Legislature rallies for state's students

MAYBE Gov. Chris Gregoire should threaten lawmakers more often. After the governor warned the Democrat-led state House and Senate to not go home without passing important education reforms, the measures became the final bills of the Legislature's 60-day regular session.

Public education is the beneficiary. Compelling research points to early-learning programs as the key ingredient in preparing students academically for school.

Legislators also provided authority for state schools chief Randy Dorn to intervene in struggling schools, rather than leaving local districts to flail away on their own. Tougher evaluations for teachers and principals include stretching tenure rights to three years from the current two. Good. Few people are ready to declare a position for life after only two years on the job.

Alternative teacher-certification routes approved by the Legislature make it easier for nonprofits like Teach for America to issue teaching credentials.

A measure by Rep. Reuven Carlyle, D-Seattle, improves school leadership by lowering the legal bar for removing Seattle Public Schools principals from their jobs. Legislators should gauge this measure's impact with the idea of expanding this kind of smart accountability statewide.

Lawmakers agreed to a plan to move increasingly higher percentages of state revenue into education. Committing to the increase starts the state on a path toward fully funding education, a goal emphasized in a recent King County court ruling on the inadequacy of state education funding.

All of these things will help boost Washington's chances to garner some of the $4.35 billion competitive federal grants known as Race to the Top.

A month ago, Washington was on the sidelines and didn't bother to apply for funding in the first round of Race to the Top. The bills just passed by the Legislature put the state in a strong position to apply for the grant's second round in June.

The early learning initiative approved by the state Legislature is a stand-alone effort to provide all low-income Washington children with preschool by 2018. A March 15 editorial incorrectly said the the program was defined as part of basic education.