African American Legislative Day – Students Top Priority

Washington State’s Capitol building was all a buzz February 4, 2008, with nearly 1,400 students and adults taking part in the African-American Legislative Day. One of the top legislative priorities outlined by the Commission on African American Affairs is House Bill 2722. The Bill was introduced by Representative Eric Pettigrew, to create a strategic task force on reducing the achievement gap for African American students.

What makes this African American Legislative Day different from years past is the strategic positioning of legislation aimed at closing the racial opportunity and achievement gap for African American students. The Black Education Roundtable, an informal advisory group convened by the Washington Commission on African American Affairs has been instrumental in initiating and rallying support for this Bill.

Thelma Jackson, one of the presenters for the session on Education-The New Civil Rights Arena, made it clear that HB 2722 is not a study Bill. Dr. Jackson indicated that we already know from the alarming facts and figures that show African American students are falling behind. While there are initiatives to address the achievement gap there isn’t a thoughtful, comprehensive and inclusive strategy for addressing specifically African American Students. If passed by both Houses, and approved by the governor, HB 2722 will charge the CISL department the task of convening an advisory committee to conduct an analysis of the achievement gap for African–American students, the best and promising practice models for the students and a plan for implementation, benchmarking and evaluating.

Click here to visit Washington State Commission on African American Affairs website for more information regarding HB 2722, African American Legislative Day or other issues concerning the African American community. ---Victoria Moreland