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Statements
from Reps. Pat Sullivan and Skip Priest on education reform bill hearing
today
Bipartisan legislation faces
hurdles, but has support from key groups statewide
House Bill 2261,
which passed the House of Representatives earlier this month, received a
hearing in the Senate Committee on Early Learning and K-12 Education
today.
Ninety people traveled to Olympia to testify on the
measure, a sign that overhauling our education funding system continues
to be a key issue for parents, teachers, students and other education
advocates.
Reps.
Pat Sullivan and
Skip
Priest, who sponsored the bill and testified in favor of
it, issued the following statements about the legislation:
Rep. Pat Sullivan, D-Covington:
"For a
long time we’ve talked about the accountability needed in our education
system. We’ve talked about accountability for our teachers and our
schools, and accountability for our students who we expect to meet
certain standards and pass certain tests. This bill, however, is about
accountability for the Legislature.
"The time has come to put an end to the
tweaking we do around the edges of our system, and instead refocus on
the foundation. We’ve poured more than a billion new dollars into the
K-12 system in the past two years and it’s all gone into a range of new
programs and services, none of which enhance the basic education we’re
constitutionally bound to provide all our students. Because none of that
money went toward ‘basic education,’ now much of it will disappear.
"By updating and broadening the
definition of basic education, we will establish the single most
important mechanism possible to hold the Legislature accountable for
ensuring our teachers, our schools and our students have the resources
they need to succeed and thrive."
Rep. Skip Priest, R-Federal Way:
"It's
clear from the 90 people who traveled to Olympia today to testify in
favor of the bill, that we've hit on some key changes that need to be
made. For those of us who have worked to better our education system,
and served on Washington Learns and the Basic Education Finance Task
Force the past several years, we believe that now is the time to act on
the reforms in House Bill 2261.
"One
element the bill addresses, which I believe is critical, is early
learning. We must catch at-risk kids early and get them up to speed by
the fourth grade, or we may face losing them to our corrections system
or having them drop out and not reach the potential we know they have.
"To
those who say our economic situation is a good excuse to wait on
education reform, my belief is we either pay now for a good education
for our children, or we pay later in our social services and corrections
systems. Now is the time to act and give every child the opportunity to
succeed in life."
House Bill 2261 would:
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Redefine "basic education" and restructure the education funding
formula;
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Outline the fundamentals of today's classrooms and allocates state
dollars to them;
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Include early learning for low-income students;
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Phase in all-day kindergarten, starting in high-poverty areas;
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Coordinate initiatives to prepare and recruit math and science
teachers; and
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Outline a path that future Legislatures can use to fund and address
the unique opportunities our education system faces now and in the
future.
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For more information, contact:
Bobbi Cussins, Public Information Officer
at (360) 786-7252 or Jaime
Smith, Communications Specialist at (360) 786-7631
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