CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION __________________
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A RESOLUTION relating to education services; accompanying an ordinance requesting the 2018 Families, Education, Preschool and Promise Levy to replace two expiring levies to fund early learning and preschool, college and K-12 education support, and job readiness, and providing further direction regarding implementation of the programs funded by such levy.
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WHEREAS, Seattle voters approved a seven-year property tax lid lift known as the Families and Education Levy (FEL Levy) in 1990, 1997, 2004, and 2011; and
WHEREAS, in 2014, Seattle voters approved a four-year Seattle Preschool Program Levy (SPP Levy) to provide Seattle children with accessible high-quality preschool services designed to improve their readiness for school and to support their subsequent academic achievement; and
WHEREAS, in 2016, an Education Advisory Group developed recommendations for the City and the Seattle School District to more vigorously address the persistent opportunity gap in education; and
WHEREAS, proceeds from the FEL and SPP Levies are supplemental to the basic education financed by the State of Washington and the Seattle School District levies and neither displace nor reduce State or School District funding for the Seattle School District; and
WHEREAS, the Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise Levy provides the opportunities to increase economic opportunities through strategic, equitable investments in education; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE, THE MAYOR CONCURRING, THAT:
Section 1. Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise Levy (FEPP). The City Council passed Council Bill 119258, placing a proposition to authorize a seven-year education levy ("2018 FEPP Levy") on the ballot in November 2018. This resolution requests the Executive to complete certain activities to assure successful implementation of the services to be funded by the 2018 FEPP Levy, if the ballot measure is approved by the voters.
Section 2. Implementation and Evaluation Plan. The Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL), with the assistance of Mayor’s office, City Council staff, the City Budget Office, other relevant Executive departments, and partners such as students, families, historically-underserved communities, educators, community-based organizations, cultural- and language-based organizations, Public Health-Seattle & King County, the Seattle School District, Seattle Colleges, other governmental entities, other educational institutions, labor, and other relevant stakeholders, shall develop an Implementation and Evaluation Plan ("Plan") for the 2018 FEPP Levy. DEEL should submit the Plan to the City Council’s Gender Equity, Safe Communities, New Americans, and Education Committee for adoption by ordinance. The Plan may be amended by ordinance. The Plan shall be consistent with the program descriptions established in Council Bill 119258 and the funding levels established in Attachment 1 to the summary and fiscal note for Council Bill 119258.
Services funded by proceeds from the 2018 FEPP Levy are intended to achieve equity in educational outcomes and the Levy’s stated goals by providing Seattle students with access to and services across a continuum beginning with high-quality early learning services that prepare children for success in kindergarten, physical and mental health services that support learning, college and job readiness experiences that promote high school graduation, and post-secondary opportunities that promote attainment of a certificate, credential, or degree. Levy investments shall be guided by the Statement of Policy, Priorities for Levy Funding, and Implementation Principles set out in Section 2 of Council Bill 119258. Any proposed use of underspend resources shall prioritize increasing the number of children served in the Seattle Preschool Program to the extent practicable and shall be presented to the Oversight Committee for a recommendation and to the Council for approval.
Initially, the core strategies will be pursued through Education-Support Services that include Preschool & early learning, K-12 school and community-based investments, K-12 school health, and Seattle Promise, as described in Section 6 of Council Bill 119258. The Council expects development of a Plan that is guided by a principle of providing every student an equitable opportunity to obtain a high-quality education by prioritizing levy investments in Seattle children, students, families, and communities that have been historically-underserved, including African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, Pacific Islanders, underserved Asian populations, other students of color, refugee and immigrant, homeless, English language learners, and LGBTQ students. The Council also expects DEEL to apply an outcomes-based accountability model developed in coordination with the Council and the Oversight Committee to all levy investments described in the Plan.
A. Preschool and early learning. Major program elements are intended to increase children’s kindergarten readiness and may include: financial support for preschool and childcare tuition; ongoing comprehensive supports for quality teaching; and support for early learning infrastructure development. Approximately 54 percent of the 2018 FEPP Levy will be allocated for investments in preschool and early learning services. In addition to providing other services, these investments are expected to increase the number of children served by the Seattle Preschool Program from approximately 1,500 per year to approximately 2,500 per year. The Council requests that DEEL address the following specific policies and priorities in the Plan to support preschool and early learning:
1. Child care mentorship program. Allocate at least $4.0 million over the life of the levy to a mentorship program for prospective child care providers. The funding should be directed to provide assistance and guidance to aspiring child care providers to support the creation and availability of licensed child care facilities within the city. This funding shall be available to a community-based organization with experience having relationship-based peer professionals prepare child care providers for entry into the workforce, including achieving state licensing requirements, and with the ability to deliver in-language trainings to major language populations in Seattle.
2. Homeless child care program. Allocate at least $2.8 million over the life of the levy to provide child care vouchers to a homeless child care program that provides child care vouchers to homeless Seattle families so that they can complete housing and stabilization activities.
3. Seattle Preschool Program (SPP) expansion. Provide an analysis of the current limitations and opportunities related to program expansion, including the availability of facilities and qualified teachers. The Plan should also provide a strategy for managing limitations and utilizing opportunities and efficiencies in guiding program expansion.
4. Unified application process. Develop a unified application process for families seeking child care and preschool services from the City.
5. Cross-subsidized tuition. Research the concept of using a cross-subsidization tuition methodology to increase the number of children served by SPP.
