SENATE BILL REPORT

SB 6421

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Brief Summary of First Substitute Bill

Requires the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to convene a work group to update the Environmental and Sustainability Literacy Plan (ESLP).
Includes demonstration lessons based on the ESLP to be included in the openly licensed courseware library developed by OSPI.
Removes the expiration date for the library of openly licensed courseware.

Majority Report: That Substitute Senate Bill No. 6421 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass and be referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

Signed by Senators Wellman, Chair; Rolfes, Vice Chair; Billig, Hunt, Mullet, Pedersen and Rivers.

Background: School Curriculum in Washington State. Public schools in Washington are subject to curriculum requirements set by Washington law. These include instruction in, among other things, science with special reference to the environment.

In 2011, OSPI created the ESLP. OSPI defines the purpose of the ESLP as building on and leveraging environmental and sustainability education programs and initiatives in Washington State, increasing environmental literacy, and positioning Washington State to receive funding to support these initiatives.

In 2013, Washington State adopted the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The NGSS are a set of standards for science education for all grades in Washington public schools, and are aligned to the Washington State Mathematics and English Language Arts Learning Standards.

Openly Licensed Courseware. Openly licensed courseware refers to teaching and learning materials that exist in the public domain or have been released to the public under an open license. These materials may be distributed, used, and modified without permission and free of charge. The provisions of law concerning openly licensed education courseware expires on June 30, 2018.

Summary of Bill (First Substitute): OSPI Work Group. OSPI must convene a work group to update the ESLP and develop grade-appropriate lessons that connect to adopted state standards. This work group must:

include representatives from a variety of sectors;

convene between three and five times;
update the ESLP by August 1, 2019, subject to appropriation;
recommend next steps to be taken by the Legislature; and
place demonstration lessons in the state's open courseware repository.

Openly Licensed Courseware. State provisions regarding openly licensed courseware are changed, updating the definition of courseware to include demonstration lessons based on the state ESLP. In addition, the requirement that the library must align with Common Core standards is removed and instead replaced with the state K-12 learning standards. The expiration date for the chapter and the end date of the program reporting period are removed.

EFFECT OF CHANGES MADE BY EARLY LEARNING & K-12 EDUCATION COMMITTEE (First Substitute):

Eliminates the FTE appropriation requirement for the plan's report.
Changes the description of the required lesson plans.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony on Original Bill: The committee recommended a different version of the bill than what was heard. PRO: The environmental plan is out-of-date, as the standards have changed much since the plan's creation. Students currently do not have sufficient environmental literacy. Climate literacy should be included in an environmental literacy plan. Educators could use greater support in administering Next Generation Science Standards.

Persons Testifying: PRO: Senator Kevin Ranker, Prime Sponsor; Ivy Jaguzny; Ellen Ebert, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction; Craig Engelking, IslandWood; Abby Ruskey, U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development.