The 68^th installment of the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise continues…

Debates and floor action continue as both chambers rush to pass house of origin legislation by the end of February 13. The work of all committees will then resume, again, dealing with bills that have passed the opposite house. Some committees are already hard at work.

The status of bills changes constantly, so the summaries below are just as they were when this report was written.

A reminder that regardless of deadlines, bills can be ruled as ‘necessary to implement the budget’ so can be revived under that justification which can be arbitrary at times.

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Retirement Related Proposals

SHB 1105: Requiring public agencies to provide notice for public comment that includes the last date by which such public comment must be submitted.

Comment: This bill requires public agency notices for public comment to include the last date by which public comment must be submitted. • • Establishes penalties for agencies failing to provide the notice.

It passed the House 98/0 and is before Senate Government and Elections.

SHB 1985: Providing a benefit increase to certain retirees of the public employees' retirement system plan 1 and the teachers' retirement system plan 1.

Comment: This bill passed House 97/0 and will be sent to Senate Ways and Means. This bill would provide an ad-hoc 3% increase in 2024 not to exceed $110/month for TRS1/PERS1 Plan retirees.

HB 2481: Waiving health benefit premiums in the public employees' benefits board.

Comment: This is a late entry into Introductions. It is intended to replace HB 2013 mentioned above. It would waive, as the title suggests, the health benefit premium of the deceased during the month of one’s death. The survivors, if covered by insurance, would still pay the balance of the premium.

It is in House Rules awaiting action.

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Other Areas of Potential Fiscal Impact (and often unfunded) to Districts

Below are selected titles and brief summaries of proposed bills that may have potential impact to the business operations of districts. The TWIO has a more extensive list and explanation.

E2SHB 1618: Concerning the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse.

Comment: It eliminates the statute of limitations for recovery of damages as a result of childhood sexual abuse for all intentional actions occurring after June 6, 2024.

The bill as amended passed the House 93/0/5. It had a public hearing before the Senate Committee on Law and Justice Jan. 30^th.

SHB 1905 -  Including protected classes in the Washington Equal Pay and Opportunities Act. 

Comment: This bill amends the Equal Pay and Opportunities Act to prohibit an employer from discriminating in compensation and career advancement opportunities against similarly employed employees based on the employee's age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability.  

This bill is in House Rules awaiting action. Its companion, SSB 5894, is in Senate Rules awaiting movement to the floor for action.

Comment: The Senate bill extends the prohibitions on discrimination in wages and career advancement opportunities and the remedies to a person's membership in a protected class. • Provides that protected class means a person's age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained guide dog or service animal by a person with a disability.

HB 1927: Reducing the number of days that a worker's temporary total disability must continue to receive industrial insurance compensation for the day of an injury and the three-day period following the injury.

Comment:  It reduces the number of days – from 14 to 7 – that a temporary total disability must continue to receive workers' compensation time loss benefits for the first three days following the injury.

It passed the House 60/37 and is before Senate Labor and Commerce Committee.

HB 2044: An act relating to standardizing limitations on voter-approved property tax levies.

Comment: This bill removes the restriction on levy lid lift funds supplanting existing funds.

This bill is in House Rules awaiting further movement.

HB 2058: Increasing student access to free meals served at public schools. 

Comment: TWIO has covered this previously. There is no fiscal note to date, although press reports that the state’s cost will be in excess of $80 million dollars. It is indeterminate what other local school district unfunded costs will be.

This bill was moved to Appropriations and is awaiting scheduling. This is an example of a bill that may be ‘necessary to implement the budget’ so may still be alive. Its purpose has support among members.

SHB 2127 - 2023-24: Concerning workers' compensation incentives to return to work.

Comment: This bill modifies certain return to work policies and reimbursement amounts under the workers' compensation program. • Increases the maximum amounts of reimbursements paid to employers participating in the Stay at Work Program and Preferred Worker Program by the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I). • Increases the maximum amount paid to qualifying employers for job modification costs by L&I. • Allows L&I to authorize payments for basic skills development for qualifying injured workers.

This bill passed the House 97/0. A public hearing is scheduled for Feb. 15^th before Senate Labor and Commerce.

HB 2246: Concerning vacation leave accrual for state employees.

Comment: This bill increases the annual cap on the accrual of unused vacation leave for state employees from 240 hours to 280 hours.

This bill is before House Rules awaiting action.

SHB 2381: Increasing eligibility for economy and efficiency flexible school calendar waivers.

Comment: This bill authorizes the Superintendent of Public Instruction to grant waivers to reduce the minimum number of school days required in a school year to school districts with fewer than 1,000 students.

This bill passed the House 97/0 and will likely be assigned to Senate Education.

SB 5344: Establishing a public-school revolving fund.

Comment: This bill establishes the Public-School Revolving Fund in the State Treasury for the purpose of issuing low-interest or interest-free loans to qualifying school districts for capital projects. • Establishes the Public-School Revolving Fund Board to administer loans from the fund.

The bill is in House Rules with little expected movement. It is likely ‘dead.’

E2SSB 5670:  Permitting 10th grade students to participate in running start in online settings.

Comment: This bill permits rising 11th grade students to participate in Running Start courses during the summer academic term. • Requires that rising 11th grade Running Start students take no more than ten quarter credits per summer academic term, or the semester equivalent. • Requires school districts to provide information about Running Start enrollment opportunities during the summer academic term.

This bill passed Senate 48/0 and is scheduled for a public hearing Feb. 15^th in House Education. The fiscal note is not available, but this represents a cost to districts and an added administrative burden.

SB 5777: Concerning unemployment insurance benefits for striking or lockout workers.

Comment: Deletes a provision that disqualifies employees in a multi-employer bargaining unit from unemployment insurance benefits when the employees have been locked out following a strike against the employers in the bargaining unit.

This bill is on the Senate calendar awaiting action. Its companion (SHB 1893) is in House Rules awaiting action. It is a change from the Senate bill and specifies that the provision disqualifying a worker for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits based on a labor strike terminates on the second Sunday following the first day of the strike, thereby allowing those workers to access UI benefits following that time period and the waiting week. • Removes the provision disqualifying a worker for UI benefits based on an employer-initiated lockout resulting from a strike against another employer in a multi-employer bargaining unit.

SB 5789: Concerning the sales and use tax for school construction assistance program capital projects.

Comment: This bill changes the School Construction Assistance Program formula so that the state will pay for the full sales and use tax levied on all costs chargeable to a school construction project.

This bill is on the floor calendar awaiting action.

ESB 5790: An act relating to bleeding control equipment in schools.

Comment: This bill requires school districts, charter schools, and state-tribal education compact schools to maintain and make available certain bleeding control equipment and acquire and maintain at least one semiautomatic external defibrillator on each school campus beginning in the 2026-27 school year. • Specifies that schools must have a certain number of employees trained to use the bleeding control equipment. • Directs school districts to comply with existing requirements regarding semiautomatic external defibrillators.

This bill passed the Senate 47/0. It is scheduled for a public hearing on Feb. 15^th before House Education.

ESSB 5793: Concerning paid sick leave.

Comment: This bill allows an employee or transportation network company driver to use paid sick leave when their child's school or place of care is closed after the declaration of an emergency. • Modifies the definition of family member for the purpose of using paid sick leave to include any individual who regularly resides in the employee's home or where the relationship creates an expectation the employee care for the person, and that individual depends on the employee for care, except it does not include an individual who simply resides in the same home with no expectation the employee care for the individual. • • Provides that a child also includes a child's spouse. Requires the Department of Labor and Industries to develop materials and conduct outreach to inform individuals and businesses about the new provisions of the act.

It passed the Senate 28/21 and is scheduled for public hearing before House Labor and Workforce Standards on Feb. 14^th, and further scheduled for executive session on Fe. 16^th. Its companion, (SHB 1991) has been moved to the floor calendar. The substitute expands the definition of "family member" in Washington's Paid Sick Leave Law, allowing employees to use paid sick leave to care for additional specified persons experiencing a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition, or needing medical diagnosis, treatment, or preventative care. • Allows an employee to use paid sick leave when the employee's child's school or place of care has been closed due to a public emergency.

SSB 5804: Concerning opioid overdose reversal medication in public schools.

Comment: This bill requires all school districts, charter schools, and state-tribal education compact schools, not just those with 2000 or more students, to obtain and maintain at least one set of opioid overdose reversal medication doses in each of the public schools and to adopt a related policy.

It passed the Senate 49/0 and is scheduled for a public hearing Feb. 15^th before House Education.

ESB 5824: Concerning the dissolution of libraries and library districts.

Comment: This bill Increases the signature threshold for filing petitions to dissolve libraries from 100 taxpayers to 25 percent of eligible voters in the district. • Increases the signature threshold for filing petitions to dissolve library districts from 10 percent of voters residing outside of incorporated cities or towns to 25 percent of eligible voters in the district. • Expands voter eligibility to allow all qualified electors of a library district to participate in a vote on propositions for library district dissolution.

The bill passed the Senate 49/0 and has been sent to the House State Government and Tribal Relations.

SSB 5873 - 2023-24

Providing adequate and predictable student transportation.

Comment: This bill, subject to budget appropriations, requires the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to provide an analysis of school district transportation costs and allocations to the Legislature by June 1, 2027. • Requires OSPI to develop a transparent, predictable, and comprehensive student transportation funding model that addresses the diverse needs of students and the unique characteristics of school districts. • Provides additional funding in the amount of $400 per student for students that require special transportation due to the requirements of the McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act. • Provides that school districts may only enter into, renew, or extend pupil transportation services contracts with private nongovernmental entities that provide employee health and retirement benefits comparable to those received by school employees

This bill has been moved to the Senate calendar awaiting further action.

SB 5883: Concerning the burden of proof for special education due process hearings.

Comment. This bill provides that a school district has the burden of proof when it is a party to a special education due process hearing. • Creates an exception to this burden of proof requirement in circumstances when a parent seeks reimbursement for a unilateral parental placement.

This bill passed the Senate 48/0. It is scheduled for a public hearing on Feb. 14^th before House Education.

SSB 6031: Modifying the student transportation allocation to accommodate multiple vehicle types for transporting students.

Comment: This bill provides that the pupil transportation funding formula may not be construed to mandate the type of vehicle used for pupil transportation and encourages districts to use the vehicle type that the district deems to be the safest and most cost-effective. • Requires district-owned cars to be included in the overall transportation allocation rather than being subject to a private reimbursement rate and requires additional district-owned ridership data to be considered. • Requires school districts to report the number of miles driven per vehicle type when reporting transportation data to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. • Expands the school bus purchase and reimbursement process to include passenger vans used in lieu of school buses.

This bill is on the Senate calendar awaiting further action.

Fred Yancey
The Nexus Group LLC

“I would never finish a painting if I didn’t have a deadline." Peter Doig

“The thing that would most improve my life is 27 hours in a day. I could meet all my deadlines.” Yoko Ono

The first cut-off of the Session has come and gone. Policy bills not out of committees are ‘dead’, unless revived at legislative whim. Meanwhile, the action now moves to floor debate on bills. The fiscal committees still meet in order to move fiscal bills. Their deadline is February 5^th, the next cut-off. A caveat: Any bill that has dollars connected to it, can be deemed ‘necessary to implement the budget’ and be acted upon at any time regardless of timelines.

Note that a number of bills have an “S” before them. That is because as the process of legislating and hearings occur, changes are often made in the original bill marking the new bill as a substitute. i.e., SHB 1985 is Substitute House Bill 1985.

A brief summary of selected bills:

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Retirement Related Proposals

SHB 1985: Providing a benefit increase to certain retirees of the public employees' retirement system plan 1 and the teachers' retirement system plan 1.

Comment: This bill would provide an ad-hoc 3% increase in 2024 not to exceed $110/month for TRS1/PERS1 Plan retirees.

The House Committee on Appropriations lowered the original increase to the first $44,000 of one’s pension. That figure represents a senior’s income would qualify him/her for a property tax exemption.

This is currently in House Rules waiting to move to the floor for action.

HB 2013: Paying state retirement benefits until the end of the month in which the retiree or beneficiary dies.

Comment: This bill allows the survivor to keep the entire month’s amount regardless of when the person died.

The House Committee on Appropriations did not advance the bill. It is likely ‘dead.’

