| VETO MESSAGE ON 2SHB 1573 |
| May 9, 2007 |
| To the Honorable Speaker and Members, |
| The House of Representatives of the State of Washington |
| Ladies and Gentlemen: |
| I am returning, without my approval as to Section 8, Second Substitute House Bill 1573 entitled: |
"AN ACT Relating to dropout prevention, intervention, and retrieval." |
| Sections 1 through 7 of this bill provide for the development and implementation of a grant program that, through collaborative school district, family and community partnerships and services, support vulnerable students who are at risk of dropping out of middle or high school. The grant program will be called the Building Bridges Program. |
| Section 8 deals with existing dropout prevention and high school completion programs run by community based organizations and community and technical colleges through contracts with school districts. Section 8 sets the criteria for determining state funding for students enrolled in these programs, and was intended to address concerns raised by community based organizations. I am vetoing Section 8 because it would have the unintended consequence of decreasing enrollment in existing high school completion programs available through community and technical colleges. The Superintendent of Public Instruction has indicated that the concerns of the community based organizations can be addressed through the rule making process for the new dropout prevention program. |
| For these reasons, I have vetoed Section 8 of Second Substitute House Bill 1573. |
| With the exception of Section 8, Second Substitute House Bill 1573 is approved. |
| Respectfully submitted, |
| Christine O. Gregoire |
| Governor |