Cut-off is Coming!

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

The momentum is shifting to talking about the fiscal implication of bills. The next cutoff date is Friday, February 24 when bills need to pass out of fiscal committees in both the House and the Senate.

Special Education Funding

Bills in both the House and Senate related to increasing funding for special education were heard this week. SB 5311 has been improved from its original bill to provide a greater level of funding. The special education funding cap would increase from 13.5% to 15% and the multipliers increase as well. On the other hand, the substitute bill for HB 1436 lowers the funding. There are some steps to increase the cap and the multipliers, but it is much less than the initial bill. In addition, funding for the Inclusionary Practices Project was also removed which is very concerning. We know that there have been fantastic strides in professional learning and instructional practices related to Inclusionary Practices and this good work needs to continue.

Bill Updates

Here’s an update to the most talked about bills this session. 

• There is a revised bill for HB 1550 related to Transitional Kindergarten. The House Education Committee should take action on this bill next week. 

• Meetings continue next week to keep working through revisions to HB 1479, the Restraint and Isolation bill. 

• The Senate version of the Recess Bill, SB 5257, was amended to require only 30 minutes of recess (rather than 45 minutes). The companion bill in the House, HB 1504, had a hearing this week and is scheduled for executive action next week.

• SB 5085, our principal bill, has a substitute version that is now available that no longer includes the section on “working conditions” but now includes a section that would provide a minimum salary for assistant principals that is 5% higher than the highest paid teacher and a minimum salary for principals that would be 15% higher than the highest paid teacher. In addition, there is a clause that assures that no one would go backward from their current salary. Our intent with this bill is to provide greater job protections and supports for you because we know that the demands of your job are significant. We also believe we need to make some changes in order to attract future leaders.

• There are several bills related to dual credit courses and an effort to reduce the costs of College in the High School programs for students. I testified “con” this week on SB 5670 that would allow 10th grade students to take online Running Start courses only and have heard that there is an amendment in the works to narrow the scope of that bill. HB 1308 would add a performance pathway as an option for districts to use as a graduation pathway and this bill looks to be moving forward. There are companion bills (HB 1273 and SB SB 5243) that would provide a common High School and Beyond Plan platform and make some other modifications to this graduation requirement.

For the full list of bills being heard this week, check out my complete bill tracking document. 

Our advocacy efforts need all of our voices to contribute to the process. There are many different ways (big and small) that you can get involved in these efforts. Your participation can be as easy as doing an action alert to email your legislators or signing in support of a specific bill. Or, if you feel really passionate about a specific bill, we would love to have you testify. It takes all of us to make an impact!

If you have questions or comments or want to get involved, please reach out to me.

“I learned a long time ago the wisest thing I can do is to be on my own side, be an advocate for myself and others like me.” Maya Angelou

Educate patiently, advocate passionately, and inspire consistently.

The importance of advocacy cannot be overstated. Legislators need to continually hear from those impacted by proposed legislation. A lobbyist can keep issues in front of legislators, but those most closely impacted, particularly constituents, carry much more weight. Enough said.

Listed below are bills that appear to be moving. Some previously reported bills have been dropped but may re-appear in future reports.

Retirement Related Proposals

Previous reports have covered the bills related to addressing the lack of a cost-of-living increase (COLA) for members in TRS/PERS Plans 1. They are HB 1057/SB 5350, HB 1201/SB 5294, and HB 1459. These all had public hearings, but have yet to be scheduled for Executive Session in their respective committees.

A little background: HB 1201 and HB 1459 have been suggested as a package deal. Last session’s supplemental budget ‘parked’ $800 million dollars earmarked to pay down the unfunded liability (UAAL) in TRS Plan 1. OFM has proposed using these funds elsewhere. (It does not seem coincidental that a number of agency requests are asking for $800M. Hmmm!)

The current rate/surcharge employers are paying to lower the UAAL will be decreased over time because of an assumed greater investment return than estimated by the State Actuary. WSSRA (School Retirees’ Assn.) is opposed to this move because of the uncertain investment environment we are in and in which the state is projected to remain in the near future. However, ‘in exchange’ for this proposal, HB 1459 would establish a capped permanent COLA for Plan 1 members. So, it’s a mixed bag. These older retirees deserve a COLA just like the other 12 retirement plans in the state, but exposing their plans to potentially increasing their unfunded liability is a problem. There is division within the Democrat caucus over this same issue. Attempts are being made to decrease the surcharge over time rather than the proposed elimination of the surcharge.

At this point, all the bills are in limbo with no planned further actions to date.

HB 1007: Concerning interruptive military service credit for members of the state retirement systems.

Comment: Retirement credit can be awarded in any armed conflicts if the participant was awarded the respective campaign or expeditionary badge or medal…. the ‘expeditionary badge' qualifier was added.

HB 1007 passed the House 97/0 and has moved to the Senate Ways and Means.

HB 1008: Concerning participating in insurance plans and contracts by separated Plan 2 members of certain retirement systems.

Comment: This bill would simply make retiree insurance provisions uniform and equitable for Plan 2 and 3 members.

HB 1008 passed the House 93/0 and has been moved to Senate Ways and Means.

SHB 1056/ SB 5349: Repealing some post-retirement employment restrictions.

Comment:Beginning January 1, 2024, any current or future retiree under the provisions of early retirement may utilize the 32 postretirement employment provisions of RCW 41.32.802(2) for up to 867 hours per year.

SHB 1056 passed the House 93/0 and has moved to Senate Ways and Means. SB 5349 was passed out of Executive Session.

SSB 5121: Extending the expiration date of the joint select committee on health care oversight.

Comment: The expiration date of this committee is to be extended. Its goal must be to ensure that these multiple health and insurance regulatory agencies are not duplicating their efforts and are working toward a goal of increased quality of services leading to reduced costs to the health care consumer.

Passed Senate 48/0 and has moved to the House Health Care and Wellness Committee.

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

SHB 1068: Concerning injured workers' rights during compelled medical examinations.

Comment: This allows an injured worker to make an audio and video recording of a compelled medical examination and to have one person of the worker's choosing present during the examination. 

This bill has been moved to House Rules.

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: 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.

This has been moved to Rules Committee.

SHB 1106: Concerning qualifications for unemployment insurance when an individual voluntarily leaves work.

Comment: Expands access to unemployment insurance benefits by adding circumstances where a person may voluntarily quit for good cause.

This bill has been referred to House Rules Committee.

HB 1136: Requiring employers to reimburse employees for necessary expenditures and losses.

Comment: An employer shall reimburse an employee for all necessary expenditures and losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of the employee's duties. Reimbursement must be paid within 30 days of the employer's actual or constructive notice of the expenditure or loss.

This bill has been moved to House Rules.

HB 1187: Concerning privileged communication between employees and the unions that represent them.

Comment: To effectuate the public policy favoring effective collective bargaining, it is necessary to protect confidential union–employee communications in the course of union representation against disclosure.

Scheduled for Executive Session on 2/10 before House Labor Committee.

HB 1200: Requiring public employers to provide employee information to exclusive bargaining representatives.

