Student-centered education legislation heading to Senate

Dropout prevention, STEM education, and closing the opportunity gap took center stage in the state House Friday as a package of education bills was approved and sent to the Senate.

“Our priorities are clearly best for all kids and our public schools,” said Rep. Marcie Maxwell, the Deputy Majority Leader for Education and Opportunity. “The House is focused on support for quality teaching and learning.  We’re working on strategic policy and budget decisions that make significant investments in education funding and ensure successful implementation of the real reforms we’ve recently enacted."

Here's the press release for the whole package, which includes these key bills:

HB 1276 creates a pilot program with school districts and community organizations, like food banks and small farms to target at-risk youth.

HB 1424aims to close the opportunity gap by providing families, schools, and communities with the tools they need to increase the number of on-time graduations. This bill will give local communities additional resources to detect early warning signs of a potential and intervene with appropriate measures.

HB 1872, creates a STEM Education Innovation Alliance made up of leaders from business and education fields. The alliance will align STEM education initiatives in early learning, K-12, and post-secondary education and is a key piece of Governor Inslee’s Working Washington agenda.

HB 1252 will create an online framework for professional development opportunities for educators in Washington.

HB 1283  will lower the age for compulsory school attendance from age eight to six. Washington is only one of two states where children are not required to be enrolled in an education program until age 8.

Read this story in Spanish.

Specialty plates bringing in the bucks

Bill signing for House Bill 1329, 5/3/2011

Back in 2011, Representative Marcie Maxwell partnered with Music Aid Northwest to support Washington students. Maxwell introduced House Bill 1329 to create and sell “Music Matters” specialty license plates to benefit music education programs in our schools. Upon introduction of the bill, Maxwell noted that “We must acknowledge the essential value of music education and continue to promote a well-rounded curriculum for all Washington students”.

Earlier this week, the Everett Herald reported that specialty license plates like “Music Matters” are creating somewhat of a windfall for nonprofit organizations and state agencies. In fact, about $1.9 million was collected from July 2010 to December 2011 according to a report from the Department of Licensing. These dollars go to support a variety of causes aside from music education, including wildlife protection, trail maintenance, and support for law enforcement officers, soldiers, and professional firefighters.

The Herald also reports on the importance of these specialty plates for students at our state's public universities.

But the report only tells part of the story because it does not include plates issued before the law took effect. Among those are the most popular specialty plates on the road -- those for the state's six public four-year universities. Those plates have been generating money for scholarship funds since the mid-'90s.

For some it's a big deal.

Take Washington State University. There were 3,454 WSU plates sold and 18,199 renewed between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012, according to Department of Licensing records. That alone brought in more than $500,000 for scholarships.

These figures are just another example of how the state can partner with non-profits entities with successful results. Plus, Washington drivers get to support their favorite causes without cluttering their bumpers- not that we have anything against an impressive display of bumper stickers. You can read the entire piece on specialty license plates over at the Everett Herald’s website. The report prepared by the Department of Licensing will be delivered to lawmakers next week, just in time for the 2013 legislative session.

Budget matters matter

Appropriations chair Ross Hunter

The Washington Budget and Policy Center thinks that the Budget Matters -- and they brought 300+ people together to talk about ways to move Washington's economy forward. Advocates, stakeholders, policy experts, and legislators participated in plenary and break-out sessions throughout the day. 

Deputy Majority Leader Marcie Maxwell

Several members of the House Democratic Caucus participated in panal discussions, including Ross Hunter, chair of the House Appropriations Committee; Marcie Maxwell, Deputy Majority Leader for Educationa nd Opportunity; Reuven Carlyle, chair of the House Finance Committee; and Laurie Jinkins, vice-chair of the House Health Care and Wellness committee.

"We're all in this together...."

The House Democratic Caucus elected the remaining members of their leadership this morning, finalizing a team that represents urban, suburban, and rural Washington. 

