Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

Representative Drew Hansen has two young children, one in preschool and one entering first grade in public school, so he knows the importance of great schools. Before entering the Legislature, Representative Hansen volunteered on the steering committee of nearly every school levy campaign in his district so we could keep funding our public schools. Representative Hansen continued his support for great schools in the Legislature. His legislative accomplishments on education include:

Supporting a final budget that maintained basic K-12 education funding.
Supporting legislation to encourage the use of "open source" curriculum in public schools so we can save some of the $65 million the state spends each year on textbooks.
Listening to local educators and then advocating sucessfully for two critical programs for Kitsap County schools: (1) continued funding for FIRST Robotics and Career and Technical Education (CTE) High-Demand Grants, and (2) STEM Career Course Grants, the scope of which was expanded in an amendment to enhance Kitsap County schools' eligibility.
Co-sponsoring legislation to provide grants to high schools and skill centers to prepare students with skills for careers in aerospace assembly and manufacturing.
Co-sponsoring legislation to fund all-day kindergarten by closing the tax exemption for sales tax on sales in Washington to non-Washington residents. (The bill won 51 votes in the House of Representatives, but did not advance to the Senate due to Initiative 1053's requirement of a 2/3 vote to increase taxes or close tax loopholes.)
Co-sponsoring legislation to upgrade standards in elementary science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) teaching.
Working with other legislators to develop the Career Pathways Act, a bill that would have educated students about the many paths to great jobs that don't require a traditional four-year college degree, such as apprenticeships, certificates, and on-the-job learning.
Supporting legislation that builds on existing teacher evaluation pilot projects to revise teacher evaluations statewide so we can establish a more robust, fair, and successful educator and administrator evaluation system.
Supporting legislation to allow colleges to implement research-based models of school improvement and educator preparation in low-performing elementary schools.

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