Jay Inslee on Education

	Jay Inslee on Education Democratic WA Governor; Former Rep/ (WA-1); withdrew from Presidential primary Aug. 2019

Prioritize early childhood education

We've provided funding for every child to have all-day kindergarten. Every single child deserves a great education in our public schools. We've reduced class sizes in our kindergarten-through-third grade classrooms. And because we know a high-quality teacher is the single most important asset in every classroom, we provided funding for more teacher mentoring opportunities, especially for new teachers. And we were able to provide them with a cost-of-living adjustment -- the first since 2008. Source: 2016 State of the State speech to Washington legislature ,

Increase teacher salary to help recruit and retain

To recruit and retain teachers, my plan would raise their beginning salary, from just under $36,000 to $40,000 per year. Then, to help make all teacher salaries more competitive, my plan also provides a minimum 1 percent raise to all other teachers. I propose we pay for it through elimination of some tax breaks whose benefits simply do not outweigh our obligations to our students, to our teachers and to our schools. Source: 2016 State of the State speech to Washington legislature ,

Cut college tuition; provide assistance to neediest

One of the things we've done is we've reduced tuition. We haven't cut it in half, but we've reduced it. We have dramatically increased access to financial aid, and we've done it in a really smart way. We've probably 20 percent or 30 percent increase eventually we will have as to the number of students who are getting financial aid. We have targeted the financial aid to those who were really most in the need, which are the lower, you know, quintile or quartile of our students. And we've given them not just free tuition, but we've given them the full meal deal You have to be able to eat when you're going to school and you have to be able to buy books and take care of your transportation needs. Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls , Apr 10, 2019

Apprenticeships & college aid leads to jobs

My budget will provide 100,000 students over the next 10 years an option to dive into their interests through apprenticeships and paid internships. We're also supporting future students who want more education but can't afford it. The Washington College Promise is our new statewide free college program that guarantees state financial aid to eligible students. We did this because a student's financial challenges should not stand in the way of the pursuit of their dreams. Source: 2019 State of the State address to Washington legislature , Jan 15, 2019

Four-year degree isn't the only path to success

We have to stop telling our children that a four-year degree is the only path to success. That simply is not true. Let's leave a legacy of opportunity for all our students by expanding career-connected learning. During a study mission to Switzerland last year, our delegation saw a truly remarkable apprenticeship system stemming from a robust partnership with business, labor, and academia. There is no reason our own students cannot have better access to those same opportunities here in Washington. Source: 2018 Washington State of the State address , Jan 9, 2018

Create non-religious charter schools as open alternatives

Excerpts from legislation: Bill on CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS:

"Applicant" [for charters] means a nonprofit corporation that must be either a public benefit nonprofit corporation, or a nonprofit corporation that has applied for tax exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code
The nonprofit corporation may not be a sectarian or religious organization.
[Charter must address] "at-risk students", which means a student who has an academic or economic disadvantage that requires assistance or special services to succeed in educational programs.

A charter school is a public (common) school that is open to all children free of charge and by choice; and operated separately from the common school system as an alternative to traditional common schools.Legislative outcome: Bill passed House, March 9, 58-39-1; passed Senate, March 10, 26-23-0; signed by Governor April 1. Source: Washington legislative voting records: RCW 28A.710.010 , Apr 1, 2016

Reverse transfer credits toward associate degrees

Senate Bill 6354 would require state universities and colleges to develop plans that would give students who transferred early from a two-year technical or community college to a four-year college the ability to "reverse transfer" credits toward associate degrees. Source: Seattle Times on Washington voting record: Senate Bill 6354 , Mar 11, 2016

$1.2B for automatic COLA adjustments for teachers

[In the recent court ruling] the court wrote that it wants to see "immediate, concrete action, not simply promises." I agree. Promises don't educate our children, and promises don't satisfy our constitutional and moral obligations. We need to put several billion dollars more into funding our K-through-12 education system. I propose a plan to make an investment of about $200 million in our schools this session. Most of that will go directly to your local school districts. It will also fund a long-overdue cost-of-living adjustment for our educators this session. Washington voters spoke loudly in 2000, saying that educators should get this COLA every year. Yet repeatedly that mandate has been shunted aside. We're going to live up to that promise this year. Last year I proposed a $1.2 billion down payment on our obligation to schools, funded mostly by closing tax breaks. The court now says what we did wasn't enough and the need for immediate action could not be more apparent. Source: 2014 Wash. State of the State address , Jan 14, 2014

Offer every parent Charter Schools and public school choice.

Inslee adopted the manifesto, "A New Agenda for the New Decade":

Create World-Class Public Schools
Now more than ever, quality public education is the key to equal opportunity and upward mobility in America. Yet our neediest children often attend the worst schools. While lifting the performance of all schools, we must place special emphasis on strengthening those institutions serving, and too often failing, low-income students.

To close this achievement and opportunity gap, underperforming public schools need more resources, and above all, real accountability for results. Accountability means ending social promotion, measuring student performance with standards-based assessments, and testing teachers for subject-matter competency.

As we demand accountability, we should ensure that every school has the resources needed to achieve higher standards, including safe and modern physical facilities, well-paid teachers and staff, and opportunities for remedial help after school and during summers. Parents, too, must accept greater responsibility for supporting their children’s education.

We need greater choice, competition, and accountability within the public school system, not a diversion of public funds to private schools that are unaccountable to taxpayers. With research increasingly showing the critical nature of learning in the early years, we should move toward universal access to pre-kindergarten education.

Goals for 2010

Turn around every failing public school.
Make charter schools an option in every state and community.
Offer every parent a choice of public schools to which to send his or her child.
Make sure every classroom has well-qualified teachers who know the subjects they teach, and pay teachers more for performance.
Create a safe, clean, healthy, disciplined learning environment for every student.
Make pre-kindergarten education universally available.

Source: The Hyde Park Declaration 00-DLC2 on Aug 1, 2000

Reduce class size to 18 children in grades 1 to 3.

Inslee co-sponsored an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act:

recruit, train, and hire 100,000 additional teachers over a seven-year period ;
reduce class sizes nationally, in grades one through three, to an average of 18 students per classroom; and
improve teaching in the early grades so that all students can learn to read independently and well by the end of the third grade.

Source: House Resolution Sponsorship 01-HR1036 on Mar 14, 2001

Rated 100% by the NEA, indicating pro-public education votes.

Inslee scores 100% by the NEA on public education issues

The National Education Association has a long, proud history as the nation`s leading organization committed to advancing the cause of public education. Founded in 1857 `to elevate the character and advance the interests of the profession of teaching and to promote the cause of popular education in the United States,` the NEA has remained constant in its commitment to its original mission as evidenced by the current mission statement:

To fulfill the promise of a democratic society, the National Education Association shall promote the cause of quality public education and advance the profession of education; expand the rights and further the interest of educational employees; and advocate human, civil, and economic rights for all.

In pursuing its mission, the NEA has determined that it will focus the energy and resources of its 2.7 million members toward the `promotion of public confidence in public education.` The ratings are based on the votes the organization considered most important; the numbers reflect the percentage of time the representative voted the organization's preferred position. Source: NEA website 03n-NEA on Dec 31, 2003

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