Comment: Requires certain public employers to provide exclusive bargaining representatives' information, such as contact information, date of hire, salary, and job site location of employees in bargaining units if the employer has that information in its records. Allows an exclusive bargaining representative to bring a court action if a public employer fails to comply with the requirement to provide information.

HB 1200 has been moved to House Rules.

 EHB 1210:  Concerning the recording of school board meetings.

Comment: Specifies that a public records request for recordings of school district board of directors meetings must include the date of the meetings requested or a range of dates. Provides that searches for public records need not include recordings of school district board meetings unless a date is given. Requires all school district board meetings to be audio recorded, subject to exceptions for executive sessions and emergencies, with recordings kept for at least one year. Encourages school districts to make the content of school board of directors meetings available in formats accessible to individuals who need communication assistance and in languages other than English.

This bill passed House 96/1 and has been moved to the Senate State Government Committee.

HB 1248: Concerning pupil transportation.

Comment: One important part of the proposal is that it requires that school district contracts for pupil transportation services must include sufficient funds to provide employees of the contracting employer with health benefits and pension contributions equivalent to those of school district classified employees.

This bill had a public hearing on 1/23 and is scheduled for Executive Session on 2/13.

HB 1785: Establishing COVID-19 as an occupational disease.

Comment: The legislature finds that it is an important and essential protection for workers who contracted COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic, to be fully protected and covered under our workers' compensation system.

A public hearing is scheduled for 2/17 before House Labor Committee.

SB 5059:  Concerning prejudgment interest.

Comment: This was proposed last session. Briefly stated, judgments founded on the tortious conduct of a "public agency" shall bear interest from the date (of entry) the cause of action accrued. So if a district is found liable for neglecting to act in a child’s best interest, years after the fact, it will pay a penalty and interest from the day the neglect/damage first occurred, from the date the action is commenced, or the date the minor attains the age of eighteen years, whichever is earlier.

A public hearing was held 2/7 before Senate Ways and Means. No further action has yet been scheduled.

SB 5061/HB 1320: Concerning access to personnel records.

Comment: Requires an employer to furnish an employee with a complete, unredacted copy of their personnel file at no cost within 14 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 14 calendar days of the written request. • Allows an employee or former employee to bring a private action for violations of certain rights regarding personnel files, discharge information, and redaction logs, and entitles the employee to equitable relief, graduated statutory damages up to $1,000, and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs of each violation.

SB 5061eferred to Ways and Means on 2/8. HB 1320 scheduled for Executive Session 2/15 before House Labor.

SB 5084/HB 1558: Creating a separate fund for the purposes of self-insured pensions and assessments.

Comment: Creates a self-insurance reserve fund for payments from self-insured employers related to workers' compensation pensions and from the overpayments reimbursement fund.

SB 5084 passed Executive Session 2/7 before the Senate Ways and Means Committee. HB 1558 is scheduled for Executive Session 2/14 before House Labor.  

SB 5123: Concerning the employment of individuals who lawfully consume cannabis.

Comment: Prohibits employers, with some exceptions, from discriminating against a person in hiring if the discrimination is based on the person's use of cannabis outside of work or on certain employer-required drug screening tests.

Passed to Rules Committee.

SB 5174: Providing adequate and predictable student transportation.

Comment: Of concern is the provision that provides that pupil transportation services contracts entered into, renewed, or extended after September 1, 2023, must require the contractor to provide employee health and retirement benefits comparable to those received by school employees.

Scheduled for public hearing 2/2 before Senate Ways and Means Committee.

SB 5240/ HB 1656: Concerning unemployment insurance benefits appeal procedures.

Comment: A dispute of an individual's initial determination, determination of allowance or denial of allowance of benefits, or redetermination of allowance or denial of benefits, all matters covered by such initial determination, determination, or redetermination shall be deemed to be in issue subject to appeal.

SB 5240 has been sent to Senate Rules Committee. HB 1656 is scheduled for Executive Session 2/14 before House Labor.

SB 5275: Expanding access to benefits provided by the school employees' benefits board.

Comment: Allows tribal compact schools, employee organizations representing school employees, and school board directors the option of providing health care through the School Employees' Benefits Board.

Passed Executive Session 2/7 before Senate Ways and Means.

SB 5286: Modifying the premium provisions of the Paid Family and Medical Leave program.

Comment: Amends the premium rate calculation in the Paid Family and Medical Leave program (PFML) to be based on a specified formula rather than the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Account (Account) balance ratio on September 30th of the previous year. Sets a maximum rate of 1.2 percent and removes the Employment Security Department's authority to assess a solvency surcharge if the Account balance ratio falls below a certain threshold.

Passed Senate 48/0 and moved to House with public hearing 2/3.

Fred Yancey
The Nexus Group LLC

February is AWSP Member Engagement Month! Each week this month, we're highlighting opportunities for members like you to get more involved with your professional association. This week we want to call special attention to our Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year Award program.

In the middle of some of the most challenging times in the principalship, we at AWSP will take any opportunity to celebrate our rockstar leaders. Our Washington State Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year program is one way we do this.

• Dr. Dana Stiner (Pine Tree Elementary, Kent School District), Washington State Elementary Principal of the Year 

• Deborah Henderson (Frank Wagner Elementary, Monroe School District), Washington State Elementary Assistant Principal of the Year

• Shannon Leatherwood (Spanaway Middle School, Bethel School District), Washington State Secondary Principal of the Year 

• Jessica Buchan (Renton High School, Renton School District), Washington State Secondary Assistant Principal of the Year

You can read about them and their ability to create safe and inclusive climates and cultures for their students, staff, and community on our POY and APOY pages. Currently, they are working on their applications for the national recognition programs. We are so proud to have them represent Washington at national events/conferences later this year.

Winning the state award results in more than just recognizing and celebrating excellent leadership. Our 2020 Secondary Principal of the year, David Cooke, said he appreciates the time his superintendent, Dr. Mary Templeton, and the Washougal School District team took to nominate him and allow him “this incredible opportunity.” Read about his experience at the NASSP Recognition Conference and his reasons why you should nominate a great leader today in David Cooke’s May 2020 Blog Post.

Nick Davies, Ph.D., Associate Principal at Eisenhower/Lake Shore Elementary in Vancouver, wrote an article for our Washington Principal magazine that reflects on the last 20 years of Principal and AP of the Year winners. Nick writes, “I have always been interested in looking at people who reach the pinnacle of their professions. With education, we do not necessarily have a pinnacle, but receiving a teacher or principal of the year award is pretty close." 

• leads by example
• walks the walk
• intense work ethic
• Innovative
• Inspiring
• follows through
• passionate
• highly organized
• great motivator
• respected
• high integrity
• someone who everyone can count on

Do you know a principal or assistant principal with some of these award-winning characteristics making an impact in their school and community who deserves to be recognized? Of course, you do! We know you’re all busy, so we have simplified the nomination process. There’s only one main question to answer and ANYONE can nominate - supervisor, assistant, parent, teacher, student, community member… Nominate now, and help us find our next group of leaders to celebrate.

