Today, just a few minutes before the 5 o’clock cutoff deadline, the Washington State Senate gave its overwhelming approval to a measure aimed at boosting student success across the state.

House Bill 2739, which passed the Senate on a 45-4 vote, requires a geographic analysis to identify communities where the effects of employment, health, safety and stability correlate with academic and behavioral indicators of student success.

“We need this information to target strategic interventions where they are needed the most,” said newly appointed Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self, D-Mukilteo, who sponsored the legislation. “This bill will help us build our education platform for next year. We want to be sure we make the appropriate investments to help students with multiple needs and barriers succeed in school.”  

Ortiz-Self’s measure directs the education data center to contract with the Area Health Education Center of Eastern Washington, through the Washington State University Extension, to conduct the study using existing data already collected in the K-12 system.

The report is due to the Legislature on January 31, 2015, and must contain:

• The prevalence of family and community health, safety, and stability factors relevant to student success.

• Resilience factors that correlate with improved population outcomes.

• Correlation of these factors with community variation in academic, behavior, and graduation outcomes.

• Implications for policy targeted at improving academic performance.

House Bill 2739 now heads to Governor Jay Inslee for his signature.