Another round of education bills were approved by the House of Representatives on Tuesday, the final day to consider House policy bills during the 2014 legislative session.
Breakfast After the Bell
HB 2536 – Sponsored by Rep. Zack Hudgins (D-Tukwila), HB 2536 creates a Breakfast After the Bell program to help students start their days of learning with adequate nutrition.
Nearly half of Washington’s one million public school students are eligible for free and reduced meals at school. Nourishment plays a key role in academic achievement.
“Hungry kids can’t learn,” said Hudgins. “Once we feed kids at the beginning of the day, the outcomes during the day in school will be better.”
“We are responsible for providing our kids an education,” said Rep. Monica Stonier (D), an educator from Vancouver. “We cannot make good use of the dollars we put into public education if our kids can’t learn because they’re hungry.”
HB 2536 was approved by the House 67-31.
Students from Military Families
HB 2166 – Sponsored by Rep. Kris Lytton (D-Bellingham), HB 2166 will direct the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to collect data associated with students from military families.
“Washington ranks seventh with the number of military families in our state,” said Lytton. “We want to make sure we have a system setup that we can see how children of military families are doing.”
Due to the nature of their service, military families are highly transitional. Children of military families frequently move from one school to another and therefore have different educational needs.
HB 2166 will help the state identify those needs and enact policies that better serve military families. It passed the House 71-26.
Career and Technical Education
HB 2540 – Sponsored by Rep. Monica Stonier (D-Vancouver), HB 2540 will bring more uniformity to career and technical education (CTE) course credit and ensure high school students who want to pursue careers in high-tech get the school credit they need to do so.
“A student from one district can receive credit in a skills center math class while sitting next to student in the same class whose district doesn’t award the same credit,” said Stonier. “That’s not equal access. That’s not equal opportunity.”
Some school districts allow CTE science and math coursework to count toward certain statewide graduation requirements, while others do not. HB 2540 will ensure statewide uniformity with CTE science and math courses and get more students career and college ready.
With a growing high-tech economy and a high-tech workforce in Washington state, it’s imperative that we ensure our students have the skills to compete in the 21st Century.
HB 2540 passed the House 70-28.
Jobs & Opportunity
HB 2244 – Sponsored by Rep. Derek Stanford (D-Bothell), restores funds back into the Public Works Assistance Account (PWAA) that were previously used to help balance the operating budget during the recession. The PWAA offers low interest loans to local governments to pay for projects like improving water quality and bridge repair.
“This bill is about making investments in our schools so our kids have an opportunity to get an education,” said Stanford speaking in support of the bill. “These are the projects that will create jobs and opportunity in our state.”
It was approved by the House 87-11.
What is House of Origin Cutoff?
Today is “cutoff” day at the state Legislature, meaning policy bills sponsored by House members must be approved by the full House to allow further consideration in the legislative process. Senate bills must be approved by the Senate today to be eligible for consideration by the House.
Bills that are necessary to implement the budget are exempt from cutoff rules.