Concerning court proceedings.

Improving educational outcomes for homeless students through increased in-school guidance supports, housing stability, and identification services.

Establishes the homeless student stability and opportunity gap act.

Requires the office of the superintendent of public instruction to: (1) Create a competitive grant process to evaluate and award state-funded three-year grants to school districts to increase identification of homeless students and the capacity of the districts to provide support; and

(2) Include in its report to the governor and the legislature the following data for homeless students: The number of identified homeless students of color.

Requires the department of commerce to: (1) In consultation with the office of the superintendent of public instruction, administer a grant program that links homeless students and their families with stable housing located in the homeless student's school district; and

(2) Working with the office of the superintendent of public instruction, develop a competitive grant process to make grant awards of up to five hundred thousand dollars to school districts partnered with eligible organizations on implementation of the proposal.

Limits the grant program to fifteen schools per school year.

Requires school districts to: (1) If they are receiving grants, measure during the academic year how often each student physically moves, what services families or unaccompanied youth could access, and whether or not a family or unaccompanied youth received stable housing by the end of the school year; and

(2) If they have identified more than ten unaccompanied youth, establish a building point of contact in each middle school and high school.

Concerning the frequency of evaluations for certain classroom teachers.

Requires classroom teachers who hold a valid professional certification or a valid national board certification, or both, and have received a rating of level 3 or above in their last comprehensive summative evaluation, to receive a comprehensive summative evaluation at least once every six years.

Concerning tribal-state relations.

Addresses issues of mutual concern to the tribes and the state.

Creates the joint summit council on Indian affairs which is part of the legislative branch of state government.

Convening a task force on school counselors, psychologists, and social workers.

Requires the professional educator standards board to convene a task force on school counselors, psychologists, and social workers.

Requires the task force to review: (1) The projected need of school districts for school counselors, psychologists, and social workers;

(2) The current capacity of the state for meeting this need;

(3) Alternative certification routes for school counselors and social workers; and

Concerning increased recruitment and retention of teachers in alternate route programs.

Requires the workforce training and education coordinating board, in collaboration with the professional educator standards board, to work with the student achievement council, the office of the superintendent of public instruction, school districts, educational service districts, the state board for community and technical colleges, the institutions of higher education, major employers, and other parties to develop and disseminate information designed to increase recruitment into approved residency teacher preparation programs at public and private institutions of higher education and alternate route teacher certification programs.

Increasing supports for special needs students.

Concerning aircraft registration simplification and fairness.

Concerning host home programs for youth.

Exempts the following from the definition of "agency" for purposes of chapter 74.15 RCW (care of children, expectant mothers, persons with developmental disabilities): Certain host home programs serving youth who are not in the care and custody of the department of social and health services.

Providing court-based and school-based intervention and prevention efforts to promote attendance and reduce truancy.

Establishes the keeping kids in school act.

Puts in place consistent practices and procedures, beginning in kindergarten, in which schools share information with families about the importance of consistent attendance and the consequences of excessive absences, involves families early, and provides families with information, services, and tools that they may access to improve and maintain their children's school attendance.

Requires an initial stay of truancy petition in order to allow for appropriate intervention and prevention before using a court order to enforce attendance laws.

Encourages efforts by county juvenile courts and school districts to establish and maintain therapeutic truancy boards and employ other best practices.

Ensuring the ongoing viability of safe on-site sewage systems as a component of statewide sewage management through the implementation of on-site program management plans.

Authorizes the department of health, interested counties, and the department of ecology to: (1) Capitalize and administer a sustainable unified low-interest loan program to assist homeowners with the repair and replacement of on-site sewage systems and ensure the full implementation of a county's on-site program management plan; and

Continuing state efforts to increase oil transportation safety.

Requires the department of ecology to contract with an eligible independent third party to update the October 2006 report to the state emergency response commission regarding statewide response to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive materials.

Authorizing specified local governments to designate a portion of their territory as a creative district subject to certification by the Washington arts commission.

Authorizes a local government to designate a creative district within its territorial boundaries subject to certification as a state-certified creative district by the state arts commission.

Concerning private activity bond allocation.

Concerning working connections child care eligibility for vulnerable children.

Provides that the legislature: (1) Finds that beginning July 1, 2016, authorizations for the working connections child care subsidy will be effective for twelve months; and

Providing consumer protections for military members on active duty.

Authorizes a service member, who has been called into active service, to terminate or suspend the following services upon written notice, including electronic mail, to the service provider: (1) Telecommunication services from a telecommunications company;

(2) Internet services provided from an internet service provider;

(3) Health studio services from a health studio; and

Concerning the issuance of a Washington state high school diploma or a high school equivalency certificate.

Requires a high school equivalency certificate, that is issued by the state board for community and technical colleges and the superintendent of public instruction, to be issued as follows: (1) If the recipient of the certificate is at least eighteen years of age or has completed eighteen or more credits in a twenty-four credit graduation system adopted in accordance with a resolution of the state board of education, the recipient's certificate must be issued as a Washington state high school diploma; and

(2) For all other recipients, the certificate must be issued as a high school equivalency certificate.

Ensuring that restrictions on the use of solid fuel burning devices do not prohibit the installation or replacement of solid fuel burning devices or the use of these devices during temporary outages of other sources of heat.

Authorizes a person to: (1) Install or repair a certified solid fuel burning device, approved by the department of ecology, in a residence or commercial establishment; and

(2) Replace a solid fuel burning device with a certified solid fuel burning device.

Authorizes the burning of wood in a solid fuel burning device, regardless of whether a burn ban has been called, if there is an emergency power outage.

Authorizes, for the duration of an emergency power outage, the use of a solid fuel burning device or the temporary installation, repair, or replacement of a solid fuel burning device to prevent the loss of life, health, or business.

Providing for suicide awareness and prevention education for safer homes.

Creates the safe homes task force to raise public awareness and increase suicide prevention education among new partners who are in key positions to help reduce suicide.

Requires the University of Washington school of social work to administer and staff the task force and convene the initial meeting of the task force.

Requires the department of health to develop and administer a safe homes project to provide financial incentives to firearms dealers and firearms ranges to encourage voluntary participation in a program to implement suicide awareness and prevention strategies.

Provides a business and occupation tax credit for a licensed firearms dealer or a firearms range that is certified as a safe homes partner.

Requires the department of fish and wildlife to update the pamphlet to incorporate information on suicide awareness and prevention.

Requires a licensed pharmacist, a person holding a retired active pharmacist license, or certain other professionals holding a retired active license to complete a one-time training in suicide assessment, treatment, and management.

Requires the schools of pharmacy at the University of Washington and Washington State University to convene a work group to jointly develop a curriculum on suicide assessment, treatment, and management for pharmacy students.

Addressing real estate as it concerns the local government authority in the use of real estate excise tax revenues and regulating real estate transactions.

Recognizing art and cultural resources as components of state environmental policy.

Concerning performance oversight of the state transportation system.

Requires the office of financial management to: (1) In consultation with the transportation commission, establish objectives and performance measures for the department of transportation and other state agencies with transportation-related responsibilities to ensure transportation system performance progresses toward the attainment of certain policy goals;

(2) Submit objectives and performance measures to the legislature for its review and provide copies of the same to the transportation commission; and

(3) By December 31, 2016, and each year thereafter, complete a performance report for the prior fiscal year.

-- 2016 REGULAR SESSION --
Feb 4	First reading, referred to Transportation (Not Officially read and referred until adoption of Introduction report).
Feb 8	Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Transportation at 1:30 PM. (Subject to change)