AWSP Blog

AWSP and WASA are thrilled to announce the launch of Next Level Leaders, Washington State's Premiere Leadership Development Academy. How did Next Level Leaders come about? In March 2020, educational leaders across Washington entered a new dawn of leadership. In this era, leaders must quickly adapt how schools operate, communicate in a timely and transparent manner, unify stakeholders, build a culture of inclusion and belonging, and nurture the talents of the students and the staff we serve. The landscape of school leadership has shifted. Next Level Leaders is a response to that shift.

AWSP’s very own Raquel Martinez, principal of Isaac Stevens Middle School in Pasco, has been named the National Association of Secondary School Principals’ (NASSP) new president-elect. Martinez has been serving on the NASSP Board of Directors as part of the Advocacy and Governance Committees. She is the first Latina president of NASSP.

These resources are sent out weekly to leaders in special education and Section 504. Each post contains tips and resources on a variety of topics that are meant to keep you informed and up-to-date.

This was essentially the last week that new policy bills were heard in committees as the cutoff for bills to pass out of committees of their house of origin is next Friday, February 17. Next week’s committee hearings will focus more on executive session when bills may be amended and then formally passed out of committee or not. After next week, my bill tracking list will definitely be smaller as some bills won’t make it.

The importance of advocacy cannot be overstated. Legislators need to continually hear from those impacted by proposed legislation. A lobbyist can keep issues in front of legislators, but those most closely impacted, particularly constituents, carry much more weight. Enough said. Listed below are bills that appear to be moving. Some previously reported bills have been dropped but may re-appear in future reports. Listed below are bills that show some life.