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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 12, 2021

Roz Thompson, Governmental Relations & Advocacy Director, AWSP
Feb 12, 2021
leg update blog

 

We’ve had a great advocacy week thanks to so many of our AWSP members reaching out to meet with their legislators. I have enjoyed the Zoom meetings and email exchanges as principals have been getting prepped for these important conversations and I’ve been able to Zoom into several regional meetings to share a legislative update. Our voice is always needed across the state to help those creating policy ensure that the right decisions are being made for students. If you have specific questions or want to get involved with advocacy, let me know.

The big budget news this week is that HB 1368 passed the Senate and is now on its way to Governor Inslee for his signature. Superintendent Chris Reykdal sent this memo highlighting what this critical legislation means for districts. Check out the link to see how much your district can expect to receive from this second round of federal funds as well as what the planning and reporting requirements are for districts.

The two other important bills related to funding are HB 1476 and SB 5128. HB 1476 had a hearing in the House Appropriations Committee this week and this bill would provide enrollment stabilization funding in the 2020–21 and 2021–22 school years to school districts, where the loss of state funding due to enrollment declines from the 2019–20 school year exceeds certain federal amounts available for school COVID response. It would also require use of 2019–20 enrollments to calculate enrichment levy authority and allocations for the Learning Assistance Program and Local Effort Assistance if enrollment is greater than 2020–21 and 2021–22 enrollments for each district.

SB 5128 is the transportation bill which would hold transportation funds stable. This bill provides an alternative student transportation allocation formula and allows expanded transportation services when a school district is providing remote instruction during certain local, state, and national emergencies. It allows school districts to apply for additional funding if they exceed their allocation amount due to providing expanded services and allows OSPI to use student transportation data from prior reporting periods to calculate transportation allocations immediately following an emergency.

Together, all three of these bills work to hold school funding stable moving forward and we will keep tracking their progress and advocating for them to pass quickly.

As this week winds down, most committees are having executive sessions only to pass out their policy bills prior to the deadline of Monday, February 15. Next Tuesday morning, our bill tracking lists will be smaller because many bills won’t survive this first cut-off.

Next week the action turns to the fiscal committees because they need to meet their first deadline of February 22 which is the last day to pass “House of Origin” bills out of House Appropriations and Senate Ways and Means.

There is a work session on Monday in the Senate Early Learning and K–12 Education Committee related to the inclusionary practices project which we hope encourages legislators to continue funding this important work.

We have also made great strides in our message about funding outdoor education for all students. Senator Sam Hunt is supporting a request in the Senate budget for this and our Washington School Principals Education Foundation, which sponsors the Washington Outdoor School Consortium (WSOC), would serve as the fiscal agent. Read more information about this statewide group.

Important bills still moving include:

House

  • HB 1028 | Repealing the EdTPA.
  • HB 1113 | Concerning school attendance.
  • HB 1121 | Emergency graduation waivers.
  • HB 1139 Addressing lead in drinking water.
  • HB 1153 | Increasing language access in schools.
  • HB 1162 | Adding a performance exhibition pathway and changing to 20 credits for graduation.
  • HB 1176 | Concerning student fines and fees.
  • HB 1182 | Enhancing and expanding behavioral health and suicide prevention crisis response services.
  • HB 1208 | Concerning the LAP program.
  • HB 1213/SSB 5237 | Expanding child care and early learning programs.
  • HB 1214 | Concerning training for and data collection of school safety staff.
  • HB 1225 | School based health centers.
  • HB 1273/SB 5070 | Concerning menstrual products in schools.
  • HB 1295 | Concerning institutional education.
  • HB 1302 | College in the high school programs.
  • HB 1325 | Youth behavioral health.
  • HB 1342 | Reduced price lunch copays.
  • HB 1356 | Prohibiting the inappropriate use of Native American names, symbols or images.
  • HB 1363 | Secondary trauma resources for K–12 staff.
  • HB 1373 | Promoting student access to information about behavioral health resources.
  • HB 1426 | Continuing education requirements for administrators and teachers.
  • HB 1444 | Providing trauma-informed counseling and support to students.
  • HB 1450 Procuring and supporting the use of appropriate computers and devices for schools.
  • HB 1466 | Promoting access to outdoor education.
  • HB 1484 | Concerning the first responder building mapping information system.

Senate

  • SB 5030 | School counseling programs.
  • SB 5044 | Concerning equity training and dismantling institutional racism in public schools.
  • SB 5147 | Exploring alternative school calendars.
  • BH 5161 | Teaching tribal history.
  • SB 5184 | Establishing a foster care point of contact in each building.
  • SB 5249 | Mastery-based learning.
  • SB 5265 | Creating a bridge year pilot program.
  • SB 5299 | Allowing the use of computer science credits for the purpose of a third year math or science credit.
  • SB 5321 | Expanding access to the college bound scholarship.
  • SB 5327 | Creating a confidential youth safety and well-being tip line. 

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