BILL REQ. #:  S-4893.2 

READ FIRST TIME 02/04/08.   

     AN ACT Relating to learning opportunities to assist students to obtain a high school diploma; adding new sections to chapter 28A.320 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.630 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.655 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.310 RCW; 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 high school students need to graduate with the skills necessary to be successful in college and work. The state graduation requirements help to ensure that Washington high school graduates have the basic skills to be competitive in a global economy. Under education reform started in 1993, time was to be the variable, obtaining the skills was to be the constant. Therefore, students who need additional time to gain the academic skills needed for college and the workplace should have the opportunities they need to reach high academic achievement, even if that takes more than the standard four years of high school.
     Different students face different challenges and barriers to their academic success. Some students struggle to meet the standard on a single portion of the Washington assessment of student learning while excelling in the other subject areas; other students struggle to complete the necessary state or local graduation credits; while still others have their knowledge tested on the assessments and have completed all the credit requirements but are struggling because English is not their first language. The legislature finds that many of these students need additional time and support to achieve academic proficiency and meet all graduation requirements.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28A.320 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The extended learning opportunities program is created for eligible eleventh and twelfth grade students who are not on track to meet local or state graduation requirements as well as eighth grade students who may not be on track to meet the standard on the Washington assessment of student learning or need additional assistance in order to have the opportunity for a successful entry into high school. The program shall provide early notification of graduation status, information on education opportunities including preapprenticeship programs that are available, and incentives for new district programs.
     (2) Schools shall notify eligible students and their parents or legal guardians about the status of their progress on state and local graduation requirements, the alternative assessment opportunities available to students under RCW 28A.655.061 and 28A.655.065, and regarding continued instructional services identified in section 3 of this act. Information provided to students and their parents or legal guardians must include:
     (a) Any credit deficiencies;
     (b) The students' attendance rates over the past two years;
     (c) Whether they have completed other graduation requirements established by the state board of education or the legislature;
     (d) If the student is in a transitional bilingual program, the score on his or her Washington language proficiency test II;
     (e) Remediation strategies and alternative education options available to students including, but not limited to, informing students of the option to continue to receive instructional services after grade twelve or until the age of twenty-one. This may include:
     (i) School district programs, high school courses, and career and technical education options available for students to meet graduation requirements;
     (ii) Available programs offered through skill centers or community or technical colleges.
     (3) The first notification of information in subsection (2) of this section shall take place in the spring of the eighth grade year for students who did not meet the standard on the Washington assessment of student learning. The second notification shall take place in the spring of the eleventh grade year and then, if necessary, the spring of the twelfth grade year for students who are not on track to meet state and local graduation requirements. Schools may notify students and their parents or guardians through school conferences, written notification, or in the student learning plan identified under RCW 28A.655.061. Schools serving English language learners and their parents shall translate information in the primary language of the family to the extent feasible. Notifications shall begin with the graduating class of 2008.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 28A.320 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Districts shall make available to students in grade twelve who have failed to meet one or more local or state graduation requirements the option of continuing enrollment in the school district in accordance with RCW 28A.225.160. Districts are authorized to use basic education program funding to provide instruction to eligible students under RCW 28A.150.220(3).
     (2) Instructional services can occur during the regular school day, evenings, on weekends, or at a time and location deemed appropriate by the school district, including the educational service district, in order to meet the needs of these students. Instructional services provided under this section do not include services offered at private schools. Instructional services can include, but are not limited to, the following:
     (a) Individual or small group instruction;
     (b) Instruction in English language arts and/or mathematics that eligible students need to pass all or part of the Washington assessment of student learning;
     (c) Attendance in a public high school or public alternative school classes or at a skill center;
     (d) Inclusion in remediation programs, including summer school;
     (e) Language development instruction for English language learners;
     (f) Online curriculum and instructional support, including programs for credit retrieval and Washington assessment of student learning preparatory classes; and
     (g) Reading improvement specialists available at the educational service districts to serve eighth, eleventh, and twelfth grade educators through professional development in accordance with RCW 28A.415.350. The reading improvement specialist may also provide direct services to eighth, eleventh, and twelfth grade students and those students electing to continue a fifth year in a high school program, and who are still struggling with basic reading skills.
     (3) To the extent funding is appropriated for this purpose, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall allocate funding to school districts and educational service districts that want to start up or expand the availability of programs designed specifically for these students. Priority shall be given to those districts with the lowest graduation rates. Funds shall be used only for planning, expansion, and start-up costs associated with services to eligible students. The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall annually report to the appropriate committees of the legislature on which school districts received funds, the amount of funds received, the types of programs used by the school district, the number of students projected to be served and the characteristics of those students, including why the student was at risk of not graduating, any change in the dropout rate for grades nine through twelve, and the graduation rates experienced at the school district.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 28A.630 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) If funding is appropriated for this purpose, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall explore online curriculum support in languages other than English that are currently available. By December 1, 2008, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall report to the appropriate committees of the legislature recommendations for other online support in other languages that would most appropriately assist Washington's English language learners. Included in the recommendations shall be the actions that would need to be taken to access the recommended online support and the cost.
