HOUSE BILL REPORT

ESSB 5545

BYSenate Committee on Higher Education (originally sponsored by Senators Smitherman and Saling)

Establishing the state board for vocational education.

House Committe on Higher Education

Majority Report:  Do pass as amended.  (11)

      Signed by Representatives Jacobsen, Chair; Van Luven, Ranking Republican Member; Basich, Bennett, Doty, Fraser, Heavey, Jesernig, Miller, Rector and Wood.

House Staff:Susan Hosch (786-7120)

AS PASSED HOUSE FEBRUARY 28, 1990

BACKGROUND:

Through procedures established under the Sunset Act, the Commission for Vocational Education and its powers and duties were repealed on June 30, 1987. The governor, through a series of executive orders, created the State Board for Vocational Education to assume those powers and duties.

The board serves as the sole state agency for receipt and allocation of federal vocational funds under the Carl Perkins Vocational Education Act. In addition, the board administers the federal Job Training Partnership Act's Eight Percent Education, Coordination and Grants program.  The board also administers the state Job Skills program and approves vocational programs for recipients of veterans' benefits.  The board is also responsible for administering the act regulating private vocational schools operating in the state of Washington.

There are five vocational technical institutes (VTI) in Washington state.  The VTI's operate under the jurisdiction of the local school districts, as part of the secondary education system.

Each VTI is administered by a local school district.  The local school board serves as the governing body for each of the VTI's.  Funding for the VTI's comes through the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI).  Funds for construction or modernization of VTI's come from the Common School Construction Fund.

The VTI's served 168,000 part-time and full-time clients in 1989.  The average age of the people being served by the VTI's is 30.

The question has been raised of whether the VTI's should be part of SPI because the VTI's serve a primarily adult population.

SUMMARY:

CREATING THE STATE BOARD FOR VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

The State Board for Vocational Education is created as a state agency and as the successor agency to the Commission for Vocational Education.  The board will be composed of five members, including the governor, the superintendent of public instruction, and the director of the State Board for Community College Education.  The governor will appoint the other two members.  One will be a representative of organized labor and one will be a representative of business.  The governor will also appoint the board's executive director.  Board members may appoint a voting designee.

The board is responsible for carrying out any existing statutory duties formerly administered by the Commission for Vocational Education and any duties assigned by the governor.  The board will also act as the state level institute board for the public vocational technical institutes.  By interagency agreement, the board may delegate responsibility for administering the Washington Award for Vocational Excellence to any existing state agency, board, or council.

The board may delegate any of its duties to the executive director, and may employ necessary personnel.  The board may also adopt necessary rules and bylaws.  Rules of the Commission for Vocational Education remain in effect until the board acts to adopt or revoke those rules.

TRANSFERRING VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL INSTITUTES TO THE GOVERNANCE OF A NEW BOARD

Beginning on July 1, 1992, the vocational technical institutes are transferred from the governance of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and local school districts to the governance of the State Board for Vocational Education and a local vocational technical institute board.

The state board will appoint a director of the system of vocational technical institutes.  The administrative responsibilities of the state board are described. The board will have supervision and control over the vocational technical institutes.  The board will prepare a single budget for the system, establish guidelines for distributing state funds, and prepare a master plan.  The board will establish operating standards, ensure comprehensive programs are offered, establish admission policies, and establish procedures for capital construction.  Other administrative responsibilities of the board are also described.

Local vocational technical institute boards of trustees shall be composed of five members appointed by the governor to serve a term of five years.  The first appointees shall be selected from the members of the existing local advisory boards for the vocational technical institutes.  The boards of trustees shall have the authority to operate the existing vocational technical institute, hire a president, faculty and other necessary employees.

Title and all interests in real estate and all other assets of the vocational technical institutes are transferred from the school district to the State Board for Vocational Education.  All employees, equipment, books, and records are transferred from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and school districts where the vocational technical institutes are located to the vocational technical institutes.  All powers, duties and functions of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the effected school districts are also transferred. This also includes the transfer of an apportionment of budgeted funds for the operation of the vocational technical institutes.

Vocational technical institutes will no longer be eligible for school construction money from the common school construction fund.

School districts that have outstanding bonds for the construction of vocational technical institute facilities shall continue to be responsible for repayment of the bonds.

Contracts and bargaining units for transferred employees shall remain in effect until their termination.  At that time there may be a change in representation, and coverage of employment and collective bargaining rights of employees shall be treated like other higher education employees.  Transferred employees shall retain their rights and continue in their existing retirement system.

Tuition, awarding of credit, and transfer of credit shall be regulated by the rules followed by the higher education institutions.

EFFECTIVE DATES

Provisions creating the State Board for Vocational Education take effect immediately.  Provisions taking the vocational technical institutes out of the common school system take effect July 1, 1992.

Fiscal Note:      Available.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Chuck Bailey, Washington State Labor Council; and Linda Broderick, State Board for Vocational Education.

House Committee - Testified Against:      No one.

House Committee - Testimony For:    Vocational education is the only area where business, labor, and education work together.  Putting the State Board for Vocational Education into statute is important both substantively and symbolically.  However, terminating the board in two years without creating another agency to coordinate all the constituents interested in vocational education is a problem.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None.

VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE:

      Yeas 65; Nays 32; Excused 1 - 2/28

Voting Nay: Representatives Betrozoff, Bowman, Braddock, Brooks, Brough, Brumsickle, Cole, Forner, Fuhrman, Hankins, Holland, Horn, Kremen, Leonard, May, McLean, Miller, Moyer, Nealey, Padden, Prentice, Schmidt, Silver, Smith, D. Sommers, Spanel, Tate, Walker, S. Wilson, Winsley, Wolfe and Youngsman

Excused:    Representative Chandler