The legislature continues to work their magic. The good news is that a number of education bills did not make it beyond the first policy cutoff. Monday, Feb. 9 is the fiscal cutoff for bills dealing with dollars. Then it becomes a race for the bills in each chamber to clear and be sent to the other body by Feb. 17. Meanwhile, behind the scenes,  work will begin in earnest crafting the supplemental budget.
A few items of note on a few bills of impact to retirees and schools:
Pension and Health Care:  For retirees or those members still working in TRS/PERS Plans 1, WSSRA (Washington State School Retirees Association) and RPEC ( Retired Public Employees Council)  are lobbying for HB 1474 (in Rules’ Committee) and SB 5862 (public hearing awaiting executive action) a one-time limited COLA for Plans 1 retirees. If successful, there would be a small increase in what districts pay in their surcharge related to the unfunded liability of the plans—very small.Â
They are also advocating for the retention of the health insurance subsidy ( maximum $183 month), but this is funded through GF dollars.
Other bills than impact the workload of building leaders:
HB 2594 ensures that unhoused children and youths in Washington have equal access to free, appropriate, public education. This is in House Rules Committee. School districts/school buildings must meet the requirements of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act detailed in the bill narrative linked here.
Controlling student mobile device use is a concern generating legislation. Another deals with the use of artificial intelligence. It prohibits certain decisions and actions related to student discipline and school safety based on automated decision systems, school surveillance technology, biometric data, and facial recognition services AI uses.Â
As a caveat, the agenda of the committees—primarily appropriations and ways and means—change continually up until Feb. 9. Policy bills without significant dollars attached will be “dead” after Feb. 17. Bills that are determined to be “necessary to implement the budget” (a vague standard) remain live until Sine Die (March 12).
