Fair’s fair. All Washington residents willing to work for a good education should have a fair and equal opportunity to earn it — regardless of their income, race, ethnicity, or where they live. Legislation (House Bill 2626) passed, 87-10, by the state House of Representatives is aimed at emphasizing that principle in official Washington policy.
State Rep. Gerry Pollet is a co-sponsor for the measure. He’s also the vice chair of the House Higher Education Committee in which the bill was first considered earlier in this 2014 legislative session.
Pollet won approval on the House floor for an amendment to the bill. His amendment emphasizes “our state policies must ensure that issues such as cost, race, ethnicity, immigration status, and where in Washington one lives should never be a barrier to college.”
The Seattle lawmaker said the amended legislation “ties in very appropriately with the ‘DREAM Act’ legislation (House Bill 1817 and Senate Bill 6523) passed by the House on the very first day of session.” After later winning full legislative approval, the DREAM Act is now on the governor’s desk. The DREAM Act directs that any graduate of a Washington high school can apply for financial help for college here in this state — even if the student was brought to this country as a child and does not have legal-immigration status.
Before the Pollet-amended bill cleared the House, the Washington Student Association (WSA) honored Pollet and state Rep. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, as the association’s Legislators of the Year.
The awards were presented during the WSA rally on the Capitol Campus. Pollet said he was particularly moved by “an amazing story told at the rally by Elena Calderon. Currently working for her Master’s in Public Health Degree at Eastern Washington University, Ms. Calderon is a truly remarkable person who typifies why we need both the DREAM Act legislation and the amended HB 2626.
”Not that long ago, this young woman was starting her work day at 4:30 in the morning, in an orchard, picking cherries to help her family get by,” Pollet said. “She explained in her presentation that on many of her college days she’s been worried sick that college administrators would demand to look at her immigration-papers.”
Goals set out in a report from the Washington Student Achievement Council would be implemented by HB 2626. These educational-attainment goals outlined by the council seek to meet future societal and economic needs of all Washington citizens — and the state, as a whole. The council’s objectives are that, by the year 2023:
- All adults in Washington ages 25 to 44 will have earned a high-school diploma or equivalent.
- At least 70 percent of Washington adults ages 25 to 44 will have earned a postsecondary credential — either an associate degree, a community-college certificate, a technical-college certificate, or a bachelor’s degree.
“Our being able to attain these goals makes it imperative that we demand another goal: inclusiveness in our colleges and universities.”
Pollet said the bill will help the state answer “No” to a tough question that he said nonetheless needs to be asked: “Are we leaving anyone behind in working toward making our universities more inclusive?”
“This amended HB 2626 — emphasizing these three goals — is a true yardstick for measuring our progress in education,” Pollet said.
Pollet added that “by any objective measurement, the strategy for determining if a society has done right by its people is whether its citizens have a fair and equal chance to earn their educational goals.”
As for the awards for the two lawmakers, Garrett Havens, WSA Executive Director, said that the Washington Student Association “has recognized Reps. Pollet and Riccelli as our ‘Legislators of the Year’ for their dedication to improving the affordability, accessibility, and quality of our higher-education system here in the state of Washington.
“Both representatives have shown a commitment to working collaboratively with students,” Havens added, “and to ensuring that students don’t just have a seat at the table, but are actively engaged in the decision-making process.”
The Washington Student Association represents 150,000 of Washington’s college and university students from campuses all across the state.
- State Rep. Marcus Riccelli, left, and state Rep. Gerry Pollet joined Eastern Washington University student Elena Calderon at the recent Washington Student Association rally here in the capital.
