WA Superintendent Outlines Hopes For 2021 Legislative Session

OLYMPIA, WA — Washington's Superintendent of Public Instruction is calling on legislators to make substantive changes to address inequities in the state's K-12 education system.

The 2021 legislative session began Monday, and there's a lot on the docket this year, including the governor's $57.6 billion biennial budget proposal, potential investments in green energy and combatting climate change, equity and police accountability proposals.

But Superintendent Chris Reykdal is hoping lawmakers will also set aside time to address issues in Washington's public education system. Reykdal says right now, in the wake of a pandemic that has upended the normal school year, it's more important than ever to plan long-term policy changes to address inequality.

"While we are closing the graduation gap for students of color, it is incremental and slow," Reykdal said. "While students experiencing poverty are receiving more targeted supports and students with disabilities are experiencing more inclusive learning environments, they have substantially lower graduation rates than their middle-income and general education peers, respectively."

Related: Graduation Rates Rose For Class Of 2020, Despite Difficult Year

To address that inequity and improve learning for all students, Reykdal has released 10 key policy goals that he hopes lawmakers will consider:

• Universal access to high quality early learning, to help jump start Washington's youngest learners.
• Dual language learning for all students from kindergarten up. Reykdal says the state should consider bonuses or benefits for bilingual teachers and staff to make this possible.
• Changes to the school calendar to combat learning loss over the summer.
• Begin teaching middle school students to prepare for high school and beyond through "actionable and personalized" lessons.
• More flexibility for students who are on the path towards graduation in their junior and senior years, to allow them to broaden horizons or pursue unique interests.
• Eliminate additional fees for public school students in their final two years of high school.
• Reconfigure the current 24-credit system and seat-time requirements into a new system that better tailors classes to student's individual interests.
• Completely rewrite education governance in the state, to allow for quicker decision-making in urgent situations.
• Launch a new campaign to attract and retain teachers and support staff of color. Reykdal says diversity in staffing is "a powerful way to promote student belonging, retention, and achievement."

The superintendent says he is aware that these are pretty dramatic requests, but that they are urgently needed to address inequity exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

"To be excellent, our education system must effectively prepare each and every one of our students for their next step after high school," writes Reykdal. "We can redesign the system and work relentlessly to safely reopen our schools. We must adapt to the world we know is coming."