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Third Week Ends in Olympia

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As the third week of the 2012 supplemental session ends, the Legislature faces the end of initial policy committee work and will switch gears to focus on moving bills through appropriation committees and their respective floors.

The House Higher Education Committee moved several pieces of legislation during its second to last meeting prior to the deadline for policy committees on January 31. Among the bills the Committee took action on include legislation to require public comment opportunities at board meetings of the institutions of higher education, provide regulatory relief to institutions of higher education, and reinforce the role of students around the student and activities fees.

The Senate Early Learning & K12 Education Committee held a public hearing on legislation, which Evergreen testified in support, to establish a task force focused on increasing collaboration among K-12 and higher education for students with disabilities.

Finally the House Labor and Workforce Development Committee met this morning and took action on two bills that would impact institutions of higher education. House Bill 2071 focuses on raising awareness about the opportunity for  multiple career pathways to marketable job skills and productive careers and promoting these opportunities.

In addition the Committee took up legislation focused on investing in higher education. The legislation requires that, in each fiscal year in which state revenues exceed the prior fiscal year’s revenues for the general fund, certain amounts of increased revenue be appropriated for public schools and higher education, and be appropriated or transferred to the new dedicated account. The bill would provide funding for institutions of higher education based on improvements in such areas as graduation and retention.

Obama Focuses on Higher Education in State of the Union

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Last night President Obama delivered his 2012 State of the Union address to Congress and the Country.

In his speech, the President emphasized college affordability and job-training as a central tenant in his plan to improve the economy, proposing that Congress penalize institutions for increasing tuition rates, stop student loan interest rates from doubling in July 2012 and extend education tax cuts.

The Presidents comments on higher education derive from the release of the President’s  “Blueprint for an America Built to Last“.

Obama states in the Blueprint that  “College costs are escalating at an unsustainable pace. Even after adjusting for inflationaverage published cost of tuition and fees at a four-year public university has increased by 136% in the last 20 years. This Administration has made college more affordable by continuing to increase the maximum Pell Grant award by more than $800 and creating the American Opportunity Tax Credit worth up to $10,000 over four years of college.”

To keep college affordable, Obama called on Congress to do the following:   

  • Keep tuition from spiraling too high: The President is proposing to shift some Federal aid away from colleges that don’t keep net tuition down and provide good value
  • Preventing student loan interest rates from doubling: The President called on Congress to stop the interest rate on subsidized Stafford student loans from doubling on July 1 of this year, so young people don’t have as much debt to repay.
  • Doubling the number of work-study jobs: The President wants to reward students who are willing to work hard by doubling over five years the number of work-study jobs for college students who agree to work their way through school.
  • Permanently extending tuition tax breaks that provide up to $10,000 for four years of college: The President is proposing to make the American Opportunity Tax Credit permanent, maintaining a tax cut that provides up to $10,000 for tuition over four years of college.

In addition, Obama’s Blueprint calls for a new competitive program that will challenge states and districts to work with their teachers and unions to comprehensively reform the teaching profession by:

  • Reforming colleges of education and making these schools more selective;
  • Creating new career ladders for teachers to become more effective, and ensuring that earnings are tied more closely to performance;
  • Establishing more leadership roles and responsibilities for teachers in running schools; improving professional development and time for collaboration among teachers; and providing greater individual and collective autonomy in the classroom in exchange for greater accountability;
  • Creating evaluation systems based on multiple measures, rather than just test scores;
  • Re-shaping tenure to raise the bar, protect good teachers, and promote accountability.

Higher Education Committees Move Bills Forward

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This week the Legislature is running at full force. After losing nearly half a week of business due to the weather the House and Senate are busy moving bills forward in the process as the first legislative deadlines approach next week.

Earlier this week the House and Senate Higher Education Committees held public hearings that included several bills, such as legislation to establish a new state level higher education entity and legislation focused on academic advising, that were heard last week to ensure that all stakeholders have a voice in the dialogue.

