We’ve reached the halfway point of this year’s legislative session and we have a long way to go. As I’m paying attention to the floor action in Olympia this week, I also have my eye on our trip to Washington, DC this weekend to attend the National School Leaders Advocacy Conference hosted by NAESP and NASSP. There are about 10 AWSP members from across the state who will be attending the conference Sunday through Tuesday and meeting with our Members of Congress next Tuesday and Wednesday. Here is the Federal Legislative Agenda prepared by NAESP and NASSP as well as what Superintendent Chris Reykdal has asked of our Members of Congress. I’ll report more about our DC trip next Friday.
Legislators have been busy in Olympia this week passing bills off of the floor of each chamber. The cutoff for policy bills to pass either the House or the Senate is Wednesday, March 12. Whatever bills make it past that deadline will then move to the opposite house and the process starts all over again. Ever present throughout this session is what to do about the budget and the shortfall in our state.
The primary K-12 budget bills are listed below. Bills related to two of the “Big 3” issues remain in play: Special Education and Materials, Supplies, and Operating Costs (MSOC). We continue to hope that special passengers (students experiencing homelessness or foster youth, etc.) receive additional transportation funds in the budget. The House has earmarked significantly less funding for K-12 than the Senate. The initial level for MSOC funds in HB 1338 was about $300/student but the bill was drastically reduced in Appropriations to $5/student. In the Senate, SB 5192 (MSOC) increases the per student amount by about $77/student. (See below for our Action Alert urging for the Senate bill.)
The two special education bills that remain alive have differences as well. The House bill (HB 1357) would increase the special education excess cost multipliers for kindergarten through age 21 to 1.18 for students who spend at least 80 percent of the school day in a general education setting, and 1.09 for those who spend less than 80 percent. The Senate bill (SB 5263) would increase the special education funding multipliers for Pre-K students and K-12 students to 1.32 and it would eliminate the multiplier tiers that provide different levels of funding based on time spent in a general education setting. I don’t have the final funding amount for these two bills, but the larger multiplier in the Senate bill signals significantly more funding for special education than the House bill.
In addition to the funding amounts, the House bill has some notable differences. The House bill would include grants for up to 20 pilot schools to establish school-wide centers of excellence for inclusionary practices and it would require OSPI, subject to appropriations, to provide grants for six demonstration projects to support inclusive teacher practices and student behavior management practices. The House bill would also require OSPI to use information gathered from demonstration projects and provide technical assistance to develop a strategy and timeline for prohibiting isolation of students in prekindergarten through grade 5 and to report on the plan by December 1, 2027. This is important to note because HB 1795 (Restraint and Isolation) failed to move out of House Appropriations so is technically “inactive” until the next legislative session.
Here’s a look at some of the other remaining bills. For my current bill tracking list, click here.
Budget
HB 1198/SB 5167: Operating budget
HB 1216/SB 5195: Capital budget
HB 1338/SB 5192: MSOC
HB 1357/SB 5263: Special education
SB 5186/SJR 8200: Simple majority for bonds
Health and Safety
HB 1085/SB 5272: Extending penalties for violence at extracurricular activities
HB 1709: Adrenal insufficiency
SB 5004: Updating emergency response systems
SB 5240: Anaphylaxis medications
SB 5641: Encouraging awareness of blood donation