February is Here!

As the calendar flipped to February this week and I realized it was the 25th day of this year’s legislative session, I felt a little relief. January was a blur as hundreds of education bills were introduced, and keeping track of those and all of the associated conversations about them takes a lot of mental energy. The first cut-off date of the year is fast approaching. February 17 is when bills must be passed out of their policy committees. The fast pace of keeping up with committee hearings continues for just two more weeks.

This week started off with a bang as we had about 20 principals come to Olympia on Monday to meet with legislators and attend the House and Senate Education Committee hearings. We also hosted a few legislators at our first-ever advocacy reception that evening. Many thanks to those who came to advocate and to those who met virtually with their legislators throughout the week.

Principal Bills

SB 5085 is on the Senate Floor Calendar, which means it could be voted on by the whole Senate soon. After conversations with our AWSP Board and with our partners at WASA, we requested an amendment to remove section (2) of the bill related to bargaining working conditions. WASA has agreed to pull a workgroup together as soon as possible to identify tangible solutions that will attract, retain, and sustain our school leaders. We discussed at length the need for (1) immediate steps/actions to better support school leaders, and (2) to backward map next year’s legislative session collaboratively and intentionally.

SB 5175 related to multi-year contracts for principals is in the Senate Rules Committee.

Budget

As you can see on my bill tracking list linked at the end of this blog, there is no shortage of bills related to the operating and capital budgets. This week, my focus has been on communications with legislators about our requests for increased funding for the principal internship and mentorship programs. Our request is for about $4 million each year (the funding for these two programs before receiving some ESSER funds to enhance them is about $750,000). Support for these two programs is critical to the success of our future building leaders.

The main push by education leaders and advocates in our state is additional special education funding. Our local districts are paying around $400 million each school year from local levy funds to cover these costs. The state needs to do more. Read this recent letter from eight statewide associations (including the PTA, WEA, WASA, WSSDA, OSPI, and AWSP) about our common budget requests.

Policy Bills

Bills are starting to move out of committees, many with amendments. Here are a few that I’ve been paying attention to.

SB 5257, the “Recess Bill,” was amended to require 30 minutes of recess (instead of 45 minutes).

HB 1749, Restraint and Isolation, had a hearing this week in House Education. I sent in several specific questions and comments that I received from our members across the state. The House Education Committee is committed to working on this bill to ensure the language is clear. The Senate version of this bill (SB 5559) will be heard on Monday, February 6.

HB 1550, Transitional Kindergarten (TK), had a lengthy hearing in the House Education Committee this week, and there is great concern from districts about this bill. The data clearly shows students in TK programs have performed well in kindergarten. Districts want to continue these programs. The Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) and OSPI are continuing to meet together and with legislators to iron out details related to funding and formalizing these programs.

Next week, the House Education Committee will start moving out of committee dual credit-related bills. They will also hear bills related to teacher residency programs and adding a performance pathway for graduation as an option for districts. The Senate Early Learning and K–12 Education Committee spent time discussing a 185-day school year this week, and they will take action soon on their bill about High School and Beyond Plans.

Learn More or Get Involved

Check out my complete bill tracking document for the full list of bills being heard this week.

Our advocacy efforts need all of our voices to contribute to the process. There are many different ways (big and small) that you can get involved in these efforts. Your participation can be as easy as doing an action alert to email your legislators or signing in support of a specific bill. Or, if you feel passionate about a specific bill, we would love to have you testify. It takes all of us to make an impact!

If you have questions or comments or want to get involved, please reach out to me.

“The truth is, time marches on and you have two choices: you move forward, come what may, and you experience all the sour and sweet things that fly at you from around corners, or you sit still. Don't sit still.”  ~ Suzanne Palmieri

A reminder that the 17^th of February is the first cut-off when policy bills have to make it out of their respective committees. Fiscal bills have until the 24^th. So, the clock is running and selected bills are moving.

Listed below are bills that show some life.

Retirement Related Proposals

HB 1007/SB 5296: Concerning interruptive military service credit for members of the state retirement systems.

Comment: Retirement credit can be awarded in any armed conflicts if the participant was awarded the respective campaign or expeditionary badge or medal...the ‘expeditionary badge qualifier' was added.

HB 1007 passed the House 97/0 and has moved to the Senate. SB 5296 is scheduled for Executive Session on 2/7.  

HB 1008: Concerning participating in insurance plans and contracts by separated Plan 2 members of certain retirement systems.

Comment: This bill would simply make retiree insurance provisions uniform and equitable for Plan 2 and 3 members.

HB 1008 has been moved to Rules Committee.

HB 1056/ SB 5349: Repealing some post-retirement employment restrictions.

Comment: Beginning January 1, 2024, any current or future retiree under the provisions of early retirement may utilize the 32 post-retirement employment provisions of RCW 41.32.802(2) for up to 867 hours per year. This includes administrators. DRS wanted this in order to simplify the current system, particularly when it came to using retired contract services.

The substitute bill summary states, “The restrictions on receiving benefits during postretirement employment for PERS, TRS, and SERS Plans 2 and 3 retirees that retired under the 2008 ERF are lifted to allow receipt of pension payments during employment of up to 867 hours per year of employment with a retirement system employer. Benefits for retired members that choose the 3 percent ERF are adjusted to the reductions in the 2008 ERF for purposes of benefit payments made after the effective date of the act.”

SHB 1056 has been moved to Rules Committee. SB 5349 has been moved to Executive Session 2/7.

HB 1057/SB 5350: 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 a 3% increase not to exceed $110/month for TRS1/PERS1 Plan retirees. The Governor included this one-time increase in his released supplemental budget. Same COLA as granted last session. However, there is an addition: During the 2023-2025 fiscal biennium, 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.

Scheduled for public hearing 1/26 before House Appropriations Committee and a public hearing 1/23 before Senate Ways and Means. Both bills are likely NTIB (Necessary to Implement the Budget so remain alive.)

SB 5121: Extending the expiration date of the joint select committee on health care oversight.

Comment: The expiration date of this committee is to be extended. Its goal must be to ensure that these multiple health and insurance regulatory agencies are not duplicating their efforts and are working toward a goal of increased quality of services leading to reduced costs to the health care consumer.

Passed Senate 48/0 and has moved to the House.

HB 1201/SB 5294: Concerning actuarial funding of state retirement systems.

Comment: This bill deals with eliminating the unfunded liability (UAAL) of TRS/PERS Plans 1. The intent is that by so doing, the employer surcharge currently being paid to decrease the UAAL will be reduced to a zero (0%) added charge: PERS on 6/30/25; SERS on 8/31/25 and TRS on 8/31/24. This will save the state in excess of $4B and school districts whose staffing exceeds state reimbursement will also save dollars. Cities and counties will also save money. This bill also repeals the commitment made last session to pay $800M toward eliminating the TRS 1 unfunded liability, assuming investment returns will make up the difference.

