WSCA Weekly Update
House Democrats unveiled their proposed 2015-17 budget this week, in preparation for the final weeks of the 2015 legislative session, which is scheduled to end April 26th. In addition to closing some tax loopholes and raising B&O tax on services by .3%, Democrats are proposing a 5% capital gains tax on profits greater than $25,000 per individual/$50,000 per couple. The House Appropriations Committee will hear their budget proposal at 1:30 Monday (3/30), and the Finance Committee will hear the tax bills Tuesday (3/31) at 8 a.m. A floor debate on the budget is expected Wednesday, April 1.
Republicans quickly objected to the Democrats’ tax hikes and the overall $5 billion increase in state spending, with Senate budget Chairman Andy Hill saying new taxes should be the last resort for the Legislature, and calling the new taxes an unreliable and unstable funding source. The Senate plans to roll out their budget plan next week.
The proposed budget from the House includes funding to increase the prototypical middle school counselor ratio up to 1.5 by the 2016-17 school year (from 1.2 currently). Funding for high school counselors is increased to 2.8 by the 2016-17 school year. Funding increases at the elementary level include proposals for family engagement coordinators.
The budget also includes one-time funding for OSPI to convene a work group to make recommendations on benchmarks for social emotional skills for students K-12. The work group, which will include school counselors, must submit recommendations to the Legislature by October 1, 2016. As part of this funding, the Center for Improvement of Student Learning in OSPI will administer a grant program to provide school counselors, psychologists and social workers time to collaborate with mental health service providers. This collaboration time will include recognizing signs of emotional or behavioral stress in students, including possible mental illness, substance abuse, violence and youth suicide screening.
Finally, in higher education, the proposed budget from the House includes funding for additional career and college advising in the state’s regional public colleges.
In addition to releasing a budget last week, the House also heard a compelling update in the Education Committee from Christopher Blodgett, who was contracted by the State to prepare a report on ACES data and impacts on student learning, as a result of passage of last year’s SHB 2739.
The key findings from the report are:
1. Adult ACEs are common in every Washington community, but they are not equally distributed. One of every four adults report experiencing three or more ACEs.
2. ACEs are not distributed equally across Washington communities. Across school districts, adults reporting high ACEs range from an estimated 11–51 percent of community residents.
3. Poverty and ACEs are only modestly related. In high-ACEs communities, high-poverty schools are more common but this co-occurrence is modest. Poverty is a powerful independent influence on academic, youth and community success distinct from the impact of ACEs, which occur across all income levels.
4. More than 300,000 students in Washington live in communities where more than 35 percent of adults report high ACEs. As the average number of high ACEs in the community increases, academic success and well-being of the children is put at risk.
5. As the percentage of high ACEs in a community increases, fewer students pass Washington’s standardized academic assessments. Schools in higher ACEs communities report mean percentages of students passing the assessments 2–-6 percentage points lower than in communities with lower ACEs. This translates to thousands of students living in our high-ACEs communities failing on these critical assessments each year.
6. The effects of ACEs begin in elementary school-aged children and continue across grade levels and content areas.
7. Using youth self-report from the HYS, we have clear indicators of what are pathways connecting adversity and risk in youth. Community ACEs are highly associated with greater reported risks for attitudes, beliefs and behaviors reflecting both greater risk for immediate problem behaviors and continuation of these risks into adulthood. Higher community ACEs are associated with low neighborhood attachment, more positive attitudes toward drug use and lower levels of the social skills needed to succeed in schools and adulthood.
8. 8. The HYS includes questions that allow youth to report on their own experience of adversity. As these ‘youth ACE’ scores increase in schools, we find that standardized test results in grade 10 are significantly lower, reported risk behaviors are significantly higher and access to social supports and positive peer and community influences are reduced. While poverty continues to be an influence on youth well-being, community and youth ACEs are more consistent predictors of youth well-being.
