent of public instruction under section 5 of this act are eligible for intensive intervention and support coordinated by the educational service district. School districts or individual schools may receive tier three support. Recipients of funds under tier three support must:
     (a) Participate in an audit of the mathematics or science instructional delivery system, including policies and practices, curriculum alignment, teacher pedagogy and content knowledge, and assessment of overall climate and practice compared to best practices;
     (b) Develop, with assistance from the educational service district, a school or district intervention plan that focuses on areas of highest need and provides intensive professional development in those areas;
     (c) Use the services of an intervention team that includes a trained and experienced facilitator and mathematics or science instructional coaches to provide job-embedded professional development; and
     (d) Identify measurable outcomes from the activities supported by the grant and report results in a prescribed format, including student achievement data from designated diagnostic assessments.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) Educational service districts shall develop and maintain the capacity to provide administrative, professional development, technical assistance, and intervention services under the mathematics and science improvement initiative to support school districts as required under section 3 of this act, including:
     (a) Administering, reviewing, and monitoring grants for tier one grant recipients and providing contracted services;
     (b) Developing, administering, and monitoring tier two improvement agreements and providing support and services under the terms of the agreements; and
     (c) Coordinating and providing the intensive intervention and support for tier three schools and districts, including the instructional audit, intervention plan, and intervention team.
     (2) Educational service districts shall also:
     (a) Develop public-private partnerships and seek external grants and funds to leverage the state resources provided to support the mathematics and science improvement initiative;
     (b) Collect, compile, and disseminate data and information about the activities and outcomes under the initiative, including student achievement data from designated diagnostic assessments; and
     (c) Develop appropriate reporting and monitoring procedures to ensure accountability for the use of funds distributed to school districts through the tiered support system and for the achievement of desired outcomes.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   In support of the mathematics and science improvement initiative, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall:
     (1) In collaboration with the educational service districts, develop a methodology for distributing funds appropriated for activities under the tiered support system among the educational service districts and among the three tiers of support. The methodology shall take into account the anticipated demand and need for services by school districts in each tier and the size of those school districts. The methodology shall also reflect a higher priority and greater need for support and resources for schools and districts in tier three;
     (2) Develop guidelines for educational service districts in administering grants, developing district improvement agreements, and implementing intensive intervention and support services. The guidelines shall not require all educational service districts to follow the same procedures in all circumstances, but shall ensure general equity for school districts across the state in how the districts may access resources under the initiative and the activities and services that are provided by the educational service districts;
     (3) Identify the schools and school districts eligible for tier three intensive intervention and support, based on low student performance in mathematics and science. Tier three schools and districts shall not be participating in other state or federal school improvement assistance programs. To the maximum extent possible, the identification of and the intensive intervention services provided to tier three schools and districts shall align with the accountability plan developed by the state board of education; and
     (4) In collaboration with the educational service districts, develop guidelines and a common reporting format for collecting data and information about the activities and outcomes under the initiative and designate one or more common diagnostic assessments for districts to use in reporting and monitoring student achievement.

Sec. 6   RCW 28A.310.350 and 1977 ex.s. c 283 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:
     The basic core services and cost upon which educational service districts are budgeted shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
     (1) Educational service district administration and facilities such as office space, maintenance and utilities;
     (2) Cooperative administrative services such as assistance in carrying out procedures to abolish sex and race bias in school programs, fiscal services, grants management services, special education services and transportation services;
     (3) Personnel services such as certification/registration services;
     (4) Learning resource services such as audio visual aids;
     (5) Cooperative curriculum services such as health promotion and health education services, in-service training, workshops and assessment; ((and))
     (6) Capacity to provide services to support the mathematics and science improvement initiative under sections 1 through 5 of this act; and
     (7) Special needs of local education agencies.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   RCW 28A.300.350 (Excellence in mathematics training program) and 1999 c 347 s 2 are each repealed.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   Sections 1 through 5 of this act are each added to chapter 28A.415 RCW under the subchapter heading "mathematics and science improvement initiative."