Close to the Finish Line
Just ten more days of this year’s legislative session remain. All policy bills had to pass off the floor of the opposite house by April 12. Once again, there were some very late nights and some bills that didn’t make it past this deadline.
Over the next few days of the session, legislators will pass bills necessary to implement the budget, continue work to concur on different versions of bills that have passed, and come to an agreement over a final budget. And all of this should end
by Sunday, April 23.
Here’s the latest on what’s happening with the budget and the surviving bills.
Budget Update
Budget writers from the House and Senate are working to compromise on the various funding and policy areas of the operating budget. The final budget will be SB 5187.
For a look at how the budgets are similar and different, check out this side-by-side comparison from the League of Education Voters.
As I shared last week, education advocates have communicated to legislators their preferences for the Senate funding level for special education and transportation. The next layer of communication around education funding will go out soon from a group
of legislators to the primary budget writers to encourage them to follow the House budget for smoothing losses due to the regionalization rebase and the House levy equalization offset funding. Districts are very concerned about how regionalization
has (or hasn’t) been adequately addressed in this session and the negative impact on their budgets.
Principal Contract Bill
SB 5175 passed easily off the House floor by an 84-14 margin, and it was amended to clarify that a superintendent might offer a contract
for more than one year when a principal has:
- been employed as a principal for three or more consecutive years;
- been recommended by the superintendent as a candidate for a two or three-year contract because the principal has demonstrated the ability to stabilize instructional practices, and received a comprehensive performance rating of level 3 or above in
their most recent comprehensive performance evaluation; and
- met the school district's requirements for satisfying an updated record check.
This bill is now on the concurrence calendar, and since the House and Senate passed slightly different versions, they need to come to an agreement on the final language.
Senator Lisa Wellman does not agree with the House version and has asked the House to recede from their amendments. She says, “this bill shows respect for principals and the vital role they play with our children.” She believes that with these
amendments, too many people and too many hoops would be involved in creating these contracts and would prefer simpler language. The Senate Republicans like the sideboards that have been put on the bill.
I’ve communicated to both the House and the Senate that we are fine with this bill, with the amendment or without. We hope that legislators find a way to agree on the final language allowing districts to offer principals up to a three-year contract.
Bills that Passed
Here are a few more bills that passed this session. I’ll have my “Top 10” list of important bills from this session ready to share soon, along with a final legislative update the week of April 24.
SB 5311 raises the special education cap from 13.5% to 15% and increases the multiplier at a greater rate than the House. This language
was added to the House bill about special education (HB 1436) so the House bill will be the final bill that addresses special education
funding.
SB 5174 is the transportation funding bill. This bill was narrowed from its original version and would create
the Transportation Safety Net. Safety net awards would be provided to school districts with a demonstrated need for additional transportation funding for special passengers, as mentioned above.
HB 1015 will replace the ETS ParaPro assessment and says the Paraeducator Board must adopt one or more assessments
that meet a rigorous standard of quality and can be used to demonstrate knowledge of, and the ability to assist in, instruction in reading, writing, and mathematics, as well as set a passing score for each assessment adopted.
HB 1550 is the Transition to Kindergarten bill. It would rename Transitional Kindergarten as the Transition to Kindergarten program,
and state that this program is not part of the state's program of basic education. It directs OSPI to adopt rules for the administration and the allocation of state funding for this program and specifies minimum requirements for these rules. And it
provides a funding formula for the program using certain portions of the prototypical school funding model and requires certain data to be reported. Current TK programs will remain in place for the 2023-24 school year, but changes would come in the
following school year. This bill is on the concurrence calendar and I’m not sure if there will be agreement between the House and the Senate on the different versions.
HB 1658 would authorize high school students to earn up to two elective credits for paid work experience.
SB 5048 is fantastic because it will require institutions of higher education to provide enrollment and registration
in College in the High School courses at no cost to students in grades 9 through 12 at public high schools. HB 1316 is another dual credit bill that will allow Running Start students to be funded up to a combined maximum enrollment of 1.4 FTE.
HB 1207 has now passed both the House and the Senate, and it would change the term "emergency expulsion" to "emergency removal" and
permit certain students to request that their records use the new term. It would also require OSPI to develop a model student handbook that includes, among other things, a complaint procedure related to harassment, intimidation, bullying, and discrimination.
HB 1308 says that school districts may offer students the opportunity to meet graduation pathway requirements by completing a performance-based
learning experience through which the student applies knowledge and skills in a real-world context, providing evidence of applying state learning standards to ELA and math standards (this was amended from the original version that allowed students
to choose two of the core areas).
SB 5243 will revise high school and beyond plan (HSBP) requirements and require OSPI to facilitate the transition to and adoption of
a common online platform for HSBPs. This will take a few years to develop and it will require school districts to provide access to an adopted universal platform within two years of platform development.
The recess bill, SB 5257, requires 30 minutes of recess and encourages recess before lunch. It also includes language that discourages
withholding recess for disciplinary or academic reasons.
There are a few more bills that have passed that will have an impact on your work as school leaders. Here is my latest bill tracking list.
Get Involved
Our advocacy efforts need all of our voices to contribute to the process. There are many different ways (big and small) that you can get involved in these efforts. If you have questions or comments or want to get involved, please reach out to me.
Thank you!
