Monthly Archives: January 2010

Senate Higher Education Ends Week Strong Moving Additional Legislation Forward

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At the end of the third week of the 2010 supplemental session, the Senate Higher Education and Workforce Committee held public hearings on three bills.

The Committee held a public hearing on Senate Bill 6467. SB 6467 authorizes honorary degrees for students at the public, four-year institutions in Washington who were ordered into internment camps. Immediately following the public hearing, the Committee entered Executive Session and moved the bill to Senate Rules for consideration.

The Committee also heard Senate Bill 5237. Senate Bill 5237 would require Washington’s public, four-year institutions to develop three-year baccalaureate programs. Currently, 9% of Evergreen students, who begin as first-years, graduate within three years.

Language is being considered that would replace mandating language in the original bill with more permissive language and require the institutions to report their progress and plans to the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB).

The Council of Presidents testified in support of Senate Bill 5237 with the revised language.

House Higher Education Executive Session Amends Performance Agreement, Student Loan and Teacher Preparation Bills

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The House Committee on Higher Education met this morning to pass several bills out of committee.

House Bill 2979, establishing performance agreements for institutions of higher learning, received two amendments by Representatives Sells and Wallace. The amendments would establish space in performance agreement committees for faculty and student representatives, as well as establish high employer demand programs of study and require the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee to conduct an evaluation of the higher education performance agreements and make recommendations to the Governor and Legislature regarding their continuation and expansion.

House Bill 2930, providing for conditional scholarships and loan repayment programs for potential teachers in high-demand fields, was introduced as a proposed substitute bill. The substitute would bill would take effect in the 2013-2014 school year and increase the amount of the award for both the Future Teachers Conditional Scholarship and Loan Repayment Program and the Alternate Routes to Certification Conditional Scholarship Program to cover the full cost of attendance or $15,000 per academic year, whichever is less. In addition, the substitute bill stipulates that teachers in high-demand fields receive loan reimbursement per year of service, while students in non-high-demand fields receive one year of loan repayment for every two years of service.

Finally, a proposed substitute to House Bill 2854 would add career colleges to the list of institutions and agencies that must be
consulted when the HECB conducts periodic assessments of the HELP program, remove the reference that requires students to be enrolled in an “academic” field of study, clarify that students can be enrolled in an aid-eligible certificate program and still qualify for HELP, and clarify that students enrolled in both academic and technical associate degrees are eligible.

All of these bills received enough votes in the committee to be referred to fiscal or rules committees.

Legislature Week 4: What is Happening

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The fourth week of session will be heavily dictated by cut-off deadlines for policy committees. All House policy committees (i.e. House Higher Education) must move any House bills out of committee by February 2. All Senate policy committees (i.e. Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development) must move any Senate bills out of committee by February 5.

This week the focus of the higher education policy committees (i.e. House Higher Education and Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development) will be to move several bills impacting Washington’s institutions of higher education out of committee and either to the floor for consideration or to an appropriation committee. Any bill that may have a fiscal impact must go through an appropriations committee once it passes out of a policy committee.

Both the House and Senate higher education committees will look to move legislation that focuses on issues, such as performance agreements, system design, teacher preparation, tuition policy, three-year degree, and financial aid.

In addition, the appropriations committees (i.e. Senate Ways & Means and House Ways & Means) will meet to continue their work on budget related matters.

The workload will shift for a time from the policy committees to the appropriation committees as the cut-off date for policy bills passes this coming week and the cut-off date for appropriation bills looms the following week.

State of the Union – Education Focus

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On Wednesday evening, President Obama gave the first State of the Union address of his presidency. The address focused on issues ranging from health care to green jobs to education.

Below are some of the excerpts from President Obama’s speech in which education was the focus:

…we need to invest in the skills and education of our people.

Now, this year, we’ve broken through the stalemate between left and right by launching a national competition to improve our schools. And the idea here is simple: Instead of rewarding failure, we only reward success. Instead of funding the status quo, we only invest in reform — reform that raises student achievement; inspires students to excel in math and science; and turns around failing schools that steal the future of too many young Americans, from rural communities to the inner city. In the 21st century, the best anti-poverty program around is a world-class education. And in this country, the success of our children cannot depend more on where they live than on their potential.

When we renew the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, we will work with Congress to expand these reforms to all 50 states. Still, in this economy, a high school diploma no longer guarantees a good job. That’s why I urge the Senate to follow the House and pass a bill that will revitalize our community colleges, which are a career pathway to the children of so many working families.

To make college more affordable, this bill will finally end the unwarranted taxpayer subsidies that go to banks for student loans. Instead, let’s take that money and give families a $10,000 tax credit for four years of college and increase Pell Grants. And let’s tell another one million students that when they graduate, they will be required to pay only 10 percent of their income on student loans, and all of their debt will be forgiven after 20 years –- and forgiven after 10 years if they choose a career in public service, because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they chose to go to college.

