Flower bulbs are peeking up out of the dirt on the grounds of the Capitol and in my own yard so that is my hopeful image of “change” for this week. With so much change swirling around each day, it’s nice to know
that sweet daffodils and tulips will be arriving soon to usher in spring.
This week marks a change in the Legislature as the first important cut-off is today when bills must pass out of policy committees to remain alive. Many bills were introduced but ultimately not moved, partly due to the reality that the state cannot fund
additional programs and policies. We are about one-third of the way through the legislative session now and next week the action turns to the fiscal committees when any bills with budgetary implications have hearings. Those bills must pass out of
their committees by Friday, February 28. The hard work moving forward will be about the budget, although before I turn to that I will highlight some important policy pieces that continue to move.
Restraint and Isolation
HB 1795 is the Restraint and Isolation bill for this year since the Senate Education Committee did not act on their bill. It passed out of the House Education
Committee this week without any amendments. Legislators intend to amend the bill on the House floor when it comes up for a vote. Here are some documents that describe the bill if you are interested in reading more and suggesting any specific changes
for us to relay to legislators. For example, section 4 of the bill increases reporting requirements for principals and we could suggest striking this section as an amendment.
Graduation Garb
HB 1393 would allow students to wear one item of cultural significance at their commencement ceremony. This is a bipartisan bill and there is some good
language in there about ensuring that items do not conflict with the decorum requirements of the district or cause a substantial disruption. We generally agree with this but have had conversations with people who want to ensure local control and have
thoughts about needing to tighten up the process around this. If you have thoughts on this bill, please let me know.
Flavored Tobacco and Vapor Products
HB 1203 would ban the sale of flavored tobacco and vapor products and it continues to move. While there is great concern from the business community about
this bill, they have supported HB 1534 which would create stronger regulations for vapor products through a registry and increased penalties for stores
that sell these products to minors. We will be meeting soon with a stakeholder group made up of people from both sides of the issue to talk through these bills.
Retired Educators
Several bills related to extending the opportunity for retired educators to continue working in schools while receiving their pensions remain alive. HB 1936 would extend this to 2027 and HB 1988/SB 5738 would extend this to 2029. Principals and Superintendents would continue to be eligible to work in these roles in second-class school districts for up to 1,040 hours in a school year which is important for our small and rural districts.
Discipline Rules
As you know, OSPI released emergency discipline rules related to classroom exclusions at the start of the school year. They have now opened public comment on the proposed permanent rules and we strongly encourage you to submit feedback to OSPI to ensure that building perspectives are heard. There are several ways you can provide feedback. You can send written comments to StudentDiscipline@k12.wa.us by March 19 or you can attend a virtual hearing on March 4 via Zoom. You can also show up in person at one of four locations across the state. For more details, read my blog here.
Parents’ Bill of Rights
HB 1296 and SB 5181 are two different bills that
the Democrats introduced this session in response to I-2081, the Parents’ Bill of Rights Initiative from last session. There has been a lot of
conversation, concern, and emotion over these bills. For a thorough review of the issues, read this article from the Washington Observer
Budget
The budget news isn’t getting much better as we move through session. We are hearing that legislators are creating several budgets, some with new revenue sources and some without. We are hearing that K-12 education may get a tiny bit more money,
but it certainly doesn’t seem like it will be the $1 billion that is needed to fund the “Big 3”.
Continuing current services in K-12 education (or “maintenance level” funding) includes $1.2 billion to meet the COLAs for educators. But the estimated budget shortfall for 2025-27 is the amount that the estimated maintenance level exceeds
existing resources, which the Washington Research Council estimates to be $4.8 billion for 2025-27. How
legislators address this shortfall involves complex budget decisions they will make over the next two months.
And, for some additional sobering news, read this article from the House Democrats about what Governor Inslee’s “Book 1” budget (or “No Revenue” budget) looks like.
This budget was done at the same time he released his “Book 2” budget in December when he suggested a new wealth tax to pay for state commitments and programs. Whether Governor Ferguson is open to new taxes or sources of revenue remains
to be seen.
Bills Heard This Week
Monday
House Education–Executive Session
- HB 1051 - Permitting the recording of individualized education program team meetings.
- HB 1079 - Supporting remote testing options for students enrolled in online school programs.
- HB 1257 - Extending special education services to students with disabilities until the end of the school year in which the student turns 22.
- HB 1273 - Improving student access to dual credit programs.
- HB 1285 - Making financial education instruction a graduation requirement in public schools.
- HB 1289 - Gathering survey information to improve the public school system.
- HB 1634 - Providing school districts and public schools with assistance to coordinate comprehensive behavioral health supports for students.
- HB 1651 - Concerning teacher residency and apprenticeship programs.
- HB 1795 - Addressing restraint or isolation of students in public schools and educational programs.
- HB 1827 - Concerning the effective delivery and administration of basic education services to justice-involved students.
Senate Ways and Means–Public Hearing
- SSB 5095 - Concerning school districts’ authority to contract indebtedness for school construction.
- SB 5189 - Supporting the implementation of competency-based education.
- SSB 5179 - Establishing a complaint process to address noncompliance with certain state education laws.
- SSB 5164 - Providing student navigational supports to increase postsecondary enrollment.
- SB 5543 - Providing equity in eligibility for the college bound scholarship.
- SSB 5030 - Improving access to educational services by reducing barriers to obtaining vital records and allowing alternative forms of documentation.
Tuesday
Senate Early Learning and K-12–Public Hearing
- SB 5574 Providing instruction on Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander history
Executive Session
- SB 5596 - Repealing the interstate teacher mobility compact.
- SB 5637 - Promoting student access to information about media literacy and civic education.
- SB 5567 - Expanding secondary training for careers in natural resources and conservation.
- SB 5641 - Encouraging public school instruction in awareness of blood donation.
- SB 5545 - Exempting family home providers overseen and certified by a federal military service from child care licensing.
- SB 5655 - Concerning child care centers operated in existing buildings.
House Education–Executive Session
- HB 1167 - Directing the statewide career and technical education task force to consider educational opportunities for careers in maritime professions.
- HB 1393 - Providing public school students with opportunities for cultural expression at commencement ceremonies.
- HB 1414 - Improving access to career opportunities for students.
- HB 1450 - Concerning transition to kindergarten programs.
- HB 1662 - Removing the requirement for certain education agencies to reside in the office of the superintendent of public instruction for administrative
purposes and by making other necessary changes to support independent administration of each agency.
- HB 1683 - Adjusting school director districts.
- HB 1709 - Addressing the care of students with adrenal insufficiency by parent-designated adults.
- HB 1817 - Supporting survivors of sexual assault in public elementary and secondary schools.
Bills Heard Next Week
As the week evolves, we will see the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Ways and Means Committee add bills to their agendas. We are hearing that the budget bills related to the “Big 3” may be some of the last bills that will be
heard before the fiscal cut-off on Friday, February 28. The intent is to keep all of these bills moving but they may be amended to have a smaller impact on K-12 funding as legislators deal with the budget realities and revenue shortfalls combined
with increasing maintenance level commitments that have been made.
Bill Tracking
My complete bill tracking list is linked here because I can’t run my official cutoff report until Saturday. I created a shorter “watch list” of bills that I think will be the main ones we are concerned with at this point. To see that
list, click here. My bill tracking list will get even shorter next week as fiscal committees act (or don’t act) on the bills with budgetary implications.
Get Involved
As always, many thanks for all that you do for students and staff. If you have questions or comments or want to get involved in our advocacy efforts, please reach out to me.
Thank you so much!
Important Links
Thank you so much!
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