Mason Burley - January 2007

In recent years, the manufacture and production of methamphetamine in small homemade labs has declined significantly. Changes at both the state and federal level have restricted the supply and availability of pseudoephedrine, a major precursor in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Demand for methamphetamine, however, remains high. According to law enforcement officials, much of the methamphetamine available today is supplied by drug trafficking organizations from Mexico. As manufacturing of methamphetamine declines, trafficking and distribution is becoming a regional issue that states and the federal government must address cooperatively.

The 2006 Washington State Legislature asked the Institute to examine "criminal sentencing increases necessary under Washington law to reduce or remove any incentives methamphetamine traffickers and manufacturers may have to locate in Washington." This report looks at differences in sentencing laws for methamphetamine possession, manufacture, and distribution in Washington and neighboring states. The report provides opinions from experts in steps Washington may take to curb the availability and use of methamphetamine.

Jim Mayfield - January 2007

Washington State's Dangerous Mentally Ill Offender (DMIO) program, enabled by the 1999 Legislature, identifies mentally ill prisoners who pose a threat to public safety and provides them services and treatment up to five years after their release from prison.

WSIPP and the Washington Institute for Mental Illness Research and Training were directed by the legislature to evaluate the program.

Wade Cole, Robert Barnoski - January 2007

The study legislation also directed the Institute to “identify possible barriers to student success or possible causes of the lack of success” on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL).

Curriculum alignment, defined as the congruence among instructional materials, practices, and assessments, is a necessary ingredient of student success on the WASL. Without alignment, students face a potential barrier. Therefore, the Institute is investigating ways to analyze the extent to which curricula, instruction, and assessments are aligned.

This report summarizes the history of efforts to align the curriculum in Washington and presents results from a data analysis of reading and mathematics textbooks in Washington.

Robert Barnoski - January 2007

This is a copy of the Institute's presentation to the Washington State House of Representatives Education Committee on January 19, 2007.

Annie Pennucci, Robert Barnoski - January 2007

This is a copy of the Institute's presentation to the Washington State Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee on January 17, 2007.

Annie Pennucci, Hannah Lidman - January 2007

The 2005 Legislature directed the Institute to “conduct an analysis of the availability, services, and effectiveness of programs in community and technical colleges that serve the educational needs of recent immigrant students who are not proficient in English and who are or have been enrolled in high school but have not met graduation requirements.” This review provides information about immigrant student population trends, special challenges, and academic outcomes, as well as a description of available programs in Washington and other states.

Wade Cole, Robert Barnoski - January 2007

This report examines 10th-grade WASL results in spring 2006 for students who are classified as in poverty and not in poverty, by race/ethnicity.

Robert Barnoski, Wade Cole - January 2007

This report describes the relative strength of associations between various student characteristics and "met-standard" rates on the 10th-grade WASL results in spring 2006.

Annie Pennucci - January 2007

The 2006 Washington State Legislature directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (Institute) to “hire a meeting facilitator to conduct a series of meetings with a broad group of stakeholders to examine the strengths and weaknesses of educational services available to deaf and hard of hearing children throughout the state.” The legislation further directed the Institute to “develop recommendations that would establish an integrated system of instructional and support programs that would provide deaf and hard of hearing children with the knowledge and skills necessary for them to be successful in their adult lives and the ‘hearing’ world of work.”

This preliminary report summarizes views from stakeholder meetings, focus groups, and interviews conducted between September and December 2006. Stakeholder consultations will continue through March 2007. A final report with recommendations is due June 2007.

Elizabeth Drake - December 2006

The Washington State Institute for Public Policy (Institute) was directed by the Legislature to evaluate the impacts of DOSA. DOSA was originally enacted in 1995 as a sentencing alternative. When ordered by a court, a felony offender’s sentence time is reduced in exchange for completing chemical dependency treatment. Prior to 2005 legislation, DOSA was restricted to a “prison-based” treatment alternative. The 2005 changes created a “community-based” DOSA for offenders with non-prison sentences. Because only 30 offenders have received this community alternative to date, further implementation is necessary before an evaluation of the community-based DOSA can be completed. This report updates our 2005 study of the original “prison-based” DOSA, extending the follow-up from 24 to 36-months. In our earlier report, we found that recidivism rates were lower for drug offenders receiving DOSA, but not for property offenders. With a 36-month follow-up, our findings did not change. That is, prison-based DOSA significantly lowers recidivism rates for drug offenders, but has no statistically significant effect on recidivism rates of property offenders.