AN ACT Relating to including certain residents who do not have a high school diploma or credential and the number of students expected to enroll in basic education for adults courses at community and technical colleges in caseload forecast council forecasting; amending RCW 43.88C.010 and 43.88C.050; and creating a new section.

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

(a) Nearly three-fourths of available jobs in this state require at least a postsecondary credential and that meeting this workforce need requires educating older adults who lack basic education skills;

(b) A large number of Washington adults, possibly more than seven hundred thousand, lack the knowledge and skills needed to compete in today's economy and meaningfully participate in this state's democracy;

(c) It is necessary to educate older adults who lack basic education skills to meet the state's educational attainment goals that all adults in the state ages twenty-five to forty-four have a high school diploma or equivalent by 2023 and at least seventy percent of Washington adults ages twenty-five to forty-four will have a postsecondary credential by 2023;

(d) The community and technical colleges are responsible for providing basic skills and literacy education to adults and fulfill this responsibility by teaching reading, writing, mathematics, technology, and English language skills to adults to prepare them to earn high school diplomas or achieve high school equivalency certificates; teach employability skills such as critical thinking, communication, problem solving, and decision making; and offer clear pathways to college-level education and credentials;

(e) The community and technical colleges offer an open door to every resident, regardless of academic background, experience, or economic means; and

(f) Knowledge of the true and accurate number of adults requiring basic education will provide the legislature with important information to potentially increase access to educational pathways leading to postsecondary credentials, living wage jobs, and meaningful participation in this state's democracy.

(2) The legislature intends to provide a regular dependable forecast through the caseload forecast council to better understand the need for basic education for adults in the state.

Sec. 2.  RCW 43.88C.010 and 2015 c 128 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The caseload forecast council is hereby created. The council shall consist of two individuals appointed by the governor and four individuals, one of whom is appointed by the chairperson of each of the two largest political caucuses in the senate and house of representatives. The chair of the council shall be selected from among the four caucus appointees. The council may select such other officers as the members deem necessary.

(2) The council shall employ a caseload forecast supervisor to supervise the preparation of all caseload forecasts. As used in this chapter, "supervisor" means the caseload forecast supervisor.

(3) Approval by an affirmative vote of at least five members of the council is required for any decisions regarding employment of the supervisor. Employment of the supervisor shall terminate after each term of three years. At the end of the first year of each three-year term the council shall consider extension of the supervisor's term by one year. The council may fix the compensation of the supervisor. The supervisor shall employ staff sufficient to accomplish the purposes of this section.

(4) The caseload forecast council shall oversee the preparation of and approve, by an affirmative vote of at least four members, the official state caseload forecasts prepared under RCW 43.88C.020. If the council is unable to approve a forecast before a date required in RCW 43.88C.020, the supervisor shall submit the forecast without approval and the forecast shall have the same effect as if approved by the council.

(5) A councilmember who does not cast an affirmative vote for approval of the official caseload forecast may request, and the supervisor shall provide, an alternative forecast based on assumptions specified by the member.

(6) Members of the caseload forecast council shall serve without additional compensation but shall be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120 while attending sessions of the council or on official business authorized by the council. Nonlegislative members of the council shall be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

(7) "Caseload," as used in this chapter, means:

(a) The number of persons expected to meet entitlement requirements and require the services of public assistance programs, state correctional institutions, state correctional noninstitutional supervision, state institutions for juvenile offenders, the common school system, long-term care, medical assistance, foster care, and adoption support;

(b) The number of students who are eligible for the Washington college bound scholarship program and are expected to attend an institution of higher education as defined in RCW 28B.92.030;

(c) The number of children who are eligible, as defined in RCW 43.215.405, to participate in, and the number of children actually served by, the early childhood education and assistance program.

(8) The caseload forecast council shall forecast the temporary assistance for needy families and the working connections child care programs, the number of state residents ages twenty-five to forty-four who do not have a high school diploma or credential, and the number of students expected to enroll in basic education for adults courses at community and technical colleges, as a courtesy.

(9) The caseload forecast council shall forecast youth participating in the extended foster care program pursuant to RCW 74.13.031 separately from other children who are residing in foster care and who are under eighteen years of age.

(10) Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions provided in RCW 43.88.020 apply to this chapter.

Sec. 3.  RCW 43.88C.050 and 2015 c 128 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

The caseload forecast council shall appoint a research staff of sufficient size and with sufficient resources to accomplish its duties. The caseload forecast council may request from the administrative office of the courts, the department of early learning, the department of corrections, the health care authority, the superintendent of public instruction, the Washington student achievement council, the department of social and health services, the state board for community and technical colleges, the education data center, and other agencies with caseloads forecasted by the council, such data, information, and data processing assistance as it may need to accomplish its duties, and such services shall be provided without cost to the caseload forecast council.

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