HB 1201 is scheduled for Executive Session on 2/2 before House Appropriations but was not acted upon. A key legislator has indicated that HB 1201 and HB 1459 are a "package deal". Both must pass. The reason being that if HB 1201 is done, then there is an opportunity to restore a permanent COLA for Plan 1 members. SB 5294 had a public hearing 1/23. Both bills are likely NTIB so will remain alive but the ‘package’ appears to be in trouble. Democrat legislators are divided on supporting these bills, so they are likely to not succeed.

HB 1459: Providing an annual adjustment in the Public Employees' Retirement System and Teachers' Retirement System Plan 1 benefits capped at $110 per month by adjusting the long-term investment rate of return assumption.

Comment: This is basically a capped permanent COLA proposal.

This is scheduled for Executive Session on 2/2 before House Appropriations but like HB 1201 was not acted upon. See remarks above under HB 1201 regarding linkage of passage of this with HB 1201 and divided support among Democrats.

HB 5490:  Concerning health care coverage for retired or disabled employees denied coverage for failure to timely notify the authority of their intent to defer coverage.

Comment: This bill came to Sen. Rolfes from an agitated constituent who missed the deadline to continue membership in PEBB post-retirement. This bill allows a "second bite at the apple" if certain conditions and timelines are met.

Scheduled for public hearing 2/7 before Senate Ways and Means.

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

HB 1068: Concerning injured workers' rights during compelled medical examinations.

Comment: This allows an injured worker to make an audio and video recording of a compelled medical examination and to have one person of the worker's choosing present during the examination. 

This bill has been moved to House Rules.

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: 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.

Passed State Government Committee 1/31.

SHB 1106: Concerning qualifications for unemployment insurance when an individual voluntarily leaves work.

Comment: Expands access to unemployment insurance benefits by adding circumstances where a person may voluntarily quit for good cause.

This bill has been referred to House Rules Committee.

HB 1136: Requiring employers to reimburse employees for necessary expenditures and losses.

Comment: An employer shall reimburse an employee for all necessary expenditures and losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of the employee's duties. Reimbursement must be paid within 30 days of the employer's actual or constructive notice of the expenditure or loss.

This bill is scheduled for Executive Session on 2/3.

HB 1187: Concerning privileged communication between employees and the unions that represent them.

Comment: To effectuate the public policy favoring effective collective bargaining, it is necessary to protect confidential union–employee communications in the course of union representation against disclosure.

Scheduled for Executive Session on 2/3 before House Labor Committee.

HB 1200: Requiring public employers to provide employee information to exclusive bargaining representatives.

Comment: Requires certain public employers to provide exclusive bargaining representatives' information, such as contact information, date of hire, salary, and job site location of employees in bargaining units if the employer has that information in its records. Allows an exclusive bargaining representative to bring a court action if a public employer fails to comply with the requirement to provide information.

HB 1200 has been moved to House Rules.

 EHB 1210:  Concerning the recording of school board meetings.

Comment: Specifies that a public records request for recordings of school district board of directors meetings must include the date of the meetings requested or a range of dates. Provides that searches for public records need not include recordings of school district board meetings unless a date is given. Requires all school district board meetings to be audio recorded, subject to exceptions for executive sessions and emergencies, with recordings kept for at least one year. Encourages school districts to make the content of school board of directors meetings available in formats accessible to individuals who need communication assistance and in languages other than English.

This bill passed House 96/1 and has been moved to the Senate.

HB 1248: Concerning pupil transportation.

Comment: One important part of the proposal is that it requires that school district contracts for pupil transportation services must include sufficient funds to provide employees of the contracting employer with health benefits and pension contributions equivalent to those of school district classified employees.

This bill had a public hearing on 1/23 and has not been scheduled for further action but is likely NTIB.

SB 5059:  Concerning prejudgment interest.

Comment: This was proposed last session. Briefly stated, judgments founded on the tortious conduct of a "public agency" shall bear interest from the date (of entry) the cause of action accrued. So if a district is found liable for neglecting to act in a child’s best interest, years after the fact, it will pay a penalty and interest from the day the neglect/damage first occurred, from the date the action is commenced, or the date the minor attains the age of eighteen years, whichever is earlier.

Scheduled for a public hearing 2/7 before Senate Ways and Means.

SB 5084/HB 1558: Creating a separate fund for the purposes of self-insured pensions and assessments.

Comment: Creates a self-insurance reserve fund for payments from self-insured employers related to workers' compensation pensions and from the overpayments reimbursement fund.

SB 5084 is scheduled for Executive Session 2/7 before the Senate Ways and Means Committee. HB 1558 is scheduled for public hearing 2/7 before House Labor.  

SB 5123: Concerning the employment of individuals who lawfully consume cannabis.

Comment: Prohibits employers, with some exceptions, from discriminating against a person in hiring if the discrimination is based on the person's use of cannabis outside of work or on certain employer-required drug screening tests.

Passed to Rules Committee.

SB 5174: Providing adequate and predictable student transportation.

Comment: Of concern is the provision that provides that pupil transportation services contracts entered into, renewed, or extended after September 1, 2023, must require the contractor to provide employee health and retirement benefits comparable to those received by school employees.

Scheduled for public hearing 2/2 before Senate Ways and Means Committee.

SB 5237: Establishing complaint procedures to address noncompliance with certain state education laws.

Comment: This is an act relating to establishing complaint procedures to address noncompliance with certain state education laws. Complaints are to be filed and investigated by OSPI. The PESB may hold the Superintendent responsible and act accordingly. School directors can also be removed from office.

Referred to Ways and Means 1/27.

SB 5240/ HB 1656: Concerning unemployment insurance benefits appeal procedures.

Comment: A dispute of an individual's initial determination, determination of allowance or denial of allowance of benefits, or redetermination of allowance or denial of benefits, all matters covered by such initial determination, determination, or redetermination shall be deemed to be in issue subject to appeal.

Has been sent to Senate Rules Committee. HB 1656 has a public hearing 2/8 before House Labor.

SB 5275: Expanding access to benefits provided by the school employees' benefits board.

Comment: Allows tribal compact schools, employee organizations representing school employees, and school board directors the option of providing health care through the School Employees' Benefits Board.

Scheduled for Executive Session 2/7 before Senate Ways and Means.

SB 5286: Modifying the premium provisions of the Paid Family and Medical Leave program.

Comment: Amends the premium rate calculation in the Paid Family and Medical Leave program (PFML) to be based on a specified formula rather than the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Account (Account) balance ratio on September 30th of the previous year. Sets a maximum rate of 1.2 percent and removes the Employment Security Department's authority to assess a solvency surcharge if the Account balance ratio falls below a certain threshold.

Passed Senate 48/0 and moved to House.

SB 5505: Addressing learning loss by expanding the school year.

Comment: This bill would increase the number of instructional hours for grades K-12.

Scheduled for a Public Hearing on 2/2 before the Senate Education Committee.

Fred Yancey
The Nexus Group LLC

The content from this post comes from Dr. Whitehead's weekly email.