And by the way, it’s time for colleges and universities to get serious about cutting their own costs -– because they, too, have a responsibility to help solve this problem.

Now, the price of college tuition is just one of the burdens facing the middle class. That’s why last year I asked Vice President Biden to chair a task force on middle-class families.

Teacher Preparation Legislation in Senate

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This morning the Senate Committee on Early Learning and K-12 Education held a public hearing on Senate Bill 6761. Senate Bill 6761 implements recommendations put forth by the Quality Education Council (QEC).

The QEC was established as a part of the Basic Education overhall legislation passed in 2009 (HB 2261). The QEC develops strategic recommendations for implementation of a new definition of Basic Education and the financing necessary to support it.

Though this may seem only to be a K-12 related policy council, the QEC and the implementing legislation (HB 2261) also established criteria for teacher evaluations and teacher compensations. Both of which are critical issues for Masters in Teaching and Masters in Education faculty and students.

The implementing legislation created a compensation work group that is tasked with developing an enhanced, collaboratively designed salary allocation model. The new model will align educator development and certification with compensation. A critical part of this conversation is the relationship between earning an advanced teaching degree and receiving an increase in salary for this achievement.

Evergreen worked hard during the 2009 session to bring legislative attention to the value-added when an educator earns an advanced degree in education. Evergreen was successful in refocusing the conversation on compensation and away from the initial assumption that education beyond a bachelors was not value-added in the classroom.

As a result of Evergreen’s work and the work of others a compensation work group was created to develop a compensation model in Washington for teachers. This replaced the initial proposal to not provide increases in compensation for teachers who earn an advanced degree.

That is the long way of saying, one of the recommendations of the QEC, as stated in SB 6761, is to convene the compensation work group in 2010 with a report due December 2010. This would move the convening of the work group and the recommendations of the group up a year.

Evergreen did not weigh in on this change to the implementing legislation. Instead Evergreen attended the public hearing to learn more about SB 6761 and to hear public testimony from other partners.

SB 6761 is expected to be moved out of committee early next week.

Senate Higher Education Hears Financial Aid and Surcharge Legislation and Moves Other Bills

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The Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee heard two higher education related bills this afternoon and moved a handful of other bills while confirming several gubernatorial appointments.

Senate Bill 6409 would create the Washington Investment in Excellence Account. The account created in SB 6409 would be supported by lottery proceeds. The proceeds would be directed to recruit entrepreneurial researchers, innovation partnership zones, and research teams and financially support opportunity grants, educational opportunity grants, GET ready for math and science scholarships, passport to college promise, college bound scholarships, and the Washington promise scholarship.

Evergreen testified in support of SB 6409, encouraging lawmakers to ensure that the investment in financial aid identified in the bill is additive to the state’s current investment.

In addition substitute bill to Senate Bill 6358 was heard by the Committee. The substitute to Senate Bill 6358 requires four-year and two-year institutions to develop policies that ensure that students complete their programs in a timely manner in order to make the most efficient use of instructional resources and provide capacity within the institution for additional students. Sen. Kilmer, Chair and sponsor of the bill, struck prior language that would have placed a surcharge on students who do not complete their degrees in a timely manner in the substitute bill heard by the Committee.

The Committee also moved two higher education related bills out of committee and to the Rules Committee for consideration.

Substitute Senate Bill 6355, which implements the Higher Education Coordinating Board’s System Design recommendations, rewrites the intent of the original bill, does not subject the development of applied baccalaureates to appropriations, does not subject the expansion of applied baccalaureates to the major expansion process, changes the definition of “mission change” and “major expansion”, both major expansion and mission change are subject to the Higher Education Coordinating Board’s assessment and viability evaluation process, and makes eligible private, non-profit institutions for innovation incentive grants.

Substitute Senate Bill 6357 relating to the academic recognition of prior learning clarifies the policies on prior learning based upon prior experiences and adds the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board to the list of institutions to be consulted.

Finally, the Committee approved several gubernatorial appointments including three to The Evergreen State College Board of Trustees – Irene Gonzales, Dixon McReynolds, and the reappointment of Kristin Hayden.

House Ways & Means Committee Amendments Provide Exemption for Higher Education Employees From Statewide Salary Freeze

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Two amendments proposed to Substitute Senate Bill 6382, which would extend a salary freeze on exempt and Washington Management Service Employees statewide, will allow an exception of certain Higher Education employees.

Including those already excepted, those employees spared from the salary freeze are, according to the amendment language, “exempt higher education personnel for critical retention purposes or additional summer quarter responsibilities,” and other exempt personnel covered under collective bargaining agreements.

SSB 6382, the first Senate bill to be considered by the House Ways & Means Committee during this session, was passed out of committee. A procedural point was made by staff that the two amendments will be considered as one when the bill is referred to Rules Committee.

Evergreen Speaks to Race to the Top Legislation

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A trio of bills were heard before the House Education Committee today that would better position Washington for Race to the Top dollars. The Race to the Top Fund provides competitive grants to encourage and reward States that are creating the conditions for education innovation and reform at the K-12 level.

