Session Begins – It’s a Sprint!
The 2024 Legislative Session kicked off this week, and it will be a 60-day sprint to the finish. Hundreds of new bills were pre-filed, hundreds of bills are still in play from last year, and hundreds of new bills are being introduced, which makes for lots of reading and a massive bill tracking list. The first cut-off of the session is January 31, when bills must pass off the floor of their house of origin, so this list will be much shorter in just a few weeks. Whew.
Passing supplemental budgets for transportation, capital, and operating costs is the main emphasis for legislators, and the starting point is Governor Inslee’s proposed $70.9 billion supplemental budget. The Governor would provide additional funding in K-12 education for paraeducator compensation, meals for students, and increase the cap on special education to 17.25%. He also includes a variety of smaller investments in other programs.
Our AWSP legislative platform includes two specific budget asks that our partners at OSPI included as a decision package request to Governor Inslee. The Governor did not include these requests in his budget, so we are asking legislators to include them in the final supplemental budget.
Our first request is an enhancement to our state’s principal internship program. Currently, funding is available to cover only 8-10 substitute days for interns receiving this grant. This is not sufficient preparation. We are asking for an additional one million dollars so grant recipients can have at least 25-30 days covered.
The second item is for $860,000, which allows OSPI to partner with us and provides more secure funding and support for associate director positions. These positions support principal professional learning, respond to member support calls, and provide coaching. They also support ongoing work related to instruction, evaluation, behavior, mental health, and more.
As a member of the School Funding Coalition, we continue to work alongside other statewide associations, like WASA and WSSDA, to urge legislators to update the prototypical funding model for principals and other staff. We are thrilled Representative Alicia Rule sponsored HB 2212, which will update the ratio for building administrators, and we are now working to get the bill a hearing in House Appropriations.
We are also working to pass SB 5085. This bill would update 28A.405.245 related to employment provisions. Our goal is to add assistant principals and require that specific evaluation criteria be used if principals or assistant principals are being moved to a subordinate position. We also want to ensure that all years of experience in education count, no matter the role (teacher or administrator). We do not see this RCW connected to moving staff to subordinate positions due to enrollment or funding declines, which, unfortunately, may still have to occur in districts.
Bills this Week
Here are the bills that were heard in the House and Senate Education Committees this week. I also have been tracking a few bills in the Higher Education and Healthcare Committees.
House Education
Monday and Tuesday Work Sessions on Restraint and Isolation:
On Monday, the information centered around federal and state laws, policies, and data. On Tuesday, we heard from practitioners in the field, including Principal Patrick Vincent from Union Gap. Thank you for sharing your time and expertise, Patrick! All groups agree that eliminating trauma for all students and building relational safety before escalation occurs is needed. We need clarity in the rules, and we need adequate resources, staffing, and training to ensure the safety of students and staff. How we get there is more complicated. The Senate has its own (simpler) bill on restraint and isolation that will be heard in week three. I’ll share more on that next week.
Thursday:
- E2SHB 1479 | Concerning restraint or isolation of students in public schools and educational programs.
- HB 1914 | Improving the education of students with varying abilities by enhancing special education services. This bill puts the burden of proof on districts.
- HB 2058 | Increasing student access to free meals served at public schools.
- HB 1608 | Expanding access to anaphylaxis medications in schools.
Senate Education
Wednesday:
- SB 5873 | Providing adequate and predictable student transportation.
- SB 5882 | Increasing prototypical school staffing (classified) to better meet student needs.
- SB 5823 | Concerning school district elections. (simple majority for bonds)
- SJR 8207 | Amending the Constitution to allow a majority of voters voting to authorize school district bonds.
- SB 5809 | Concerning enrichment funding for charter public schools.
Thursday:
- SB 5790 | Concerning bleeding control equipment in schools.
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