AWSP Blog

This week’s legislative update honors Martin Luther King Jr.’s reminder that meaningful change requires persistence and advocacy. Key highlights include debates on K-12 funding, student mental health, and financial literacy, alongside a focus on the "Big 3" funding issues of special education, MSOC, and transportation. Principals are making their voices heard, and you can too—join us for Day on the Hill on February 10th to advocate for our schools and students.

The 2025 legislative session kicks off on Monday, January 13th and along with a new year, as usual, comes lots of changes. 2025 will be a long, 105-day session where over 2,000 bills will be introduced, and where the biennial operating, capital, and transportation budgets will be adopted by the Legislature and signed by Governor-Elect Bob Ferguson. The session is expected to end by the end of April.

OSPI has posted proposed rule changes to WAC 392-157-125, requiring a minimum 20-minute seated lunchtime in K-12 public schools. This was done in response to a state audit from 2019. We know that while some of you meet this requirement already, for many of you, these suggested rules would create significant challenges for buildings and districts as an unfunded mandate. To ensure building and district perspectives are heard, we strongly encourage you to submit feedback to OSPI by the January 14 deadline.

As we move into fall, we are closer to the important general election in November that will elect a new President and Governor and numerous new legislators and other statewide elected officials. Three initiatives are on the ballot as well. The makeup of legislative committees and leadership positions will change somewhat as a result of the elections, so significant change in Washington’s political landscape is coming.

Last week, I had the honor of representing our state and AWSP members at the NAESP National Advocacy Conference in Washington, D.C. While there, I was able to hear from both candidates running for NAESP Vice-President. Both candidates were able to answer the questions put before them, though Ann-Marie Gleason articulated her thoughts and personalized her stories. Whoever wins the election will be representing our voice through discussions with leaders and legislators across our states and in our country’s capital