The report also concludes: “We recommend that reversing the loss of school counselors, nurses and psychologists has to be a priority discussion of how we increase access to early intervention and treatment resources for the most vulnerable students and families.” A copy of the report by Dr. Blodgett can be found here. A video of the work session can be found here.
On Wednesday, April 1, the Members of Color Caucus from the House of Representatives is hosting an event to support the House Democrats’ budget proposal: “Rolling out a budget that focuses on academic success from cradle to career.” The event will be held at El Centro de la Raza, 2524 16th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144 at 3:00 p.m. For more information, contact Representative Lillian Ortiz-Self at her district office: (425) 258-4214.
Upcoming Events
Education (House) - HHR A, JLOB - 3/30 @ 10:00am
· ESSB 5803 - Exec Session - Concerning the notification of parents when their children are below basic on the third grade statewide English language arts assessment.
Health Care (Senate) - SHR 4, - 3/30 @ 10:00am
· ESHB 1424 - Public Hearing - Concerning suicide prevention.
Early Learning & K-12 Education (Senate) - SHR 1, - 3/31 @ 1:30pm
· HB 1345 - Exec Session - Adopting a definition and standards of professional learning.
Bill Details / Status / Sponsor / Priority / PositionSHB 1031 / College in the high school / S EL/K-12 / Johnson
Expanding participation in college in the high school programs.
Allows tenth grade students to participate in the college in the high school program. Requires college credits for completion of the program to be applied toward degree requirements at The Evergreen State College.
SHB 1138 / Higher ed mental health / S Ways & Means / Orwall
Creating a task force on mental health and suicide prevention in higher education.
Requires Forefront at the University of Washington to convene a task force on mental health and suicide prevention at public and private institutions of higher education to determine what policies, resources, and technical assistance are needed to support the institutions in improving access to mental health services and improving suicide prevention responses. Expires July 1, 2017.
HB 1164 / Student nutrition/grant prog / H Rules R / Riccelli
Creating a competitive equipment assistance grant program to enhance student nutrition in public schools.
Establishes the apple a day act of 2015. Creates a competitive equipment assistance grant program, to be known as the apple a day program, to enhance overall student nutrition in public schools. Requires the superintendent of public instruction to establish a competitive process to prioritize applications for state assistance. Provides that this act is null and void if appropriations are not approved.
ESHB 1236 / College bound scholarship / S Higher Ed / Ortiz-Self
Allowing certain school personnel to witness a student's college bound scholarship pledge if the student's parent or guardian is unavailable. (REVISED FOR ENGROSSED: Concerning witnessing a student's college bound scholarship pledge when efforts to obtain a parent's or guardian's signature are unsuccessful. )
HB 1236-S - DIGEST Allows a school counselor or an administrator to witness a student's college bound scholarship pledge if the parent or guardian is unavailable.
SHB 1295 (SB 5437) / Breakfast after the bell / S EL/K-12 / Hudgins / Support
Concerning breakfast after the bell programs.
Requires each high-needs school to offer breakfast after the bell to each student and provide adequate time for students to eat. Requires the state to provide, and the office of the superintendent of public instruction to administer, one-time start-up allocation grants of six thousand dollars to each high-needs school implementing a breakfast after the bell program. Requires the office of the superintendent of public instruction to: (1) Develop and distribute procedures and guidelines for the implementation of this act; and (2) Dedicate staff within the office to offer training and technical and marketing assistance to public schools and school districts related to offering breakfast after the bell. Provides that this act is null and void if appropriations are not approved.
HB 1345 / Professional learning / S EL/K-12 / Lytton
Adopting a definition and standards of professional learning.
Adopts a statewide definition of effective professional learning. Directs public schools and school districts to establish targeted, sustained, relevant professional learning opportunities that meet the definition and are aligned to state and district goals.
HB 1385 (SB 5063) / Revenue growth for education / H Approps / Magendanz
Prioritizing state revenue growth for education.