HB 2481: Waiving health benefit premiums in the public employees' benefits board.

Comment: This is a late entry into Introductions. It is intended to replace HB 2013 mentioned above. It would waive, as the title suggests, the health benefit premium of the deceased during the month of one’s death. The survivors, if covered by insurance, would still pay the balance of the premium.

It is scheduled for executive session in House Appropriations Feb.2.

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Other Areas of Potential Fiscal Impact (and often unfunded) to Districts

Below are selected titles and brief summaries of proposed bills that may have potential impact to the business operations of districts. The TWIO has a more extensive list and explanation.

SHB 1905 -  Including protected classes in the Washington equal pay and opportunities act. 

Comment: This bill amends the Equal Pay and Opportunities Act to prohibit an employer from discriminating in compensation and career advancement opportunities against similarly employed employees based on the employee's age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability.  

This bill has been referred to Appropriations and is scheduled for executive session Feb. 3^rd. Its companion, SSB 5894, is in Rules awaiting movement to the floor for action.

Comment: The Senate bill extends the prohibitions on discrimination in wages and career advancement opportunities and the remedies to a person's membership in a protected class. • Provides that protected class means a person's age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained guide dog or service animal by a person with a disability.

HB 1927: Reducing the number of days that a worker's temporary total disability must continue to receive industrial insurance compensation for the day of an injury and the three-day period following the injury.

Comment:  It reduces the number of days – from 14 to 7 – that a temporary total disability must continue to receive workers' compensation time loss benefits for the first three days following the injury.

It is currently in House Rules and awaits movement to the floor calendar. Its companion, (SB5932) has not had any movement and is likely ‘dead’.

SHB 1959: Extending parts of the paid family and medical leave program to employers with fewer than 50 employees.

Comment: This bill removes the exemption allowing employers with fewer than 50 employees to not pay any portion of the premium for the Paid Family and Medical Leave Program, thereby requiring those employers to pay at least 55 percent of the medical leave share of the premium.

It has been referred to Appropriations who has yet to schedule it for a public hearing.

HB 2044: An act relating to standardizing limitations on voter-approved property tax levies.

Comment: This bill removes the restriction on levy lid lift funds supplanting existing funds.

This bill is in House Rules awaiting further movement.

HB 2058: Increasing student access to free meals served at public schools. 

Comment: TWIO has covered this previously. There is no fiscal note to date, although press reports that the state’s cost will be in excess of $80 million dollars. It is indeterminate what other local school district unfunded costs will be.

This bill was moved to Appropriations and is awaiting scheduling. The companion bill, (SB 5964) has had no movement since the public hearing in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education on 1/29.

SHB 2127 - 2023-24: Concerning workers' compensation incentives to return to work.

Comment: This bill modifies certain return to work policies and reimbursement amounts under the workers' compensation program. • Increases the maximum amounts of reimbursements paid to employers participating in the Stay at Work Program and Preferred Worker Program by the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I). • Increases the maximum amount paid to qualifying employers for job modification costs by L&I. • Allows L&I to authorize payments for basic skills development for qualifying injured workers.

This bill is before House Rules awaiting movement to the floor calendar.

SB 5059 - Concerning pre-judgment interest. 

Comment: Dan Steele has already addressed this bill and its potential for adversely affecting school district finances.

There has been no movement since the public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means on Jan. 15^th. See E2SHB 1618 below.

E2SHB 1618: Concerning the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse.

Comment: It eliminates the statute of limitations for recovery of damages as a result of childhood sexual abuse for all intentional actions occurring after June 6, 2024.

The bill as amended passed the House 93/0. It had a public hearing before the Senate Committee on Law and Justice Jan. 30^th

SB 5344: Establishing a public-school revolving fund.

Comment: This bill establishes the Public-School Revolving Fund in the State Treasury for the purpose of issuing low-interest or interest-free loans to qualifying school districts for capital projects. • Establishes the Public-School Revolving Fund Board to administer loans from the fund.

The bill is on the second reading in the House.

SB 5777 - Concerning unemployment insurance benefits for striking or lockout workers.

Comment: Deletes a provision that disqualifies employees in a multi-employer bargaining unit from unemployment insurance benefits when the employees have been locked out following a strike against the employers in the bargaining unit.

This bill has been passed to Rules awaiting movement to the Senate calendar. Its companion (HB 1893) is before House Appropriations awaiting action.

ESB 5790: An act relating to bleeding control equipment in schools.

Comment: This bill requires each school district to maintain and make available certain bleeding control equipment on each school campus for use in the event of a traumatic injury beginning in the 2024-25 school year. • Directs each school to have a certain number of employees trained to use the equipment.

This bill passed the Senate 47/0.

SSB 5793 -  Concerning paid sick leave.

Comment: Allows an employee or transportation network company driver to use paid sick leave when their child's school or place of care is closed due to a public emergency. • Modifies the definition of family member for the purpose of using paid sick leave to include any individual who regularly resides in the employee's home or where the relationship creates an expectation the employee care for the person, and that individual depends on the employee for care, except it does not include an individual who simply resides in the same home with no expectation the employee care for the individual. • • Provides that a child also includes a child's spouse. Requires the Department of Labor and Industries to develop materials and conduct outreach to inform individuals and businesses about the new provisions of the act.

It is currently in Senate Rules awaiting movement to the floor calendar. Its companion, (SHB 1991) is in House Rules awaiting movement to the floor calendar. The substitute expands the definition of "family member" in Washington's Paid Sick Leave Law, allowing employees to use paid sick leave to care for additional specified persons experiencing a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition, or needing medical diagnosis, treatment, or preventative care. • Allows an employee to use paid sick leave when the employee's child's school or place of care has been closed due to a public emergency.

SB 5824: Concerning the dissolution of libraries and library districts.

Comment: This bill Increases the signature threshold for filing petitions to dissolve libraries from 100 taxpayers to 25 percent of eligible voters in the district. • Increases the signature threshold for filing petitions to dissolve library districts from 10 percent of voters residing outside of incorporated cities or towns to 25 percent of eligible voters in the district. • Expands voter eligibility to allow all qualified electors of a library district to participate in a vote on propositions for library district dissolution.

The bill passed the House 49/0 and has been sent to the House.

SB 5873 - 2023-24: Providing adequate and predictable student transportation.

Comment: This bill, subject to budget appropriations, increases funding for student transportation. Of added import is that it provides that pupil transportation services contracts entered into, renewed, or extended after September 1, 2024, must require the contractor to provide employee health and retirement benefits comparable to those received by school employees. It also states: “Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this purpose, OSPI must provide a one-time supplemental transportation allocation to school districts that experience an increase in costs to pupil transportation services contracts due to the new benefit requirements. To be eligible for the supplemental allocations, a school district must report to OSPI regarding the number of contracted employees that worked at least 630 hours performing contract services in the school year prior to entering a contract with the new benefits. Supplemental allocations may only be used as payments under pupil transportation services contracts for employee compensation and may not exceed $200 per contracted employee per month.”

There has been no further action since the public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways and Means on Jan 23rd.

SB 5883: Concerning the burden of proof for special education due process hearings.

Comment. This bill provides that a school district has the burden of proof when it is a party to a special education due process hearing. • Creates an exception to this burden of proof requirement in circumstances when a parent seeks reimbursement for a unilateral parental placement.

It is on second reading awaiting action on the floor.

SSB 5924 - 2023-24 Concerning access to personnel records.

Comment:  This bill requires an employer to furnish an employee, former employee, or their designee with a copy of the employee's personnel file at no cost within 21 calendar days of a request. • Mandates an employer to furnish a former employee with a signed written statement with the effective date of discharge, whether the employer had a reason for the discharge and, if so, the reasons, within 21 calendar days of the written request. • Allows an employee or former employee to bring a private action, after five days’ notice, for violations of certain rights regarding personnel files, and discharge information, for equitable relief, graduated statutory damages up to $1,000, and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs of each violation.

This is before Senate Ways and Means awaiting scheduling.

SB 5978: Authorizing the office of the superintendent of public instruction to act as a guarantor for a county when the county provides a loan to a school district.

Comment: Scheduled for executive session by the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education on Jan. 31^st.

SB 6031: Modifying the student transportation allocation to accommodate multiple vehicle types for transporting students.

Comment: This bill provides that the pupil transportation funding formula may not be construed to mandate the type of vehicle used for pupil transportation and encourages districts to use the vehicle type that the district deems to be the safest and most cost-effective. • Requires district-owned cars to be included in the overall transportation allocation rather than being subject to a private reimbursement rate and requires additional district-owned ridership data to be considered. • Requires school districts to report the number of miles driven per vehicle type when reporting transportation data to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

This bill is scheduled for a public hearing before the Senate Ways and Means on /Feb. 3^rd.

SB 6045 - Concerning school district efficiencies and consolidation.

Comment: Self-explanatory. This is not the first time this idea of forcing efficiencies has been introduced.

A public hearing in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education was on 1/25. No further action scheduled. Likely ‘dead’.

SB 6223: Updating school district director compensation.

Comment: Each member of the board of directors of a school district may receive compensation in an annual amount not to exceed the combined total of $500 per month plus 50 cents per student enrolled in the school district based on prior year actual enrollments.

A public hearing was held before the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education on 1/29. No further action to date.

Fred Yancey
The Nexus Group LLC

One Hurdle Cleared

We cleared the first big hurdle of this year’s legislative session this week when bills had to pass out of their policy committees. Bills with fiscal implications must pass out of House Appropriations or Senate Ways and Means by February 5. The next step after that is for bills to be passed off the floor of the House or the Senate and the deadline for that is February 13. After that, the bills move to the other side and the process repeats.

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Bills and Budget

My bill tracking list got a lot smaller this week which is good news. Some of the policy bills that remain in play include substance use prevention education on fentanyl (HB 1956/SB 5923), establishing a statewide network for student mental and behavioral health (SB 6216), and restraint and isolation (HB 1479). The restraint and isolation bill was updated with revised language for some terms and to allow a little more flexibility for schools to use waivers. It also added regional behavioral specialists and some reporting requirements. Much more conversation is coming with this bill as it heads toward the House floor for a vote. We aren’t sure what kind of appetite the Senate has for this bill this session but the Senate version did not move out of the Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee.

There are also several bills related to updating curriculum requirements including computer science (SB 5849), financial literacy (HB 1915), Holocaust and genocide education (HB 2037), and mandating instruction on the Pledge of Allegiance (SB 6205). There is an effort to support high school students through bills such as ninth grade success grants (HB 2052), paying for AP/IB exams (HB 2326), adding private non-for-profit colleges to College in the High School (HB 2441), increasing student navigational support for postsecondary preparation (SB 6254), and strengthening CTE Core Plus programs (HB 2236).

There are several bills related to our educator workforce including dual language programs (HB 1228), teacher residency programs (HB 1565), and phasing in additional staff allocations for teaching assistants, office support staff, and non instructional aides in the prototypical school funding model (HB 1960/SB 5882). Related to paraeducators, there is a bill that would increase compensation for this group (HB 2380/SB 6082).

As the fiscal committees now begin to seriously consider the many policy bills that remain, they will have to decide what they truly value and whether they will commit to funding these policies. If the bill related to restraint and isolation practices continues to move, how much funding would be provided for professional learning? If the bill related to paraeducator compensation moves forward, will it be a $7/hour increase or might that be decreased as budget priorities change and settle?

In further budget news, districts have organized efforts to point out how underfunded MSOC (materials, supplies and operating costs) has been over the past few years as the state has not kept up with the rising costs of insurance, utilities, curriculum, and more. The state needs to fully fund district costs for MSOC, special education, or transportation to name three big areas. Education advocates are pushing on legislators to do more with the state budget to support K-12 schools.

We continue to ask legislators to include 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 thank Representative Alicia Rule for sponsoring HB 2212, which would update the ratio for building administrators. Even though this bill failed to get a hearing, it is good to have language to point to as we talk about the workload of principals and one idea to help alleviate some burdens.

Here is my complete bill tracking list if you’d like to check out all of the bills. 

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Engage in Advocacy

February is our “Member Engagement Month” and there is no better way to engage with your professional association this month than by getting involved in our advocacy efforts. There are a variety of ways in which you can do this. Some take a few seconds, and some take a little more time. Choose your own level of engagement, but please do take action to support legislation that would help “Grow, Support, and Sustain” our current and future school leaders.

