2013/10/16 Council Agenda Packet

Strategy 23: Invest in Equitable Access to High Quality Education Access to a quality education is a critical building block to a thriving and successful life. Currently .£ there is established disparity in access to quality K-12 schools and higher education opportunities across the region's communities, both in terms of physical access to educational institutions and the education quality of the institutions themselves. The recommended actions in this strategy focus on the former: land use and transportation investments that improve physical access to education institutions. Identifying solutions to education quality barriers will require coordination and action across jurisdictions and sectors. Although these education quality strategies were not a central component of the Growing Transit Communities Partnership work program and are not addressed directly in the GTC Strategy, they are critical to the long-term success of these communities. Future work in this area will need to involve stakeholders that include a broad spectrum of educational providers and community representatives. Puget Sound Regional Council 23.1 As part of the planned convening of higher education leaders to discuss whether higher education should be an identified industry cluster in the next update to the Regional Economic Strategy, address issues related to equitable access to higher education within the region. 23.2 Consider geographic targeting of job training programs and other vocational programs to communities with low paccess to opportunity areas as part of implementation of the Regional Economic Strategy. Transit Agencies -0 23.3 Prioritize, where appropriate, transit access to schools to meet the mobility needs of both students and staff, particularly for higher education institutions. Local Governments E 23.4 Coordinate growth planning with education providers to promote the location of schools in proximity to transit E and additional or expanded facilities in communities where new residential growth, especially households with u children, is anticipated. 4) OL School Districts 23.5 Adopt policies and criteria that encourage new and expanded facilities in locations with a high level of transit service or planned for high capacity transit in the future. 23.6 Incorporate local and regional growth plans and forecasts in facilities planning, including identifying potential school needs in transit communities. Priority Transit Communities for this Strategy • Transit communities with current high capacity transit service or expected within 10 years,and other regionally significant transit communities • Communities that score low on the Opportunity Mapping Access to Quality Education index 54 The Growing Transit Communities Strategy I Public Review Draft I May 2013