Tag Archives: Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

Legislature OKs Holy bill aiming to help high-school students attend college

The Legislature has approved a bipartisan bill from 6^th District Sen. Jeff Holy that would help students decide about attending a university or college.

The Senate today voted 47-0 to concur (agree) with changes made by the House of Representatives to Senate Bill 6053, which aims to remove a barrier to higher-education opportunities by providing students with information about postsecondary educational and financial-aid possibilities. The House passed SB 6053 on an 85-11 vote last week.

“This bill will help high-school students as they try to figure out exactly where they are going to go for postsecondary education,” said Holy, the Republican leader on the Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee.

Under the proposal, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction must share directory data of high-school students with the Washington Student Achievement Council and public higher-education institutions within the state. WSAC and public higher-education institutions may use that directory information to contact students to inform them about financial-aid opportunities and higher-education opportunities.

“The benefit to the student is that WSAC will help them determine exactly what financial aid is available, and then the colleges will let them know whether they qualify to attend,” said Holy, R-Cheney.

The proposal would require WSAC to enter into data-sharing agreements with the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction so high-school students have access to information about postsecondary educational and financial-aid opportunities available in Washington.

“Attending a college or university typically is very expensive. Many students need financial aid to pay for their higher education but aren’t aware what kinds of financial aid are available,” said Holy, R-Cheney. “This bill would help students by making it easier for the Washington Student Achievement Council to provide financial aid information to them.”

SB 6053 now moves to Gov. Jay Inslee for final consideration.

Senate passes Holy bill aimed at helping high-school students attend college

A bipartisan bill from 6^th District Sen. Jeff Holy that would help students decide about attending a university or college is moving through the Legislature.

The Senate yesterday voted 48-1 to pass Senate Bill 6053, which aims to remove a barrier to higher-education opportunities by providing students with information about postsecondary educational and financial-aid possibilities.

“This is a really good bill,” said Holy, the Republican leader on the Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee. “We’re moving forward on the idea that high-school students need to figure out exactly where they’re going to go for postsecondary education. Under this proposal, OSPI must share directory data of high school students with WSAC and higher education institutions within the state. WSAC and the higher ed institutions may only use that directory information to contact students to inform them about financial aid opportunities and higher ed opportunities. The benefit to the student is that WSAC will help them determine exactly what financial aid is available, and then the colleges will let them know which schools they qualify to attend.”

The proposal would require the WSAC to enter into data-sharing agreements with the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction so high-school students have access to information about postsecondary educational and financial-aid opportunities available in Washington.

SB 6053 now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Holy hopes Inslee will veto sex-education bill amid angry calls, emails

Three days after joining other Senate Republicans to oppose a bill requiring the teaching of sex education to children as soon as they enter Washington public schools, 6th District Sen. Jeff Holy is calling for Gov. Jay Inslee to veto the controversial legislation.

The Senate voted Saturday along caucus lines, 27-21, to agree to the bill as approved by the House of Representatives following a six-hour debate that ended at 2 a.m. Thursday. Senate Bill 5395 would require every public school to provide “comprehensive” sexual health education to each student by the 2022-23 school year, starting with students in grades 6-12 in the 2021-22 school year.

“In the past week or so, my office received over 500 emails and about 100 phone calls from people who were angry about the sex-education bill and didn’t want the Legislature to pass it,” said Holy, R-Cheney. “Despite strong opposition from every part of the state, our Democratic colleagues still passed a bill that goes much too far and removes local control of our schools.”

Speaking prior to his Saturday vote opposing SB 5395, Holy told his Senate colleagues the bill appeared to be a matter of indoctrination rather than education.

“It appears that the parents’ values are completely ignored, not just at the beginning but all the way through the process,” said Holy. “Over the years, we’ve heard about the distaste over the objectification of women as sex objects. And yet what we’re attempting to do through this type of education is to cause an objectification of sex itself, or a desensitization at a minimum.”

Holy said the bill essentially replaces parents’ values with state government’s values.

“For parents’ values to be ignored is just wrong. This is an overreach of the education system in Washington state and it subordinates and dismisses parental values.”

Holy pointed out that during its coverage of the House floor action on the bill last week, TVW put the following words across the screen: “MATURE SUBJECT MATTER – VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED.”

“This type of warning is a clear sign of how inappropriate this bill is and why the Legislature should not have passed it,” Holy said.

The sex-education bill, which was requested by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, has not been scheduled for signing by Inslee.

“The governor’s office probably is being bombarded with calls and emails asking him to veto this bill. I hope he’ll listen to the people and prevent this bad bill from becoming law,” said Holy. “Otherwise, our school districts will be forced to teach sex education in ways that go much too far.”