Long-Term Policy Changes Must Begin Now

Today is the first day of the 2021 Legislative Session. Below is State Superintendent Chris Reykdal’s statement.

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in Chris Reykdal’s Medium publication, which was sunset in May 2021. Statements from Superintendent Reykdal will continue to appear in the main OSPI feed.

OLYMPIA — January 11, 2021 — Over the past 10 months, the pandemic has exposed and intensified many long-standing inequities within our K–12 education system.

While our policymakers will spend the next three months of the legislative session focused on addressing the most urgent impacts of the pandemic, I will continue to urge them to seize this opportunity to redesign our education system into one that truly meets the needs of all our learners.

For months, many of us have been aching for life to return to normal. When it comes to education, though, “normal” should be out of the question. “Normal” doesn’t work for all of our students. “Normal” results in huge disparities by race, income, ability, mobility, and language. “Normal” defends the status quo when we must be courageous enough to reach for excellence.

While we are closing the graduation gap for students of color, it is incremental and slow. While students experiencing poverty are receiving more targeted supports and students with disabilities are experiencing more inclusive learning environments, they have substantially lower graduation rates than their middle-income and general education peers, respectively.

I have identified 10 key policy steps for our Governor and legislators that are foundational to increasing learning for all of our students. They include:

1. Provide universal access to high-quality early learning to our state’s youngest learners.

2. Offer dual language learning for all students beginning no later than kindergarten, including a financial benefit for bilingual educators and school staff.

3. Substantially shrink summer learning loss in the long term, and learning loss due to the pandemic in the short term, by balancing the school calendar.

4. Completely overhaul early literacy and teach students using proven strategies that are grounded in the science of reading.

5. Provide students with access to actionable and personalized High School and Beyond Planning beginning in middle school.

6. Create flexibility for students to focus their junior and senior years on a pathway to graduation and beyond that meets their unique interests.

7. Eliminate all additional fees for all public-school students in their last two years of high school pursuing their personal pathway through basic education options.

8. Transform the 24-credit system and seat-time requirements into a pathways system that tailors classes, programs, and job experiences to the individual interests of students.

9. Completely rewrite education governance in our state to empower decision-making in urgent situations and to reduce inconsistent education policy and duplicative efforts.

10. Deploy an aggressive campaign to attract and retain teachers and support staff of color, which is a powerful way to promote student belonging, retention, and achievement.

This work is bipartisan, urgent, and uncomfortable. Excellence will require labor and management to embrace change, and local school boards to make efforts aligned to the strategic goals and outcomes set by the state.

To be excellent, our education system must effectively prepare each and every one of our students for their next step after high school. We can redesign the system and work relentlessly to safely reopen our schools. We must adapt to the world we know is coming.