LEAP Educational Policy Priorities
Every year LEAP, along with its Advisory Board, establishes educational policy priorities that work to improve the educational environment for Latino students. We focus over a broad spectrum of issues, new and old.
(Click here for other examples of previous LEAP educational priorities.)
LEAP has chosen before to continue supporting previous policy priorities that had not passed in the State Legislature. For example, it took LEAP 2 years before HB 1079 was turned into a law.
Overall, LEAP’s goal is to continue to seek passage of positive outcomes for our students, even if it takes us a few years.
LEAP State Educational Policy Priorities:
Currently, there are three LEAP supported bills in the State Legislature:
HB 2157 State Need Grant
Extend the State Need Grant program, which provides college financial aid to students whose families cannot afford the cost of college, to undocumented students.
Summary Points
- Spanning decades, thousands of undocumented students have been brought to Washington State by their parents. They have grown up in the state and want to become U.S. citizens.
- Many undocumented students graduate from Washington high schools as scholars and want to obtain college degrees, but most are from low-income families who cannot afford the cost of college.
- In 2003, the state passed a law (HB 1079) that enables undocumented students to pay resident tuition at Washington colleges and universities, but neither state nor federal financial aid is available to them.
- Extending State Need Grant financial aid to undocumented students would help make college affordable for thousands of deserving scholars who want to obtain college degrees and contribute to their communities.
Read the Bill Proposal (pdf)
HB 2303 Bilingual Teacher Mentor Program
Mentor and train high school students and grant them full-tuition college scholarships, provided they agree to obtain teaching certificates and teach in Washington’s public schools.
Summary Points:
- Students served in the state’s bilingual education program increased by 206% between 1990 and 2004, but trained bilingual educators are in short supply.
- The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction reports that only 1/5 of teachers serving the state's 87,000 bilingual students have a bilingual teaching endorsement.
- Research shows that students learn the English language more quickly when provided the benefit of trained bilingual teachers.
- Until students who are English language learners become proficient in English, test scores on state assessments will remain low in comparison to students who are native English speakers.
Read the Bill Proposal (pdf)
HB 2162 College and Career Readiness Centers
Provide college and career readiness centers for students who are behind academically beginning in the 10th grade or earlier; such centers should be open on weekends, evenings, and during summer months, and available to students in age-appropriate environments through age 21, as allowed by state law
Summary Points
- State test results show, students who live in poverty, are less likely to meet state graduation requirements. Of students in poverty, many are students of color, mostly African American, Native American and Latino.
- While it is no surprise the state’s most affluent areas have the highest number of students who meet 10th grade WASL standards (see Data).
- College readiness usually is an issue for students who live in poverty, or whose parents do not understand our system of education due to the lack of resources available to them (e.g. parents with college degrees and advanced professional certificates).
- Despite the challenges and barriers, students of color and students who live in poverty can achieve at high levels—this is proven throughout our state. But many children in poverty struggle to complete high school and most don’t complete college.
- Creating a college and career readiness centers will help the state’s most needy students gain the skills and knowledge they need to be successful in college or careers that increasingly require postsecondary education.
Read the Bill Proposal (pdf)
Other LEAP Educational Policy Priorities:
S 2205 DREAM Act
Encourage the United States Congress to grant legal residency to college-bound students through the DREAM Act who have been educated in our high schools.
