Feb. 18, 2009

Dear teachers, administrators, parents and supporters of education:

Education remains a top issue and priority for the Legislature. This year several proposals have been introduced to change how education is funded and evaluated.

I  have created an online survey. I encourage you to participate. The survey only takes a few minutes of your time and the results would help me better understand the education needs and concerns in our district. To participate in this survey, click here. I'll report the results back to you in the weeks to come. Thank you!

Basic Education Finance Task Force Recommendations

For two years, a bipartisan task force met to reform our state education system. The result was House Bill 1410. If passed, this would be the largest overhaul of our education system since the 1970s. The proposal would:

1. redefine "basic education" to include early learning for at-risk students and help students be college or work ready;
2. modernizes the funding system to fund a number of students per teacher rather than a lump sum;
3. reward teachers for certifications and competence in a new peer evaluation system;
4. create a teacher mentoring program;
5. provide bonuses to schools with academic achievement growth;
6. address pay inequities across districts;
7. provide resources for disadvantaged children to receive more instructional time; and
8. increase accountability with accounting and student information systems.

While I applaud the hard work of the task force and I'm glad to see serious reform discussed, I have a couple of concerns with the package. First, I'm concerned that  unfunded mandates could come from this, especially in our current economic environment. Without fully funding education, we are not helping our students. Instead, we are burdening their teachers and districts to do something they cannot.

I'm also concerned that "addressing pay inequities across districts" could mean unfair competition for good teachers. And, as a result, create losses for our rural communities that could not pay more than urban areas.

Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL)

Randy Dorn, the new superintendent of public instruction, has proposed an overhaul to the current student assessment system. Instead of the WASL, he's proposing to give a different evaluation to students beginning in 2010. Read more about it here. Randy wants the new Washington Comprehensive Assessment Program (WCAP) to be shorter for students to take, to turn around results faster, to evaluate students' strengths and weaknesses, and to utilize technology to make it cheaper. The WCAP would still be a high school graduation requirement as the WASL is now. I welcome your thoughts on the proposal and how we can make improvements on our student assessments.

Flexible School Week Schedule

About a month ago, Rep. Dan Newhouse and I introduced House Bill 1292 to provide some flexibility to school districts outside of a strict 180-day school calendar. This bill isn't for every district. It simply allows districts and communities to have the discussion. Read this column I wrote with Dan in the Yakima Herald-Republic.

Please feel free to contact me about these or any other issue that is important to you. My contact information is at the top.

Rep. Bruce Chandler
15th District State Representative

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