These emails are sent out weekly to leaders in special education and Section 504. Each email contains tips and resources on a variety of topics that are meant to keep you informed and up to date. Please consult your district attorney if you are looking for legal advice, as this is out of my realm. The opinions contained herein are my own.

Please feel free to reach out if you have ideas on topics and resources. This week’s emails include links to information on: 

Everyone:
Tip for Responding to Community Complaints

504:
Tracking 504 accommodations

Special Education & 504 Case Law:
Section 504 and ADA — February Edition

Special Education:
Discipline and Behavior Series
Legislative Tracker Link

• Yellow — OSPI requested
• Purple — Sped 

OSPI:
January Updates

Upcoming Classes and Events:

• Washington SEL Institute
• Call for Presenters: SLP Conference
• IPP & UDL
• Dr. Alicia Roberts-Frank admin training 
• Dyslexia and MTSS Support
• Computer Science: Senate Bill 5088

The leaders of Washington’s statewide organizations representing parents and families, teachers, principals, classified school employees, superintendents, school board members, and our state superintendent have four top priorities for supporting Washington’s students this legislative session. Below is their joint statement.

OLYMPIA — February 2, 2023 — As the leaders of Washington’s K–12 education organizations representing our public school students, educators, school staff, and families, we are deeply connected to the needs of our students and schools in every community across our state.

We know our schools play an integral role in supporting their students’ learning and mental health recovery. Recovery in one community does not look identical to recovery in another community; however, there are some critical needs that are consistent across the state, and we are seeking action and investment by the Legislature this session to address them.

Support for all four of these priorities will allow for local voter-approved levies to focus on the unique needs of their community instead of providing for services that are the state’s responsibility to fund.

First, we are asking the Legislature to fully fund special education services for our students with disabilities.

Public school districts have a moral and legal obligation to provide each of their students with access to a free and appropriate public education where they are supported to progress in grade-level learning standards. Through special education, schools provide students with disabilities with specially designed instruction that addresses the unique needs of eligible students at no cost to families.

Though progress has been made, last school year, school districts across the state still spent $400 million in local funds to cover the gap in state funding that is necessary to support students with disabilities.

We are also asking the Legislature to ensure each of Washington’s students has access to nutritious meals at school at no out-of-pocket costs to the student or their family.

When students’ basic needs—like the need to eat—aren’t taken care of, their learning is impacted. Even when they are eligible for free and reduced-price meals, many students, especially in the older grades, do not participate due to stigma.

Combining some incredible legislative investments last year with the federal meal supports, over 65% of our students have access to free school meals this year. We need the Legislature to finish the progress we’ve already made and ensure all of Washington’s students have access to nutritious, free meals as part of the school day.

In addition, we are asking the Legislature to finally fix the outdated and broken funding model for student transportation. Like special education services, many districts are still using local voter-approved levies to fund transportation even though it is a basic education function that should be fully funded by the state. Student safety is the number one priority for our schools and that should not be a function of the wealth of the community.

Finally, we are asking the Legislature to support our students by ensuring school districts have the resources to recruit and retain highly effective educators and staff.

Our state has made important progress in school employee salaries, but the current funding formula often does not fund school districts equitably. The Legislature can support our school employees and prevent turnover of talented staff by

1. Equitably funding neighboring school districts in a region;
2. Ensuring that the full impacts of inflation are addressed in employee compensation, especially for our lowest paid employees who are most impacted by rising costs of living; and
3. Providing additional staffing supports that focus on student mental health, family engagement, and learning acceleration.

Our schools put their students’ needs at the center of all their decision-making. As the Legislature contemplates policy changes and additional investments, we ask them to follow the lead of the educators in their communities by also centering their work on student success and well-being. 

Written by:

• Andrew Estep, Executive Director, Washington State PTA
• Charlotte Shindler, President, Public School Employees of Washington
• Chris Reykdal, State Superintendent of Public Instruction
• Jessica Vavrus, Executive Director, Washington Association of Educational Service Districts
• Joel Aune, Executive Director, Washington Association of School Administrators
• Larry Delaney, President, Washington Education Association
• Scott Seaman, Executive Director, Association of Washington School Principals
• Tim Garchow, Executive Director, Washington State School Directors’ Association
  

AWSP Day and Week on the Hill Start Today!

About 25 of our amazing principals and assistant principals will join us in Olympia on Monday, January 30, to meet with legislators at the Capitol and to attend a legislative reception in the evening. Our goal is to continue conversations about what our principals and assistant principals need to effectively lead their schools and how the Legislature can help continue supporting students and staff.

Principal Bills Keep Moving

In this fourth week of a fifteen-week session, our two bills related to principal and assistant principal employment keep moving. SB 5085 would provide a variety of updates to different RCWs to better support principals. This bill would open up the bargaining process to include “working conditions,” provide additional security for assistant principals, ensure that total years worked as a teacher and administrator count toward years of experience in education, and require evaluators to receive training in evaluation procedures. SB 5175 would allow (but not require) districts to offer principals up to three-year contracts. 

Other Bills This Week

Two important bills are being heard in the House Education Committee this week. One is HB 1479, related to restraint and isolation. OSPI requested this bill, which matches the recommendations made by a workgroup and their recently released report on these issues. The bill would prohibit students from being subjected to isolation, mechanical restraint, or chemical restraint by school staff, except for SROs under some circumstances. It would also specify that existing isolation rooms must remain unlocked, no new isolation rooms may be created, and, by January 1, 2024, isolation rooms must be removed or repurposed. School districts would also need to provide training to support the elimination of isolation and chemical restraint and to reduce the use of restraint in schools. This bill will be heard on Monday, January 30.

This week’s other big bill is HB 1550, related to Transitional Kindergarten. This bill’s intent is to establish a “transition to Kindergarten” program that basic education funds do not fund. OSPI and the Department of Children, Youth, and Families would need to work together to administer this program. Many districts are concerned by this proposed bill.  They will share their overarching message that they are trying to serve students and families with more early learning support, that access to early learning programs makes a positive difference entering Kindergarten, and that there needs to be local flexibility for both parents and communities. This bill is being heard Tuesday, January 31.

For the full list of bills being heard this week, check out my complete bill tracking document. 

Our advocacy efforts need all of our voices to contribute to the process. There are many different ways (big and small) that you can get involved in these efforts. Your participation can be as easy as doing an action alert to email your legislators or signing in support of a specific bill. Or, if you feel really passionate about a specific bill, we would love to have you testify. It takes all of us to make an impact!

If you have questions or comments or want to get involved, please reach out to me.

“And the band plays on…as the beat slowly increases...”

There’s a certain rhythm to the Legislature as the session continues.  The action begins to move from the public hearings to executive ones, to rules and dribbling onto the floor for action. The 17^th of February is the first cut-off, and in all likelihood, the 6^th is a closer measure of when new bills will cease being introduced. (It takes time to schedule, hear, etc. in order to meet the February deadline)

Previous reports have covered other bills that have been introduced but as yet, show no further movement.

Retirement Related Proposals

HB 1007/SB 5296: Concerning interruptive military service credit for members of the state retirement systems.

