Legislative Update on WSPTA’s Priority Issues 

1.  Basic Education Funding

In this year’s Legislative Session a long-time WSPTA top priority, Basic Education Funding, has been center stage of discussion and work.  Over the past year the Legislative Task Force for Basic Education Funding worked to redefine what constitutes Basic Education and make recommendations for changes.  WSPTA enthusiastically endorsed those recommendations and testified in support of legislation to implement them.  Education associations also made recommendations for changes and supported legislation that implemented their recommendations.  In an effort to move legislation forward, legislators replaced the opposing bills with a bill of intent (SB 6048) and are working with stakeholders, including WSPTA, to find points of agreement so meaningful legislation can be passed this session.    

Major areas of consensus among most stakeholders include:

• Adopting a prototype schools allocation system for more transparency
• Including a non-partisan commission to recommend changes going forward
• Teacher compensation is inadequate
• The crux of the problem is that education is underfunded
• Levies would continue to be part of the picture, and there must be some degree of equalization
• Need for a new definition of basic education
• Need for clear articulation of the state’s responsibility versus what districts are expected/able to do from local funds
• Need for a “robust” data system for accountability purposes

Current bills for the Other WSPTA Priority Issues: 

2.  Math and Science: 

HB 2000, Providing a coordinated approach to creating an adequate supply of well-qualified mathematics and science teachers.   

The Professional Educator Standards Board is the lead agency in a collaborative effort with many others to create an adequate supply of math and science teachers.   

HB 1646 - Making adjustments pertaining to the high school Washington assessment of student learning in mathematics and science. 

The State Board of Education is authorized to implement the math and science graduation requirement based on a determination of the reliability and validity of the math and science assessments for purposes of graduation.

Directs the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop an implementation plan to assure students have the opportunity to learn the new mathematics and science standards, and to recommend by December 1, 2009, whether the high school science WASL should be an end-of-course assessment. 

SB 5498 Allows those students to graduate, who, after having failed to pass the 10^th grade math WASL, continued to take math classes each year, but did not take the math WASL every year. 

3.  Improving the State Assessment System:

SB 5414 Implementing recommendations of the WASL legislative work group.  This bill includes all aspects of the WSPTA Assessment System issue which include providing a national comparison of individual student progress data, provide diagnostic assessments to determine student needs, measure individual student growth in a manner that is reliable and valid, provide results quickly so that they can be used to guide instruction during the current school year, and be cost and time efficient.  

4.  Support for Core 24 Framework

The Core 24 Framework is The State Board of Education’s (SBE) proposal for a meaningful high school diploma.  (See www.sbe.wa.gov). The SBE has formed its Core 24 Implementation task force, comprised of experienced teachers, which will begin work March 2^nd.  The SBE has made it very clear that Core 24 can not be implemented without additional adequate levels of funding.  Core 24 will continue to be discussed as part of the overall effort to develop the details of the education finance reform bills.  

5.  Support Rational Approaches to Teacher Compensation

Like Core 24, this topic will continue to be discussed as work is done to develop the education finance reform bills.  

What can you do to support these efforts? 

• Communicate with your legislators about the need to continue to work on these issues and bills.  Thank them for their support for education. Go tohttp://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx

• Sign up to get WSTPA action alerts and send messages to your legislators and the Governor at key times during the session. Go to http://www.wastatepta.org/leg/listserv.pdf. 

For more information contact Julie Wright, Mead Legislative Chair, Julie.wright@7wrights.com.