On Monday the House Higher Education Committee held a public hearing on legislation that would provide veterans at higher education institutions with priority registration. The Council of Presidents testified in support of the intention of the legislation to best serve veterans who attend higher education institutions in Washington and is working with the sponsor of the legislation (HB 2503) to provide for some changes to ensure equity for students and provide that students are not negatively impacted in efforts to graduate on time.

Today the House Higher Education Committee took up a wide variety of bills ranging from legislation to increase the inclusion of students in institutional decision-making to a bill that would provide greater regulatory flexibility for institutions of higher education in Washington.

In the Senate yesterday the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee met to hear several bills. Among the bills the Committee took up included legisaltion to establish a new state entity for higher education and a bill that would provide greater regulatory flexibility for institutions of higher education.

This afternoon the Senate Higher Education Committee will continue its work. The Committee will hold a public hearing on legislation that assists youth and alumni of foster care to move successfully through K-12 and higher education, incorporates students into institutional decisionmaking processes, and would eliminate the Washington Workforce Training and Education Board.

2012 Supplemental Session: Week 3

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The weather wreaked havoc on much of last week’s work at the Legislature. Though some committees met up to the bitter end, many were cancelled and will likely reschedule bills for this week.

The House must pass out all policy bills by January 31 and the Senate must move all policy bills no later than February 3.

The House Higher Education Committee took up several bills last week ranging from student advising to establishing a new state-level entity to coordinate education in Washington. The Senate took up similar legislation focusing both on a new entity as well as providing financial literacy to students who receive state financial aid.

This coming week committees, especially policy committees, will be moving several bills as deadlines loom in Week 4.

This week the focus of the appropriations committees (i.e. Senate Ways & Means ,  House Ways & Means, House Education Appropriations) will be to review the Governor’s 2012 supplemental capital budget and to consider several bills that would restructure aspects of the current budget process.

In addition, the higher education related committees (i.e. House Higher Education and  Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development) will continue to hold public hearings on several pieces of legislation introduced this session ranging from open courseware to student involvement on campus.

2012 Supplemental Session: Week 2

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Today marks the second week of a sixty day supplemental legislative session.

While committees continue to hold work sessions on various topics, the focus is changing to legislation and the process of hearing and moving bills forward. To learn more follow the links below.

This week the focus of the appropriations committees (i.e. Senate Ways & Means ,  House Ways & Means, House Education Appropriations) will be to review the Governor’s 2012 supplemental capital budget and to learn more, via work sessions, about the new proposed state-entity for coordinating higher education, financial aid, and the accountability and tuition rates at the public, baccalaureate institutions.

In addition, the higher education related committees (i.e. House Higher Education and  Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development) will begin to hear several pieces of legislation introduced this session ranging from a student academic portal to academic advising to three-year baccalaureate programs.

Governor Gregoire Addresses the State

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This morning Governor Gregoire delivered her annual State of the State address before the 63rd meeting of the Washington State Legislature.

“Each time Washington survived an economic crisis and rebuilt its future, it has not been about political party,” Gregoire said. “It has been about the future of Washington state. And now it’s time for us. This is our time, our time to build a better future for our children and grandchildren.”

In addition to addressing the state’s budget shortfall, Gregoire called on the Legislature to ask voters to approve a temporary, half-cent sales tax increase, enact a series of reforms to improve Washington’s education system, move forward with a major jobs and transportation package and pass legislation to ensure marriage equality.

Local Legislator Introduces Proposal to Restructure Revenue in Washington and Invest in Higher Education

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This week Representative Chris Reykdal and Senator David Frockt released the Higher Opportunity Promise for Education (HOPE) Act.

The Act fundamentally restructures Washington’s tax code and dedicates funds in the process for higher education. Reykdal and Frockt frame the need for such a proposal by focusing both on the need for more Washington students to attend and complete higher education and the need to restructure the state’s tax structure.

The intention is that by addressing the need for greater participation in higher education and changes in the tax structure the state would be able to dedicate funding to universal access to higher education and fully fund current financail aid obligations, free up funds in existing state resources for other purposes, and restructure the state’s tax code as follows:

  • Completely eliminate the State B&O Tax
  • Reduce the sales and use tax from 6.5% to 5%
  • Broaden the new 5% sales tax and use tax to all personnel and professional services
  • Create the Higehr Opportunity Promise for Education Income Tax at 1% on adjusted gross income and corporate gross profit.