Send a Quick Action Alert

This is the easiest option of all. Here are links to two quick action alerts that will send an email to your legislators after you enter your own name and address. The first one is to request support for a budget proviso that would add more funds to the principal intern grant and to provide regional support for current building leaders. The second one allows you to write your own message. Try these now…they are so easy! Scroll down the page until you see the Action Alert you would like to send.

Be a Principal Partner with a Legislator

If you would like to commit to communicating more regularly with your legislators, let me know. Email me if you would like to be a “Principal Partner with a Legislator”.

Invite Your Legislator to be the “Principal for a Day”

We had a very successful pilot project a few weeks ago when Senator Claire Wilson shadowed Principal Terrie Garrison at Fir Grove Elementary in Puyallup and when Representative Clyde Shavers shadowed Principal Jenny Hunt at Broad View Elementary in Oak Harbor. We plan to hold this event again in October, 2024. If you would like a legislator to shadow you next fall, send me an email.

Meet with Your Legislators

It’s really easy to set up meetings either in-person or via Zoom with your legislators. They should prioritize meeting with you because you are their local constituents. Here is a link for their contact information and it’s also helpful to include their legislative assistants in your email to request a meeting. It’s possible to meet with them now during the legislative session but it will probably be a short 15 minute conversation. During the interim, they should have more time to meet with you. Either option works because it’s all about developing a working relationship with our policymakers.

Participate on our Advocacy Advisory Council

We have over 50 principals and assistant principals who belong to our AWSP Advocacy Advisory Council. During the legislative session, we meet weekly on Zoom to discuss the bills being heard that week and to strategize about how we, as an association, will respond. This group of people is invited to attend our annual  “AWSP Day on the Hill” which will be held on Monday, February 5th. During the interim, we meet occasionally via Zoom to stay in touch about various issues, meet with legislators about bills that they are considering, and develop our legislative platform. Email me to get involved at this level. 

Shadow Me for the Day

Last week, it was a first for me and an absolute joy to have Principal Lisa Kusche from Ballou Junior High in Puyallup, spend the day with me at the Capitol. Lisa participated with me in all of my usual advocacy and committee meetings with other education stakeholders and legislators. It was so great to have her here (and I’m so bummed that I forgot to take a selfie of us!) Email me if you would like to hang out sometime in Olympia.

Below are additional links to find out more about these bills and to contact your own legislators. Legislators care very much about hearing directly from their constituents. When we weigh in as an association, it is helpful and important, but having many of you reach out directly with a short email to legislators can be much more powerful.  

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Important Links:

• Washington State Legislature
• Bill Search
• Find Your Legislators
• Email Your Legislators

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Other Advocacy Efforts

Day on the Hill

Many of our Advocacy Advisory Council and AWSP Board Members are planning a visit to Olympia on February 5 for our annual “Day on the Hill”. They will be meeting with their own legislators and perhaps attending some committee hearings. You can get involved by scheduling a virtual meeting with your own legislators that week. See the links shared above to find your district legislators and their email addresses. 

Here is my complete bill tracking list for this week.

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Get Involved

Many thanks for all that you do for students and staff. Please reach out if you have questions or comments. Thank you!

With Black History Month here, you may ask, "What does this mean for me?" In our daily lives, many of us may not know how to best honor, acknowledge, or celebrate cultures, whether our own or somebody else's. 

Black History Month allows us to shine a light and learn more about historical figures and pioneers in Black History who may be lesser known to the general public. Even within Washington state, we have our share of Black History woven into the fabric of our state’s history. Studying the lives and contributions of these individuals aids in our collective understanding and growth regarding the history of our state, particularly in relation to Black History Month. 

Below are some maybe lesser-known Black individuals who hold an honorable place in Washington state history. You’re invited to read through the list, open up the articles on a few, learn something new, and pass it on throughout the month. At the end of the list are a couple of great links with many articles, exhibits, videos, and resources to further explore and expand your knowledge and understanding.

Bertha Pitts Campbell (1889–1990): A civil rights activist, Campbell was the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Washington School of Law. She became the first African American woman to practice law in the state.

Gordon McHenry Sr. (1931–2015): The first African American engineer promoted to management at Boeing, McHenry also served as the executive director of the Seattle Urban League and played a crucial role in addressing racial inequality and social justice issues.

Roberta Byrd Barr (1919–1993): The first female and African American principal in Seattle, Barr also worked at KOMO-TV and covered stories highlighting racial and social justice issues.

Sam Smith (1934–1995): A community organizer and political leader, Smith was the first African American elected to Seattle’s City Council after serving five consecutive terms as a House Representative for Seattle’s 37th District.

Thelma Dewitty (1900–1997): The first African American teacher hired by the Seattle School District, Dewitty made significant contributions to education and the African American community in Seattle.

Vickie Williams (1952-2017) With a goal to serve the Black community, Williams opened the first African American-owned bookstore in Washington state. She provided a safe place for African Americans to learn about their history and gather to celebrate their culture.

E. June Smith (1900-1982) A trailblazing educator in Seattle and advocate for Black history, Smith was actively involved in advocating for and contributing to the desegregation of schools, leaving an indelible mark on the pursuit of educational equity.

Reverend Sam McKinney (1926-2018) As a prominent figure in civil rights and social justice, Rev. McKinney was a key leader in the Seattle civil rights movement. He co-founded the Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) and played a crucial role in advocating for racial equality, education, and economic empowerment, leaving a lasting impact on the fight for justice in the Pacific Northwest.

Delbert Richardson: Founder of the American History Traveling Museum, Richardson is dedicated to preserving and sharing African American history. He has been active in educating communities about the contributions of Black Americans.

Celebrating Black History Month is not just about looking back; it's about creating a present and future that honors diversity, equality, and understanding. By taking tangible actions, we contribute to a more inclusive society where the achievements and contributions of Black individuals are acknowledged and celebrated throughout the year. Let this month be a catalyst for ongoing awareness and appreciation! 

Visit ICONS from the Washington State History Museum’s Black Washinton Virtual Exhibit (desktop version) to learn more about the icons, stories, and landmarks that shaped history and culture in Washington. If using a cell phone, find the Black Washington app here to view the exhibit.

BlackPast is another great site that strives “to promote greater understanding of our common human experience through knowledge of the diversity of the Black experience and the ubiquity of the global Black presence.”

Welcome to February

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A Few of My Favorites in January

 

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Days to Celebrate in February

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Cindy is in her 23rd year as a school administrator. She is currently the principal of Kelso Virtual Academy and Loowit Alternative High School within the Kelso School District in Kelso, Washington. Cindy has been recognized by the National Association of Secondary School Principals as the 2021 National Digital Principal of the Year. She has two teenagers and has been married to her husband, Leszek for 23 years. Find her on Twitter @sholtys.

As we usher in February, we are thrilled to announce the launch of our Member Engagement Month – a month-long campaign dedicated to fostering connection, amplifying your voices, and providing you with exciting opportunities to shape the future of education for principals and assistant principals across the state.

At AWSP, we believe that an engaged and active membership is the heartbeat of our professional association. It is your passion, dedication, and insights that drive positive change in the educational landscape. That's why we're rolling out a series of initiatives, blog posts, and weekly emails throughout the month to help you make the most of your membership.

One way to get involved is with our Grade Level Leadership Committees (GLLC). You can view current openings, and later this week, you'll get an email inviting you to apply if you're in a grade-level and ESD region with open positions. Our GLLC members consistently say their involvement is one of the highlights of their professional careers. Don't take our word for it, hear what they say about their experience engaging with AWSP.

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What to Expect

Each week, you'll receive an email highlighting:

1. Winter Forum Advocacy Update

Stay informed about the latest developments in education policy and advocacy. Register now for the Winter Forum, February 13, 4-5pm. You'll hear important updates from our Director of Advocacy and Government Relations, Roz Thompson, on crucial issues affecting school leaders.

2. Update Your Profile and Tap a Future Leader on the Shoulder

Do we have all your important information on record, and is it up-to-date? Cell phone, address, ethnicity, etc. Log in to your profile to check or update your records. Also, what a perfect time to tell someone else that you see them as an effective future leader. 

3. Professional Learning Updates, Summer Conference, and Clock Hours Certification Update

Explore upcoming learning opportunities, mark your calendar for essential events, and ensure your professional certifications are up-to-date. Our commitment to your continuous growth is unwavering.

4. Get Involved in Grade Level Leadership Committees and Nominate for Principal/Assistant Principal of the Year

Take an active role in shaping education by participating in grade-level committees. Nominate outstanding colleagues for Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year awards – recognizing excellence and innovation in leadership.

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Why Get Involved?

Your involvement is more than a checkbox on your membership journey. It's about actively contributing to the educational community, sharing your expertise, and helping shape the future. When you engage, you empower yourself and others, and collectively, we elevate the standard of education.

By participating in Member Engagement Month, you not only enhance your professional development but also play a pivotal role in influencing the trajectory of education. Your voice matters, and AWSP is the platform that amplifies it.

Get ready for an exciting month filled with opportunities to connect, learn, and make a meaningful impact. Keep an eye on your inbox for our weekly emails, each focusing on a specific theme aimed at enriching your membership experience.

Let's make this month a celebration of collaboration, growth, and advocacy. Together, we can build a brighter future for education.

We've Reached the Peak of New Bills

This week, we reached the peak of new policy bills being heard in committees. The first significant cut-off of this year’s legislative session is next Wednesday, January 31 when bills must be passed out of committee. Those with fiscal implications must pass out of House Appropriations or Senate Ways and Means by February 5. The next step after that is for bills to be passed off the floor of the House or the Senate and the deadline for that is February 13. After that, the bills move to the other side and the process repeats.

We signed in “pro” this week for bills related to dual language and teacher residency programs, modifying requirements for instructional materials and supplemental instructional materials committees, social emotional learning, and supporting a statewide network of mental and behavioral health support for students through the ESDs. 

A BIG thank you to Jake Tyrrell, Principal at Steilacoom High School, and Mark Beddes, Principal at Surprise Lake Middle in Fife, for testifying in the Senate about the critical need for our state to support students with their mental and behavioral health.

We also weighed in “pro” for bills in other committees besides K-12 education, such as programs that would support students headed to post-secondary programs and improving school safety at school and athletic events.

We weighed in as “other” for HB 1922 which would provide grant funding for vape detectors and said that while these devices can help improve the school culture of using restrooms, we would rather see resources go to prevention and cessation support for students. We also said “other” for HB 2018 that would require districts to adopt a policy to restrict the use of mobile devices. 

Another issue that we continue to weigh in on is restraint and isolation. The House and Senate bills for this topic are slightly different and in general, the education community prefers the Senate version as it has fewer changes to the reporting process and more flexible definitions. The Senate bill (SB 5966) has not yet been scheduled for executive session, but the House version (HB 1479 ) has been scheduled for executive action next week. I haven’t seen any specific amendments yet but will be watching to see what happens.

Many thanks to our High School Grade Level Leadership Committee for their robust discussion of SB 5670 which would allow 10th graders to take one online course in Running Start. We provided feedback to Senator Brad Hawkins that we were a bit mixed about this and that our primary concerns were academic readiness and support and logistics. We would like to see a deeper dive into the data around Running Start success rates as well as additional funding gaps addressed. OSPI and WEA are weighing in as well and it sounds like the bill will be modified to codify the 10 credits of summer Running Start courses that rising juniors can take as well as add some additional notification requirements for 9th and 10th graders.

We are also still working on 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 still may have to occur in districts.

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Budget

Supplemental Operating Budget discussions are ramping up and it sounds like more attention is being paid to increasing funding for MSOC (Materials Supplies and Operating Costs). Districts are sharing data to show how utility and insurance costs in particular have risen dramatically and state funding has not kept up. Some legislators are focused on funding transportation costs and of course the conversation about paraeducator pay and updating the prototypical model for paraeducators continues. The state will not pay for all of these things, however, as the total amount is well outside the “box” of money that they will allocate for K-12 Education. We are hearing that there will be good news for school construction projects in the Capital Budget.

We continue to ask legislators to include 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 thank Representative Alicia Rule for sponsoring HB 2212, which would update the ratio for building administrators, and we are now working to get the bill a hearing in House Appropriations.

