HOUSE BILL REPORT
SSB 6521
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. |
As Reported by House Committee On:
Education
Appropriations
Title: An act relating to creating an innovative learning pilot program.
Brief Description: Creating an innovative learning pilot program.
Sponsors: Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education (originally sponsored by Senators Wellman, Hunt, Mullet and Wilson, C.).
Brief History:
Committee Activity:
Education: 2/24/20, 2/25/20 [DP];
Appropriations: 2/29/20 [DP].
Brief Summary of Substitute Bill |
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HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION |
Majority Report: Do pass. Signed by 17 members: Representatives Santos, Chair; Dolan, Vice Chair; Paul, Vice Chair; Steele, Ranking Minority Member; McCaslin, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Volz, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Bergquist, Caldier, Callan, Corry, Harris, Ortiz-Self, Rude, Stonier, Thai, Valdez and Ybarra.
Staff: Ethan Moreno (786-7386).
Background:
Basic Education—Instructional Hours and Funding.
Washington's instructional program of basic education (program of basic education) obligates school districts to provide instruction of sufficient quantity and quality and give students the opportunity to complete graduation requirements that are intended to prepare them for postsecondary education, gainful employment, and citizenship. Instructional requirements for the state's program of basic education compel school districts to provide a district-wide average of at least 1,080 instructional hours annually for students enrolled in grades 9 through 12. Students in kindergarten through grade 8 must be provided at least 1,000 instructional hours annually.
For funding purposes, the number of instructional hours a student receives is expressed as a full-time equivalent (FTE) student. Districts are allocated funding for FTE students based on state prototypical school formulas. The amount provided per FTE student, and the number of hours needed to generate an FTE student, may depend on the setting of instruction, as funding requirements for general education settings differ from those for alternative learning experience settings or worksite learning settings.
Credits Required for Graduation and Related Waivers.
Beginning with the class of 2019, graduating students must complete 24 credits in specified subject areas as determined by the State Board of Education (SBE). The SBE adopts rules to implement the 24-credit graduation requirement, and those rules permit school districts to apply for and receive waivers from the SBE's credit-based graduation requirements. Twelve school districts, representing 13 high schools, have applied for and are operating in accordance with waivers for credit unit graduation requirements granted by the SBE.
Mastery-Based Learning.
Legislation enacted in 2019 specifically addressed mastery-based learning, a type of learning that enables students to advance upon demonstration of mastery rather than through required classroom instructional hours.
The 2019 legislation (Chapter 252, Laws of 2019, enacted as Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1599) directed the SBE to convene a work group to inform the Governor, the Legislature, and the public about barriers to mastery-based learning. The work group was directed to:
examine opportunities to increase student access to relevant and robust mastery-based academic pathways aligned to personal career goals and postsecondary education; and
review the role of the High School and Beyond Plan in supporting mastery-based learning; and
consider various policy options related to mastery-based learning, including the expansion of mastery-based credits to meet graduation requirements.
The SBE, in implementing the work group and in collaboration with the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), must develop enrollment reporting guidelines to support schools operating with waivers that delay the requirement to implement the 24-credit graduation framework.
Under the 2019 legislation, the SBE must produce an interim report outlining preliminary findings and potential recommendations by December 1, 2019, with a final report due by December 1, 2020.
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Summary of Bill:
The OSPI, by July 1, 2020, must create and administer an innovative learning pilot program (pilot program) to authorize full-time enrollment funding for students participating in mastery-based learning programs. The pilot program must be in effect through the 2022-23 school year.
A "mastery-based learning program" is defined as an educational program where:
students advance upon demonstrated mastery of content;
competencies include explicit, measurable, transferable learning objectives that empower students;
assessments are meaningful and a positive learning experience for students;
students receive rapid, differentiated support based on their individual learning needs; and
learning outcomes emphasize competencies that include application and creation of knowledge along with the development of important skills and dispositions.
Participation in the pilot program is limited to school districts that have a waiver from the SBE for the credit unit graduation requirements for the 2019-20 school year. A school district that wishes to participate in the pilot program must submit the following information to the OSPI:
affirmation that the district wishes to participate in the pilot program and a list of the schools with the SBE waiver that would participate in the pilot program;
a description of the mastery-based learning program that the district intends to implement and the number of students that are expected to participate; and
an explanation of the goals of the mastery-based learning program and how the district intends to measure and assess attainment of the goals.
The OSPI is authorized to adopt rules necessary for the effective and efficient implementation of the pilot program, including rules that define full-time enrollment standards for students based on regular participation in an approved mastery-based learning program rather than hours of seat time. The adopted rules must permit participating school districts to report full-time equivalent students in an approved mastery-based learning program for general apportionment funding.
By December 1, 2022, the OSPI, in collaboration with the SBE, must report to the Legislature regarding the efficiency, cost, and impacts of the funding model or models used under the pilot program.
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Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Effective Date: The bill contains an emergency clause and takes effect immediately.
Staff Summary of Public Testimony:
(In support) This bill will support mastery-based learning. Currently, schools that provide mastery-based learning can receive diminished student funding. This bill is a temporary solution and will alleviate that problem. The study provisions in the bill will help to apply what is learned from the pilot program to future policy considerations.
Current funding models have a gap for mastery-based leaning, and this legislation will address those models and give us information for future planning.
(Opposed) None.
Persons Testifying: J. Lee Schultz, State Board of Education; and Rhett Nelson, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS |
Majority Report: Do pass. Signed by 31 members: Representatives Ormsby, Chair; Robinson, 1st Vice Chair; Bergquist, 2nd Vice Chair; Stokesbary, Ranking Minority Member; Rude, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Caldier, Chandler, Chopp, Cody, Corry, Dolan, Dye, Fitzgibbon, Hansen, Hoff, Hudgins, Kilduff, Kraft, Macri, Mosbrucker, Pettigrew, Ryu, Schmick, Senn, Springer, Steele, Sullivan, Sutherland, Tarleton, Tharinger and Ybarra.
Staff: Jordan Clarke (786-7123).
Summary of Recommendation of Committee On Appropriations Compared to Recommendation of Committee On Education:
No new changes were recommended.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Effective Date: The bill contains an emergency clause and takes effect immediately.
Staff Summary of Public Testimony:
(In support) The state education system and educators are working hard to innovate and provide more differentiated and highly individualized educational opportunities for students. That includes mastery-based education, where students advance based on what they know and can do, and not only based on the amount of time they spend in a seat. These schools provide individualized education, help their students connect to their communities, and focus on career-connected learning. The problem that this bill attempts to solve is that the state's funding model for public education is tied to seat time. This pilot program will keep these schools financially whole while giving the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction time to find a permanent solution to the funding mechanism.
(Opposed) None.
Persons Testifying: Katherine Mahoney, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.