Senate Bill 6194,: Concerning public schools that are not common schools (charter schools). Passed the House on Wednesday, March 9, 2016 by a vote of 58-39, one member excused.

This bill would keep Washington’s voter-approved charter schools open by responding to a state supreme court ruling that held their funding sources unconstitutional. Under the bill, charter schools would no longer be defined technically as “common schools” and would be funded through the Washington Opportunity Pathways account, which receives money from state lottery receipts. The House Education committee had failed to pass the bill out of committee earlier, but House leadership brought the bill to a vote by the entire House.

The House added ten amendments to the bill. The Senate concurred in the amendments and agreed to the House version. It was delivered to the Governor, who now has twenty days to act on it. It would automatically become law if he fails to do so.

This bill, which was passed by the Senate in February, would allow recently retired teachers to serve as teachers or substitutes without reducing their earned pension benefits. It also allows certain experienced out-of-state teachers to automatically obtain professional certification in Washington, and creates a recruitment campaign for out-of-state teachers and prospective new teachers in Washington. The House amended the bill, and the Senate refused to concur in the amendments. After revising the bill, the House passed it again by a 96-2 vote, and the Senate approved it unanimously on Thursday. It has been delivered to the Governor.

The bill would prohibit the Department of Licensing (DOL) from destroying records relating to convictions for Reckless Driving or Negligent Driving in the first degree if the offense was originally charged as a driving under the influence (DUI) offense. It would also authorize the DOL to suspend a person’s driver’s license when a person served with a traffic-related criminal complaint willfully fails to appear at a requested hearing for a moving violation. It originally passed the House in February by a vote of 97-1 and was amended by the Senate on March 9th with a vote of 49-0. The House agreed to the amendments, and the bill was delivered to the Governor.

This bill would create a task force on the use of deadly force in community policing standards to protect the public, as well as members of law enforcement who may be faced with the need to use deadly force. The House had refused to agree to earlier Senate amendments, but agreed to the final version of the bill as passed by the Senate. It passed the House on final passage by a 97-0 vote on Thursday and was sent to the Governor.

This bill directs state agencies to implement the recommendations of the Washington State Patrol Trooper Recruitment and Retention Study released earlier this year, including making officers’ pay competitive with that of other law enforcement agencies. The bill specifies that state patrol trooper salaries must meet the average compensation paid to officers of corresponding rank at six other law enforcement agencies around the state, including the Seattle and Spokane Police Departments.

This bill passed the House twice during the 2015 legislative session, but had not advanced in the Senate. It would implement the recommendations of the Educational Opportunity Gap Oversight and Accountability committee, which was established in 2009. Among the committee’s top recommendations in its report to the Legislature in 2015 is a reduction in the length of time students of color are excluded from school due to suspension and expulsion, and providing student support for reengagement plans. The bill would prohibit long-term suspension or expulsion as a form of discretionary discipline, limit all suspension or expulsion to the length of an academic term and require a reengagement meeting that includes the student’s family. It would also prohibit districts from suspending the provision of educational services as a form of discretionary action and would require districts to review, and adopt, and train staff on discipline policies and procedures.

The Senate passed the bill with amendments last week, and the House agreed to the Senate version. The bill was sent to the Governor on Thursday.