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Governor proposes creation of Department of Education

Today, Governor Gregoire unveiled a proposal to create a Department of Education.  This is one in a series of proposed government restructuring and reform proposals. 

The newly-created Department of Education would be led by a Secretary of Education appointed by the Governor.  The Secretary would oversee, coordinate and streamline the four major education sectors: Early Learning, K-12, Community and Technical Colleges.  Check out her policy brief for more information.

We’re still waiting for some additional information on how this proposal might directly effect the UW, but the core components of the proposal include:

  • Consolidation of eight state entities into one (including OSPI, Department of Early Learning, the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, and the Higher Education Coordinating Board)
  • Restructuring 12th grade as a a “launch year” to a student’s career

This proposal is meant as a compliment to recently-released recommendations from the Governor’s Higher Education Task Force, which you can read more about below.