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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

• HB 1228 | Building a multilingual, multiliterate Washington through dual and tribal language education. 
• HB 1239 | Establishing a simple and uniform system for complaints related to, and instituting a code of educator ethics for conduct within or involving public elementary and secondary schools. 
• E2SHB 1565 | Supporting and strengthening the professional education workforce. 
• HB 2335 | Concerning state-tribal education compacts.
• HB 2381 | Increasing eligibility for economy and efficiency flexible school calendar waivers. 

Tuesday

• HB 2331 | Modifying requirements for public school instructional and supplemental instructional materials. 
• HB 2398 | Requiring parent representation on instructional materials committees. 
• HB 2037 | Concerning Holocaust and genocide education in public schools. 
• HB 2018 | Improving student outcomes by restricting mobile device use by public school students. 
• HB 1922 | Establishing a grant program for the purchase and installation of vape detectors in public schools.

Thursday

• HB 2130 | Extending special education services. 
• HB 2239 | Supporting student well-being through instruction in social-emotional skills. 

Senate Education

Monday

• SB 5969 | Adjusting school districts' authority to contract indebtedness for school construction. 
• SB 5978 | Authorizing the office of the superintendent of public instruction to act as a guarantor for a county when the county provides a loan to a school district.
• SB 5903 | Concerning representation in the educator preparation act. 
• SB 6012 | Helping approved teacher preparation programs respond to the continuously changing needs of the modern classroom.
• SB 5966 | Concerning restraint or isolation of students in public schools and educational programs.

Wednesday

• SB 6082 | Increasing compensation for Washington paraeducators.
• SB 6123 | Adjusting classified school employee salaries.
• SB 6208 | Modifying requirements for public school instructional and supplemental instructional materials.
• SB 6216 | Establishing a statewide network for student mental and behavioral health.
• SB 6236 | Filing a declaration of intent to provide home-based instruction.

Thursday

• SB 6031 | Modifying the student transportation allocation to accommodate multiple vehicle types for transporting students.
• SB 6205 | Mandating instruction on the meaning and history of the pledge of allegiance in public schools. 
• SB 6045 | Concerning school district efficiencies and consolidation.
• SB 6264 | Supporting the implementation of competency-based education.

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Next Week’s Bills

There will only be two new bills heard next week in the Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee in the Senate. The House Education Committee will only hold executive sessions as legislators work to meet the deadline of passing bills out by January 31.

House Education

Monday

• SB 6223 | Updating school district director compensation.
• SB 5964 | Increasing student access to free meals served at public schools.

Below are additional links to find out more about these bills and to contact your own legislators. Legislators care very much about hearing directly from their constituents. When we weigh in as an association, it is helpful and important, but having many of you reach out directly with a short email to legislators can be much more powerful. Find your legislator and email them here if you have any thoughts to share. 

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Important Links:

• Washington State Legislature
• Bill Search
• Find Your Legislators
• Email Your Legislators

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Other Advocacy Efforts

Day on the Hill

Many of our Advocacy Advisory Council and AWSP Board Members are planning a visit to Olympia on February 5 for our annual “Day on the Hill”. They will be meeting with their own legislators and perhaps attending some committee hearings. You can get involved by scheduling a virtual meeting with your own legislators that week. See the links shared above to find your district legislators and their email addresses. 

Here is my complete bill tracking list for this week.

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Get Involved

Many thanks for all that you do for students and staff. Please reach out if you have questions or comments. Thank you!

“Don’t raise your voice, improve your argument.” Nelson Mandela

“Time spent arguing is, oddly enough, almost never wasted.” Christopher Hitchens

As the Legislature approaches cut-off deadlines, action and debates are taking place in committees on the respective floors of each house as legislators act to move proposals.

A brief summary of selected bills:

Retirement Related Proposals

HB 1985: Providing a benefit increase to certain retirees of the public employees' retirement system plan 1 and the teachers' retirement system plan 1.

Comment: This bill would provide an ad-hoc 3% increase in 2024, not to exceed $125/month for TRS1/PERS1 Plan retirees.

The House Committee on Appropriations has scheduled an executive session for 1/25. Rumor has it that a substitute bill may be offered that rolls the increase back to $110/month, which is identical to the bill and funding provided last session. A reminder that the $110 figure had a $44,000 pension cap; the $125 increases it to $50,000. Those figures represent a person’s income that would qualify for a property tax exemption.

HB 2013: Paying state retirement benefits until the end of the month in which the retiree or beneficiary dies.

Comment: This bill allows the survivor to keep the entire month’s amount regardless of when the person died.

The House Committee on Appropriations has scheduled an executive session for 1/25. Rumor has it that an alternative bill will be dropped that would address the health insurance premium due on the month of death.

HB 2481: Waiving health benefit premiums in the public employees' benefits board.

Comment: This is a late entry into Introductions. It is intended to replace HB 2013 mentioned above. It would waive, as the title suggests, the health benefit premium during the month of one’s death. It has yet to be scheduled for a public hearing

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Other Areas of Potential Fiscal Impact (and often unfunded) to Districts

Below are titles and a brief summary of proposed bills that may have potential impact to the business operations of districts.

SHB 1105: Requiring public agencies to provide notice for public comment that includes the last date by which such public comment must be submitted.

Comment: This bill mandates a public agency that is required to solicit public comment for a statutorily specified period of time and to provide notice that it is soliciting public comment, to include in the notice the last day by which written public comment may be submitted. • Makes an agency that violates the requirement to include in a notice for public comment the last day by which written comment may be submitted subject to a civil penalty of $500 for the first violation and $1000 for any subsequent violation.

It is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on State Government & Elections on 1/30. 

HB 1905 -  Including protected classes in the Washington equal pay and opportunities act. 

Comment: Amends the Equal Pay and Opportunities Act to prohibit an employer from discriminating in compensation and career advancement opportunities against similarly employed employees based on the employee's age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability.

This bill is scheduled for Executive Action on 1/19 in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards. Its companion, SB 5894, has not moved since its public hearing on 1/15.

HB 1927: Reducing the number of days that a worker's temporary total disability must continue to receive industrial insurance compensation for the day of an injury and the three-day period following the injury.

Comment:  It reduces the number of days – from 14 to 7 – that a temporary total disability must continue to receive workers' compensation time loss benefits for the first three days following the injury.

It is currently in House Rules and awaits movement to the floor calendar. Its companion, (SB5932) has not had any movement and is likely ‘dead’.

HB 1959: Extending parts of the paid family and medical leave program to employers with fewer than 50 employees.

Comment: This bill removes the exemption allowing employers with fewer than 50 employees to not pay any portion of the premium for the Paid Family and Medical Leave Program, thereby requiring those employers to pay at least 55 percent of the medical leave share of the premium.

It is scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards on 1/26.

HB 2058: Increasing student access to free meals served at public schools. 

Comment: TWIO has covered this previously. There is no fiscal note to date, although press reports that the state’s cost will be in excess of $80 million dollars. It is indeterminate what other local school district unfunded costs will be.

This bill was moved to Appropriations and is awaiting scheduling. The companion bill, (SB 5964) is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education on 1/29. 

HB 2127 - 2023-24: Concerning workers' compensation incentives to return to work.

Comment: Modifies certain return-to-work policies and reimbursement amounts under the workers' compensation program. • Increases the maximum amounts of reimbursements paid to employers participating in the Stay at Work Program and Preferred Worker Program by the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I). • Increases the maximum amount paid to qualifying employers for job modification costs by L&I.

This bill is scheduled for Executive Session in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards Jan. 24^th.

SB 5059 - Concerning pre-judgment interest. 

Comment: Dan Steele has already addressed this bill and its potential for adversely affecting school district finances.

It had a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 4:00 PM, Jan. 15^th. No further action to date.

2SHB 1618: Concerning the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse.

Comment: Again, this has been addressed in previous reports, and the potential to create economic havoc within districts remains. It removes the statute of limitations for recovery of damages as a result of childhood sexual abuse. • • Applies the act retroactively and prospectively.

The Rules Committee relieved of further consideration. Placed on third reading waiting action on House floor. 

SB 5777 - Concerning unemployment insurance benefits for striking or lockout workers.

Comment: Deletes a provision that disqualifies employees in a multi-employer bargaining unit from unemployment insurance benefits when the employees have been locked out following a strike against the employers in the bargaining unit.

This bill has been passed to Rules awaiting movement to the Senate calendar. Its companion (HB 1893) is scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards on 1/26. 

SB 5793 -  Concerning paid sick leave.

Comment: Allows an employee or transportation network company driver to use paid sick leave when their child's school or place of care is closed due to a public emergency. • Modifies the definition of family member for the purpose of using paid sick leave to include any individual who regularly resides in the employee's home or where the relationship creates an expectation the employee care for the person and that individual depends on the employee for care, except it does not include an individual who simply resides in the same home with no expectation the employee care for the individual. • • Provides that a child also includes a child's spouse. Requires the Department of Labor and Industries to develop materials and conduct outreach to inform individuals and businesses about the new provisions of the act.

It was moved out of Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce on 1/22 and assumed to go to Appropriations. Its companion, (HB 1991) scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards on 1/26.

SB 5824: Concerning the dissolution of libraries and library districts.

Comment: This bill increases the signature threshold for filing petitions to dissolve libraries or library districts from 100 taxpayers to 35 percent of eligible voters in the district. • Expands voter eligibility to allow all qualified electors of a library district to participate in a vote on propositions for library district dissolution.

It is on the second awaiting action on the floor calendar.

SB 5873 - 2023-24

Providing adequate and predictable student transportation.

Comment: This bill, subject to budget appropriations, increases funding for student transportation. Of added import is that it provides that pupil transportation services contracts entered into, renewed, or extended after September 1, 2024, must require the contractor to provide employee health and retirement benefits comparable to those received by school employees. It also states: “Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this purpose, OSPI must provide a one-time supplemental transportation allocation to school districts that experience an increase in costs to pupil transportation services contracts due to the new benefit requirements. To be eligible for the supplemental allocations, a school district must report to OSPI regarding the number of contracted employees who worked at least 630 hours performing contract services in the school year prior to entering a contract with the new benefits. Supplemental allocations may only be used as payments under pupil transportation services contracts for employee compensation and may not exceed $200 per contracted employee per month.”

This bill had a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means Committee on 1/23 and is awaiting further action.

SB 5883: Concerning the burden of proof for special education due process hearings.

Comment. This bill provides that a school district has the burden of proof when it is a party to a special education due process hearing. • Creates an exception to this burden of proof requirement in circumstances when a parent seeks reimbursement for a unilateral parental placement.

It is currently on the second reading awaiting floor action.

SB 5924 - 2023-24 Concerning access to personnel records.

Concerning access to personnel records.

Comment: Executive actions taken on 1/23 by the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce. No further movement to date.

SB 5978: Authorizing the office of the superintendent of public instruction to act as a guarantor for a county when the county provides a loan to a school district.

Comment: A public hearing in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education was held on 1/22. No further action to date.

SB 6045 - Concerning school district efficiencies and consolidation.

Comment: Self-explanatory. This is not the first time this idea of forcing efficiencies has been introduced.

It is scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education on 1/25.

SB 6223: Updating school district director compensation.

Comment: Each member of the board of directors of a school district may receive compensation in an annual amount not to exceed the combined total of $500 per month plus 50 cents per student enrolled in the school district based on prior year actual enrollments.

It is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education on 1/29.

Fred Yancey
The Nexus Group LLC

AWSP is looking to add a tech-savvy, forward-thinking communications person to the team. Our work here matters, and we have plenty to go around. We are a small but mighty team with an extensive reach. We are looking for a team player and a self-starter who loves to learn formally or informally.

Position Duties: 

• This position provides leadership, guidance, and support to AWSP directors and communications, professional learning, and membership team members.
• Manages the day-to-day work, content, and updates for multiple websites.
• Assists with email communication, including outreach campaigns and marketing for professional learning events and initiatives, through our email marketing/automation system.
• Creates or assists with multimedia production, including but not limited to video production, photography, podcasting, and live webinars.
• Creates, edits, and assists with content creation for all AWSP and foundation properties.
• Manages AWSP social media accounts and posting.
• Supports the communications team and other staff with presentation materials, slides, setup, and adherence to AWSP’s style guide and brand.
• Works as a support and backup for all communications projects and platforms.