Washington plans to apply for Race to the Top in the second phase. 

Evergreen weighed in on two of the three bills heard by the House Education Committee.

Evergreen expressed support with concerns regarding Senate Bill 3059. SB 3059 expands opportunities for teacher preparation by requiring all teacher preparation programs to provide alternative routes to earning a teaching credential.

Evergreen expressed concerns with regard to the lack of funding that accompanies the mandate laid out in SB 3059. Without additional funds to support this effort, Evergreen could find itself assuming the costs of developing and implementing an alternative route program at a time of declining resources for higher education.

In addition, Evergreen raised the strength to the state of the varied missions among higher education institutions. The requirement in the bill to create an alternative route program may require the Collee to move away from Evergreen’s mission and the mission of the College’s teacher preparation programs.

Evergreen encouraged the Committee to consider an amendment that would remove the mandate language in the bill.

Several other organizations and individuals, including the Professional Educators Standards Board (PESB) and the Washington Education Association (WEA), testified to the legislation before the House Committee.

Randy Dorn, Superintendent of Public Instruction, spoke to all three bills before the Committee. He stated Washington needs legislation that strengthens current accountability and data systems to allow the state to be a player in the arena of the Race to the Top.

He also recognized that the Race to the Top criteria is built on the priorities of  the federal government. He encouraged policymakers to keep in mind the need to determine what works for Washington and move these efforts forward.

Members of Higher Education Community Weigh in on Bill that Would Change State Need Grant Eligibility

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On Wednesday the House Committee on Higher Education held a public hearing on House Bill 2936, introduced by Representative Anderson in an effort to increase efficiencies in the state financial aid system. Evergreen did not testify during the hearing.

The intent of the bill, as articulated by Representative Anderson, would be to encourage younger students to enter higher education and keep financial aid paced with budget cuts. The mechanisms proposed to accomplish these goals – limiting State Need Grant eligibility to individuals under the age of twenty-nine and cutting off the award after two years – came under criticism by individuals testifying. Those voicing opposition included the State Higher Education Coordinating Board, the Council of Presidents, the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges, members of the Council of Faculty Representatives, the Washington Student Association, the State Workforce Board, and the Independent Colleges of Washington State. Concerns included the exclusion of older students, who represent high percentages of community and trade college students as well as those who transfer into baccalaureate programs from community colleges, as well as those who do not move through the higher education system in traditional time frames.

Bills Move Quickly

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A familiar and quick-paced trend has appeared on The Hill. Bills are introduced, heard via a public hearing one day and the next are moved out of committee either to the floor or an appropriations committee.

This is to be expected as committee cut-off dates near (early next week) and the Legislature approaches the half-way mark in the session (4th week is next week).

So here is the latest news:

Evergreen Supported Legislation

The Senate Govenrment Operations & Elections held a public hearing and moved Senate Bill 5041. SB 5041 encourages agencies to contract and purchsefrom veteran-owned businesses. Evergreen supported the legislation which was reinforced with testimony in favor of the bill by The Council of Presidents.

The House Higher Education Committee held a public hearing on House Bill 2930. House Bill 2930 extends the Future Teacher Conditional Scholarships to students seeking a mathematics endorsement.

Evergreen testified in support of the bill and encouraged policymakers to work towards offering similar scholarship opportunities in the future to individuals seeking endorsements in special education and ELL. 

Legislation of Concern to Evergreen

The House Commerce & Labor Committee held a public hearing on House Bill 2805. House Bill 2805 requires contractors on public works projects (i.e. higher education capital projects) that are over $1 million to provide additional reporting. 

Evergreen expressed concerns with regard to additional reporting at a time of declining resources and the potential for increased costs to public works projects.

HB 2805 is expected to be moved out of committee later today.

Bills of Interest to Evergreen

The Senate Ways & Means Committee held a public hearing on Senate Bill 6572. Evergreen did not weigh in during the public hearing but is tracking this legislation as it moves through the process.

Senate Bill 6572 eliminates several inactive funds and accounts and transfers any remaining balances in these accounts to the General Fund. In addition, any balances in the School Construction Revolving Fund are transferred to the General Fund.

The accounts and funds to be eliminated include: City and County Advance Right-of-Way Revolving Account; Community and Technical College Fund for Innovation and Quality Account; Dairy Products Commission Facility Account; Data Processing Building Construction Account; Education Technology Account; Energy Efficiency Construction Account; Fruit Commission Facility Account; Geothermal Account; K-20 Technology Account; Morrill Account; Personal Health Services Account; Prescription Drug Purchasing Account;Regional Transportation Investment District Account; Purpose District Research Services Account; Two-year Student Child Care in Higher Education Account; Warren G. Magnuson Institute Trust Account; Washington Fruit Express Account; and Washington Service Corps Scholarship Account.

No further action has been scheduled on this bill.