This afternoon, the Washington state Senate approved legislation (2SSB 6696) by a vote of 41 to 5 to help our state win a federal Race to the Top grant. Forty states have already applied to compete for its share of $4.3 billion in Race to the Top funds, which are designed to drive education reform and innovation across the country.
Representatives from the League of Education Voters (LEV) say they approve of the legislation, but wonder if it goes far enough.
Chris Korsmo
“While this bill is a good step in the right direction, we remain concerned that it isn’t strong enough to comply with the guidelines of Race to the Top (R2T), leaving our state’s competitiveness a huge question mark,” said Chris Korsmo, LEV’s executive director. “In addition, as the feds consider reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) — aka No Child Left Behind — it is widely believed that they will adopt the provisions of R2T as a contingency for receiving Title I and other federal monies.”
“We hope lawmakers in the state House will strengthen the teacher and principal evaluation and recognize the importance of student growth data,” said Lisa Macfarlane, co-founder of LEV.
Senator Curtis King
Before final passage, the Senate removed one Republican amendment and defeated two others largely along party lines. An amendment by Sen. Joseph Zarelli would have given principals the authority to exit low performing teachers who have not improved after 3 years of support. Also going down to defeat were two amendments brought forward by Sen. Curtis King. One clarified the use of student growth data in the evaluation process and the other directed the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop a four-tiered evaluation system (so we don’t end up with 295 of them).
On final passage, Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, prime sponsor of the bill, said “our students and schools in Washington deserve this bill” and the potential $150 – 250 million to support our schools, teachers and children.
Sen. Jim Kastama was the only Democrat to vote no, saying “he believes the bill is not good enough to get a Race to the Top grant” and that it needs more work.
Although both of Sen. Curtis King’s amendments failed, he said “the bill is a start and we have a long way to go” as his reason for voting in favor.
The bill would:
- Adopt a new school accountability plan from the State Board of Education. It would recognize the achievements of successful schools in Washington and grant authority to intervene in the lowest 5 percent of persistently low-achieving schools;
- Establish new evaluation criteria for principals and revise teacher evaluations to a four-tier model; and
- Expand alternative routes to teacher certification and teacher preparation options.
Click here for the full bill summary.
The bill now goes to the House for consideration. It will need to go through the committee process and clear the House floor by March 5th.
