Up now: The bill to allow the state to qualify for Race to the Top dollars. They’re amending it now, but the original version had language to allow the state to take over chronically underperforming schools, among other things.

“Senate Bill 6696 is a race to the top,” said Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe. She said thousands of hours went into writing the bill, which could help the state get up to $250 million for schools. “You know and I know … that if you have a team that works together, you will win,” she said, adding that the state has been told it will not receive the federal grant if it doesn’t pass the reform bill.

McAuliffe said the bill will reward the top-performing schools and will give the state the ability to take over the lowest performers. The schools that need improvement will be identified by December of this year, and then they must come up with an action plan. If they don’t, the Superintendent of Public Instruction can take over.

Sen. Curtis King: “I have heartburn over some of the things in this bill,” he said. “You’re coming to the Legislature and saying, no, you can’t amend it. You obviously can’t improve it because we four know best,” he said, of the four parties that he said wrote the bill. “What we’re forgetting is the education of the kids in our schools.”

He said the bill “does do some good” — but that next time school reform is on the agenda, the Legislature needs to be involved.

Sen. Jim Kastama: “This is not good enough,” he said. He said the state will find out in August whether it will get the federal money, but that this bill doesn’t look like it does the trick. “This bill fars fall short of  the expectations of my constituents,” he said. For starters, it only deals with five percent of failing schools and then it gives them three years to turn things around before the state intervenes.

The bill passed.

Tags: education reform

The Senate Ways & Means Committee just started hearing its second bill of 27 for the day: Reforming education in order to qualify for Race to the Top funding.

“This legislation strengthens our K-12 system by moving Washington state forward,” Anne Randal with WEA said. She said Race to the Top funds could cover the fiscal note — meaning less cost to the state.

“We support 6696, but we have two concerns,” George Scarola with the League of Education Voters said. He said some have suggested that making policy changes due to one-time federal funding isn’t worth it. But: “Today’s assurances for the grants are going to be tomorrow’s requirements for Title 1, school improvement funds and No Child Left Behind,” he said.

Tags: education reform

Spend 90 minutes this Friday and get up to date on the history of funding Washington’s public school system. Our two-part series, ‘The Quest for Quality: The Debate Over Education Reform and Funding’, premiered this week on TVW.  It explores the history of how the state funds its public schools and the debate over future reforms.

Watch it here now:

‘PART ONE: What’s the Cost of Basic Education?’

‘PART TWO: More Money or More Reform?’

For more information: questforquality.org

Tags: education, education reform, Quest for Quality, special report

Washington public schools are paid for based on a complicated set of formulas that some say results in unfair and unequal funding across the state.  In part one of our two-part special report, The Quest for Quality: The Debate Over Education Reform & Funding, you’ll learn the history of state funding for public schools in Washington and how the system has evolved over the years.  It’s airing tonight and provides a comprehensive look at the state’s public schools.

In other words – for anyone who cares about the future of public education – this series is not to be missed.

During the 2009 legislative session, Washington lawmakers passed a comprehensive education funding bill.  Known as the Basic Education Finance Bill, the new law could change the way the state pays for schools in Washington. But it’s years away from being funded and plenty of people have their own ideas on how the state should spend the money.

Don’t miss this in-depth look at the history and future of education in Washington state:

‘Part One: What’s the Cost of Basic Education?’, Tonight, 8pm
‘Part Two: More Money or More Reform?’, Thursday, 8pm

For more information: www.questforquality.org

Tags: education, education reform, Quest for Quality, special report

Gov. Chris Gregoire signed two substantial reform bills into law today. One would redefine basic education and the other will change the way child welfare systems are administered in the state.

But first: Neither bill is quite as robust as it started out this session.

The education reform bill began as the product of an interim, bipartisan task force aimed at making the first changes in education in 30 years. The resulting bill came with a $9 billion-or-so price tag — though in the ending bill, most of the costly pieces have been delayed. Here’s a good cross-section of Senate debate on that bill.

Similarly, the child welfare bill began as a complete retooling of the system. What remains is a partial retooling that is nonetheless significant: It will require the transition to “performance based” contracts. Adam Wilson has a good blog post about it here.

Gregoire vetoed sections of the basic education bill that would make preschool part of “basic education” for at-risk children. That would effectively guarantee funding for at-risk preschool programs. Gregoire said in vetoing the bill that preschool is important for all children and should be addressed as such. Peter Callaghan at The News Tribune has a bit more here.

Rep. Ross Hunter, who worked on the task force, said the bill signing was “bittersweet” because Gregoire didn’t sign the bill as they’d envisioned it.

“I am disappointed the Governor vetoed the early learning portion of the bill. I understand her concerns about singling out one population of students, but we already do that with many of the current elements we consider basic education, such as the English Language Learners program and Learning Assistance Program. These are services necessary for children to successfully take part in our state’s basic education system,” Hunter said in a release.

Tags: basic education, child welfare, education reform, Reform

Sen. Mark Schoesler: “We still do not have accountability. This bill does not give us accountability … nobody is held accountable for poor performance in this bill, we just go on to study (the problem),” he said.

Sen. Tim Sheldon: Yesterday’s tax protesters “represent thousands more people across this state who care about dollars and cents,” he said. He is advocating for a “pay as you go” system, where the state doesn’t commit any money that it doesn’t have.

Sen. Chris Marr said he can’t support the bill because it represents aspirations — but without the money to fulfill those aspirations.

Sen. Randi Becker said she spoke to a school administrator who said if you don’t have the money, don’t pass the bill because it would amount to an unfunded mandate for schools.

Sen. Rosa Franklin: Said you don’t always have all the money for something when you make plans and set goals. She said this bill amounts to making a plan — and the state should get started on it now, not wait until they have the money. (more…)

Tags: education reform

Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe: “Without this bill or with this bill, it doesn’t matter. (The teachers) will show up every day and they will be committed to every child’s learning,” she said. “But this bill … gives them the tools they need … it’s not OK to have a definition that is 30 years old… It’s not alright to have a drop-out rate of between 20 and 30 percent.”

McAuliffe said the bill would do great things for education.

Tags: education reform

That quote above is from Sen. Don Benton. They’re now done with amendments and debating the bill. He said the cost to implement the proposed definition of basic education is somewhere around $6 billion.

The problem, he says, is that the bill has no funding. “This is a disservice to the citizens of this state. Please reject this bill until we have the appropriate funding to implement it.”

Tags: education reform

Right now, the Senate Early Learning Committee is hearing a bill to reform the basic education system. This is the bill that creates a “model school” on which to base all school funding.

Gov. Chris Gregoire has told reporters that she would not approve the bill because she said reforming education without adding funding is bad policy.

“Everybody knows the money isn’t there right now,” said one parent who testified. “We’re asking for vision, you’ve done it.”

I’ll continue to update as testimony continues.

“My main thing is, I am in support of this bill,” said Kerste Helms, a parent. “This bill looks like it is giving more money to reduce class size, and if it does, I’m for it.”

“When I got to college, I felt a little bit behind,” said Michael Teele (spelling unsure), a freshman studying engineering at the University of Illinois. “In retrospect, I’m doing alright, although it was a tremendous amount of work to catch up, just as Washington state must catch up” to other states, he said. (more…)

Tags: education reform