National PTA Commends House Passage of Supporting Youth Opportunity and Preventing Delinquency Act

ALEXANDRIA, Va., (Sept. 22, 2016)—The following statement can be attributed to National PTA Vice President of Advocacy Shannon Sevier:

“This evening, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Supporting Youth Opportunity and Preventing Delinquency Act, which would reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) and strengthen the nation’s juvenile justice system. Reauthorization of the JJDPA is long overdue.

“The Supporting Youth Opportunity and Preventing Delinquency Act is an improvement over current law. The bill includes provisions that would prevent children and youth from entering the juvenile justice system as well as better protect and support those currently in the system. National PTA commends the members of the House of Representatives who voted for the bill and the bipartisan commitment to ensuring greater opportunities and alternatives to incarceration for our nation’s youth.

“National PTA urges the Senate to take swift action to reauthorize the JJDPA before the end of the year to make certain every child can reach his or her full potential.”

About National PTA

National PTA® comprises millions of families, students, teachers, administrators, and business and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of family engagement in schools. PTA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit association that prides itself on being a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for public education. Membership in PTA is open to anyone who wants to be involved and make a difference for the education, health and welfare of children and youth.

Expanded Learning Parent/Guardian Survey

The Expanded Learning Opportunities Council would like your input on expanded learning opportunities. Survey data will be used for council recommendations to Governor Jay Inslee, the Washington State Legislature, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). Take the survey here. 

National PTA Applauds House Education and Workforce Committee Passage of Supporting Youth Opportunity and Preventing Delinquency Act

ALEXANDRIA, Va., (Sept. 15, 2016)—Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce passed the Supporting Youth Opportunity and Preventing Delinquency Act, which would reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) and strengthen the nation’s juvenile justice system. The JJDPA was originally signed into law in 1974 and has been due for reauthorization since 2007.

“Reauthorization of the JJDPA is long overdue. Improvements need to be made to the law to prevent children and youth from entering the juvenile justice system and to better protect those currently in the system,” said Laura Bay, president of National PTA. “National PTA applauds the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and the leadership of Representatives Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) and Bobby Scott (D-VA) for passing the Supporting Youth Opportunity and Preventing Delinquency Act. We commend their bipartisan commitment to ensuring greater support, opportunities and alternatives to incarceration for our nation’s youth.”

The Supporting Youth Opportunity and Preventing Delinquency Act would improve current law by:

·         Incorporating family and community-based services and alternatives to incarceration

·         Keeping detained youth separate from adults while they are awaiting trial

·         Phasing out exemptions that allow youth detainment for minor offenses

·         Ensuring the continuity of children’s education while detained and a smooth transition back into the classroom after

·         Encouraging states to use data and implement strategies to reduce racial and ethnic disparities among youth in the juvenile justice system

“Since 1899, National PTA has advocated for policies that prevent juvenile delinquency, protect children and youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice system, and provide youth in the system with services to help them become productive members of society,” added Nathan R. Monell, CAE, National PTA executive director. “National PTA is encouraged by the action today in the House, as well as that of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which passed a similar bill in July 2015. It is critical that Congress sign a strong JJDPA reauthorization bill into law this year that enhances protections for youth and helps every child reach his or her full potential.”

About National PTA

National PTA® comprises millions of families, students, teachers, administrators, and business and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of family engagement in schools. PTA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit association that prides itself on being a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for public education. Membership in PTA is open to anyone who wants to be involved and make a difference for the education, health and welfare of children and youth.

About Washington State PTA

Founded in 1905, the Washington Congress of Parents and Teachers, better known as the Washington State PTA, is the largest volunteer organization in the state, with more than 132,000 members in more than 875 local PTAs across the state. 

Help Washington State PTA speak up for kids. Each year, the association selects its legislative priorities, and hearing from you is a valuable step in the process. Your responses will assist voting delegates in setting the 2016-17 legislative platform. Take the survey here. Survey closes Thursday, October 6 at 12:15pm. Proposed issues include Restorative Justice and School Safety and Engaging Families in Student Success. Learn more here.

