Photo via Wikimedia Commons

The state House has passed a measure that would allow underage students at Washington’s community and technical colleges to sip alcoholic drinks as long they don’t swallow it.

Senate Bill 5774 permits students between 18 and 21 years old and enrolled in a culinary, wine technology, beer technology, or spirituous technology-related program to sample alcoholic drinks, but not ingest them.

The measure passed by an 89-4 vote. It now heads to Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk.

The bill authorizes the state Liquor Control Board to issue a special permit to the colleges for the tastings. Other restrictions would apply, including tasting the alcoholic drinks under the supervision of an instructor who is at least 21 years old. A handful of other states have passed similar legislation, often labeled academic “Sip and Spit” laws.

As the prospects dwindle for a bill allowing undocumented immigrants bound for college to receive financial aid from the state, supporters staged a rally at the Capitol on Tuesday.

Backers of the measure had hoped the Senate Higher Education Committee would vote on the bill during a hearing scheduled for 1:30 p.m., but the hearing was canceled. House Bill 1817 was passed out of the House by a vote of 77-20, but it now looks nearly certain committee chair  Sen. Barbara Bailey (R-Oak Harbor) will not schedule a vote before a Wednesday deadline to act on non-budget policy bills.

Barbara Bailey (R-Oak Harbor)

Late last week, Bailey offered her reasons for not advancing the bill in a piece written for Washington Focus.

“I think the state’s financial assistance program needs to be looked at more closely before eligibility is extended to a new group. In order to set good policy, we need to spend more time studying the issue and evaluating the future financial impact,” Bailey wrote. “ State government has a bad habit of promising many things, but delivering few. It would be disingenuous for us to make an unfunded promise that can’t be kept.”

Bailey did give the measure a hearing last week, which drew large number of people on both sides of the issue.

On Tuesday about 100 young supporters of the bill gathered in the Capitol Rotunda, chanting “down with deportation, up with education.” Sen. Ed Murray (D-Seattle), who sponsored a similar bill that was never given a hearing in the Senate, and Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Seattle) joined the rally in a show of support.

The measure was likely to pass if given a vote on the Senate floor and Gov. Jay Inslee repeatedly urged lawmakers to send the bill to his desk for his signature.

The legislation would have extended the State Need Grant program, which provides aid to low-income college students, to undocumented graduates of Washington high schools. The proposal applied to students with “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival” status.

A bill that would increase access to higher education for students who are undocumented immigrants sparked debate from both sides of the issue during a Senate committee hearing Thursday.

House Bill 1817 would extend the State Need Grant program – the state’s largest financial aid program – to undocumented graduates of Washington high schools. The proposal applies to students with “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival” status under the federal Dream Act. The bill cleared the House by a vote of 77-to-20 with the full support of Democrats and a split vote from Republicans.

Supporters of the legislation argue the students didn’t have a choice where they were born and should have the same opportunities as any other high school graduate in the state. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Zach Hudgins (D-Tukwila), said the state’s economy stands to benefit from the policy change.

“It’s a big deal for our economy because these are the kids with ties to Washington state,” he said. “These kids are going to be the ones that sell our apples and our pears and our airplanes and software to the world.”

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Members of the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus on Tuesday unveiled a higher education plan that would cut tuition by 3 percent while increasing funding by $300 million over the next two years.

Dubbed the “Ten-Three-Fifty” plan by supporters, the proposal includes $50 million in funding that schools would compete for based on performance standards. It also allocates $26 million for the State Need Grant program, which provides aid to low-income college students.

It’s unclear how the plan will be received by presidents at the state’s four-year colleges, who earlier this year said they would freeze in-state undergraduate tuition if the Legislature could come up with $225 million for higher education.

“We’ll have to hear what the universities have to say, but we think a 10 percent increase in funding is a remarkable change from what’s been happening in past legislative sessions,” said Sen. Michael Baumgartner (R-Spokane). “Certainly there is a desire from some institutions to put new dollars into salary increases. I think those dollars need to first go to students.”

Supporters also say the plan will shore up the state’s Washington’s prepaid tuition program, which came under fire early in the legislative session.

Lawmakers did not offer specifics on how they will pay for plan or if other programs will face cuts in the overall budget.

The Legislature is tasked with closing a $1.3 billion budget shortfall. That does not count additional money lawmakers must find to meet last year’s McCleary decision. Some say that will take another $1 billion for a down payment on fully funding K-12 education.

New state revenue forecast numbers will be released Wednesday.

Democratic Sens. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Seattle) and David Frockt (D-Seattle) released a joint statement after the proposal was announced:

“We’re encouraged to see the Republican majority is joining us in embracing the idea of increasing funding for higher education and holding down tuition for students. We need to ensure higher education is affordable and accessible for the middle-and low-income students and families who make up the heart of the middle class. That’s positive movement on their side that we think every member of our caucus would welcome.On the other hand, we are not sure whether their numbers add up. We need to flesh out the details.We’re open to working with them on the math and making sure the solutions we agree on are backed up by real numbers. Our students need real solutions, not empty promises, and if the Republican majority is willing to work with us there’s no reason we can’t find a way to move in a new direction on state support, tuition and financial aid.”

 

Rep. Cathy Dahlquist (R-Enumclaw), Rep. Gary Alexander (R-Olympia) and Rep. JT Wilcox (R-Yelm) discuss the House Republicans' "fund education first" budget on Thursday.

