Proposal allows students to earn credits for work outside of school

AlexAndriA OsbOrne

Washington state Journal

High school students could earn elective credit through paid work experience under a bill that has passed the state House of Representatives 93-4 and is now in the Senate.

“Financial education is a priority for young adults and families,” said Rep. Clyde Shavers, D-Oak Harbor, who sponsored the bill. “That means how to open a checking account or a savings account, how to invest, how to take out a loan. Let’s make sure financial literacy is a part of every young adult’s life; let’s give them the financial knowledge and the tools so that they are better prepared for life outside or after high school.”

Under current law, high school students in the state of Washington are required to earn 24 credits to graduate. Seven of those are elective credits. Shaver’s bill, Substitute House Bill 1658, would authorize high school students over the age of 16 to earn up to two elective credits for paid work experience beginning in the 2023-24 school year.

A proposal for earning credits for work experience would need to be approved in advance and in writing by the school counselor or principal and a work-based sponsor who would be the point of contact and participate in supervising the student during their employment.

Under the bill, one half credit will be awarded for every 180 hours of paid and verified work a student completes if the work

New bill to help identify child malnutrition

AlexAndriA OsbOrne

Washington state Journal when we fix it,” he said. meets the requirements for earning elective credits through work experience.

A social workers’ guide to identify child malnutrition cases has passed the state House of Representatives and is now under consideration by the Senate.

The guide would be required to be easily accessible to social workers, describe how to identify child malnutrition, include questions to ask if child malnutrition is suspected, and include next steps staff must take.

Child Protective and Welfare Services are offered to families to protect children from abuse and neglect.

The Department of Children, Youth, and Families is responsible for executing these services.

The bill creates the field guide for the DCYF so when CPS agents and social workers go to homes to check on families, they know what child malnutrition looks like, he said. Couture said one reason the bill is needed is because a 15-year-old needlessly died in 2017.

Teachers and neighbors were concerned about the young boy and reported that he and his siblings were not receiving proper meals and were abused by their adoptive parents, he said. It took three years and multiple visits for CPS to find they were being beaten, and that food was being locked away and used as a weapon, he said.

Shavers said nearly 30 percent of high school students work statewide, and some of these students are from low-income families and take jobs outside of school to support their families.

Some students have such a heavy academic schedule, they don’t have the chance to pursue job opportunities that expand upon workforce training and professional development, he said. Regardless, students are still required to complete 24 credits to graduate, he said. “So, let’s provide our high school students the flexibility to pursue these job opportunities, to gain the work experience, the leadership skills, to support their family without harming their academic performance or jeopardizing their graduation,” Shavers said.

Rep. Michelle Caldier, R-Port Orchard, said she opposes the bill because she graduated high school in a time where many students who went to college were so far behind, they would have to take an entire year before they could earn college credits.

Other bills approved in the Legislature grant waivers for graduation credits, Caldier said. If this was the only bill with a waiver, she said she would support it.

“But the problem is that it’s layered on top of all the other bills that we’ve passed,” she said. “All of the children that we did not properly educate during the pandemic and that we have completely failed… in my opinion we’re going to continue to fail them.”

Rep. Dan Griffey, R-Allyn, said he agrees with Caldier that educational standards are declining. But, he said, this bill should be supported.

In his own school career, he missed a human biology course and applied for a waiver with an emergency medical technician class he took, and his principal wasn’t going to let him graduate on time. Griffey said it didn’t make sense because he had joined the fire department at 15 years old and had significant career-readiness by the time he was ready to graduate.

Griffey said he was fighting fires, doing CPR for the first time and saw his first fatality car wreck at 15 years old. He said he did not understand why the school would not work with him because he was doing something that made him ready for his career.

“That’s what we’re missing. They’re not ready to do the jobs, and if we can get our kiddos involved and ready to do the jobs earlier, we have to do everything we possibly can,” he said. “This is the one that can get us closer to career-readiness.”

Engrossed House Bill 1274, by Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, would require the DCYF to create the guide for its staff by September 1, 2023, in consultation with the Department of Health.

Couture said people throughout the state care deeply about children, but there are times when tragic things occur, causing children to die needlessly.

“A lot of the work that we do sometimes is reactive in nature. Sometimes, something bad has to happen so that we know what to fix

At the time of his death, the young boy weighed 70 pounds. He had seen a CPS agent just one week prior.

“This child malnutrition field guide seems like such a small step, but it is a step we can take right now to ensure that when these checks and these visits happen, that we can act right away,” he said. “This is one thing that we can do to ensure that not another kid has starved to death in our state.”

With a 96-0 vote, EHB 1274 was approved by the House and is now in the Senate.

O bituaries

Earl Lester McCoy left this earth on February 19, 2023, following an illness at Peace Health SW Medical Center in Vancouver, Washington.

Earl lived life on his own terms with his own style. He had many interests in his life, but almost six months ago the birth of his first grandson was his main focus, every minute of every day.

Earl was born in White Salmon, Washington, on August 16, 1962, at Skyline Hospital to Bruce and

Terry R. Luth, 65, died unexpectedly on February 26th, 2023, at the Providence Saint Vincent Hospital in Portland, Oregon. He was born May 10th, 1957, in Hood River, Oregon, the son of Robert R. Luth and Irene Lorraine (Garner) Smith.

Terry graduated from Trout Lake High School in 1975. Shortly after, he joined the U.S. Army and served for many years. Upon being medically retired from the Army after serving in the Gra-

Arlene McCoy. He worked the last 25 years of his life as a finance manager and car salesman and had many lasting friendships in the industry, most recently as he was living in Sandy before his stroke. After his stroke, he moved to the farm with his sister, Connie, in Centerville, Washington, where he learned to love Corgis and cows. The family all shared

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