"After all," said Speaker Frank Chopp, "we're all in this together.  We want a team that reflects that."

Elected today were:
• Jim Moeller (Vancouver): Speaker pro tem-designate
• Tina Orwall (Des Moines): Deputy Speaker pro tem-designate
• Marcie Maxwell (Renton): Deputy Majority Leader for Education and Opportunity
• Larry Springer (Kirkland): Deputy Majority Leader for Jobs and Economic Development
• Joe Fitzgibbon (Burien): Deputy Majority Whip
• Kris Lytton (Anacortes): Deputy Majority Floor Leader

They join the core group of leaders elected a couple weeks ago.

To read this story in Spanish, click here.

STEM education is key to growing Washington’s economy

Two new jobs reports show that Washington’s economic recovery is accelerating and that lawmakers are smart to invest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.

One new report, from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows Seattle had the eighth best job growth among the top 100 metro areas in the nation over the past 12 months – posting a healthy gain of 39,100 jobs.

More good news comes from the Forbes/Praxis Strategy Group study and the Puget Sound Business Journal (PSBJ). They’re reporting that Seattle not only led the nation in high-tech and STEM job growth over the past decade, the Emerald City is still reaping the benefits of strong growth in high-tech and STEM jobs.

The Forbes study reported in the PSBJ shows that Seattle beat out rivals such as Silicon Valley to become the best city in the nation for high-tech jobs over the past decade, with a whopping 43 percent increase in high-tech employment and an 18 percent increase in STEM jobs. The study also showed Seattle’s leadership in high-tech jobs has held firm during the past couple of years. In fact, the study says, “the Seattle metro area has posted 12% tech job growth over the past two years and 7.6% STEM growth, handily beating the performance of Silicon Valley.”

And the good news in high-tech employment continues. The PSBJ points out “Forbes' findings seem to be backed up by recent announcements that Amazon is hiring 1,000 new tech workers in Seattle and that other big tech companies, such as Facebook and Google, are expanding offices in the area.”

These numbers show we’re on the right path, but we can’t let up on the gas pedal just yet. Lawmakers like Rep. Marcie Maxwell (D-Renton) continue to push for additional investments in STEM education. In the December special session, Rep. Maxwell sponsored bills that created competitive STEM grant programs and added STEM knowledge to the Professional Educators Standards Board certification process. Both bills received bi-partisan support before being signed into law.

To read this story in Spanish, please click here.

41st District lawmakers invite citizens to town halls

Rep. Marcie Maxwell

Rep. Judy Clibborn

State lawmakers from the 41st District will unite to host a pair of town hall meetings on Saturday, Feb. 18, to share news about the legislative session and listen to local residents discuss their hopes and concerns on state issues.

Rep. Judy Clibborn, Rep. Marcie Maxwell, and Sen. Steve Litzow will hold their morning town hall from 10-11:30 a.m. at Hazelwood Elementary in Newcastle, and an afternoon town hall from 1:30-3:00 p.m. at Mercer Island High school.

The jointly hosted town halls are more convenient for local citizens and help maintain the bipartisan approach the 41st District lawmakers bring to Olympia. Participants can submit questions before the meeting via email to townhall41@leg.wa.gov.

The 2012 session began Jan. 9 and is scheduled to end Mar. 8.

Below are details on the locations:

Hazelwood Elementary (Map and directions)
7100 116th Ave. SE
Newcastle , WA

Mercer Island High School (Map and directions)
9100 SE 42nd St.
Mercer Island, WA

To read this story in Spanish, click here.

And the winner is…Washington wins up to $60 million in early learning grant money

UPDATE: Washington has won the full $60 million grant award.

Washington is one of nine states that will share $500 million in early learning grant money from the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services.

Washington will receive up to $60 million as part of the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge grant. The Race to the Top grant program challenged states to enact reforms that would increase access to high-quality early learning programs for children in low-income families.

