Author Archives: garverj

Governor Gregoire Releases Education Reform Proposal

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This week Govenror Gregoire released six education reforms focused on promoting high-quality teaching through renewed professional growth opportunities.

The reforms recommended by the Governor are based on “the premise that student learning and educational attainment are boosted by great teaching…(and that ) thoughtful coordination and better student transitions also contribute positively to student learning’.

Education Reforms

  • Change the current evaluation system for teachers and principals.
  • Require all school districts to adopt updated policies for making staffing decisions.
  • Establish the Office of Student Achievement to focus on the goal of increasing the educational attainment of Washingtonians.
  • Prioritize time for student learning by eliminating the requirement for individual learning plans for students in the Learning Assistance Program and allowing exemptions to the culminating project high school graduation requirement.
  • Change the schedule of district audits.
  • Create university laboratory schools to nurture innovation and excellenct to help students succeed.

The Office of the Governor will draft legislation to implement each of these reforms and introduce the bills in the 2012 supplemental session.

Congress Reaches Pell Agreement

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Late this week  Congressional leaders reached agreement on an omnibus spending bill (H.R. 3671) that contains the nine remaining spending bills for 2012.

As a part of this package Congress agreed to maintain the maximum Pell Grant at $5,550. To pay for the Pell Grant program the bill tightens eligibility for grants and temporarily ends the interest subsidy on undergraduate student loans during the six-month grace period after a student graduates.

With regard to eligibility changes, under the bill, students would be limited to six years of Pell Grants, rather than the current nine. It remains unclear whether or not students who have already received at least six years of the grants would remain eligible for additional aid. In addition students who lack high-school diplomas or GED’s would no longer be allowed to qualify for the grants by taking an “ability to benefit” test.  Finally the bill would reduce the number of students who automatically qualify for the maximum Pell Grant by lowering the income cap for receiving an “automatic zero” expected family contribution from $30,000 to $23,000.

In addition to the changes to the Pell Grant program the bill impacts several other higher education related programs. Among the impacts are:

  • Increased funding for the National Institutes of Health by 1 percent;
  • Allowing the National Institutes of Health to go ahead with plans to create a new center to help pharmaceutical companies make drugs from universities’ research discoveries;
  • Providing flat funding for most student-aid programs, including the Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants and Federal Work-Study, and the Gear Up college-preparation programs; and
  • Increasing funding for TRIO college-prep programs by $15 million.

Votes on the budget are expected today in both the U.S. House and Senate. The latest continuing resolution experies today and if lawmakers do not pass the spending bill or another stopgap resolution by then much of the federal government could shut down.

 

Legislature Adjourns Special Session; Passes Some Education Legislation

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On Wednesday the Washington Legislature adjourned a seventeen day special session.

By the end of the seventeen days the Legislature had passed an early action budget package and some policy legislation ranging from benefits for military spouses to legislation focused on dealing with involuntary commitments of mental patients.

The budget bill passed by the Legislature reduces the shortfall by roughly 25% ($479.9 million) of the total problem ($2 billion). While some will argue that the special session did not achieve all that it could, the time provided legislators with the opportunity to receive public feedback on the Governor’s proposed 2012 supplemental budget and to begin budget conversations within their respective caucuses. In addition it provided agencies and stakeholders with the chance to get an earlier than usual glance at potential policy considerations.

In addition to the budget the Legislature passed three bills related to strengthening the aerospace industry in Washington. All three bills are education related and together would do the following:

  • Establish grant programs for high schools to prepare students for jobs as entry-level aerospace assemblers; for skills centers to enhance manufacturing-skills programs; and for high schools to create specialized courses in science, technology, engineering and math.
  • Require the Professional Educator Standards Board to revise certification and certificate-renewal standards for elementary teachers and secondary science and math teachers to include knowledge and skills in science, technology, engineering, and math.
  • Allow Project-Lead-the-Way examinations to be included in the list of college-level proficiency exams that are recognized as a method for fulfilling postsecondary courses. Project-Lead-the-Way is a national organization that provides curriculum in science, technology, engineering, and math for middle and high schools.

The Governor is scheduled to take action on the early action budget proposal and the legislation passed during the special session on December 20.

Washington Senate Passes Early Action Budget; Now Heads to Governor

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This afternoon the Washington Senate passed legislation that will reduce the current budget shortfall by nearly $500 million.

The Senate voted 42 to 6 to pass a budget package that consists of reductions to programs and services, fund shifts, and new revenues. The House passed the budget last night.

The bill now goes to the Governor for her signature.

House Passes Early Action Budget Proposal

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This evening the Washington House passed legislation that will reduce the current budget shortfall by nearly $500 million, setting up the potential for adjournment of the special session as early as tomorrow night.

The House voted 86 to 8 to pass a budget package that consists of reductions to programs and services, fund shifts, and new revenues.

The bill now goes to the Senate. Earlier today the Senate Ways & Means Committee passed its version of the budget proposal setting up a late morning or early afternoon vote tomorrow on the Senate floor.