     (2) This section expires June 30, 2012.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 28A.655 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) If funding is appropriated for this purpose, school districts shall provide all ninth graders enrolled in the district the option of taking the PSAT at no cost to the student.
     (2) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall enter into an agreement with the firm that administers the PSAT to reimburse the firm for the testing fees of students who take the test.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   (1) The legislature intends to build on the lessons learned in the Lorraine Wojahn dyslexia pilot reading program, which the legislature has funded since 2005.
     (2) By September 15, 2008, each of the grant recipients shall report to the office of the superintendent of public instruction on the lessons learned in the pilot program regarding effective assessment and intervention programs to help students with dyslexia or characteristics of dyslexia, best practices for professional development, and strategies to build capacity and sustainability among teaching staff.
     (3) By December 31, 2008, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall aggregate the reports from the grant recipients and provide a report and recommendations to the appropriate committees of the legislature. The recommendations shall include how the lessons learned through the pilot program are best shared with school districts and how the best practices can be implemented statewide.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   A new section is added to chapter 28A.310 RCW to read as follows:
     Educational service districts shall develop and provide a program of outreach to community-based programs and organizations within the district that are serving non-English speaking segments of the population as well as those programs that target subgroups of students that may be struggling academically, including to the extent possible, African-American, Native American, Asian, Pacific Islander, Hispanic, low income, and special education. Educational service districts shall consult and coordinate with the governor's minority commissions in order to efficiently conduct this outreach and are encouraged to enter into partnerships with representatives of the local business communities in order to develop a coordinated outreach plan. The purpose of the outreach activities shall be to inform students via the various community-based programs and organizations of the educational opportunities available under chapter . . ., Laws of 2008 (this act) and to engage them in the process as appropriate. Outreach shall at a minimum include information about the availability of dropout and credit retrieval programs, remediation programs, and extended learning opportunities, including fifth year opportunities.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   (1) The legislature finds that educators are faced with the complex responsibility of educating an increasing population of English language learners who speak a wide variety of languages and dialects and may come with varying levels of formal schooling, students who come from low-income households, and students who have learning disabilities. These educators struggle to provide meaningful instruction that helps students meet high content standards while overcoming their challenges. The 2007 legislature directed the professional educator standards board to begin the process of adopting new certification requirements and revising the higher education teacher preparation program requirements. Additionally, the office of the superintendent of public instruction was directed to contract with the northwest regional educational laboratory to review and report on the ongoing English as a second language pilot projects and best practices related to helping students who are English language learners. It is therefore the intent of the legislature to build upon the work started in 2007 by requiring that the professional educator standards board consider the findings of the northwest regional educational laboratory and incorporate into its ongoing work a review of how to revise the current certification requirements and teacher preparation programs in order to better serve the needs of English language learners.
     (2) The professional educator standards board shall convene a work group to develop recommendations for increasing teacher knowledge, skills, and competencies to address the needs of English language learner students. The work group shall include representatives from the Washington association of colleges for teacher education, school districts with significant populations of English language learner students who speak a single language, school districts with significant populations of English language learner students who speak multiple languages, classroom teachers, English as a second language teachers, bilingual education teachers, principals, the migrant and bilingual education office in the office of the superintendent of public instruction, and the higher education coordinating board. In making its selections, the professional educator standards board will include members from diverse cultural backgrounds and strive to promote geographic balance. The professional educator standards board shall invite participation by the northwest regional educational laboratory.
     (3) The work group shall identify gaps and weaknesses in the current knowledge and skills standards for teacher preparation and teacher competencies regarding understanding how students acquire language, how to teach academic content in English to non-English speakers, and how to demonstrate cultural competence. The work group shall look to the English as a second language demonstration projects under RCW 28A.630.058 and the accompanying research and evaluation by the northwest regional educational laboratory.
     (4)(a) The work group shall submit an interim report by December 1, 2008, to the governor and the education and higher education committees of the legislature with initial findings and general recommendations to improve the teacher preparation knowledge and skills standards and teacher competencies in the areas identified under subsection (2) of this section. Recommendations shall also include what professional development program components are most effective for existing educators of English language learners.
     (b) A final report shall be submitted to the governor and the education and higher education committees of the legislature with specific recommendations by December 1, 2009.