A panoramic view of the Washington State Capitol building on a cloudy day, surrounded by trees and historic buildings, with street lamps in the foreground.

Advocacy & Legislation

AWSP provides a strong and respected voice on state and nationwide issues affecting K–12 schools and principals. We vigilantly monitor and research trends impacting our members’ profession, reputation, and practice. We value our members who travel to Olympia and Washington, D.C. to provide the principal’s perspective. 

We offer several ways to help you keep pace with the legislative arena, including Legislative Update (our a weekly e-newsletter during session), how to find your state legislator, how to track the status of bills and find out how your lawmaker voted, and practical tips for talking with legislators.

We focus our governmental relations efforts and legislative platform through a statewide, grassroots Legislation Committee. This collaboration identifies and prioritizes issues critical to our members, so we can work smarter on your behalf in Olympia and around the state.

Every voice matters, and it’s important for all of us to stay informed and connected.

2025 Legislative Platform



“It is difficult to envision a higher return on investment in K-12 education than the cultivation of high-quality school leadership.” ~ Wallace Foundation, 2021

The 2025 AWSP Legislative Platform focuses on leadership development, fully funding basic education, and increasing student support to ensure all students succeed, with priorities for principals and school staff.

photo of Erika Burden
Connecting with our legislators at both the local and national level is critical to ensure our legislators recognize the importance of supporting educators in their efforts to keep students safe and reach every student in their classrooms and buildings.
- Erika Burden, 2020 NASSP Advocacy Champion of the Year

Get Involved


Legislative News

Legislative Update for January 29, 2021

Roz Thompson, Advocacy and Governmental Relations Director, AWSP
Jan 29, 2021
leg update blog


Week three of the legislative session ended today. We saw some of the first floor action this week with several critical bills passing the House and Senate floors. Both houses promised these “early action” bills. One of them is HB 1121, which is the graduation waiver bill. The other is SB 5044 which would add equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism to existing cultural competency standards and training for school board directors, district staff, and school staff on one of three state funded professional days.

HB 1368, a vehicle for getting federal funds out for K–12 education, vaccine administration and testing, rental assistance, small business grants, assistance for childcare providers, food, and immigrant relief, was another important focus this week. We hope this bill passes the House floor quickly next week and on to the Senate. In addition to federal funds, we are working with our education advocate partners to ensure the state budget also provides stability in enrollment and transportation formulas. Rep. Laurie Dolan will drop her enrollment stabilization bill next week. This week, the transportation bill, SB 5128, was heard in Senate Ways and Means.

We also heard from the Governor’s Office and the Department of Health this week. We’ll have regular meetings with both of them around the messaging related to vaccines and other health-related needs from the school community. If you have specific questions or concerns related to how Governor Inslee and the Department of Health can help with their communication, please let me know.

A big shout to Aaron Fletcher, Principal at Liberty High School in Spangle, who testified today in the House Education Committee in of support HB 1214 which would add training requirements to school security staff, collect additional data related to security staff, and require principals to explain to students and their communities the roles and responsibilities of school resource and safety officers.

Here are the bills being heard next week. As always, please let me know if you have questions or concerns or interest in submitting written or verbal testimony.


House

Appropriations Committee

  • HB 1273 | Concerning menstrual products in schools
  • HB 1342 | Elimination lunch copays for students who qualify for reduced-price lunches

Children, Youth & Families Committee * HB 1354 | Concerning suicide review teams

Education Committee

  • HB 1363 | Addressing secondary trauma in the K–12 workforce
  • HB 1365 | Procuring and supporting appropriate computers and devices for public school students and instructional staff
  • HB 1366 | Requiring school districts to prioritize the resumption of in-person instruction to certain students following an emergency
  • HB 1373 | Promoting student access to information about behavioral health resources
  • HB 1302 | Concerning college in the high school programs
  • HB 1306 | Concerning bond authorization training for school district boards of directors
  • HB 1356 | Prohibiting the inappropriate use of Native American names, symbols, or images as public school mascots, logos, or team names
  • HB 1426 | Specifying minimum continuing education requirements for administrator and teacher certificate renewals that focus on equity-based school and classroom practices.


Senate

Early Learning & K–12 Education

SB 5334 | Increasing transparency in levy authorization information provided by school districts SB 5340 | Concerning qualifications for school board directors SB 5299 | Allowing the use of computer science credits for the purpose of graduation requirements

Higher Education & Workforce Development

SB 5321 | Expanding access to the college bound scholarship

Click on the links to each bill or find out more on the legislative website.

AWSP’s Advocacy Week will be February 8–12. If you are interested in joining our advocacy efforts, email Roz. It would be fantastic to have hundreds of principals from across the state participate!

And if you want to share your voice in this remote session, it is easier than ever.


More Links

Photo of Roz Thompson, smiling with shoulder-length hair, next to text that reads: ‘Roz Thompson, Government Relations & Advocacy Director’ in blue and orange on a light green background.

Legislative Update E-Newsletter

Want updates on what's going on? Trying to understand the process and learn how to make an impact?  Follow us on social media, check out our blog or this page for the latest legislative news page, and read our Legislative Update email newsletter every Friday during session.

Questions? Reach out to Roz.

Email Roz

Join Our PAC

School leaders in Washington state can take an active role in the political process by joining AWSP’s political action committee or PAC, the Washington School Principals Legislative Effectiveness Association.

AWSP-WSPLEA supports AWSP’s governmental relations efforts at both the state and national levels. It also raises and spends money to support candidates and issues that are important to the principalship and to K–12 education. Make a difference — join the PAC today!

School Funding Coalition

The School Funding Coalition represents the voices of nearly 8,000 school district leaders from our state’s 295 school districts. We bring a front-line understanding of school district financing and the education funding issues the Legislature continues to grapple with—especially as state budget decisions are contemplated in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Coalition includes AEA, AESD, AWSP, WASA, WASBO, WSPA, and WSSDA. We believe that each and every student needs stable support, safety, access to learning, and well-equipped staff. Learn more in our Immediate Student Needs document below.

2024 Legislative Priorities