Comment: Retirement credit can be awarded if in any armed conflicts if the participant was awarded the respective campaign or expeditionary badge or medal…the ‘expeditionary badge qualifier was added.

HB 1007 has been moved to Rules Committee.

HB 1008/SB 5420: Concerning participating in insurance plans and contracts by separated Plan 2 members of certain retirement systems.

Comment: This bill would simply make retiree insurance provisions uniform and equitable for Plan 2 and 3 members.

HB 1008 has been moved to Rules Committee.

HB 1056/ SB 5349: Repealing some postretirement employment restrictions.

Comment: Beginning January 1, 2024, any current or future retiree under the provisions of early retirement may utilize the 32 postretirement employment provisions of RCW 41.32.802(2) for up to 867 hours per year. This includes administrators. DRS wanted this in order to simplify the current system, particularly when it came to using retired contract services.

The substitute bill summary states: “ The restrictions on receiving benefits during postretirement employment for PERS, TRS, and SERS Plans 2 and 3 retirees that retired under the 2008 ERF are lifted to allow receipt of pension payments during employment of up to 867 hours per year of employment with a retirement system employer. Benefits for retired members that choose the 3 percent ERF are adjusted to the reductions in the 2008 ERF for purposes of benefit payments made after the effective date of the act.”

SHB 1056 has been moved to Rules Committee.

**HB 1057/SB 5350: 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 a 3% increase not to exceed $110/month for TRS1/PERS1 Plan retirees. The Governor included this one-time increase in his released supplemental budget. Same COLA as granted last session. However, there is an addition: During the 2023-2025 fiscal biennium, 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.

Scheduled for public hearing 1/26 before House Appropriations Committee.

SB 5121: Extending the expiration date of the joint select committee on health care oversight.

Comment: The expiration date of this committee is to be extended. Its goal must be to ensure that these multiple health and insurance regulatory agencies are not duplicating their efforts and are working toward a goal of increased quality of services leading to reduced costs to the health care consumer.

This bill is on the Senate floor calendar for action.

**HB 1201/SB 5294: Concerning actuarial funding of state retirement systems.

Comment: This bill deals with eliminating the unfunded liability (UAAL) of TRS/PERS Plans 1. The intent is that by so doing, the employer surcharge currently being paid to decrease the UAAL, will be reduced to a zero (0%) added charge: PERS on 6/30/25; SERS on 8/31/25 and TRS on 8/31/24. This will save the state in excess of $4B and school districts whose staffing exceeds state reimbursement will also save dollars. Cities and counties will also save money. This bill also repeals the commitment made last session to pay $800 M toward eliminating the TRS 1 unfunded liability, assuming investment returns will make up the difference.

HB 1201 is scheduled for Executive Session on 2/2 before House Appropriations. A key legislator has indicated that HB 1201 and HB 1459 are a ‘package deal’. Both must pass. The reason being that if HB 1201 is done, then there is an opportunity to restore a permanent COLA for Plans 1 members.

**HB 1459: Providing an annual adjustment in the public employees' retirement system and teachers' retirement system plan 1 benefits capped at $110 per month by adjusting the long-term investment rate of return assumption.

Comment: This is basically a capped permanent COLA proposal.

This is scheduled for Executive Session on 2/2 before House Appropriations. See remarks above under HB 1201 regarding linkage of passage of this with HB 1201.

SB 5169: Concerning health care plans administered by the health care authority that are available to Medicare eligible retirees.

Comment: The public employees' benefits board must allow Medicare-eligible retirees access to the uniform medical plan classic (UMP) Medicare. This is in reaction to an earlier attempt by the Health Care Authority to remove UMP as a future offering due solely to the huge cost increase and differential compared to the newly added PEBB Advantage (United Health Care) plans. The outrage among school retirees forced the agency to back off that attempt. This is designed to insure they don’t do it in the future.

Scheduled for public hearing on 1/27 before Senate Health Care Committee.

HB 5490: Concerning health care coverage for retired or disabled employees denied coverage for failure to timely notify the authority of their intent to defer coverage.

This bill came to Sen. Rolfes from an agitated constituent who missed the deadline to continue membership in PEBB post-retirement. This bill allows a ‘second bite at the apple’ if certain conditions and timelines are met.

Committee passed by Executive Session.

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

HB 1068: Concerning injured workers' rights during compelled medical examinations.

Comment: This allows an injured worker to make an audio and video recording of a compelled medical examination, and to have one person of the worker's choosing present during the examination. 

This bill has been moved to House Rules.

HB 1099: Requiring certain wages in public works contracts to be at least the prevailing wage in effect when the work is performed.

Comment: Requires public works contracts to specify that wages paid to workers will not be less than the latest prevailing wage rate in effect at the time the work is performed.

This bill has been moved to House Capital Budget Committee for hearing.

HB 1106: Concerning qualifications for unemployment insurance when an individual voluntarily leaves work.

Comment: Expands access to unemployment insurance benefits by adding circumstances where a person may voluntarily quit for good cause.

This bill has been referred to House Rules Committee.

HB 1136: Requiring employers to reimburse employees for necessary expenditures and losses.

Comment: An employer shall reimburse an employee for all necessary expenditures and losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of the employee's duties. Reimbursement must be paid within 30 days of the employer's actual or constructive notice of the expenditure or loss.

This bill is scheduled for Executive Session on 1/27.

HB 1187: Concerning privileged communication between employees and the unions that represent them.Comment: To effectuate the public policy favoring effective collective bargaining, it is necessary to protect confidential union–employee communications in the course of union representation against disclosure.

Scheduled for Executive Session on 1/27 before House Labor Committee.

HB 1200/SB 5273: Requiring public employers to provide employee information to exclusive bargaining representatives.

Comment: Requires certain public employers to provide exclusive bargaining representatives' information, such as contact information, date of hire, salary, and job site location, of employees in bargaining units if the employer has that information in its records. • Allows an exclusive bargaining representative to bring a court action if a public employer fails to comply with the requirement to provide information.

Scheduled for Executive Session on 1/27.

HB 1246: Concerning eligibility for health benefits from the school employees' benefits board for school employees.

Comment: School employees anticipated to work less than 630 hours in any single school employees' benefits board organization may establish eligibility for benefits by working for more than one school employees' benefits board organization if the combined hours the school employee is anticipated to work is at least 630 hours per school year. Employer contributions for an employee eligible under this subsection (6)(d)(ii) shall be prorated across the employee's school employees' benefits board organizations based on data reported.

Scheduled for a Public hearing on 1/26 and Executive Session 2/1 before House Appropriations Committee.

HB 1248: Concerning pupil transportation.

Comment: One important part of the proposal is that it requires that school district contracts for pupil transportation services must include sufficient funds to provide employees of the contracting employer with health benefits and pension contributions equivalent to those of school district classified employees.

This bill had a public hearing on 1/23 and has not been scheduled for further action to date but it remains a bill to monitor.

HB 1649: Concerning prejudgment interest.