View the full job posting, or reach out if you have questions.

School Leaders,

I assume we are all very similar in various ways and different in our unique ways. One thing I believe we have in common is the emphasis placed on us during our principal preparation programs to be instructional leaders while knowing and learning there are plenty of organizational management tasks to tend to.

The responsibilities of being a school leader, principal, or assistant principal are varied and different, but all important, nonetheless. Not all that long ago, my assistant principal and I lamented that we spent too much time on school management matters and not enough time engaged in instructional leadership. We were bogged down with investigations, policies, protocols, etc. We realized we needed to know how much time in our workday was spent in each school leadership domain.

Since then, I have been studying and researching school leader time on task. Some of you may have looked into this also; there are school leader time studies, but common, consistent time studies and findings are inconsistent and inconclusive. I created the School Leaders Time Study and Reflective Response survey in response.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could complete the survey. It should only take 5-10 minutes of your time. I’m asking you to codify one complete day of your work life. You’ll code your day’s tasks into one of the criteria of the AWSP Leadership Framework, by the half-hour block for one day of your work life.

For example, this might be what my last Thursday looked like. Note: The times are not exact but rounded to the nearest half hour.

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Time Tracking

6:30 AM: Arrive to the school office. Check email. Review schedule and staff absences with the head secretary and assistant principal. Criterion 6: Managing Resources

7:00 AM: Greet students and families at the bus loop and family drop-off loop. Criterion 2: Ensuring School Safety

7:30 AM: School Day officially begins. Check-in with assistant principals and Counselors regarding student-level concerns. Criterion 2: Ensuring School Safety

8:00 AM: Main Office Team Meeting. Criterion 6: Managing Resources

8:30 AM: Plan MTSS meeting for next week. Criterion 3. Planning with Data

9:00 AM: Classroom observation: Criterion 5: Improving Instruction

9:30 AM: Discuss the management structure of the after-school programs with the supervisor. Criterion 6: Managing Resources

And the day continues.

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Why the Survey

I am asking for your help completing a brief survey, School Leaders Time Study and Reflective Response, because I want us to know how much time we spend in each school leadership domain: instructional leadership and organizational managment. I am using the AWSP Leadership Framework Criteria for each leadership domain. And I have determined that Criterion 1: Creating a Culture, Criterion 3: Planning with Data, Criterion 4: Aligning Curriculum, 5: Improving Instruction, 7: Engaging Families and Communities, and Criterion 8: Closing the Gap are aligned to our Instructional Leadership responsibilities, while Criterions 2: Ensuring Safety and 6: Managing Resources are aligned to work as Organizational Managers.

Even the Framework has more criteria centered on our Instructional Leadership, much like our principal preparation programs, which are focused on this important domain. But I wonder just how balanced or imbalanced our time is, and I wonder if there is a difference between the type and level of school we lead, and I wonder if there is a difference between our school settings, rural or urban. I have had the privilege of serving schools in both settings, and at middle and high school levels.

Ultimately, I have three goals in mind for this data and the findings of this survey School Leaders Time Study and Reflective Response.

• First and most importantly, I hope this survey and its data and findings make us as individual practitioners more aware of our time on task and priorities.
• Secondly, I hope this will impact our school districts and how they support school leaders.
• And third, I hope AWSP can use this data to further encourage the Legislature, with quantifiable data, that we need more support.

As I said earlier, another thing I believe we have in common is that we want our schools to be the best for the students that attend them. I know there are too many days that I cannot be the instructional leader I want and can be for my school. AWSP continually advocates for us; if this survey and data help them help us, that will help our schools, too.

I appreciate your participation and the leadership you provide to your students, staff, and school community each day.

Take The Survey

Thank you,

 

Kevin Rupprecht
Principal, Lt. Gen. W.H. Harrison Preparatory School
An International Baccalaureate World School

Tossing Some Ideas Around to See What Sticks

It was another busy week in the Legislature as the House and Senate Education Committees continued hearing a plethora of bills related to special education funding, new curriculum and graduation requirements, simple majority for bonds, and more. 

AWSP signed in support of the various bills that would increase funding in special education and update the health standards to include more information, resources, and instruction related to fentanyl. But, similar to the State Board of Education and the WEA, we shared the message that for the bills related to computer science, financial literacy, agricultural literacy, and Holocaust and genocide education, we would rather see a comprehensive look at the graduation requirements in order to strategically envision potential changes for future students. 

The conversation about education funding continues in various ways, and advocates are working hard to explain to lawmakers how inadequate the current funding model is for the actual needs of students in schools. One example of advocacy in action is a letter that a group of school board and education association presidents sent to legislators urging them to distribute at least 44% of the state surplus to public schools (this is the current percentage of the state budget that goes to public education). In the long term, the group urges legislators to implement a task force to update and revise the prototypical founding model. 

We continue to ask legislators to include 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 thank Representative Alicia Rule for sponsoring HB 2212, which would 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 still may have to occur in districts. A striking amendment is ready to go to the Senate for a vote on this bill soon.

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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

• HB 1915 | Making financial education instruction a graduation prerequisite and a required component of public education. 
• HB 1935 | Promoting resource conservation practices that include student education and leadership opportunities in public schools. 
• HB 2282 | Identifying African American studies curricula for students in grades 7-12.
• HB 1843 | Modifying school district elections. 
• HJR 4207 | Amending the Constitution to allow 55 percent of voters voting to authorize school district bonds. 

Tuesday

• HB 1879 | Naming the curriculum used to inform students about tribal history, culture, and government after John McCoy (lulilaš). 
• HB 2005 | Including weighted grade point averages on high school transcripts. 
• HB 2110 | Reorganizing statutory requirements governing high school graduation. 
• HB 2267 | Providing public school students with opportunities for cultural expression at commencement ceremonies. 
• HB 2236 | Expanding and strengthening career and technical education core plus programs. 

Thursday

• HB 1956 | Addressing fentanyl and other substance use prevention education. 

Senate Education

Monday

• SB 5852 | Concerning special education safety net awards.
• SB 5883 | Concerning the burden of proof for special education due process hearings. 
• SJM 8007 | Requesting Congress to fully fund 40 percent of the costs of IDEA. 
• SB 6014 | Increasing the special education enrollment funding cap.
• SB 5956 | Concerning the maximum per-pupil limit for enrichment levies. 

Wednesday

• SB 5813 | Mandating instruction on agricultural literacy for students in grades 7-12.
• SB 5819 | Making financial education instruction a graduation prerequisite and a required component of public education. 
• SB 5849 | Concerning a computer science competency graduation requirement. 
• SB 5851 | Concerning Holocaust and genocide education in public schools. 

Thursday

• SB 5870 | Expanding and streamlining eligibility for early learning programs. 
• SB 5933 | Concerning funding for the early support for infants and toddlers program. 
• SB 5941 | Clarifying requirements for subsidized child care. 
• SB 6018 | Designating early learning coordinators at educational service districts. 

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Next Week’s Bills

House Education

Monday

• HB 1228 - Building a multilingual, multiliterate Washington through dual and tribal language education. 
• HB 1239 - Establishing a simple and uniform system for complaints related to, and instituting a code of educator ethics for conduct within or involving public elementary and secondary schools. 
• E2SHB 1565 - Supporting and strengthening the professional education workforce. 
• HB 2335 - Concerning state-tribal education compacts.
• HB 2381 - Increasing eligibility for economy and efficiency flexible school calendar waivers. 

Tuesday

• HB 2331 - Modifying requirements for public school instructional and supplemental instructional materials. 
• HB 2398 - Requiring parent representation on instructional materials committees. 
• HB 2037 - Concerning Holocaust and genocide education in public schools. 
• HB 2018 - Improving student outcomes by restricting mobile device use by public school students. 
• HB 1922 - Establishing a grant program for the purchase and installation of vape detectors in public schools.

Thursday

• HB 2130 - Extending special education services. 
• HB 2239 - Supporting student well-being through instruction in social-emotional skills. 

Senate Education

Monday

• SB 5969 - Adjusting school districts' authority to contract indebtedness for school construction. 
• SB 5978 - Authorizing the office of the superintendent of public instruction to act as a guarantor for a county when the county provides a loan to a school district.
• SB 5903 - Concerning representation in the educator preparation act. 
• SB 6012 - Helping approved teacher preparation programs respond to the continuously changing needs of the modern classroom.
• SB 5966 - Concerning restraint or isolation of students in public schools and educational programs.

Wednesday

• SB 6082 - Increasing compensation for Washington paraeducators.
• SB 6123 - Adjusting classified school employee salaries.
• SB 6208 - Modifying requirements for public school instructional and supplemental instructional materials.
• SB 6216 - Establishing a statewide network for student mental and behavioral health.
• SB 6236 - Filing a declaration of intent to provide home-based instruction.

Thursday

• SB 6031 - Modifying the student transportation allocation to accommodate multiple vehicle types for transporting students.
• SB 6205 - Mandating instruction on the meaning and history of the pledge of allegiance in public schools. 
• SB 6045 - Concerning school district efficiencies and consolidation.
• SB 6264 - Supporting the implementation of competency-based education.

As you can see from the list of bills, there is no shortage of ideas being considered next week. It will be the last big week for new bills to be heard, as January 31 is the cut-off date by which policy bills must pass out of committees. 

Below are additional links to find out more about these bills and to contact your own legislators. Legislators care very much about hearing directly from their constituents. When we weigh in as an association, it is helpful and important, but having many of you reach out directly with a short email to legislators can be much more powerful. Find your legislator and email them here if you have any thoughts to share. 

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Important Links:

• Washington State Legislature
• Bill Search
• Find Your Legislators
• Email Your Legislators

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Other Advocacy Efforts

Day on the Hill

Many of our Advocacy Advisory Council and AWSP Board Members are planning a visit to Olympia on February 5 for our annual “Day on the Hill." They will be meeting with their own legislators and perhaps attending some committee hearings. You can get involved by scheduling a virtual meeting with your own legislators that week. See the links shared above to find your district legislators and their email addresses.

Here is my complete bill tracking list for this week.

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Get Involved

Many thanks for all that you do for students and staff. Please reach out if you have questions or comments. Thank you!

“If you see a snake, just kill it - don’t appoint a committee on snakes.”
Ross Perot

The Session continues. Introductions of new bills and committee hearings continue as legislators work to deal with proposed bills. A reminder that if a companion bill appears to not be moving, that means the other bill will be the prime for action.

A brief summary of selected bills:

Retirement Related Proposals

HB 1985: Providing a benefit increase to certain retirees of the public employees' retirement system plan 1 and the teachers' retirement system plan 1.

By Request: Select Committee on Pension Policy (SCPP)

Comment: This bill would provide an ad-hoc 3% increase in 2024, not to exceed $125/month for TRS1/PERS1 Plan retirees. This is an increase in the ad-hoc COLA approved last session for paid in 2023. The SCPP was unanimous in recommending this second-year COLA. A reminder that during the 2024 interim, the SCPP will study and recommend a permanent ongoing cost-of-living adjustment for beneficiaries of the PERS Plan 1 and TRS Plan 1.

A public hearing in the House Committee on Appropriations was held on 1/15, and it is awaiting scheduling for Executive Session action.

HB 2013: Paying state retirement benefits until the end of the month in which the retiree or beneficiary dies.

Sponsors: Volz, Fitzgibbon, Leavitt, Couture, Ryu, Bronoske, Ramos, Ramel, Ormsby, Jacobsen, Graham, Doglio, Sandlin, Fosse, Robertson, Nance, Riccelli, Reeves

Comment: When a pensioner dies during a month, DRS has to bill a survivor who has received a full month’s benefit for dollars overpaid from time of death. Also, given the reduced amount, often the insurance lapses as well since the payment was not made. This bill allows the survivor to keep the entire month’s amount regardless of when the person died.

A public hearing in the House Committee on Appropriations was held on 1/15, and it is awaiting scheduling for Executive Session action.

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Other Areas of Potential Fiscal Impact (and often unfunded) to Districts

Below are titles and a brief summary of proposed bills that may have potential impact to the business operations of districts.

HB 1905 -  Including protected classes in the Washington equal pay and opportunities act. 

Comment: Amends the Equal Pay and Opportunities Act to prohibit an employer from discriminating in compensation and career advancement opportunities against similarly employed employees based on the employee's age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability.