6. Coordination with the state. Explore areas for potential cooperation with the state’s preschool program and administration that may result in efficiencies for SPP.
7. Length of preschool day. Explore the viability of supporting some or all SPP providers in expanding from a six-hour per day model of care to a 10-hour per day model.
B. K-12 school and community-based investments. Major program elements will expand upon the 2011 Families and Education Levy (FEL) investments and are intended to increase student achievement of education milestones and may include: expanded learning opportunities including year-round, out-of-school time activities; academic tutoring, mentoring, and case management; social, emotional, and behavioral skill building; culturally-responsive programming and family engagement activities; college and job readiness activities and college admissions supports; job exploration activities; and advising and guidance related to college and career. Approximately 29 percent of the 2018 FEPP Levy will be allocated for investments in the K-12 school and community-based investments. K-12 school investments are intended to support as many elementary, middle, and high schools as possible, building on the success of the 2011 FEL innovation school investments that supported 21 elementary schools, four middle schools, and five high schools. The Council requests that DEEL address the following specific policies and priorities in the Plan to support K-12 school and community-based investments:
1. Elementary investments. Allocate at least $56.0 million over the life of the levy to elementary investments. The funding should support activities similar to what is currently funded in the 2011 FEL, including, but not limited to, school-based investments, summer learning, and expanded learning opportunities.
2. Family support program. Allocate at least $14.5 million over the life of the levy to the family support program. This level of funding should be sufficient to fund the equivalent of 15 full-time family support workers and their associated costs.
3. K-12 Opportunity and Access. Allocate at least $12.9 million to support K-12 Opportunity and Access investments, which shall be distributed across the full seven years of the levy.
4. Student homelessness investments. Coordinate investments in student homelessness services with regional partners (e.g., King County’s Best Starts for Kids) to leverage resources, align programmatically, and create administrative efficiencies.
5. Job readiness, pre-apprenticeship, and leadership programs. Prioritize job readiness, pre-apprenticeship, and leadership programs that use evidence-based practices and have demonstrated success in assisting youth to advance academically.
C. K-12 school health. Major program elements are intended to provide safe, age-appropriate, culturally-competent care to help children be healthy and ready to learn and may include: comprehensive primary medical care; mental health care; care coordination; connection to community supports; outreach; and health education. Approximately 11 percent of the 2018 FEPP Levy will be allocated for investments in K-12 school health services. In addition to continuing the services provided in the 2011 FEL, the number of school-based health centers is expected to increase from 25 to 29 with the new investments. The Council requests that DEEL address the following specific policies and priorities in the Plan to support K-12 school health investments:
1. School-based health center at Nova High School. Allocate at least $1.4 million over the life of the levy to support the creation of a school-based health center at Nova High School. This funding is intended to encourage additional contributions from partner organizations.
D. Seattle Promise. Major program elements will be universally available to Seattle public high school graduates and are intended to increase access to post-secondary and job training opportunities and may include: academic preparation, post-secondary success coaches, readiness academies, the equivalent of two years of financial support for tuition, and non-tuition financial support. Approximately six percent of the 2018 FEPP Levy will be allocated for investments in the Seattle Promise program. The Council requests that DEEL address the following specific policies and priorities in the Plan to support Seattle Promise:
1. Equity focus. The Seattle Promise program will provide a major expansion of City-supported post-secondary and job training opportunities. The level of demand for these opportunities is difficult to accurately estimate. Consistent with the levy goal of achieving educational equity, the Plan should provide an equitable methodology for prioritizing resources to students with the greatest needs, if necessary.
2. Support for all programs. Seattle Promise investments shall support students in completing all types of programs offered by Seattle Colleges, including programs to: obtain a college degree; obtain professional and technical certificates; and programs that provide skills and credentials to prepare students for in-demand careers.
3. Partnership. In addition to providing resources in the 2018 FEPP Levy, the City will continue its partnership with Seattle Colleges to support the Seattle Promise program. Seattle Colleges has committed to work with private donors and advocates to contribute $3.1 million over the life of the levy, resulting in a total combined investment of $43.8 million for the Seattle Promise program.
Section 3. Additional Requests. In addition to developing a Plan that addresses the policies and priorities described in Section 2 of this resolution, the Council requests the Executive to take the following actions:
A. Parent-Child Home Program (PCHP). Provide full funding for PCHP with Sweetened Beverage Tax (SBT) proceeds or other General Fund resources in future proposed budgets. In determining funding availability from SBT proceeds, Council expects the Executive to follow the guidance of the SBT Community Advisory Board. If SBT or other General Fund resources are insufficient to support PCHP, the Executive shall shift funding priorities and propose amendments to the FEPP Plan to ensure that PCHP is fully funded.
B. Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). Explore modifications to CCAP to: (a) ensure that no participating family pays more than ten percent of its income on child care, and (b) broaden the income eligibility requirements to cover more families.
C. State child care programs. Encourage the state to provide additional funding for its child care programs (e.g., Working Connections Child Care) to reduce the financial burden on lower-income families.
Section 4. Annual Progress Reports. DEEL shall submit annual progress reports to the Mayor and the City Council that should include information on: levy investments; access to services; progress in meeting levy program goals; and progress toward achieving educational equity.
Adopted by the City Council the ________ day of _________________________, 2018, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its adoption this ________ day of _________________________, 2018.
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President ____________ of the City Council
The Mayor concurred the ________ day of _________________________, 2018.
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Jenny A. Durkan, Mayor
Filed by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2018.
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Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)