E-Wire for March 3rd - Counting down to the Close!

Guess what happened over the weekend?  Yes, the Senate pulled together a series of bills to move forward on the Transportation Budget.  Senator King has offered 13 votes and is asking for 12 votes from the Democratic Caucus to pass the bill.  It has no referendum clause and it has some issues that may be non-starters in the House.

Guess we will see, eh?

Last Friday also seemed to be the witching hour in the Senate.  The move in committee to kill a bipartisan supported bill raised eyebrows among members.  This led to a floor fight, which the Democrats lost.  Here is the transcript of hearing that led to 9^th Order Move by Senate Democrats.

On a lighter note, the Senate is currently hearing a proposed solution to the Teacher Evaluations issue that has bedeviled the legislature all session.  The House has its own version.  Nothing doing,  but doesn't anyone remember that the vote against this bill concerning teacher evaluations was bipartisan?  Just wondering.  Here is the House Version and the Senate Version.

The Washington State School Directors Association will be hitting the hill tomorrow in an attempt to push the legislature towards addressing a long-standing unfairness in the way the state funds rural districts.  The goal would be to adopt language which lets school districts keep timber subsidies for counties that have Federal Forests and Parks in their jurisdiction.  Washington State is the only state that takes the money into the General Fund and doesn't allow school districts to keep the additional funds for school programs.  WSSDA will try to get the State to change this long-standing practice.  The PTA supports their efforts and supports the policy to allow these communities to be compensated for the tax revenue loss created by our ability to enjoy their bounty. 

E-Wire for 2.21.2014 - The Calm Before The Storm

Congratulations:

If you are reading this, we have successfully survived 2/3rds of the legislative session.  At this moment, members are wrapping up last minute details and heading out of Olympia and going home for the weekend.  There, many of them will host town hall discussions with their constituents.  The WA PTA is urging members to take the time to show up to these affairs and chime in on issues involving education – specifically – our mission to fully fund basic education per the McCleary Lawsuit.  Don’t know where to find your town hall?  We got that covered.  Want to send them the message about McCleary?  We got that covered, too!

Today is a light day by legislative standards.  The past two days have been pretty busy with Senate Bills being heard in the House and vice versa.  Director Krainick was joined by several PTA members yesterday making sure our voices were heard.  Check the E-wire below for photos and further information.  While the E-Wire is holed up in an undisclosed location, the rest of the staff at the PTA are wrapping up the final touches for the move to our new offices in the Historic Ford Building on the corner of 13^th and Fawcett in downtown Tacoma.  The move will make it more convenient for members needing to come to the offices as it is more centrally located to I-5 and easier to find.  Just get off the freeway and head west a few blocks and boom – you’re there.  Pretty cool.

PTA takes national position on evaluation reform

• Aligns with Washington State PTA work with the Teacher and Principal Evaluation Pilot and implementing legislation

• FAQ follows statement, below

 

POSITION STATEMENT: DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF TEACHER AND PRINCIPAL  EVALUATION SYSTEMS

Effective instruction and family-school collaboration are essential components of student academic success. National PTA supports the state*and local development and implementation of effective, fair, and meaningful teacher and principal evaluation systems that improve the capacity of educators and families to enhance student learning and academic achievement.

National PTA supports legislation and policy decisions to enable state and local development and implementation of teacher and principal evaluation systems.

 
Teacher and Principal Evaluation Systems should:

Do you agree? Funding, gaps are big K-12 worries

Americans weigh in on public education in 44th Annual PDK/Gallup Poll

• Americans not so sure high school grads are ready for work (more than 4 out of 10 say no)
• They feel good about teachers (7 out of 10)
• They are split about using students' state standardized test results in teacher evaluations

• Press release
• Full report

Highlights of the 2012 legislative session

Washington State PTA advocates for the well-being and education of all children. We went into the December 2011 special session with a simple message: Don’t cut Apple Health for Kids and don’t cut basic education. Our focus stayed on the basics through that session, the regular 2012 session and the follow-up special sessions.

Legislators faced tough budgeting decisions; they needed to figure out efficiencies and forge consensus around spending priorities. We asked them to prioritize kids, and in the end they did. Both parties, both chambers. The problem is that designated revenue doesn’t cover what the kids need. It’s short about $2 billion when it comes to funding basic education. Legislators did not address that, though some tried.

For a breakdown of the budget, see an earlier blog post, Cuts stopped; long road ahead for K-12.

Evaluation, budget updates from Olympia

EVALUATION BILL ADVANCES

The House Education Committee passed ESSB 5895 out of committee today. It passed the Senate last week, 46-3. Bill analysis.
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BUDGET NEWS
Revenue Forecast: Up $96 million — good news for lawmakers
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House budget expected next week; Senate budget shortly thereafter
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Alternative House budget released

Time to check in with legislators

CORRECTION: No town hall for District 37 (southeast Seattle) this weekend.

Townhalls are this weekend -- see list, below

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FOCUS DAY IS MONDAY! Kids activities starting at 9 a.m.; 11:30 a.m. march to the capitol steps; noon rally

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Evaluation compromise clears Senate, on to House

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Early learning pieces advance, but key components still being worked on

Compromise evaluation bill clears Senate; on to House

Senate votes on compromise legislation for teacher, principal evaluations
Roll call: 46-3

Striker SSB 5895

Evaluation bills are about helping kids learn

STATE’S WORK USES A GROWTH MODEL, NOT A BLAME MODEL

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Dear advocates,

The evaluation work being piloted in this state is about taking responsibility for the needs of students and the support that requires. The teacher, principal, school district, family and greater community all play a role in helping kids learn. The evaluation work is one piece of the puzzle. It's the part that lets teachers and principals know how they are doing, and helps them identify what they can do better.

REFORM-EVALUATIONS, SB 6696:

Hi advocates,

More food for thought (and not revenue, this time) … Wash State PTA is part of the state’s Teacher/Principal Evaluation Pilot oversight committee. At the committee’s last meeting, the Measure of Effective Teaching project was cited. I found the project’s website site interesting and thought you might as well. I particularly like that it looks at the substantive nature of teaching – not just test scores.