This bill is scheduled for Executive Action on 1/19 in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards. Its companion, SB 5894, has not moved since its public hearing on 1/15.

HB 1927: Reducing the number of days that a worker's temporary total disability must continue to receive industrial insurance compensation for the day of an injury and the three-day period following the injury.

Sponsors: Bronoske, Berry, Ortiz-Self, Reed, Ormsby, Kloba, Doglio, Lekanoff, Fosse, Pollet

Comment:  It reduces the number of days – from 14 to 7 – that a temporary total disability must continue to receive workers' compensation time loss benefits for the first three days following the injury.

It is scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards on 1/19. Its companion, (SB5932) has not had any movement.

HB 2058: Increasing student access to free meals served at public schools.

Sponsors: Riccelli, Rude, Leavitt, Ramel, Berry, Duerr, Slatter, Morgan, Simmons, Reed, Ormsby, Fey, Peterson, Callan, Macri, Gregerson, Chopp, Stonier, Goodman, Berg, Thai, Alvarado, Street, Lekanoff, Paul, Fosse, Doglio, Santos, Timmons, Reeves, Hackney, Tharinger, Shavers, Pollet, Kloba

Comment: TWIO has covered this previously. There is no fiscal note to date, although press reports that the state’s cost will be in excess of $80 million dollars. It is indeterminate what other local school district unfunded costs will be.

This bill was moved out by executive action taken in the House Committee on Education. The companion bill (SB 5964) has had no movement.

HB 2119: Protecting consumers from garnishment of earnings for judgments arising from medical debt.

Sponsors: Riccelli, Taylor, Leavitt, Simmons, Reed, Ormsby, Macri, Fosse, Tharinger, Doglio, Wylie, Reeves, Pollet

Comment: It would prohibit the issuance of a writ of garnishment against the earnings of a judgment debtor where the judgment arises from the medical debt of the debtor.

It is scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary on 1/26. 

HB 2127 - 2023-24: Concerning workers' compensation incentives to return to work.

Sponsors: Schmidt, Berry, Leavitt, Reed, Ormsby, Graham, Pollet

Comment: Modifies certain return-to-work policies and reimbursement amounts under the workers' compensation program. • Increases the maximum amounts of reimbursements paid to employers participating in the Stay at Work Program and Preferred Worker Program by the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I). • Increases the maximum amount paid to qualifying employers for job modification costs by L&I.

This bill is scheduled for Executive Session in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards Jan. 24^th.

HB 2246 - Concerning vacation leave accrual for state employees. 

Comment: Comment: Scheduled for a public hearing on 1/26 before the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards.

HB 2381: Increasing eligibility for economy and efficiency flexible school calendar waivers.

Sponsors: McEntire, Shavers, Chapman

Comment: OSPI may grant waivers of the requirement for a 180-day school year to school districts that propose to operate one or more schools on a flexible calendar for purposes of economy and efficiency. The superintendent of public instruction may grant waivers 36 authorized under this section to school districts 37 with student populations of less than 1,000 students.

It is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Committee on Education on 1/26.

SB 5059 - Concerning pre-judgment interest. 

Comment: Dan Steele has already addressed this bill and its potential for adversely affecting school district finances.

It had a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 4:00 PM, Jan. 15^th. No further action to date.

2SHB 1618: Concerning the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse.

Comment: Again, this has been addressed in previous reports, and the potential to create economic havoc within districts remains. It removes the statute of limitations for recovery of damages as a result of childhood sexual abuse. • • Applies the act retroactively and prospectively.

The Rules Committee relieved of further consideration. Placed on third reading waiting action on House floor. 

SB 5777 - Concerning unemployment insurance benefits for striking or lockout workers.

Comment: Deletes a provision that disqualifies employees in a multi-employer bargaining unit from unemployment insurance benefits when the employees have been locked out following a strike against the employers in the bargaining unit. • Modifies the period of disqualification from unemployment insurance benefits for striking workers to end at the earlier of the Sunday following the first day of the strike or at the end of the strike.

This bill has been passed to Rules awaiting movement to the Senate calendar. Its companion (HB 1893) is scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards on 1/19.

SB 5789 -  Concerning the sales and use tax for school construction assistance program capital projects.

Comment: This bill has been referred to Ways and Means with no movement to date.

SB 5793 -  Concerning paid sick leave.

Comment: This bill appears to broaden acceptable uses for sick leave. It allows an employee or transportation network company driver to use paid sick leave when their child's school or place of care is closed due to weather or a public emergency. • Modifies the definition of family member for the purpose of using paid sick leave to include any individual who regularly resides in the employee's home or where the relationship creates an expectation the employee care for the person, and that individual depends on the employee for care, except it does not include an individual who simply resides in the same home with no expectation the employee care for the individual. • • Provides that a child also includes a child's spouse

It has been scheduled for Executive Action in the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce on 1/22. Its companion, (HB 1991) scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards on 1/26.

SB 5873 - 2023-24

Providing adequate and predictable student transportation.

Comment: This bill, subject to budget appropriations, increases funding for student transportation. Of added import is that it provides that pupil transportation services contracts entered into, renewed, or extended after September 1, 2024, must require the contractor to provide employee health and retirement benefits comparable to those received by school employees. It also states: “Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this purpose, OSPI must provide a one-time supplemental transportation allocation to school districts that experience an increase in costs to pupil transportation services contracts due to the new benefit requirements. To be eligible for the supplemental allocations, a school district must report to OSPI regarding the number of contracted employees who worked at least 630 hours performing contract services in the school year prior to entering a contract with the new benefits. Supplemental allocations may only be used as payments under pupil transportation services contracts for employee compensation and may not exceed $200 per contracted employee per month.”

This bill was passed out of the Early Learning & K-12 Education committee and is now scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means Committee on 1/23.

SB 5924 - 2023-24 Concerning access to personnel records.

Concerning access to personnel records.

Comment: Requires an employer to furnish an employee, former employee, or their designee with the employee's personnel file at no cost within 21 calendar days of a request. • Mandates an employer to furnish a former employee with a signed written statement with the effective date of discharge, whether the employer had a reason for the discharge and, if so, the reasons, within 21 calendar days of the written request. • Allows an employee or former employee to bring a private action, after five days' notice, for violations of certain rights regarding personnel files and discharge information, for equitable relief, graduated statutory damages up to $1,000, and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs of each violation.

Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce at 8:00 AM, January 11. No further movement to date.

SB 5978: Authorizing the office of the superintendent of public instruction to act as a guarantor for a county when the county provides a loan to a school district.

Sponsors: Robinson, Nobles

Comment: It is scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education on 1/22.

SB 6045 - Concerning school district efficiencies and consolidation.

Comment: Self-explanatory. This is not the first time this idea of forcing efficiencies has been introduced.

It is scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education on 1/25.

Fred Yancey
The Nexus Group LLC

North Pines Middle School is a beautiful, state-of-the-art building located in the heart of Spokane Valley. When you enter the facilities, it seems like any middle school in Washington State. It is abuzz with students and typical boisterous middle school activity - staff greeting students at the door, students greeting one another, and staff urging students to get to class. Then, the bell and quiet set in, and the learning starts. There are so many layers to the work happening in our schools across the state to set the learning conditions for our students. North Pines is one of the most diverse schools in the Central Valley School district, and they have taken their job to provide equitable, rigorous learning opportunities for their students seriously.  

As busy, involved school leaders, it's essential to have models and examples of what works for our students. In my experience, articles and research also have a role in this work. Still, once the school year has started, it is a mad dash to keep existing goals and initiatives going, so if I am going to add anything to the school’s plate, it has to be something that can be done tomorrow with little or no training or funding needed to implement. Not knowing your context's capacity, I will highlight North Pines's inclusion journey and let you decide what you can take and utilize. Knowing inclusion benefits everyone, we must keep taking steps forward to ensure all our students have access and opportunities to the high-level learning experiences our teachers have planned.

Working backward from where they are now, on this day, the admin team is conducting walkthroughs in their co-taught ELA and math classes. They had some footwork to do to get to where they are today. In preparation for co-taught classes, they had to set the stage for inclusion at their August staff days. They enlisted their local ESD inclusionary practices coordinator to lead some professional development to support their entire staff “where they were”. Those topics included Co-teaching/planning, Standards-based IEP Goal Writing, and Inclusion for All.

The teachers they expected to attend did, and surprisingly, the session open to all teachers about universal supports was standing-room only!

The administrative teams enlisted support from the Building Learning Team (BLT) to set up the August training. These are teachers typically identified as department leads; however, this year, their role was redefined to support the school’s focus on PLC work and lead their content areas. To get everyone in a learning mindset, the BLT revisited the current co-teaching model and “rumbled” (a reference to Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead coaching series) and how students with language needs accessed the co-teaching classes and universal intervention time. This leads the leadership team to suggest an additional professional learning opportunity on “Teacher Tuesdays” (an organic, optional time for teachers to gather to address specific learning topics and learn together) utilizing experts on Universal Design and Language instruction from their local ESD.

In the spring, the team worked together to redesign their schedule to accommodate for time and support in the school day, along with aligning ELA and math teachers' planning and teaching time to ensure they could co-plan and co-teach. Additionally, the administration requested to “pilot” a classroom behavior tracker application to replace a system that was too expensive for the district to continue to support. Since the implementation of the app, the administration reports they have been able to cut their office discipline intervention in half, leaving students in their classrooms to learn alongside their peers. 

To set the stage for an inclusive teaching and leading mindset, the team took advantage of the AWSP Shelley Moore series, first as an admin team and then as a teacher/admin team. After completing these trainings together, it was easy to see the teachers had a readiness to benefit and were ready to implement co-planning and co-teaching for the following year with the support of their ESD partner and their Multilingual Education partner provided by OSSI (Office of System and School Improvement).

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Getting Started

A recurring theme is this work is too difficult to do alone. A first step may be to do an inventory, much like a grocer does to stock the shelves. Start by asking:

• What are we already doing?
• What resources within the school do we already have? (i.e., curriculum, MTSS supports, universal design strategies, etc.)
• What resources within our district do we already have?
• What resources do we have within our region, associations, ESDs, etc?

Then, ask where we want to be in our inclusion journey and what we need to get there. When your team (administrators and teacher leaders) knows what that is, enlist those partners.  

Practical evidence you are making progress toward your goals are:

• Your bell schedule
• Your course timetable
• Your “big rocks” or year-long initiatives tied to your district plan
• Your professional learning opportunities- before and during the school year
• Understanding the student experience, i.e., student shadows, classroom walkthroughs, and data collection - both qualitative and quantitative

One of the most notable observations from my walkthrough at North Pines was that (1) in all the co-taught classrooms, there were little or no class interruptions, (2) you couldn’t tell who was receiving IEP support and who wasn’t, and (3) the overwhelming request from co-teachers was for feedback to improve their practice. Though North Pines is beginning its journey, it has set the conditions to continue building equitable systems for its students. 

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Thoughts from Principal Jeremy Vincent

Jeremy has been in education for 20 years, 11 as a teacher and the past nine in administration. His professional philosophy, adapted from a long-time administrator and mentor, goes likes this: Students and families have a lot of issues in their lives; don’t make school one of them.

I asked Jeremy a few questions about North Pines' inclusion journey. Here's what he shared with me. 

What has surprised you with this work?

How much I enjoy the “weeds” of the education system! I discovered that I enjoy finding out how different elements of the education system work. This has led me to better understand how to utilize these systems fully.

What’s next for your school and Inclusion?

Increasing our co-teaching classrooms so that 100% of our students with an IEP are in a general education math and ELA class. Currently, our 8th graders and Extended Resource students with IEPs are in a traditional Resource Room rather than in a general education Math or ELA classroom. Next year, we will add two more co-taught classrooms, one in 8th grade ELA and the other in 8th grade Math. This will also allow us to include more ER students in general education. 95% of our students with IEPs will be in a general education ELA and Math class. In addition, English Language Development (ELD) has elements of inclusion. Still, we want to examine our practices to ensure we provide what’s best for these students and what areas we need to improve to support inclusion better (20% of our population).

May other principals contact you as a resource?

Absolutely! Just send me an email.

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.

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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.
• SB 5804 | Concerning opioid overdose reversal medication in high schools.
• SB 5923 | Addressing fentanyl and other substance use prevention education.
• SB 5850 | Supporting students who are chronically absent and at risk for not graduating high school.

