It's Been a Grind

This week feels like a grind as legislators and staff continue working weekends and late nights to pass bills and meet deadlines that just keep coming.

Thank you all for indulging me as I continue to use track and field analogies for my legislative updates this year as I’m cheering on my son, Drew, in his last season of college track. Drew uses this phrase on occasion, that he’s just “grinding” away at practice and school work. Instead of a picture of Drew, and in honor of Valentine’s Day this week, I thought I would spotlight the hard work of Drew’s girlfriend, Lexie Keller, who earned a spot on the USA Track Team last summer. Yay, sports! (Another common phrase in our family…)

Legislators grinded through some long hours to meet their deadline of February 13 when bills had to pass off the floor of the House or the Senate to stay alive. Some bills that made it all the way to the floor calendars for a vote died because legislators ran out of time or the bills weren’t prioritized. Now the bills that passed move to the other side and the process repeats. The next cut-off date is February 21 when bills must pass out of policy committees to keep moving.

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Budget

Collective efforts to push the Legislature to maximize state funding for K-12 education are happening in force this week. After Wednesday’s report from the Economic Forecast Council, a letter was immediately sent to all legislators from statewide associations urging them to allocate any additional revenue from this most recent forecast to the state’s paramount duty, K-12 education. Here is an excerpt:

"Due to underfunding, many school districts are being forced to reduce budgets, dip into reserves, and overly rely on enrichment levies. Some school districts are, or are considering, closing schools. Others have begun reducing staff, and several are being forced to reduce nonessential programs or seek loans from their county treasurers to meet payroll. 
 
The Legislature’s recent increases in state funding for K-12 education have been modest at best, while school district expenses have been increasing at a faster rate. When K-12 funding is adjusted for inflation, school districts have seen a net reduction in state funding in the last few years. Further, K-12 education spending as a share of the operating budget continues to decline, from a peak of 52% in 2019 to under 44% in 2023. If the final K-12 funding increase is at the level we are currently assuming, the percentage share of the state budget will further decline.
 
K-12 education is the state’s constitutional paramount duty—the Legislature’s first priority—and, at a minimum, additional available revenue projected in the February revenue forecast should be provided to help stabilize school district budgets and address the fiscal crisis facing our school districts."

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Take Action Now!

Please take action now and send an email to your legislators about increasing K-12 funding. This is an easy way to get the word out across our state that they must support our paramount duty. Click on the link above, and scroll down the page until you see the orange “Action Alert” on school funding. Enter your home or school address and then you’ll see a prewritten email that will go to your legislators. You can also add more information or anecdotes to this email if you’d like. 

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Budget, Continued...

The Washington Research Council (WRC) published a good summary of some of the main budget bills that are still in play. We are pushing for additional funding in special education (raising the cap from 15% to 17.25%), transportation costs for special populations, increasing the prototypical model for paraeducators, and increasing MSOC (Materials, Supplies, and Operating Costs). We are also hopeful that the capital budget provides ample funding for school construction. WRC also just released a thorough analysis of the Senate’s supplemental capital budget that came out yesterday, particularly focused on funding for school construction. 

Here are links to some key budget bills:

• HB 2180 Increasing the special education enrollment funding cap
• SB 5873 Providing adequate and predictable student transportation
• SB 5882 Increasing prototypical school staffing to better meet student needs
• HB 2494 Increasing state funding for operating costs
• HB 1044 Providing capital financial assistance to small school districts
• SB 5789 Concerning the sales and use tax for school construction assistance programs

The Senate is expected to release their supplemental operating budget on Sunday and the House is expected to release theirs on Monday. We hope to see our specific request for increased funds for principal intern grants and immediate support for current principals in the House budget. 

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Bills

Below are the bills that were heard this week in education committees. The restraint and isolation bill (HB 1479) passed out of the House on Tuesday but so far has not yet been scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee.

Several bills related to updating curriculum requirements continue to move including Holocaust and genocide education (HB 2037), Since Time Immemorial curriculum (HB 1332), and fentanyl and substance use prevention education (HB 1956). We submitted a joint letter to the Legislature along with WEA, WASA, WSSDA, the State Board of Education, and the Washington State PTA asking them to amend two bills related to computer science competency for graduation (SB 5849) and financial literacy (HB 1915) to direct the State Board of Education to review graduation requirements comprehensively. We also requested that any new graduation requirements be appropriately timed to include middle school students since planning for High School and Beyond Plans now begins in seventh grade. A big thanks to Jeff Charbonneau, Principal at Zillah High School, for his fantastic testimony on SB 5849 to the House Education Committee.
 
Here is my complete bill tracking list if you’d like to check out all of the bills.

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Bills Heard This Week

HOUSE

Wednesday, 2/14

• SB 5180 Adopting the interstate teacher mobility compact.
• ESB 5462 Promoting inclusive learning standards and instructional materials in public schools. 
• SB 5647 Providing temporary employees necessary information about school safety policies and procedures. 
• 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. 
• ESSB 6264 Supporting the implementation of competency-based education. 
• SB 5852 Concerning special education safety net awards. 