Rep. Ruth Kagi, who chairs the House Early Learning & Human Services committee, heard the good news straight from Governor Gregoire this morning.

“This is truly the result of a collective effort by people across the state who have kept a focus on the importance of early learning,” Rep. Kagi said. “It started years ago with the Legislature’s creation of the Early Learning Advisory Council and Washington Learns, and is very promising for the future of education in our state.”

House Democrats championed a number of reforms that have improved early learning in Washington. These reforms, and our continued commitment to ensuring all kids are ready for school, put us in an excellent position to receive Race to the Top funding. A few of the recent reforms that helped push our application to the top are:

• Creating a Quality Rating and Improvement System to help licensed child care centers provide high-quality care.

• Implementing the successful WaKIDS program statewide by the 2014-15 school year. WaKids brings parents, teachers, and early learning provides together to help young children transition into public schools.

• Developing early learning guidelines.

• Strengthening measurement tools that track student progress from preschool to college.

• Enhancing professional development opportunities through awards and incentives for early learning providers.

"This Early Learning Race to the Top grant is a huge win for Washington's families, schools, and communities," said Rep. Marcie Maxwell, Deputy Majority Leader for Education & Opportunity. "Quality preschool and full day kindergarten experiences are the smartest program and dollar investments we can make."

For more information about Washington’s Early Learning Plan, click here.

To read this story in Spanish, click here. 

House Democrats applaud news of Renton landing the 737 MAX, contract deal

No one knows airplanes better, and no region of the world builds them better, than Washington State. That’s the message House Democrats in Olympia conveyed as news broke of a tentative deal between Boeing and its machinists’ union, leading to the announcement that Renton will be the home of the new 737 MAX.

Democratic caucus leader on the Pegasus Project, Larry Springer points to the decade of work between the HDC and the aerospace community to land the 737 Dreamliner and the tanker as the reason why the MAX will be built here. “We’ve championed new investments, funding, and reforms in recent years, fostering growth and jobs in the industry.” They include:

• Workforce development scholarships and grants worth millions to train aerospace workers 
• New educational state facilities providing new resources to manufacturers and workers 
• Aerospace training programs through state community and technical colleges 
• Streamlined permitting processes for Boeing and its aerospace manufacturing partners 
• Reforms at L&I and ESD, which reduced premium rates for workers’ comp and unemployment insurance 

Co-leader on the Pegasus Project, Marcie Maxwell, recounted some personal memories. “I’ve watched the maiden voyage of every 737 for many years from my Renton home. Many of my neighbors are proud of their work designing and building generations of Boeing planes. This is great news for Boeing, for Renton, and for the hundreds of suppliers across 29 counties in our state.

“The bottom line is, we’re building more airplanes faster and better than ever before,” said House Democratic Caucus Chair Eric Pettigrew. “And winning the new 737 MAX in Renton is a sign that we’ll be doing so for a long, long time.”

Read the full press release here.


Check out this link highlighting some recent posts that contributed to today's good news.

To read this blog post in Spanish, click here.

Education Reform: New graduation requirements on the horizon for the class of 2016

For the last several years, education reform has been, and will continue to be, an important issue in Washington state. Over half of all students who enroll in community or technical colleges directly after high school need to take at least one remedial course to catch up. We need to do a better job making our students college and career-ready by the time they graduate from high school.

House Democrats have championed reforms aimed at improving our K-12 education system. During the 2011 legislative session, Rep. Marcie Maxwell (D-Renton) sponsored House Bill 1443 that proposed a number of reforms. Although the bill failed to receive Legislative approval, the Washington State Board of Education adopted some of the bill’s components through changes to the Washington Administrative Code.

Repealing the time-based definition of credit is one of the changes adopted by the board. Currently, most high school students received a full course credit by spending 150 hours in the classroom. By removing the time-based definition of credit, local school districts will now have more flexibility in measuring student achievement.