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Next Week’s Bills

House Education

Monday

• HB 1915 | Making financial education instruction a graduation prerequisite and a required component of public education.
• HB 1935 | Promoting resource conservation practices that include student education and leadership opportunities in public schools.
• HB 2282 | Identifying African American studies curricula for students in grades 7-12.
• HB 1843 | Modifying school district elections.
• HJR 4207 | Amending the Constitution to allow 55 percent of voters voting to authorize school district bonds.

Tuesday

• HB 1879 | Naming the curriculum used to inform students about tribal history, culture, and government after John McCoy (lulilaš).
• HB 2005 | Including weighted grade point averages on high school transcripts.
• HB 2110 | Reorganizing statutory requirements governing high school graduation.
• HB 2267 | Providing public school students with opportunities for cultural expression at commencement ceremonies.
• HB 2236 | Expanding and strengthening career and technical education core plus programs.

Thursday

• HB 1956 | Addressing fentanyl and other substance use prevention education.

Senate Education

Monday

• SB 5852 | Concerning special education safety net awards.
• SB 5883 | Concerning the burden of proof for special education due process hearings.
• SJM 8007 | Requesting Congress to fully fund 40 percent of the costs of IDEA.
• SB 6014 | Increasing the special education enrollment funding cap.
• SB 5956 | Concerning the maximum per-pupil limit for enrichment levies.

Wednesday

• SB 5813 | Mandating instruction on agricultural literacy for students in grades 7-12.
• SB 5819 | Making financial education instruction a graduation prerequisite and a required component of public education.
• SB 5849 | Concerning a computer science competency graduation requirement.
• SB 5851 | Concerning Holocaust and genocide education in public schools.

Thursday

• SB 5870 | Expanding and streamlining eligibility for early learning programs.
• SB 5933 | Concerning funding for the early support for infants and toddlers program.
• SB 5941 | Clarifying requirements for subsidized child care.
• SB 6018 | Designating early learning coordinators at educational service districts.

There’s definitely not a shortage of ideas out there. Below are additional links to find out more about these bills and to contact your own legislators. Legislators care very much about hearing directly from their constituents. When we weigh in as an association, it is helpful and important, but having many of you reach out directly with a short email to legislators can be much more powerful.

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Important Links:

• Washington State Legislature
• Bill Search
• Find Your Legislators
• Email Your Legislators

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Other Advocacy Efforts

Principal for a Day

A HUGE thank you to Terrie Garrison, Principal at Firgrove Elementary in Puyallup for hosting Senator Claire Wilson (Vice Chair of the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee) and Jenny Hunt, Principal at Broad View Elementary in Oak Harbor for hosting Representative Clyde Shavers (Vice Chair of the House Education Committee) in our first ever official Principal for a Day event. From all accounts, these were very successful events and we look forward to even more of these events next fall.

Day on the Hill

Many of our Advocacy Advisory Council and AWSP Board Members are planning a visit to Olympia on February 5 for our annual “Day on the Hill." They will be meeting with their own legislators and perhaps attending some committee hearings. You can get involved by scheduling a virtual meeting with your own legislators that week. See the links shared above to find your district legislators and their email addresses.

Even More Information!

Finally, for those of you who crave even more information about what lies ahead for these next few weeks, check out WASA's Legislative Session Preview — many thanks to Dan Steele for his thorough review and insights.

Here is my complete bill tracking list for this week.

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Get Involved

Many thanks for all that you do for students and staff. Please reach out if you have questions or comments. Thank you!

“The time has come,” the walrus said, “to talk of many things: of shoes,
and ships-and sealing wax-of cabbages and kings.”

Lewis Carroll

The second year of the 68^th Washington State Biennial Legislature has begun.

Given that this will be a "short" session, the pace will be brisk (an understatement). Numerous bills have been and will continue to be introduced. Some are good ideas; others are not, and some are just plain silly. Hearings have started.  

A caveat:  There are always more bills proposed than will survive the entire process. (Thank goodness!) With that in mind, below is a report and comments on selected bills that may or may not remain as the session unfolds. The point is that until hearings on selected bills are scheduled, most are just titles and text with no explanations or fiscal notes. As these become available, more detail will be presented in this report.

Also, some bills have companion bills from the opposite house. If the companion is not also scheduled for a hearing, it is assumed that the bill scheduled will be the vehicle. See some notes below.

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Retirement Related Proposals

General Comment: The unfunded pension liability (UAAL) in the TRS/PERS Plans 1 is due to lessen in the 2025-27 Biennium. That will result in $300+ million in savings for the state. School districts are currently paying pension surcharges in addition to the regular pension contributions. These surcharges will be substantially reduced under a timeline proposed by OFM and proposed legislation, saving the districts dollars they must allocate, particularly for excess staff not funded by the state. Cities and counties will also save money. Eventually, the surcharge will be zero, and all that will be left may be a result of benefit improvements. The reduced, projected contribution rates can vary as well. Exactly when this happens is subject to both investment returns and actual experience. For example, the current estimated contribution rate for PERS 1 for 2025 is 6.36%, and the surcharge is an additional 2.47%. For 2025-27, the rates change to 5.83% and 1.47%, and for 2027-2029; 4.85% and 0.92%.

HB 1985: Providing a benefit increase to certain retirees of the public employees' retirement system plan 1 and the teachers' retirement system plan 1.

Sponsors: Timmons, Leavitt, Fitzgibbon, Ryu, Ramos, Ramel, Bateman, Ormsby, Jacobsen, Callan, Rule, Kloba, Street, Doglio, Fosse, Paul, Bergquist, Goodman, Ortiz-Self, Lekanoff, Reeves, Nance, Riccelli, Hackney, Pollet, Shavers

By Request: Select Committee on Pension Policy (SCPP)

Comment: This bill would provide an ad-hoc 3% increase in 2024 not to exceed $125/month for TRS1/PERS1 Plan retirees. This is an increase in the ad-hoc COLA approved last session for paid in 2023. The SCPP was unanimous in recommending this second year COLA. A reminder that during the 2024 interim, the SCPP will study and recommend a permanent ongoing cost-of-living adjustment for beneficiaries of the public employees' retirement system plan 1 and the teachers' retirement 2 system plan 1.

It is scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Appropriations at 4:00 PM, Jan. 15^th.

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Other Areas of Potential Fiscal Impact (and often unfunded) to Districts

Some bills are listed and not yet, if ever, scheduled for hearings. The bill titles and a brief read of each indicate some potential impact to districts. As hearings and bill summaries are released, more information will be provided.

HB 1905 -  Including protected classes in the Washington equal pay and opportunities act.

Sponsors: Mena, Senn, Berry, Cortes, Morgan, Ortiz-Self, Ramel, Ramos, Bateman, Reed, Ormsby, Callan, Kloba, Macri, Street, Gregerson, Doglio, Orwall, Bergquist, Goodman, Reeves, Lekanoff, Hackney, Fosse, Pollet, Davis, Simmons

Comment: Amends the Equal Pay and Opportunities Act to prohibit an employer from discriminating in compensation and career advancement opportunities against similarly employed employees based on the employee's age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability.

This bill was scheduled for a public hearing in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards at 8:00 AM and now scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards at 10:30 AM, Jan. 19^th.

HB 2127 - 2023-24: Concerning workers' compensation incentives to return to work.

Sponsors: Schmidt, Berry, Leavitt, Reed, Ormsby, Graham, Pollet

Comment: This bill is scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards at 10:30 AM, Jan. 16^th.

SB 5894: Including protected classes in the Washington equal pay and opportunities act.

Sponsors: Nobles, Keiser, Frame, Hasegawa, Kuderer, Liias, Lovelett, Nguyen, Randall, Saldaña, Stanford, Trudeau, Valdez, Wilson, C.

Comment: Companion to 1905 above. It is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce at 10:30 AM, Jan. 15^th.  

HB 2136 - 2023-24 Concerning prevailing wage sanctions, penalties, and debarment.

Sponsors: Ormsby, Schmidt, Doglio, Farivar, Berry, Simmons, Reed, Ramel, Mena, Goodman, Berg, Fosse, Reeves, Pollet, Kloba

Comment:  It is scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards

SB 6111 - 2023-24 Concerning prevailing wage sanctions, penalties, and debarment.

Sponsors: Conway, Saldaña, Trudeau, Randall, Lovick, Keiser

Comment: Companion to 2136 above. Referred to Labor & Commerce 

HB 2246 - Concerning vacation leave accrual for state employees.

Sponsors: Bateman, Low, Gregerson, Bronoske, Robertson, Reeves, Paul, Reed, Doglio

Comment: No hearing scheduled to date.

SB 5059 - Concerning pre-judgment interest.

Sponsors: Kuderer, Trudeau, Conway, Nobles, Pedersen, Stanford, Valdez, Wellman

Comment: Dan Steele has already addressed this bill and its potential for adversely affecting school district finances. It is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 4:00 PM, Jan. 15^th. 

HB 1649 - Concerning prejudgment interest.

Sponsors: Hackney, Berry, Taylor, Stonier, Pollet, Macri, Fosse

Comment: No hearing scheduled to date. It appears the Senate bill (above) will be the vehicle to move.

HB 1618 - Concerning the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse.

Sponsors: Farivar, Simmons, Wylie, Berry, Walen, Fosse, Morgan, Macri, Pollet, Doglio, Reed, Caldier, Orwall

Comment: Again, this has been addressed in previous reports and the potential to create economic havoc within districts remains. No hearings are scheduled to date.

SB 5777 - Concerning unemployment insurance benefits for striking or lockout workers.

Sponsors: Keiser, Conway, Lovick, Valdez, Trudeau, Shewmake, Randall, Van De Wege, Dhingra, Stanford, Hasegawa, Nguyen, Hunt, Kauffman, Liias, Frame, Kuderer, Nobles, Pedersen, Salomon, Wilson, C.

Comment: Deletes a provision that disqualifies employees in a multi-employer bargaining unit from unemployment insurance benefits when the employees have been locked out following a strike against the employers in the bargaining unit. Modifies the period of disqualification from unemployment insurance benefits for striking workers to end at the earlier of the Sunday, following the first day of the strike or at the end of the strike.

A public hearing was held on Jan. 9^th before the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce.

HB 1893 -  Concerning unemployment insurance benefits for striking or lockout workers.

Sponsors: Doglio, Berry, Fosse, Reeves, Farivar, Hackney, Ryu, Ortiz-Self, Orwall, Callan, Macri, Goodman, Senn, Slatter, Riccelli, Tharinger, Bronoske, 

Ramel, Wylie, Pollet, Cortes, Chopp, Bergquist, Berg, Fey, Donaghy, Reed, Street, Stonier, Kloba, Leavitt, Mena, Simmons, Morgan, Alvarado, Walen, Taylor, Peterson, Ormsby, Stearns, Thai, Bateman, Duerr, Ramos, Rule, Gregerson, Lekanoff, Nance, Santos, Shavers, Davis

Comment; Companion to SB 5777 above. Hearing held on Jan 9 before the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards at 10:30 AM. It is scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards at 10:30 AM, Jan 19^th.

SB 5789 -  Concerning the sales and use tax for school construction assistance program capital projects.

Sponsors: Mullet, Schoesler, Dozier, Nobles, Pedersen, Torres

Comment: This bill has been referred to Ways and Means.

SB 5793 -  Concerning paid sick leave.

Sponsors: Saldaña, Keiser, Kuderer, Lovelett, Nobles, Stanford, Valdez, Wilson, C.

Comment: This bill appears to broaden acceptable uses for sick leave. It has been scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce at 10:30 AM, Jan 15^th.

HB 1991 -  Concerning paid sick leave.

Sponsors: Fosse, Berry, Ramel, Reed, Ormsby, Ryu, Callan, Kloba, Doglio, Chopp, Paul, Berg, Lekanoff, Nance, Riccelli, Cortes, Pollet

Comment: Companion to 5793 above. It has been scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards at 8:00 AM, Jan. 17^th.

SB 5924 - 2023-24 Concerning access to personnel records.

Sponsors: Kuderer, Wellman, Conway, Frame, Hasegawa, Hunt, Keiser, Lovelett, Nobles, Stanford, Valdez, Wilson, C.