Comment: This appears to be a change from SB 5059. A section reads: “..Except as otherwise provided in (((a) of)) this subsection (3), judgments founded on the tortious conduct of individuals or  other entities that are not a "public agency" as defined in RCW 18 42.30.020, whether acting in their personal or representative capacities, shall bear interest from the date ((of entry)) the cause 20 of action accrued.”

 This proposal removes the calculation of interest from date the offense first occurred. This is a new bill introduced 1/27/23.

SB 5059:  Concerning prejudgment interest.

Comment: This was proposed last session. Briefly stated, judgments founded on the tortious conduct of a "public agency" shall bear interest from the date ((of entry)) the cause of action accrued. So if a district is found liable for neglecting to act in a child’s best interest, years after the fact, it will pay a penalty and interest from the day the neglect/damage first occurred. from the date the action is commenced or the date the minor attains the age of eighteen years, whichever is earlier.

Passed Executive Session on 1/26 before Senate Law and Justice Committee.

SB 5084: Creating a separate fund for the purposes of self-insured pensions and assessments.

Comment: Creates a self-insurance reserve fund for payments from self-insured employers related to workers' compensation pensions and from the overpayments reimbursement fund.

Scheduled for a public hearing 1/30 before the Senate Ways and Means Committee.  

SB 5123: Concerning the employment of individuals who lawfully consume cannabis.

Comment: Prohibits employers, with some exceptions, from discriminating against a person in hiring if the discrimination is based on the person's use of cannabis outside of work or on certain employer-required drug screening tests.

Scheduled for Executive Session action on 1/31 before Senate Labor Committee.

SB 5237: Establishing complaint procedures to address noncompliance with certain state education laws.

Comment: This is an act relating to establishing complaint procedures to address noncompliance with certain state education laws. Complaints are to be filed and investigated by OSPI. The PESB may hold the Superintendent responsible and act accordingly. School directors can also be removed from office.

Passed Executive Session 1/26 before Senate Education Committee.

SB 5240: Concerning unemployment insurance benefits appeal procedures.

Comment: A dispute of an individual's initial determination, determination of allowance or denial of allowance of benefits, or redetermination of allowance or denial of benefits, all matters covered by such initial determination, determination, or redetermination shall be deemed to be in issue subject to appeal.

Has been sent to Senate Rules Committee.

SB 5286: Modifying the premium provisions of the paid family and medical leave program.

Comment: Amends the premium rate calculation in the Paid Family and Medical Leave Program (PFML) to be based on a specified formula rather than the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Account (Account) balance ratio on September 30th of the previous year. Sets a maximum rate of 1.2 percent and removes the Employment Security Department's authority to assess a solvency surcharge if the Account balance ratio falls below a certain threshold.

Currently before Senate Rules Committee.

SB 5327: Concerning paying interns.

Comment: Requires any state or local governmental body or agency, or educational, charitable, or nonprofit organization receiving public funds who provides an internship, to pay the intern at least the state minimum wage for the hours of the internship.

Even though there has been no further movement since the Public Hearing on 1/23, this may be a sleeper bill that will continue life under the radar until it pops up again. The concern is that student teachers could fall under this qualification.

SB 5505: Addressing learning loss by expanding the school year.

Comment: This bill would increase the number of instructional hours for grades K-12. Scheduled for a Public Hearing on 2/2 before the Senate Education Committee.

Fred Yancey
The Nexus Group LLC

The content from this post comes from Dr. Whitehead's weekly email.

These emails are sent out weekly to leaders in special education and Section 504. Each email contains tips and resources on a variety of topics that are meant to keep you informed and up to date. Please consult your district attorney if you are looking for legal advice, as this is out of my realm. The opinions contained herein are my own.

Please feel free to reach out if you have ideas on topics and resources. This week’s emails include links to information on: 

Everyone:
If you want to change the world, by Admiral McRaven — Motivational video, 20 minutes long but so worth it!

504:
Eligibility Determination for Section 504

Special Education & 504 Case Law:
Child Find & LRE — January Edition

Special Education:
Part C to B flow chart
Legislative Tracker Link
January Updates

• Yellow — OSPI requested
• Purple — Sped 

OSPI:
January Updates

Upcoming Classes and Events:

• Washington SEL Institute
• Call for Presenters: SLP Conference
• IPP & UDL
• Dr. Alicia Roberts-Frank admin training 
• Dyslexia and MTSS Support
• Computer Science: Senate Bill 5088

February, The Month of Love

There are so many great things about this special month that make it special. February is the month of love, a new grading term for some, my daughter’s birthday, and IT is finally starting to stay light a bit longer on my drive home. (YAHOO to all of them). February is a time for magical learning in the classroom when our students begin to hit their stride and “get it.” Our seniors are coming to the realization that graduation is around the corner. All of our hard work IS paying off, and we see the fruits of our labor. Each and every day, educators are making a difference in the lives of students, staff, and the community. Your never-ending belief in those you serve is a true game-changer. You are an inspiration. You will find this newsletter full of easy-to-use ideas to bring joy, laughter, and support to your team. February celebrations seem to all revolve around food, so you may want to purchase some Pepcid to keep on hand next time you are at the store. As always, feel free to reach out to me if I can support your work and to share your celebrations. You can always find me on Twitter or email. We are in this together, no matter the distance between our zip codes. Peace and Love, Cindy

February Days to Celebrate

Feb 1 | National Dark Chocolate Day | With the grocery store aisles lined with candy this should be an easy one. Look for individual chocolates to share with your staff today.

Feb 3 | National Carrot Cake Day | Instead of cake slices for everyone, look for carrot cake cupcakes. With February being such a sweet tooth of a month, the added veggies will help with a more balanced diet for everyone. And Feb 3 is also National Bubble Gum Day-Bubble blowing competition for staff. Another idea might be to have staff share their favorite flavor of gum and brainstorm with their students a recommended new flavor they wish existed. Prizes for the most creative and tasty of ideas.

Feb 6 | National Chopsticks Day | “Chopping Through the School Year Together”.

Feb 7 | National Send a Card to a Friend Day (and my daughter Kenzington’s Birthday) | Handwritten notes seem to have become a lost art. Take a couple of minutes today to encourage all staff to send a note of encouragement and appreciation to someone they care about. Provide staff with a notecard and a stamp for the finishing touch.

Feb 8 | National Kite Flying Day | Where I live in the pacific northwest, we usually do not have kite-flying weather in February. However, I will be heading to the dollar tree to pick up a kite for each staff member. Add a note that says, “Our students soar like kites because you help them fly. Happy Kite Flying Day.”

Feb 9 | National Pizza Day | Raffle ticket drawings throughout today for a gift certificate for a pizza dinner. Check with your neighborhood pizza parlor for a BIG discount.

Feb 10 | National Umbrella Day | Here are a couple of ideas for this day: provide staff with root beer floats with little umbrellas in the drink or have umbrellas as door prizes for all of your recess duty and outside supervision staff. Have you seen the movie “Singing in the Rain”? Make it a day of trivia to celebrate this iconic movie.

