The House Ways & Means Committee met Saturday to hear a variety of bills and take action on several more.

The deadline for the Committee to consider Senate bills with a fiscal impact is end of day Monday, March 1.

The committee focused on two bills of interest to Evergreen – Senate Bill 6696 and House Bill 3178.

A public hearing was held on Senate Bill 6696. SB 6696 comprises several policy changes to K-12 to make Washington more competitive for Race to the Top dollars, including policies and structural changes in the areas of school and teacher evaluation, assessment, and preparation.

The Council of Presidents testified to their overall support for the bill and expressed concerns with an amendment included in the bill during executive action in the House Education Committee.

The amendment would  require the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges to select up to three community colleges to offer a BA plus teaching certificate in a subject matter shortage area. The language specifies that programs are subject to degree and certificate program approval procedures by the SBCTC, HECB, and PESB.

The Council of Presidents stated that public baccalaurete institutions have extensive partnerships with community colleges to deliver bachelor’s degree programs on their campuses. Currently, four-year public institutions offer bachelor’s degrees at 24 of the 34 community and technical colleges. The concern expressed by the Council pertains to the authorization in the bill to develop and award bachelor’s degrees leading to a “baccalaureate degree with a residency teaching certificate” and “endorsement in a subject matter shortage area” means community colleges would offer academic bachelor’s in subjects such as math and science. This policy change was not discussed as part of the year-long System Design Plan nor in either the education or higher education policy committee in the House.

The Committee did not approve the amendment. Senate Bill 6696 passed out of committee and to the House floor for further consideration.

The Committee also took action on House Bill 3178. HB 3178 makes several policy changes that impact the Department of Information Services as well as state agency IT services and programs.  The Committee movd the bill out of committee and to the House floor for further consideration.