Washington must redefine "basic education"

WASHINGTON state is in the cellar of national education statistics. We are 44th in total expenditures per student, 35th in high-school-graduation requirements, and the list goes on. We are veritable front-runners in the race to the bottom. It's time we climb out of the cellar.

We can take a major step up if our Legislature enacts the landmark recommendations of the Joint Task Force on Basic Education Finance, which are the objectives of two bills now in the House and Senate.

The task force recommendations stand squarely on the shoulders of those made by the governor's Washington Learns effort back in 2006, which set forth a vision for educational excellence and global competitiveness. The task force filled in the blanks. The old house of K-12 is falling down and the task force's recommendations represent sound architecture for the future.

The task force's most important contribution is its recommendation to strengthen the definition of "basic education." How we define basic education is the foundation of K-12 policy and funding. All else flows from this. Basic education must be defined by our societal aspirations for our children. Don't all children deserve the opportunity to receive an education that prepares them to succeed in postsecondary education, the world of work and citizenship? Shouldn't high schools at least prepare kids so they have a chance to attend college or pursue a trade? Should low-income children receive quality early-childhood education? The task force answered in the affirmative. Will the Legislature agree?

The Washington Constitution is clear about education being the state's paramount duty and does not absolve us of our responsibility when times get tough. In recent, years the paramount duty has gotten short shrift. This has to change. We are an affluent state that is grossly under-investing in K-12 — under-investing, underperforming and under-expecting.

Today, we aren't providing the necessary opportunities as part of what the state is calling basic education. We shortchange kids and force local communities to use their precious school-levy dollars to augment teacher pay and basic operations. "Basic" has come to mean "partial." We force districts to choose between student learning and time for teachers to plan better instruction. We ignore powerful research on early learning and we undervalue applied learning and the arts.

We aren't paying for enough learning time to help kids get prepared for college or to make up a class if they fall behind. We lead the nation in math and science innovation in industry but that excellence doesn't carry into our math and science classrooms. To right the ship, we will have to pay more but we must expect much more as well.

We must step up to the plate now and move the system ahead — and that's what Senate Bill 5444 and House Bill 1410 do. The legislation makes a sharp break from the status quo. It aims at better student performance for high achievers. For struggling students, it tackles the achievement gap and does right by low-income preschoolers and English-language learners. It enacts CORE 24, the state Board of Education's new plan to boost college- and work-readiness for high-school graduates. It demands stronger accountability, more effective teaching, and replaces the confusing array of hard-to-follow formulas with straightforward budgeting parents can understand. These bills offer a new investment strategy for a vastly better K-12 system.

The time to act has come. The task force did all of us a favor by building a strong, reform-oriented set of recommendations. The Legislature should resist efforts to piecemeal the package. If details need perfecting, the governor and legislative leaders should call the task force back to the table before this session adjourns.

Please, no more punts to task forces or blue-ribbon groups. The 1 million children in our state's public schools can ill afford more delay. They get only one shot at their education. They desperately need adults in leadership positions to pass this legislation now so Washington's children can move out of the cellar and into the forefront of states.