math and science WASL delay approved, but watch out for a veto

Five more years to sweat it out: passing the WASL in math and science won't be a graduation requirement until at least 2013. That is, if Gregoire signs the bill passed just before this year's session ended.

Key Democrats wanted to delay the reading and writing portions of the test as well as math and science, but Gov. Christine Gregoire balked at that.

In the end, the governor won. Legislators passed a bill that delayed only the math and science portions of the test. Students in the class of 2008 would still have to pass the reading and writing portions.

Lawmakers also included other provisions, such as an expanded appeals process for students who fail one or more sections of the test.

Marty Brown, Gregoire's legislative liaison, said that although the governor supports the delay for the math and science requirement, it's not clear what other parts of the bill she might keep or veto.

Rep. Dave Quall, D-Mount Vernon, chairman of the House Education Committee, said he hopes the governor "will honor the majority of what's in the bill. I fully understand her veto pen might be there, but we would hope she'd honor the work that we've done."

Check out the rest of the article to get the rundown on the budget, all $33 billion of it.

Concerning a potential veto, The Olympian's story goes into a little more depth:

Gregoire's policy director, Marty Brown, said the governor would accept the delay to 2013, but would have to examine the rest of the measure before deciding whether to sign it all or veto sections, as state law allows.

"I think she was just glad that they're done; it was finally on paper," Brown said, adding that a lot of the measure "is sort of new stuff."

It also adds what I was expecting would be the eventual outcome: students would have to continue taking other math courses, so there's still an advantage to passing the darn thing and being done with it.

I'd scientifically and mathematically put a veto's chances at 30%. But don't ask me to show my work.