Supreme Court Hears Arguments to Lift State Sanctions, Threaten More Sanctions

The Washington State Supreme Court heard arguments today from attorneys representing the State and the McCleary plaintiffs to assess whether the State is on track to amply fund basic education for the more than one million students attending public schools, and whether a fine imposed in August 2015 should be lifted.

Following the briefs already submitted to the Court, attorney Alan Copsey for the State argued that billions of dollars had already been spent to comply, the Legislature had met every deadline, and the final piece of funding for compensation would come sometime during the 2017 regular or special session. Under questioning, Copsey said the current $100,000-a-day sanction had made a difference in executive and legislative action, and that Senate Bill 6195, which created a joint legislative task force, will result in a path forward for the 2017 legislature to follow. He also said specifically that the State was not asking the Court to rescind its jurisdiction over the case, but to lift the sanction because the Legislature will take action next year.

Copsey also said that what was different this time than with previous groups and reports was that the Legislature was getting the specific information it needed – the “missing information” on compensation – to put together the solution. He stated that the Legislature recognized it needed to solve the problem with its reliance on local levies and suggested that one option was to lower the levy limit locally and increase the state portion – the so-called “levy swap.” In response to a question from Justice Stephens, the author of the 2012 decision and a former Orchard Prairie school director, Copsey said lifting the levy lid would be only a temporary solution if the Legislature didn’t reach a decision by the end of the regular session, and that the burden for basic education funding was clearly on the State. Finally, Copsey said the “ample funding” date milestone should be the start of the 2018-19 school year, not January 2018 or fiscal year 2018.

Arguing for plaintiffs, Thomas Ahearne used a merry-go-round analogy several times to illustrate the circular nature of the State’s response and the lack of a plan, phased in over the years, to show how it was going to reach full funding. Ahearne lambasted the levy swap proposal as bringing no new revenue into a system that the Court has already said is underfunded, and said the State was ignoring the fact that activities such as transportation and MSOC – while meaningful progress had been made – are still not at the levels of funding of “actual cost.” Ahearne also said that the State should pick up the tab on school construction that is specifically tied to basic education programs such as full-day kindergarten and smaller K-3 class sizes. (In rebuttal, Copsey said school construction has never been part of basic education but the Legislature had appropriated billions for school construction over the years).

Unlike Copsey, Ahearne said he didn’t think the sanctions had made a difference, pointing to the fact that the Legislature hadn’t even set the penalty money aside in a separate account. He urged the justices to give the legislature a clear choice that if lawmakers failed to take significant action in 2017 that something else would happen. Frequently, Ahearne used language from the Court’s own decision and orders to remind them of what the State should be doing, and firmly rejected the idea that SB 6195 met the Court’s standard of a plan.

In his closing, Ahearne said the clock had run out on the McCleary children but it wasn’t too late for the Court to threaten serious action in the form of invalidating public schools statutes or tax breaks. It was time to get off the merry-go-round and actually go somewhere.

Tele-Town Halls on K-12 Education

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and Ready Washington invite you to join a telephone town hall meeting about Washington's K-12 learning standards and assessments. This is your opportunity to learn more and ask any questions you may have about learning standards and assessments in our state.

OSPI and Ready Washington will host a telephone town hall on the following dates and times:

• Friday, September 9th from 12-1 p.m.
• Tuesday, September 20th from 12–1 p.m.
• Wednesday, September 28th from 7–8 p.m.

To participate and live-stream a telephone town hall on your computer or mobile device on the dates above, please visit www.readywa.org/townhall.

To help ensure all students are ready for success after high school, the Common Core State Standards were established. Washington’s K-12 learning standards are aligned to the Common Core State Standards and provide clear, consistent guidelines for what every student should know and be able to do in math and English Language Arts from kindergarten through 12th grade. The Smarter Balanced assessment system, which is aligned to the new standards, provides a way for teachers to measure student progress on those standards throughout the year and make adjustments and interventions as necessary to ensure students are on the pathway to success. The assessments are administered in grades 3-8 and 11.

To learn more, visit www.k12.wa.us and www.ReadyWA.org.

Sources: OSPI and ReadyWa