“Storytelling is the essential human activity. The harder the situation, the more essential it is.” – Tim O’Brien
This has been a long and fast-paced week. The House and Senate released their budget proposals Sunday evening, followed by budget hearings on Monday, and the opposite house policy committee cut-off on Wednesday. I’ve been working with stakeholders and legislators on small but significant language changes and amendments to HB 1795 (Restraint and Isolation) and SB 5841(FAFSA). It has been a whirlwind.
Unfortunately, the budget news for K–12 is not encouraging. Transition to Kindergarten, Local Effort Assistance, and Running Start all face reductions in both the House and Senate proposals. There are no new investments in MSOC, transportation, or special education. State-funded classified, certificated, and administrative employees would receive a 2.6% IPD (COLA) in both budgets; however, we are already hearing from some principal groups that districts have indicated they may not be able to pass along a COLA this year.
The League of Education Voters has created an easy-to-read comparison chart outlining differences between the Governor’s proposal and the House and Senate budgets—thank you, LEV, for that helpful resource. You can also find coverage of the budget proposals in this article from the Washington State Standard and review the full budget documents on the Office of Financial Management (OFM) and Legislative Evaluation and Accountability Program (LEAP) combined fiscal website.
Superintendent Reykdal continues urging legislators to prioritize K–12 funding. In a press release on Monday, he wrote:
“While the budget proposals would devastate critical education programs with a direct impact on students and families, they add billions in new investments across other sectors. This isn’t a question about whether the resources are available; it’s a question about the priorities of the Governor and the Democratic legislative majorities.”
AWSP has signed on to several letters encouraging budget writers to refocus on K–12. We joined a letter—now a short video produced by OSPI—highlighting the importance of funding Transition to Kindergarten. Today, we also sent our own letter to legislators outlining the very real staffing reductions already underway, particularly cuts to assistant principal positions due to district budget shortfalls.
As our letter states,
“Washington’s students deserve stable, well-supported schools led by teams of principals and assistant principals with the capability and capacity to focus on both safety and instruction.”
As we navigate challenges, it is more important than ever to continue telling our stories.
Help Us Advocate for You: AWSP Member Survey
Your voice matters—and so does your experience. This 10-minute survey helps us understand what it’s really like to lead a school in Washington right now: workload, staffing, safety, compensation, support systems, and what would most improve the role. We use these results to advocate for principals and assistant principals with state leaders and education agencies. Your responses also help us track trends over time and strengthen our case with credible, long-term data. Take the survey by April 30. Five respondents will win a $50 Amazon gift card!
Bill Tracking List
These are the bills that remain alive following the recent cut-offs. Thankfully, it’s a fairly small list. Next week, legislators will work to move policy bills out of fiscal committees by March 2 and advance all bills off the floor of the opposite house by March 6. The House and Senate are expected to pass their respective budget proposals today and tomorrow, allowing conference committee negotiations to begin toward a final, unified budget agreement. You can find my complete bill tracking list here.
Budget
HB 2289/ SB 5998 Supplemental operating budget (Ormsby, Robinson)
Health/Safety
HB 1634 Providing schools with assistance to coordinate comprehensive behavioral health supports for students (Thai)
HB 1795 Addressing restraint or isolation of students in public schools (Callan)
HB 2360 Expanding access to albuterol in public and private schools (Donaghy)
HB 2429 Supporting children and youth behavioral health (Callan)
SB 5240 Anaphylaxis medications in schools (Wellman)
SB 5272 Extending penalties for violence at schools and extracurricular activities (Lovick)
Students
HB 1295 Reading and writing literacy in elementary school (Pollett)
HB 2594 Unhoused children and youth (Reeves)
SB 5346 Restricting mobile device usage by public school students. (Liias)
SB 5956 AI, student discipline, and surveillance in public schools (Nobles)
SB 6222 Student access to surplus technology (Hunt)
High School
SB 5828 Washington College Grant and College Bound Scholarship for private four year, not-for-profit universities (Nobles)
SB 5841 Concerning the completion of postsecondary financial aid applications (Boehnke)
SB 5969 Fulfilling HSBP requirements with IEP transition plans (Cortes)
Miscellaneous
HB 2557 Providing parental access to special education evaluation reports (Berg)
HB 2636 Public education reviews (Rude)
SB 6278 Concerning the ongoing review of approved teacher and principal preparation programs by PESB (Wellman)
AWSP and WSPEF Legislative Priorities
The AWSP and WSPEF Legislative Priorities document was developed over the past several months through conversations with members, partners, and stakeholders, as well as participation in multiple workgroups. This year, for the first time, we intentionally named the “bookends” of leadership by placing both AWSP and the Washington School Principals’ Education Foundation (WSPEF) at the top of the document—anchored by students at the center of everything we do.
Your Voice
Keep telling your stories about what students and educators need to create successful learning environments. There are many ways to have your voice heard. Check out the “Important Links” below to find out how to contact your own legislators. They care very much about hearing directly from their constituents. When we weigh in as an association, it is helpful and important, but having many of you reach out directly with a short email to legislators can be much more powerful.  Find your legislator and email them here if you have any thoughts to share.
Action Alerts
Two Action Alerts for this session are live. One is related to increased funding for MSOC and one is related to maintaining funding for Transition to Kindergarten programs. It’s still important to keep messaging to legislators that basic education is being underfunded. Click here to find the Action Alerts and scroll down to the “Take Action” button. You’ll enter your mailing address and then see your Senator, two Representatives, and a message that will be sent to them. Feel free to edit the message if you’d like.
Get Involved
Many thanks for all that you do for students and staff. If you have questions or comments or want to get involved, please reach out to me.
Thank you so much!
Roz Thompson, Government Relations and Advocacy Director, AWSP