Comment: Requires an employer to furnish an employee, former employee, or their designee with the employee's personnel file at no cost within 21 calendar days of a request. Mandates an employer to furnish a former employee with a signed written statement with the effective date of discharge, whether the employer had a reason for the discharge and, if so, the reasons, within 21 calendar days of the written request. Allows an employee or former employee to bring a private action, after five days notice, for violations of certain rights regarding personnel files, and discharge information, for equitable relief, graduated statutory damages up to $1,000, and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs of each violation.

Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce at 8:00 AM, January 11.

SB 6045 - Concerning school district efficiencies and consolidation.

Sponsors: Hunt, Valdez

Comment: Self-explanatory. This is not the first time this idea of forcing efficiencies has been introduced. Is awaiting a hearing.

Fred Yancey
The Nexus Group LLC

January 9, 2024, Washington, D.C. —The United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) announces that high school students Ms. Gianna Patrice Frank and Ms. Mahika Kavya Malladi will join Senator Patty Murray and Senator Maria Cantwell in representing Washington during the 62nd annual USSYP Washington Week, to be held March 2 — 9, 2024. Gianna Frank of Marysville and Mahika Malladi of Redmond were selected from among the state’s top student leaders to be part of the 104 national student delegation. Each delegate will also receive a $10,000 college scholarship for undergraduate study.

As we embrace the new year, it's important we take a moment to reflect and report on our AWSP Principals’ Fall Forum that took place in November - a testament to the resilience and collaborative spirit of Washington's school leaders. The virtual gathering provided a unique opportunity for regional connections, idea sharing, and the reaffirmation that, in our shared journey, no school leader stands alone.

Regional Bonds: A Pillar of Success

The heart of the Fall Forum lies in its commitment to regional collaboration. Our virtual discussion rooms, organized by grade level and region, facilitated dynamic conversations guided by representatives from our incredible Grade Level Leadership Committee. This strategic approach ensured discussions were insightful and deeply rooted in the specific challenges and triumphs faced by school leaders across Washington.

The overwhelming response from attendees spoke volumes: "Loaded with information." We are delighted that the Forum fulfilled its mission of providing a wealth of valuable insights, resources, and connections.

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Key Takeaways: A Glimpse into the Forum's Success

As we delved into the survey responses, it became clear several aspects of the Forum stood out as particularly valuable to our members:

• Legislative Update: Navigating the legislative landscape is crucial for informed decision-making. The comprehensive legislative update shared at the Forum by AWSP’s Government Relations and Advocacy Director, Roz Thompson, served as a beacon, ensuring that our leaders are equipped to advocate effectively for their schools amidst the evolving policy landscape.

• Reminder of AWSP Resources and Benefits: Our association offers a robust array of resources, support, and opportunities. Reminders about what AWSP provides proved invaluable, helping members navigate the extensive toolkit at their disposal.

• Attendance Strategies: Addressing attendance challenges is a shared endeavor. The Forum provided a platform for leaders to share innovative ideas, strategies, and successful initiatives, fostering a collaborative approach to a common issue.

• TPEP Concerns: Discussions around Teacher and Principal Evaluation Program (TPEP) concerns resonated deeply with our members. The Forum allowed for the exchange of experiences and insights, contributing to a collective understanding of the evaluation processes.

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You Are Not Alone: A Resounding Message

The resounding sentiment echoed by our members was the appreciation for the reassurance they are not alone in their leadership journey. School leaders face unique challenges, and the Fall Forum reminded us that our community is a wellspring of support, wisdom, and camaraderie.

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Save the Date for the Winter Forum!

Building on the success of the Fall Forum, we are excited to announce our Winter Principals’ Forum scheduled for Tuesday, February 13th, from 4-5 pm. This virtual gathering promises to be another opportunity for connection, learning, and collaboration. Special thanks to our business partner, Lexia Learning, for sponsoring the Winter Forum. Please register for the Winter Forum through the AWSP Learning Lab.

Thank you to each member who contributed to the success of the Fall Forum. Your engagement is the cornerstone of our association's strength, and we look forward to continuing this journey together.

As you may know, there are new administrator certificate renewal requirements as of July 1, 2023. One of the new requirements is to have five clock hours of Government-to-Government training. Administrators also need to complete 10 clock hours related to leadership standards and 10 equity-related clock hours before renewing their certificates. 

This training has been developed and is being implemented by OSPI's Office of Native Education (ONE). Initially, these trainings were only being done in person or in a live-virtual platform. Many school leaders across the state have let us know that they have been unable to attend these sessions, or have been placed on a waiting list as these sessions have filled up very quickly. We have been continually advocating for additional trainings and an asynchronous option for busy school leaders.

We received good news from ONE this week! They are developing an asynchronous version of this required training. Here is the information we got. 

We are developing an online asynchronous training, which will satisfy the new administrative certificate renewal requirement, with a tentative release date of February 27, 2024. We also have an April 2024 Government-to-Government Relationships hybrid training planned which will be on the westside of the state. The date has not yet been solidified. Once information is available, it will be posted to the Tribal Consultation webpage and available via the Office of Native Education newsflashes. We have been having some OSPI sitewide issues, so we definitely recommend signing up for the newsflashes.

Sign up for updates from the Office of Native Education.

For those people whose certificate expires June 2025 or later, Government-to-Government training will be offered as a pre-conference session at our 2024 Summer Conference. 

As a former district administrator (who helped lead media literacy and digital citizenship across 30+ schools), I’ll admit that it often felt like flossing — one more thing for teachers and students. 

Important? Yup. Easy to neglect? Yup.

I’ll be kicking off a series of six OSPI webinars (free!) on media literacy and digital citizenship beginning in December designed for administrators and leaders who want to enhance media literacy and digital citizenship instruction in their schools. 

Featuring national leaders in these fields, each webinar will help leaders and educators find ways to enhance media literacy and digital citizenship instruction by connecting them to existing strategic school and district initiatives. 

Whether your focus is social and emotional learning or preparing 21st century graduates, like ice cream after a big meal, there is always a little space to help your kids build media literacy and digital citizenship skills in the classroom or library. These webinars will build your understanding of these topics and help you find strategic connections to what’s already happening in your schools. 

Each webinar will have a different focus so you can select those which fit your schedule or local needs. (If you can’t join, they will be recorded for later viewing.) We’re encouraging participants to identify one or more ‘buddies’ to ride along. That way, someone can tune in if others cannot. And you’ll have media literacy and digital citizenship partners to help plan your next steps.

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Webinar schedule

(all meetings are 5:00 - 6:30 and will be recorded)

• December 7 - Guest speaker, Mark Ray

  • Why ML&DC instruction matters and how it can support the success of existing plans & goals 

• January 11 - Guest speaker, Faith Rogow

  • What's already going on in your building(s)

  • Scope & sequence options

• February 8 - Guest speaker, Jamie Nunez 

  • How digital citizenship instruction solves problems before they happen

  • Common Sense Media integration resources 

• March 7 - Guest speaker, Faith Rogow

  • Curriculum-driven opportunities for integrating Media Literacy
    Best options for building teacher capacity

• March 28 - Guest speaker, Kristen Mattson

  • What's the digital citizenship culture in your building(s)
    More ideas for curriculum integration

• May 2 - Guest speaker, Faith Rogow

  • Next steps and what you need to take those steps

After becoming the 2012 Washington State Teacher of the Year, I wrote an op-ed in the Seattle Times about ‘truthiness’ and media literacy. In 2012, media literacy was still something we could chuckle at. Today, media literacy and digital citizenship are no longer a laughing matter. 

Thankfully, Washington state and OSPI are prioritizing media literacy and digital citizenship learning in our schools. This unique offering for school and district leaders is a way to ensure more students learn essential media literacy and digital citizenship as they learn and grow in your schools.

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Registration and Contact Info

Register on pdEnroller for these FREE webinars! Zoom details will be provided after registration.

For more information, visit this site or contact OSPI Media Literacy & Digital Citizenship Program Supervisor, Lesley James.

Happy New Year

This past year is one that provided me a variety of opportunities to learn, grow and become a better person and principal. As we turn the page into the New Year I want to encourage you to reflect on the positive memories of last year. It is important to honor the incredible work you have done to support your staff, students, and families you serve through this school year. Even when exhausted you continue to inspire and motivate your staff. If no one has told you lately I want you to know you are doing a phenomenal job. I hope you find this month's newsletter full of simple ideas to help bring laughter and joy to your work. Feel free to reach out to me if I can do anything to support your work or be a sounding board as you maneuver through this school year. Find me on Twitter @sholtys. Cheers to 2024 and this fantastic world of principaling. –Cindy

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A Few of My Favorites in January

 

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January Days to Celebrate

Jan 3 | National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day Pick up some of these chocolates after Christmas on sale for this day or Jan 3 is also National Drinking Straw Day. Have you thought about providing staff with environmental friendly straws? Include a note or sign “Taking Care of You and our Environment Today”.

Jan 4 | National Spaghetti Day (It's what is for dinner), AND it is also National Trivia Day- game time for everyone--think Kahoot! or random email trivia.

Jan 5 | National Bird Day Is your school mascot a bird? You could really do so many fun things with this one. And it is also National Whipped Cream Day-Bring in desserts for an afternoon snack that you could add whip cream to. (Ice cream, cookies, angel food cake, shakes, floats and fruit). Deliver via room services to your staff for an added bonus.

Jan 8 | National Bubble Bath Day No baths at school, but you could have a blast with bubbles. Bubble machines or bubbles to greet students and staff, have a recess time bubble party, or use a little bubble magic during lunch. (I am having visions of Laurence Welk in my head--yes I am that old). National Clean Your Desk Day is also January 8. Take the opportunity to help students learn a few organizational ideas and strategies they can apply to the real world.

Jan 9 | National Apricot Day One of my favorite dehydrated fruits!

Jan 12 | National Hot Tea Day Could you have a tea bar available in the staff room at the beginning of the day? Maybe have an afternoon tea party this afternoon.

Jan 18 | National Thesaurus Day Have a few fun words listed in the staff room and have staff come up with synonyms and antonyms as part of a trivia OR celebrate National Winnie the Pooh Day. You could easily include some of these classic quotes throughout the day or in announcements: “You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”-Christopher Robbin; “After all, one can’t complain. I have my friends.”-Eeyore; “The things that make me different are the things that make me, me.”- Piglet

Jan 19 | National Popcorn Day A pack of microwave popcorn to help staff "positively popping into 2024". Or a buffet for a movie night at home with family, include popcorn and candy to help staff balance work and family tonight.

Jan 23 | Measure Your Feet Day Okay, this is an unusual holiday for sure, BUT what a great math connection for students.

Jan 24 | National Compliment Day Provide staff members with a notecard to write a compliment on for co-worker or school volunteer. Connect with families by also sending out appreciations post-cards for their never ending support of the school (Don't forget your PTO). And it is also National Peanut Butter Day, so pick up some individual packets of peanut butter and provide staff with various items to dip. This could include bananas, apples, celery, crackers, chocolate and anything else you can think of!!

Jan 26 | National Fun at Work Day This is a day to do simple and fun things for staff: music, puzzles, and activities in the staff room. A great opportunity to have “fun” with staff.

Jan 29 | National Puzzle Day Place a few puzzles in your staff room for staff to work on during lunch or breaks, or provide a cookie that is in the shape of a puzzle with a note "You are a part of the puzzle that keeps our school striving for excellence".

Jan 30 | National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day Oh my, this should be so much fun!! Wrap a special treat in bubble wrap for staff. Or create a stress relief kit with bubble wrap and a few other items (ibuprofen, gift card for class coverage/recess duty, stress balls, breath mints, etc), AND you can celebrate National Plan for Vacation Day which would be a great question for staff today. Use a poster in the staff room and ask, “Where would you like to go on vacation?” Provide staff with post-its to write their answers and place it under the question.

Jan 31 | National Hot Chocolate Day Easy one!!

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Cindy is in her 23rd year as a school administrator. She is currently the principal of Kelso Virtual Academy and Loowit Alternative High School within the Kelso School District in Kelso, Washington. Cindy has been recognized by the National Association of Secondary School Principals as the 2021 National Digital Principal of the Year. She has two teenagers and has been married to her husband, Leszek for 23 years. Find her on Twitter @sholtys.