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 February 5, 2021

Roz Thompson, Governmental Relations & Advocacy Director, AWSP
Feb 5, 2021
leg update blog


Advocacy Efforts Continue

Each week of this session has brought a slew of new bills, ideas, and conversations related to education funding and policy. In addition, there is an incredible amount of new information each week related to health and safety practices for reopening schools released by OSPI, the Department of Health, and the Governor’s Office. Hang in there and know that you are not alone with this onslaught of information. Reach out if you have questions or need clarification on anything.

Thankfully, the first major cut-off date of this session is approaching and by February 15th, policy bills need to be passed out of their committees. This means the number of new bills being introduced each day is definitely slowing.

It is critical we make the effort to share our voices and perspectives with policymakers as many decisions in the Legislature still remain. To this end, we have dedicated next week, February 8–12, as our AWSP Advocacy Week. Instead of one “Day on the Hill”, we have a team of almost 50 principals across the state who are making time to meet with their legislators to talk about specific bills and needed policy changes. If you would like to get involved in our advocacy efforts, please reach out to me.

Here are some significant bills discussed this week in the House Education Committee:

  • HB 1363 related to support for staff experiencing secondary trauma,
  • HB 1450, which would provide computers and devices for students,
  • HB 1356 prohibits the inappropriate use of Native American names, symbols, or images as public school mascots, logos, or team names, and
  • HB 1302 related to College in the High School program.

A big thank you to Jacqueline Downey, Principal at Evergreen High School in Highline Public Schools, for testifying about both our support for and concern with College in the High School programs.

HB 1426 also received a hearing and this bill states that to renew an administrator certificate on or after July 1, 2022, continuing education must meet the following requirements:

  • 10 percent must focus on equity-based school practices; 1
  • 0 percent must focus on the professional standards for education leaders, and 5 percent must focus on government-to-government relationships with indigenous communities.

This bill would also require that teachers focus 25 percent of their continuing education on equity-based school practices when they renew their certificates. We, along with the WEA, will ask that the date for this be pushed back to at least 2023. Thank you to Mike Smith, Principal at Rochester High School, for his work on this bill.

HB 1368 will move federal funds out to districts. This bill already passed out of the House and just yesterday passed out of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. We hope the Senate moves to quickly pass this bill on to Governor Inslee for his signature.

Two other critical bills related to stable education funding are SB 5128, which addresses transportation funding, and HB 1476, which addresses enrollment funding (including important categorical programs like LAP, ELL, etc…). If you are engaging in advocacy activities, it is very important to mention these two bills to legislators and ask for their support in moving these bills forward.

Here are the bills being heard next week:


House

Education

  • HB 1396 | Increasing the number of US history and government credits required for graduation.
  • HB 1404 | Concerning programs for highly capable students–including two hours of annual professional development for principals and counselors and universal screening.
  • HB 1444 | Providing trauma-informed counseling and supports to students.
  • HB 1484 | Concerning the statewide first responder building mapping information systems.

Children, Youth & Families

  • HB 1451 | Concerning the entitlement date and definition of early childhood education and assistance program.

There are several specific concerns with this bill related to the workload and funding issues created by managing both ECEAP programs and transitional kindergarten programs in schools. We have brought these to the attention of legislators and OSPI and will continue working on this bill.


Senate

Early Learning & K–12 Education

  • SB 5386 | Concerning school district elections.
  • SJR 8204 | Amending the Constitution to allow 55 percent of voters voting to authorize school district bonds.

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