The board approved this change last week. The board also approved new high school graduation requirements that will take effect for the class of 2016 and beyond. The new requirements will:

• Increase English from 3 to 4 credits.
• Increase social studies from 2.5 to 3 credits and require .5 credit of civics.
• Decrease electives from 5.5 to 4 credits.
• Make successful completion of Washington State History and Government a non-credit requirement.
• Clarify that the 2 credits of health and fitness includes .5 credits of health and 1.5 credits of fitness.
• Create a “two for one” policy that would enable students taking a CTE-equivalent (career and technical education) course to satisfy two graduation requirements while earning one credit.

The revised language on the new graduation requirements can be found on the Board of Education site here. One-page flyers and summaries can be found here and here.

To read this blog post in Spanish, please click here.

Celebrity crowd gathers in Olympia to support music education

World renowned musicians ventured to Olympia today to show their support for Rep. Marcie Maxwell’s House Bill 1329, which makes it possible to create and sell “Music Matters” special license plates to benefit music education programs in Washington schools.

“We must acknowledge the essential value of music education and continue to promote a well-rounded curriculum for all Washington students,” Maxwell said.

Alan White, drummer from the English rock band, Yes, and Michael McMorrow from the bands Blues Travelers and Stolen Ogre were among the crowd of supporters who gathered in Olympia today.

In the face of one of the most fiscally challenging times in our state’s history, budget cuts are near inevitable. That’s why Maxwell teamed up with Music Aid Northwest, a local non-profit organization, to provide this innovative solution to help fund music education.

The new law takes effect on January 1, 2012. For more details, please click here.

Now that’s music to my ears

Rep. Marcie Maxwell teamed up with Music Aid Northwest, a local non-profit organization, to provide an innovative solution to help supplement funding for music education statewide.

“We must acknowledge the essential value of music education and continue to promote a well-rounded curriculum for all Washington students,” Maxwell said.

Maxwell’s House Bill 1329, which is now on its way to the Governor’s desk, makes it possible to create and sell “music matters” special license plates to benefit music education programs in Washington schools.

“Rep. Maxwell’s skilled leadership and drive helped pave the way for a more promising future for music education statewide,” said Gigi White, Secretary of Music Aid Northwest and wife of Alan White, world famous drummer from the English rock ban, Yes. “We are grateful for the opportunity to make a difference here in Washington state.”

For details on House Bill 1329, please click here.

K-12 education reform continues in Olympia

Education reform continues with Rep. Marcie Maxwell’s House Bill 1443, which outlines ways to strengthen instruction and support for Washington students, help close the opportunity gap and support education professionals.

“Education remains our state’s priority and our link to Washington’s thriving future,” Maxwell said. “Despite these tough economic times, we must maintain our commitment to providing a quality education program for all Washington students.”

Maxwell introduced the bill shortly after the Quality Education Council (QEC) delivered its second report to the Legislature last week, which included additional details on how to implement basic education reform.

While cognizant of the current budget realities and our constitutional responsibility to fully fund basic education, Maxwell and other members of the QEC delivered recommendations to keep efforts in the education reform arena moving forward.

For a little background information, the QEC is a group that was created by House Bill 2261, which was the major education reform bill passed during the 2009 session. The QEC issued its first report and recommendations in January 2010. That report set the stage for the first implementation step of House Bill 2261 and resulted in House Bill 2776. House Bill 2776 set in motion five previous recommendations from the QEC including the phase-in of a new pupil transportation formula and accelerated workgroups focused on local levy and teacher compensation issues.

Click here to read the press release on Maxwell’s House Bill 1443 continuing education reform.

The House is not on the floor today

But behind-the-scenes work continues as we count down to Sine Die next Thursday at midnight. Some members are on campus crunching numbers and holding meetings; many others are attending a memorial service for the husband of Rep. Marcie Maxwell. Steve Maxwell, a retired King County deputy sheriff and active community volunteer, passed away last Sunday.

We will resume floor action tomorrow morning at 10:00 am.