AWSP Blog

There was a big hearing the morning of January 18th in the House Education Committee on HB 1226 and HJR (House Joint Resolution) 4200 for passing bonds with simple majority.Both the bill and resolutionneed to pass for the issue to go to the ballot for the general election in November, but there is momentum once again around the need for school construction bonds to pass with a simple majority so students can have safe and healthy schools.

Happy New Year! We are days away from January 10th, which marks the beginning of the 2022 legislative session. This short, 60-day session will go fast and is expected to end on March 10. In a 60-day legislative session, the supplemental budget makes spending adjustments to the 2021-2023 biennial budget passed last year.

High-quality childcare and early learning experiences are essential for children and their families. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, finding care has been very difficult for many and the Legislature intends to address this issue through the Fair Start Act (HB 1213/SB 5237 which are companion bills).  The Fair Start Act, sponsored by both Rep. Tana Senn and Sen. Claire Wilson, establishes a new fund that would expand access to affordable childcare by increasing eligibility and decreasing copayments in the Working Connections Child Care Program and in the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program.

A very unusual session started this week, beginning with more somber opening day House and Senate sessions in which both houses voted on remote rules. Members who traveled to Olympia for the first day had to navigate terrible rain and tightened security measures to enter the Capitol. Committee hearings began on Tuesday and continued all week

One unforeseen consequence of a statewide closure has been the massive forced push for all of us to engage in the virtual meeting space. We might have dabbled before in Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, and Microsoft Teams, but now we are all exceeding standard. AWSP is offering weekly Office Hours for members to engage with with the AWSP Executive Team and K-12 principals from all over the state. This is a wide open session of give and take, but more importantly, to hear our members (principals, assistant principals and other school leaders) share challenges, successes, and barriers they are facing as newly assigned digital leaders. It is so incredible to watch these natural and organic conversations take off each week that I find myself thinking, "Why didn't we do this sooner?"