House Republicans on Thursday offered their “fund education first” budget, detailing how they plan to meet a State Supreme Court mandate to increase funding for education without raising taxes.

The plan designates $817 million to address the court’s McCleary decision, funded through cuts to social services and savings from Medicaid expansion under implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The plan also counts $295 million in savings from continuing the suspension of I-732, a voter-approved initiative that gives a cost-of-living pay increase to teacher. Overall, it calls for a net increase of $556 million in spending for K-12 education.

Rep. Gary Alexander (R-Olympia), the House Republicans’ budget writer, called the plan a “significant investment” that also takes taxes off the table as lawmakers work to meet its K-12 education responsibilities.

The proposal puts a priority on funding full-day kindergarten and includes a number of measures being considered by the Legislature, including bills aimed at dropout prevention, third-grade literacy and persistently low-performing schools.

“As we look at education policy and how do we get to different outcomes for kids, that was our focus this year – to put initial dollars into outcomes,” said Rep. Cathy Dahlquist (R-Enumclaw).

Read the GOP’s “Fund Education First Budget” here.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Ross Hunter (D-Medina) released a statement criticizing the proposal:

“The House Republicans released their education proposal today, calling it an “Education Budget.” My initial reaction is that this proposal is more like a press release than a budget. Budgets require you to make decisions about balancing competing demands – this document does not do that.

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On Thursday’s “Legislative Review,” we recap debate in the state Senate over a bill that could lead to the closure of the ten worst performing schools in the state, as well as a measure that repeals several unfunded education mandates. We also have highlights from Wednesday evening floor action — including debate in the state Senate over a bill that would hold back third graders who can’t read at grade level. Plus, a discussion in the House over affordable housing that turned emotional.

A measure that would implement an A through F grading system for the state’s public schools was narrowly passed by the state Senate on Wednesday.

The bill, labeled a reform measure by the Republican-controlled majority coalition, passed by a 26-23 vote along party lines after more than an hour of debate.

The measure, sponsored by Sen. Steve Litzow (R-Mercer Island), is among a number of education policy changes the majority coalition says are needed to ensure results as lawmakers work to meet a Supreme Court mandate to increase funding for education.

Opponents say the grading system could have unsettling impacts on students, parents and communities.

“Branding an entire school with an F grade I think really goes way beyond what we need to do help struggling schools,” said Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Seattle).

State Schools Superintendent Randy Dorn has also spoken out against the measure.

Also on Wednesday, the Senate passed a bill that would give school principals more flexibility with personnel decisions. Senate Bill 5242 passed on 27-22 vote.

The bill now moves on to the Democratic-controlled House.

A bill that would increase access to higher education for students who are undocumented immigrants was approved by a House committee on Friday.

House Bill 1817 would extend the State Need Grant program, which provides aid to low-income college students, to undocumented graduates of Washington high schools.

The measure passed on a 22-to-9 vote in the House Appropriations Committee as lawmakers rushed to meet a key legislative deadline. Friday is the last day to read in committee reports from House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees in their house of origin.

“It takes us down a path to make sure that kids who can get work permits can get an education. It opens up a lot of new talent and keeps that talent in Washington state,” said Rep. Zach Hudgins (D-Tukwila), the bill’s prime sponsor.

The proposal would apply to students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival status under the federal DREAM Act.

Opponents of the measure point to the thousands of eligible students who did not receive State Need Grants last year because the state ran out of money.

“We currently have 32,000 students who are legally here in the state who can not get the State Need Grant and adding more people to it is making a promise that we can’t keep,” Rep. Larry Haller (R-Richland) said.

A similar measure was proposed by Senate Democratic Leader Ed Murray (D-Seattle). Murray’s bill did not receive a hearing.

The House version will now head to the floor for a debate and vote.

Marty Brown

Higher education issues have already played a key role in the 2013 legislative session with debates over funding, rising tuition and the solvency of the Guaranteed Education Tuition program.

TVW recently talked with Marty Brown, executive director of the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, to get his take on education policy issues facing lawmakers in 2013.

Brown took over the board, which oversees Washington’s 34 community and technical colleges, in September after serving as former Gov. Chris Gregoire’s budget director.

We are now one-third of the way through the 2013 session. What are your impressions so far?
We have had lots of good meetings with committee chairs in the Senate in both Ways and Means and Higher Education and I think they are doing a good job of learning their new jobs and understanding the higher ed system in our state. In the House we have lots of folks that have been there before, but we have done quite a bit of “Community and Technical College 101” with the new members. So I think a lot of it is education on higher education right now and I think there is a growing understanding of the importance of the community and technical college system in the economy and in their local areas and how important we can be to job creation and the education and transfer to four-year schools.

What specific legislation are you keeping a close eye on?
Our main agenda is budget. We were very happy with the legislative budget last year when higher education was no longer on the chopping block. We hope that continues and we get started at least reinvesting in community and technical colleges. Right now we have about 12,000 more full time equivalent students than the state pays for so a lot of our issues revolve around budget. A big issue for us is the state need grant and the fact that currently 31,000 students in the state’s schools qualify for the state need grant – low-income students who did not get the funds because they ran out. There are bills that would add students to the state need grant and we are all in favor of more students being eligible, but we want to make sure the Legislature funds those students who are already in school before we start adding a bunch more students to the state need grant. We have been watching those need grant bills very closely – 21,000 of those 31,000 students are in the community colleges so we have students that didn’t get their funds and are struggling to stay in school.

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