Thursday, 2/15

• SSB 5648 Including state-tribal education compact schools and charter schools as entities able to receive waivers from the state board of education.
• ESB 5790 Concerning medical equipment/bleeding control in schools
• SSB 5804 Concerning opioid overdose reversal medication in public schools. 
• E2SSB 5670 Providing summer running start for rising juniors
• E2SSB 5849 Concerning a computer science competency graduation requirement.

SENATE

Wednesday, 2/14

• EHB 1714 Allowing school districts to apply for financial literacy education professional development grants.
• E2SHB 1332 Supporting public school instruction in tribal sovereignty and federally recognized Indian tribes.
• HB 1879 Naming the curriculum used to inform students about tribal history, culture, and government after John McCoy (lulilaš). 
• HB 1146 Notifying high school students and their families about available dual credit programs and any available financial assistance.
• ESHB 1277 Improving the consistency and quality of the implementation of the fundamental course of study for paraeducators.
• HB 2110 Reorganizing statutory requirements governing high school graduation.

Thursday, 2/15

• 2ESHB 1377 Posting of approved courses and providers of continuing education.
• SHB 2335 Concerning state-tribal education compacts.
• SHB 1044 Providing capital financial assistance to small school districts with demonstrated funding challenges.
• SHB 2381 Increasing eligibility for economy and efficiency flexible school calendar waivers.
• ESHB 1608 Expanding access to anaphylaxis medications in schools.
• ESHB 1248 Concerning pupil transportation.
• E2SHB 1956 Addressing fentanyl and other substance use prevention education. 

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Bills Being Heard Next Week

SENATE

Monday, 2/19

• E4SHB 1239 Establishing a simple and uniform system for complaints related to, and instituting a code of educator ethics for, conduct within or involving public elementary and secondary schools. 
• ESHB 2236 Expanding and strengthening career and technical education core plus programs. 
• ESHB 2494 Increasing state funding for operating costs in schools. 
• 2SHB 2124 Supporting and expanding access to child care and early learning programs.
• SHB 1945 Streamlining and enhancing program access for persons eligible for food assistance. 
• 3SHB 1228 Building a multilingual, multiliterate Washington through dual and tribal language education.
• E2SHB 1368 Requiring and funding the purchase of zero emission school buses.
• ESHB 1113 Reviewing reprimands for professional educators

HOUSE

Monday, 2/19

• ESB 5344 Establishing a public school revolving fund. 
• ESSB 5850 Supporting students who are chronically absent and at risk for not graduating high school. 
• SB 5903 Concerning representation in the educator preparation act. 

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Engage in Advocacy

February is our “Member Engagement Month” and there is no better way to engage with your professional association this month than by getting involved in our advocacy efforts. There are a variety of ways in which you can do this. Some take a few seconds, and some take a little more time. Choose your own level of engagement, but please do take action to support legislation that would help “Grow, Support, and Sustain” our current and future school leaders.

Send a Quick Action Alert

This is the easiest option of all. Here are links to three quick action alerts that will send an email to your legislators after you enter your own name and address. The first one is to ask that the Legislature commit additional available revenue projected in the February revenue forecast to help stabilize school district budgets and address the fiscal crisis facing our school districts. The next is to request support for a budget proviso that would add more funds to the principal intern grant and to provide regional support for current building leaders. The last one allows you to write your own message. Try these now…they are so easy! Scroll down the page until you see the Action Alert you would like to send.

Be a Principal Partner with a Legislator

If you would like to commit to communicating more regularly with your legislators, let me know. Email me if you would like to be a “Principal Partner with a Legislator”.

Invite Your Legislator to be the “Principal for a Day”

We had a very successful pilot project a few weeks ago when Senator Claire Wilson shadowed Principal Terrie Garrison at Fir Grove Elementary in Puyallup and when Representative Clyde Shavers shadowed Principal Jenny Hunt at Broad View Elementary in Oak Harbor. We plan to hold this event again in October, 2024. If you would like a legislator to shadow you next fall, send me an email.

Meet with Your Legislators

It’s really easy to set up meetings either in-person or via Zoom with your legislators. They should prioritize meeting with you because you are their local constituents. Here is a link for their contact information and it’s also helpful to include their legislative assistants in your email to request a meeting. It’s possible to meet with them now during the legislative session but it will probably be a short 15 minute conversation. During the interim, they should have more time to meet with you. Either option works because it’s all about developing a working relationship with our policymakers.

Participate on our Advocacy Advisory Council

We have over 50 principals and assistant principals who belong to our AWSP Advocacy Advisory Council. During the legislative session, we meet weekly on Zoom to discuss the bills being heard that week and to strategize about how we, as an association, will respond. This group of people is invited to attend our annual  “AWSP Day on the Hill” which will be held on Monday, February 5th. During the interim, we meet occasionally via Zoom to stay in touch about various issues, meet with legislators about bills that they are considering, and develop our legislative platform. Email me to get involved at this level. 

Shadow Me for the Day

Last week, it was a first for me and an absolute joy to have Principal Lisa Kusche from Ballou Junior High in Puyallup, spend the day with me at the Capitol. Lisa participated with me in all of my usual advocacy and committee meetings with other education stakeholders and legislators. It was so great to have her here (and I’m so bummed that I forgot to take a selfie of us!) Email me if you would like to hang out sometime in Olympia.

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.  

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Important Links:

• Washington State Legislature
• Bill Search
• Find Your Legislators
• Email Your Legislators

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Get Involved

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