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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 | January 8-12, 2024

Roz Thompson, Governmental Relations & Advocacy Director, AWSP
Jan 12, 2024

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Session Begins – It’s a Sprint!

Drew Thompson sprints around the track.

The 2024 Legislative Session kicked off this week, and it will be a 60-day sprint to the finish. Hundreds of new bills were pre-filed, hundreds of bills are still in play from last year, and hundreds of new bills are being introduced, which makes for lots of reading and a massive bill tracking list. The first cut-off of the session is January 31, when bills must pass off the floor of their house of origin, so this list will be much shorter in just a few weeks. Whew.

Passing supplemental budgets for transportation, capital, and operating costs is the main emphasis for legislators, and the starting point is Governor Inslee’s proposed $70.9 billion supplemental budget. The Governor would provide additional funding in K-12 education for paraeducator compensation, meals for students, and increase the cap on special education to 17.25%. He also includes a variety of smaller investments in other programs.

Our AWSP legislative platform includes two specific budget asks that our partners at OSPI included as a decision package request to Governor Inslee. The Governor did not include these requests in his budget, so we are asking legislators to include them in the final supplemental budget.

Our first request is an enhancement to our state’s principal internship program. Currently, funding is available to cover only 8-10 substitute days for interns receiving this grant. This is not sufficient preparation. We are asking for an additional one million dollars so grant recipients can have at least 25-30 days covered.

The second item is for $860,000, which allows OSPI to partner with us and provides more secure funding and support for associate director positions. These positions support principal professional learning, respond to member support calls, and provide coaching. They also support ongoing work related to instruction, evaluation, behavior, mental health, and more.

As a member of the School Funding Coalition, we continue to work alongside other statewide associations, like WASA and WSSDA, to urge legislators to update the prototypical funding model for principals and other staff. We are thrilled Representative Alicia Rule sponsored HB 2212, which will update the ratio for building administrators, and we are now working to get the bill a hearing in House Appropriations.

We are also working to pass SB 5085. This bill would update 28A.405.245 related to employment provisions. Our goal is to add assistant principals and require that specific evaluation criteria be used if principals or assistant principals are being moved to a subordinate position. We also want to ensure that all years of experience in education count, no matter the role (teacher or administrator). We do not see this RCW connected to moving staff to subordinate positions due to enrollment or funding declines, which, unfortunately, may still have to occur in districts.


Bills this Week

Here are the bills that were heard in the House and Senate Education Committees this week. I also have been tracking a few bills in the Higher Education and Healthcare Committees.

House Education

Monday and Tuesday Work Sessions on Restraint and Isolation:

On Monday, the information centered around federal and state laws, policies, and data. On Tuesday, we heard from practitioners in the field, including Principal Patrick Vincent from Union Gap. Thank you for sharing your time and expertise, Patrick! All groups agree that eliminating trauma for all students and building relational safety before escalation occurs is needed. We need clarity in the rules, and we need adequate resources, staffing, and training to ensure the safety of students and staff. How we get there is more complicated. The Senate has its own (simpler) bill on restraint and isolation that will be heard in week three. I’ll share more on that next week.

Thursday:

  • E2SHB 1479 | Concerning restraint or isolation of students in public schools and educational programs.
  • HB 1914 | Improving the education of students with varying abilities by enhancing special education services. This bill puts the burden of proof on districts.
  • HB 2058 | Increasing student access to free meals served at public schools.
  • HB 1608 | Expanding access to anaphylaxis medications in schools.

Senate Education

Wednesday:

  • SB 5873 | Providing adequate and predictable student transportation.
  • SB 5882 | Increasing prototypical school staffing (classified) to better meet student needs.
  • SB 5823 | Concerning school district elections. (simple majority for bonds)
  • SJR 8207 | Amending the Constitution to allow a majority of voters voting to authorize school district bonds.
  • SB 5809 | Concerning enrichment funding for charter public schools.

Thursday:

  • SB 5790 | Concerning bleeding control equipment in schools.
  • SB 5804 | Concerning opioid overdose reversal medication in high schools.
  • SB 5923 | Addressing fentanyl and other substance use prevention education.
  • SB 5850 | Supporting students who are chronically absent and at risk for not graduating high school.

Next Week’s Bills

House Education

Monday

  • HB 1915 | Making financial education instruction a graduation prerequisite and a required component of public education.
  • HB 1935 | Promoting resource conservation practices that include student education and leadership opportunities in public schools.
  • HB 2282 | Identifying African American studies curricula for students in grades 7-12.
  • HB 1843 | Modifying school district elections.
  • HJR 4207 | Amending the Constitution to allow 55 percent of voters voting to authorize school district bonds.

Tuesday

  • HB 1879 | Naming the curriculum used to inform students about tribal history, culture, and government after John McCoy (lulilaš).
  • HB 2005 | Including weighted grade point averages on high school transcripts.
  • HB 2110 | Reorganizing statutory requirements governing high school graduation.
  • HB 2267 | Providing public school students with opportunities for cultural expression at commencement ceremonies.
  • HB 2236 | Expanding and strengthening career and technical education core plus programs.

Thursday

  • HB 1956 | Addressing fentanyl and other substance use prevention education.

Senate Education

Monday

  • SB 5852 | Concerning special education safety net awards.
  • SB 5883 | Concerning the burden of proof for special education due process hearings.
  • SJM 8007 | Requesting Congress to fully fund 40 percent of the costs of IDEA.
  • SB 6014 | Increasing the special education enrollment funding cap.
  • SB 5956 | Concerning the maximum per-pupil limit for enrichment levies.

Wednesday

  • SB 5813 | Mandating instruction on agricultural literacy for students in grades 7-12.
  • SB 5819 | Making financial education instruction a graduation prerequisite and a required component of public education.
  • SB 5849 | Concerning a computer science competency graduation requirement.
  • SB 5851 | Concerning Holocaust and genocide education in public schools.

Thursday

  • SB 5870 | Expanding and streamlining eligibility for early learning programs.
  • SB 5933 | Concerning funding for the early support for infants and toddlers program.
  • SB 5941 | Clarifying requirements for subsidized child care.
  • SB 6018 | Designating early learning coordinators at educational service districts.

There’s definitely not a shortage of ideas out there. Below are additional links to find out more about these bills and to contact your own legislators. Legislators 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.


Important Links:


Other Advocacy Efforts

Principal for a Day

A HUGE thank you to Terrie Garrison, Principal at Firgrove Elementary in Puyallup for hosting Senator Claire Wilson (Vice Chair of the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee) and Jenny Hunt, Principal at Broad View Elementary in Oak Harbor for hosting Representative Clyde Shavers (Vice Chair of the House Education Committee) in our first ever official Principal for a Day event. From all accounts, these were very successful events and we look forward to even more of these events next fall.

Day on the Hill

Many of our Advocacy Advisory Council and AWSP Board Members are planning a visit to Olympia on February 5 for our annual “Day on the Hill." They will be meeting with their own legislators and perhaps attending some committee hearings. You can get involved by scheduling a virtual meeting with your own legislators that week. See the links shared above to find your district legislators and their email addresses.

Even More Information!

Finally, for those of you who crave even more information about what lies ahead for these next few weeks, check out WASA's Legislative Session Preview — many thanks to Dan Steele for his thorough review and insights.

Here is my complete bill tracking list for this week.


Get Involved

Many thanks for all that you do for students and staff. Please reach out if you have questions or comments. Thank you!
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.

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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