Establishes the kids first act. Declares an intent to: (1) Prioritize K-12 education investments in a manner designed to best achieve improved student outcomes; (2) Make college education more affordable while increasing bachelor and graduate degree production, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields; and (3) Increase opportunities for low-income families to enroll in high quality preschool and early learning programs. Provides for submission of this act to a vote of the people.
SHB 1408 / Family engagemnt coordinator / S EL/K-12 / Ortiz-Self
Concerning the development of a definition and model for "family engagement coordinator" and other terms used interchangeably with it.
Requires the office of the education ombuds to: (1) Together with the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee, develop and recommend to the education committees of the legislature a definition for the term that is variously referred to as "family engagement coordinator," "parent and family engagement coordinator," and "parent involvement coordinator"; and a model or framework for such a staff position; and (2) In developing the model or framework for the staff position, collaborate with the office of the superintendent of public instruction, the Washington education association, the public school employees of Washington, the Washington school counselors' association, the association of Washington school principals, and the state school directors' association. Expires July 1, 2016.
ESHB 1424 / Suicide prevention / S Health Care / Orwall
Concerning suicide prevention.
HB 1424-S - DIGEST Requires the department of health to adopt rules establishing minimum standards for the suicide assessment, treatment, and management training programs, including content specific to veterans and the assessment of issues related to imminent harm via lethal means or self-injurious behaviors. Exempts certified registered nurse anesthetists from the training programs.
E2SHB 1541 / Educational opportunity gap / S EL/K-12 / Santos
Implementing strategies to close the educational opportunity gap, based on the recommendations of the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee.
Adopts policies and procedures to implement the following recommendations of the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee: (1) Reduce the length of time students of color are excluded from school due to suspension and expulsion and provide students support for reengagement plans; (2) Enhance the cultural competence of current and future educators and classified staff; (3) Endorse all educators in English language learner and second language acquisition; (4) Account for the transitional bilingual instruction program instructional services provided to English language learner students; (5) Analyze the opportunity gap through deeper disaggregation of student demographic data; (6) Invest in the recruitment, hiring, and retention of educators of color; and (7) Strengthen student transitions at each stage of the education development pathway.
E2SHB 1546 (SB 5086) / Dual credit ed opportunities / S Ways & Means / Reykdal
Concerning dual credit opportunities provided by Washington state's public institutions of higher education.
HB 1546-S2 - DIGEST Modifies provisions relating to the college in the high school program and the running start program.
SHB 1562 / Allergen info in pub schools / S EL/K-12 / Sullivan
Requiring posting of allergen information in public schools.
Requires public schools to display allergen information on a conspicuous sign in a prominent place within each area where food is served. Requires the office of the superintendent of public instruction to consult with the department of agriculture to develop and disseminate guidance for school districts on how and what allergen information must be displayed.
HB 1591 / High school and beyond plans / H Approps / Ortiz-Self
Concerning high school and beyond plans.
Requires each student to have a high school and beyond plan to guide the student's high school experience and prepare the student for postsecondary education or training and career. Requires the superintendent of public instruction, in collaboration with a nonprofit organization representing school counselors, to: (1) Develop and disseminate an inventory of best practices for high quality high school and beyond plans; and (2) Provide assistance to school districts in the development and implementation of the plans.
HB 1614 (SB 5544) / K-12 employee wages / H Approps / Reykdal
Establishing comparable and professional wages for K-12 employees.
Phases in the compensation technical working group's recommendations for comparable, market-based salaries for all K-12 staff and a revised compensation system for certificated instructional staff.
E2SHB 1682 (SB 5065) / Homeless students / S EL/K-12 / Fey
Concerning data reported by the office of the superintendent of public instruction for homeless students. (REVISED FOR ENGROSSED: Concerning homeless students. )
HB 1682-S2 - DIGEST Requires the office of the superintendent of public instruction to report to the governor and the legislature the following data for homeless students: (1) The number of identified unaccompanied homeless students enrolled in public schools; and (2) The academic performance and educational outcomes of unaccompanied homeless students. Defines "unaccompanied homeless student" as a student who is homeless and is not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian.