Summaries of bills pertaining to higher education from the Washington State Senate and House of Representatives are presented. The legislation covers the following: library services to Indian tribes; acquisition of surplus EXPO facilities; creation of the Vocational Education Commission; renaming of the Council for Postsecondary Education;…

This column is about a city with two tales--one of spin and the other of sputter. No matter who occupies the White House for the next four years, the past four have borne witness to some of the most ludicrous uses of taxpayer money ever, as the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has tried to spin its message on No Child Left Behind (NCLB) across…

THIS BILL, ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON, IS KNOWN AS THE "COMMUNITY COLLEGE ACT OF 1967." IT AMENDS EXISTING LEGISLATION TO BRING IT MORE IN KEEPING WITH PRESENT-DAY REQUIREMENTS FOR A JUNIOR COLLEGE SYSTEM. ITS PURPOSE IS TO (1) OFFER A POST-HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION TO EVERY CITIZEN, REGARDLESS OF BACKGROUND OR…

Two Oregon students create a racist profile on a social networking site, with cartoons about lynching and racist language. Other students link to the profile and post ugly, racist comments. Teachers report that many of the school's minority students are frightened. In another instance, several high school students create a "We Hate…

Washington's recently enacted Student Learning Objectives Law demands that local districts implement a program designed to provide statewide educational accountability. The law ignores the complexity of such an implementation, providing no funding, no rewards for success, no assistance or training in developing implementation techniques, and a…

A CONFERENCE WAS HELD (1) TO ENCOURAGE COOPERATIVE PLANNING BY KEY REPRESENTATIVES OF EDUCATION AND STATE GOVERNMENTS FOR THE BEST USE OF EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION IN THE FOUR NORTHWEST STATES OF IDAHO, MONTANA, OREGON, AND WASHINGTON, AND (2) TO HELP MAKE POSSIBLE THE INFORMED USE OF FEDERAL MATCHING GRANTS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF EDUCATION TELEVISION…

A history of the outstanding K-12 dance program in Vancouver, Washington, is provided, including various strategies used to promote its growth from a few pilot elementary schools through middle schools to an arts magnet high school. Numerous changes have been weathered by the professional dance staff, including certification challenges instigated…

Earthquakes are low-probability, high-consequence events. Though they may occur only once in the life of a school, they can have devastating, irreversible consequences. Moderate earthquakes can cause serious damage to building contents and non-structural building systems, serious injury to students and staff, and disruption of building operations.…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB, 2002) establishes ambitious goals for increasing student learning and attaining equity in the distribution of student performance. Schools must assure that all students, including all significant subgroups, show adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward the goal of 100% proficiency by the year 2014. In this paper,…

Response to Intervention (RtI) has become an important element of policy, practice, and research since the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. In this article, five metrics recommended by Gresham (2005) were used to evaluate the progress of 127 students who were at risk of developing emotional disturbance and…

Federal officials confirmed a week ago that no state is expected to meet the looming deadline for putting a "highly qualified" teacher in every core-subject classroom. Officials said that nine states, along with Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, face losing federal money because of foot-dragging. However, these jurisdictions…

This pamphlet explains the legal rights of women in the state of Washington. Women's rights are included under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX prohibits federal financial assistance to any educational institution which practices sex discrimination. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act as amended by the Equal Employment…

Childhood and adolescent obesity rates have reached epidemic proportions in the United States and are growing. The sedentary routines found in schools and in the home as well as the overexposure to unhealthy snacks and nonnutritional foods contribute to the pervasiveness of this disease that afflicts America's children. Obese children face…

This document reports on the implementation of two bills adopted by the Washington State legislature in 1989 to achieve gender equity in higher education. The gender equity statute prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender against any student, and, in particular, it forbids discrimination in student assistance and services, academic…