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Superintendent defends $250,000‑per‑year studies to implement Commission on Innovation recommendations
Summary
State Superintendent Joan Ebert and Deputy Megan Peterson told the committee that the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education's policy recommendations require follow‑up studies and implementation supports worth $250,000 per year to guide shifts toward competency‑based learning, teacher preparation and a performance dashboard.
State Superintendent Joan Ebert told the subcommittee the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education (created by the last legislature) needs additional resources to move from analysis to implementation, and the department recommended a one‑time appropriation of $250,000 each year to contract with the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) for implementation studies.
"The commission itself was created under Senate Bill 425 in the last legislative session, to move us forward with a world class globally competitive and adaptable education system," Superintendent Joan Ebert said. She described four priority areas in the commission’s report: personalized competency‑based learning; recruitment, preparation and teacher leadership; next‑generation career pathways; and a performance dashboard for future‑ready metrics.
Why it matters: department leaders argued that the initial commission work identified policy directions and that contracted studies and technical support are needed to design implementation steps. Ebert said the state has seen staffing gains tied to recent investments: "We have over 1,200 more educators in our classrooms today than we did last year ... we have a 30% increase in retention rate," she told the committee, citing results tied to prior legislative investments.
Questions and context
Lawmakers asked how the $250,000 amounts were determined and how the studies would build on the commission’s earlier work. Ebert said the commission’s first phase was analytic and that the next step is to address implementation — how to transform a system designed around seat time into one focused on mastery and competencies. She said the proposed studies would support that transformation and noted the state adopted competency‑based policy in 2015 but has not previously funded the supports needed to shift practice.
Ending note
Lawmakers did not vote on the proposal during the hearing. The department said the work would inform ongoing policy development and coordinate with the Commission on School Funding.