Higher Education Committees Kick-Off Work

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The legislative higher education committees in the Washington House and Senate held their first committee hearings of the 2012 Supplemental session this week.

House Higher Education

Yesterday afternoon the House Higher Education Committee adjourned for the first time in the 2012 Supplemental Session

The Committee held a two-hour work session focused on the successes of Washington’s public two- and four-year institutions.

The six public baccalaureate institutions shared international, national, and state institutional recognitions. The recognitions ranged from rankings as top institutions in the nation to leaders in the area of sustainability. Among the recognitions Evergreen shared with the Committee were:

  • One of four colleges in the Pacific Northwest included in the Fiske Guide’s 2011 Best Buy (January 2011)
  • Earned a Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS) Silver Star from AASHE, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (July 2011)
  • Noted Among U.S. News & World Report’s 2012 Edition of ‘America’s Best Colleges’ Evergreen Recognized for Learning Communities Approach
    • The Evergreen State College was included in 2012 ‘Best Colleges’ Guide, ranking among the top regional institutions in the West, and in the top 10 ranked public institutions in the West.
    • Evergreen received accolades for its focus on teaching, for its first year experience, and for its “learning community” approach. (September 2011)
  • Included as a college/university in the G.I. Jobs 2012 College List (September 2011)
  • Military Times Magazine ranks Evergreen as 16th among all colleges in the country in assisting veterans. The highest ranking of any college in the NW. (November 2011).

The Committee is scheduled to meet again on Wednesday.

Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development

This morning the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Committee kicked-off their work.

The Committee held a work session focused on two issues: (1) Update on the Open Course Library by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges and (2) Overview of the Common Course Numbering Work Group report.

The Committee is scheduled to meet again on Wednesday.

 

2012 Supplemental Session Kicks-Off

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This afternoon policymakers returned to Olympia to begin the 2012 supplemental session.

The sixty-day supplemental session continues the work the Washington Legislature began in December. In December the Legislature met for a special session focused on a projected shortfall of approximately $1.4 billion with the strong intention of setting aside another $600 million in reserves. The lawmakers were successful in passing some early budget action to close about a quarter of the $2 billion gap in state funding primarily through transfers, estimated savings in the previous biennium, a change in unclaimed property, and a handful of reductions.

The next sixty days will focus on resolving the remaining $1.5 billion budget problem, a conversation that is likely to be complex and require a balance of reductions, reform, and revenue. The next revenue forecast is scheduled for February 16 and it is expected lawmakers will release budget proposals after this date.

The supplemental session is scheduled to end on March 8.  If legislators cannot complete their work it is possible the Governor could call them back into a special session. However the influence of the November general election is likely to make this difficult, especially since this time around many legislators will see changes to their district due to recommendations from the Redistricting Commission, the fact that they cannot do fundraising while they are in session, and the earlier filing date to run.

So stay tuned!

Overview of U.S. Department of Education 2011-12 Federal Budget

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At the end of December 2011 President Obama signed into law the 2011-12 federal education budget. The budget provides funding for the U.S. Department of Education and education programs from October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012.

The budget provides $68.3 billion in discretionary spending to the U.S. Department of Education. This represents a 1.4% decrease from last year. Part of the federal budget negotiations included a required reduction of 0.189% across-the-board.

Multiple key programs are funded at similar funding levels to last year.  However some key programs saw declines in their funding levels.

  • The Pell Grant program received a slight reduction of 0.58% with a maximum annual level of per student funding set at $5,550. A limit was placed on the number of full-time Pell grants any individual student may receive in a lifetime to a maximum of six years/12 semesters and requires that students have either received a high school diploma or GED, or have been homeschooled in order to be eligible.
  • The Race to the Top program saw a reduction of 21% from $699 million to $549 million. The budget legislation requires the program to include a robust early childhood education component this year.