OLYMPIA – The National Governors Association today announced that Gov. Jay Inslee will again co-lead the group’s Education & Workforce Committee, one of five standing NGA committees responsible for governors’ collective, bipartisan advocacy on federal policies.
“I will continue to work with my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to build a 21st century education and workforce development system,” Inslee said. “Over the past year the nation’s governors have helped enact important new policy solutions to support student success across the full continuum of education. This includes working with congressional leaders like Sen. Patty Murray to reform No Child Left Behind and promote early childhood education, apprenticeships, workforce innovations and more.
“As we tackle critical education decisions in our state, such as how to provide sufficient and sustainable funding for K-12 education, I look forward to working with my fellow governors and the federal government to support, build upon and replicate Washington’s education successes, from early learning to STEM education to college affordability,” Inslee said.
"A highly skilled and qualified workforce is essential to reach Department of Early Learning's bold goal of 90% children kindergarten ready. The technical assistance offered as part of the National Governor's Association grant will allow us to focus our work on three key areas: education pathways for two and four year degrees, teacher compensation and workforce capacity. We look forward to supporting our early learning professionals in their educational goals." Director of the Department of Early Learning Ross Hunter.
Inslee served as the committee’s chairman during the past year and will serve as its vice chairman until summer 2017. Each year NGA committee chair and vice chair positions rotate between Democratic and Republican governors.
The NGA released the report “States: Finding Solutions, Improving Lives” which highlights innovative, bipartisan, and replicable policies that states have enacted. The report singles out Washington’s leadership, under Inslee and the Legislature, in reducing college tuition and increasing access to higher education.
“Just as higher education has never been more important, it has been harder to achieve,” Inslee said in a video released by the NGA. “Last year I worked with both Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature to lower tuition for Washington students at our public colleges. We also increased funding for key programs to make higher education more accessible for our students.”
Inslee’s office worked with the NGA, Code.org, Microsoft and others to host hands-on computer science education training, taught by computer science students, at the NGA summer meeting in Des Moines, Iowa. Earlier this year Inslee and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson launched the bipartisan “Governors Partnership for K-12 Computer Science” to share best practices for computer science education reform and advocate for federal policies that support the expansion of and access to K-12 computer science.