Senate Appropriations Committee Moves Early Action Budget Proposal

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This afternoon the Senate Ways & Means Committee passed legislation that will reduce the current budget shortfall by $479.9 million.

The Committee considered a handful of amendments, but passed only a few that were technical in nature. The bill now goes to the Senate floor for consideration.

Both the Senate and the House will convene for floor sessions tomorrow morning.

Senate Higher Education Committee Holds Work Session on Academic and Structural Efficiencies

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This afternoon the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee convened a work session focused on academic and operational efficiency efforts at Washington’s higher education institutions.

Representatives from the six, public baccalaureate institutions and the community and technical colleges shared with the committee efficiency efforts ranging from increased partnerships to ease transfer among sectors to increased automation to minimize costs associated with printing, mailing, and supplies.

Through the College’s presentation to the Committee, Evergreen shared academic and operational efficiencies the College has undertaken in recent years as well as the opportunities Evergreen’s unique delivery of higher education provides for an efficient and effective degree path.

Among the efficiencies highlighted in Evergreen’s presentation to the Committee was the College’s transfer friendly structure. Specifically, Evergreen’s student-focused credit transfer policy and the 354 articulation agreements with 29 of the state’s 32 community and technical colleges.

In addition, Evergreen noted its leadership among Washington’s public, four-year institutions in time to degree and talked about the lean administrative structure at the College.

On the operational side Evergreen noted the dramatic reduction in utility costs the College has experienced and the virtualization of the College’s server environment reducing electrical and hardware costs.

The Senate Committee will convene again on Thursday, December 15 for a work session focused on higher education graduation and post-college employment.

House Appropriations Committee Moves Early Action Budget Proposal

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Early this morning the House Ways & Means Committee passed legislation that will reduce the current budget shortfall by $479.9 million.

The Committee considered a handful of amendments and passed three that were technical in nature. The bill now goes to the House floor for consideration as early as this afternoon.

On the Senate side, the Senate Ways & Means Committee will hold an executive session on the Senate’s early action budget proposal this afternoon.

House Higher Education Committee Meets to Discuss Range of Issues

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This afternoon the House Higher Education Committee met for both a public hearing and a work session.

Public Hearing – HB 2158

The Committee heard the first bill of the special session – House Bill 2158. The bill adds Project Lead-the-Way examinations to the examinations that may be taken in high school to demonstrate college-level skills and for the purpose of meeting certain lower division general education or postsecondary professional technical education requirements.

Project Lead The Way (PLTW) is a non-profit organization that offers Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) education curricular programs used in middle and high schools across the U.S. The PLTW programs engage students in activities, projects, and problembased learning which provides hands-on classroom experiences and allows students to create, discover, collaborate and solve problems and apply what they learn in math and science.

Work Session

The Committee focused an hour long work session on two critical issues for higher education: (1) student outcomes and (2) state and federal work study programs.

Student Outcomes

Earlier in December the Washington Education Research & Data Center (ERDC), a part of the Office of Financial Management, launched a dashboard that focuses on student outcomes for Washington’s public baccalaureate institutions.

This afternoon the Committee received an overview of the dashboard from the authors including staff of the ERDC and Council of Presidents.

The Committee engaged with the authors of the dashboard in a conversation about the vision legislators have for the dashboard. Legislators commented to the need to be able to view data for education from a systematic point of view, the need for data that shows the connection between student choice and institutional markets, where are students employed after graduation, and financial-related data for students, state funding, and institutional expenses.

State and Federal Work Study Programs

For the second part of the work session the Committee focused on better understanding both state and fedeal work study programs.  The Higher Education Coordinating Board provided in-depth overview of the two programs and their impact on students.

Washington House and Senate Release Early Budget Action Proposals

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After a long weekend of discussions and negotiations, the Washington House and Senate each released an early budget action proposal.

Both proposals woud reduce the current budget shortfall, estimated at $1.4 billion, by $479.7 million. Nearly $51 million in both of the proposals will come from new revenue earned from quicker conversions of unclaimed property by the Department of Revenue. In addition, the proposals reduce agency and program budgets by $96.5 million with an additional $226.4 million in policy level changes. Finally the remainder of the funds come from $23.6 million in fund tranfers and an additional $82 million in unspent money from the prior biennium.

The proposals make minor changes to higher education.  Both proposals invest $1 million in the Aerospace Training Student Loan Program for students in certain aerospace training or educational programs. In addition both proposals reduce funding to higher education institutions to reflect savings in Washington’s Workers’ Compensation program due to reform legislation that passed during the 2011 legislative session.

The early action proposals by the Legislature still leave a $1.5 billion (approx. $900 million budget shortfall/ approx. $600 million in reserves) budget problem to be resolved in the 2012 supplemental session. It is expected that to reach a balanced approach the Legislature will need to enact additional reductions and administrative reforms as well as consider a revenue package(s).

In the meantime with an eye to adjournment as early as Friday, the House Ways & Means Committee and the Senate Ways & Means Committee will hold a public hearing on their respective proposals this afternoon. The House Ways & Means Committee has also scheduled an executive session on the House proposal tomorrow morning.