Feb 10 | Is also the Friday before the Super Bowl. Now that my Patriots and Seahawks have been eliminated, I will have more time for cooking for this occasion. Why not have a potluck with staff today full of favorite appetizers?

Feb 14 | Valentine’s Day | Plan ahead if you are giving out staff Valentine’s Cards.

Feb 16 | National Almond Day | Take advantage of the after-Valentine’s sales and pick up some almond candies to share.

Feb 17 | Random Act of Kindness Day | This is one of my most favorite days as I wish this were celebrated every day. Challenge your students and staff to do a random act of kindness this week. Give all participants a post-it to write on about their act and cover a wall with these examples of kindness or create a kindness chain with their stories.

Feb 21 | National Sticky Bun Day | Little Debbie will be your best friend today. Go to any grocery store and pick up a few of these cheap and unhealthy snacks to share.

Feb 23 | National Chili Day | If you know me at all, you know I LOVE Seinfeld. My cats are even named George and Newman as a tribute to this great show. Fans of the show will understand this one — purchase several cans of chili. Have a drawing where staff pulls out a paper from a basket. Winning papers will say “soup for you,” and they win a can of chili OR draw a paper that says “NO SOUP FOR YOU,” which is a losing ticket.

Feb 24 | “Skip the Straw Day” | Pass out recyclable or metal straws as gifts with a note, “You make such an impact on your students every day; may these reusable straws make a similar impact on our earth.” Or it is also National Tortilla Chip Day. It may not be Taco Tuesday, but this is a fabulous day to take around your treat cart with a variety of chips for staff to choose from for an afternoon snack.

Feb 27 | “National Strawberry Day” | Strawberry soda floats, strawberry snacks, or strawberry seeds for staff to plant.

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.

The content from this post comes from Dr. Whitehead's weekly email.

These emails are sent out weekly to leaders in special education and Section 504. Each email contains tips and resources on a variety of topics that are meant to keep you informed and up to date. Please consult your district attorney if you are looking for legal advice, as this is out of my realm. The opinions contained herein are my own.

Please feel free to reach out if you have ideas on topics and resources. This week’s emails include links to information on:

Please feel free to reach out if you have ideas on topics and resources. This week’s emails include links to information on: 

Everyone:
How stress impacts the brain — YouTube video

504:
Beyond the Basics — video from OSPI Office of Civil Rights

Special Education & 504 Case Law:
Child Find & LRE — January Edition 

Special Education:
Legislative Tracker Link

• Yellow — OSPI requested
• Purple — Sped 

OSPI:
January Updates

Upcoming Classes and Events:

• Washington SEL Institute
• IPP & UDL
• Dr. Alicia Roberts-Frank admin training 
• Dyslexia and MTSS Support
• Computer Science: Senate Bill 5088

This week, we would like to spotlight Hazen High School in Renton, WA. Principal Ashley Landes created this auto-reply email in collaboration with her counseling team and shared it with her staff at their meeting before the break to help staff understand the additional community resources to support students while school wasn’t in session. Knowing that their students had access to support beyond school allowed many staff to disengage from email and enjoy their time off.  At Hazen, this auto-reply was added to staff email over the holiday; however, a similar message could be used after school hours and on weekends to ensure access to available resources. Thank you, Team Hazen, for this great idea and powerful inclusionary practice, which allows students with diverse needs to access community resources.  This template was adapted from their resource list so our members can add their local resources.

School Leadership Auto Reply Template

Thank you for contacting me at (insert your school/organization). We are currently out of the office until (add date). Please see the information below based if you have an immediate need. We encourage 911 if you are in a life-threatening situation or unsure who to call. ​

“A party without a cake is just a meeting (hearing)” ~ Julia Child

Bills continue to be introduced but the real action happens as committees hold public hearings and executive sessions on various bills. Executive sessions often follow. Changes in planned agendas also often happen at the last moment. 

Listed below are bills that show some movement. Others were reported last week but are not repeated this week if no activity has occurred to date.   

Retirement Related Proposals

General Comment: Suddenly, there are a wealth of pension related bills that go in various directions. (See ** bills below) As a reminder, the last adopted budget allocated $800 Million dollars to accelerate/retire the unfunded pension liability (UAAL) in the TRS Plan 1.  That plan remains in some of the proposals and is repealed in others. The Governor, in this latest budget, accelerates the UAAL in PERS 1 through an assumption that investment returns will exceed the 7% assumed rate of return by the actuary.  The assumption and change results in a $300+ million-dollar savings to the state. School districts are currently paying pension surcharges in addition to the regular pension contributions. These surcharges will go away 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. (See HB 1201/SB 5294 below)

HB 1007/SB 5296: Concerning interruptive military service credit for members of the state retirement systems.

Sponsors: Paul, Stokesbary,  Bergquist,  Leavitt, Simmons,  Griffey,  Callan, Doglio,  Timmons,  Reeves, Bronoske,  Shavers,  Riccelli, Ormsby

By Request: LEOFF Plan 2 Retirement Board, Select Committee on Pension Policy

Comment: Retirement credit can be awarded if in any armed conflicts, if the participant was awarded the respective campaign or expeditionary badge or medal…. the ‘expeditionary badge qualifier was added.

A public hearing on SB 5296 is scheduled for 1/23 before the Senate Ways and Means Committee. HB 1007 is scheduled for Executive Session on 1/23 before House Appropriations.

HB 1008/SB 5420: Concerning participating in insurance plans and contracts by separated plan 2 members of certain retirement systems.

Sponsors: Bronoske, Simmons,  Goodman,  Leavitt, Bateman,  Lekanoff,  Callan, Kloba,  Santos,  Ormsby, Fosse

Comment: This bill would simply make retiree insurance provisions uniform and equitable for Plan 2 and 3 members. Currently, a Plan 2 member who separates from service but does not yet collect retirement cannot defer his/her enrollment in any of the state PEBB health plans. He/she may, for example, have no need of insurance upon retirement because the spouse may still be working and have coverage. Because of the inability to defer and save his rights to buy a PEBB policy in the future, he/she loses any rights to future PEBB plans.  Plan 3 members, however, can defer and yet not collect retirement and continue to save their right to enter PEBB when they begin to collect retirement. This bill just makes both plans the same. 

HB 1008 scheduled for Executive Session on 1/23 before House Appropriations.

SB 5420:Concerning participating in insurance plans and contracts by separated plan 2 members of certain retirement systems.

Sponsors: Conway, Van De Wege,  Hunt

Scheduled for public hearing on 1/23 before Senate Ways and Means Committee.

HB 1056/ SB 5349: Repealing some postretirement employment restrictions.

Sponsors: Stokesbary, Fitzgibbon,  Leavitt, Simmons,  Lekanoff,  Rule, Griffey,  Macri,  Bergquist, Wylie,  Ormsby

By Request: Select Committee on Pension Policy

Comment:Beginning January 1, 2024, any current or future retiree under the provisions of early retirement may utilize the 32 postretirement employment provisions of RCW 41.32.802(2) for up to 867 hours per year. This includes administrators. DRS wanted this in order to simplify the current system, particularly when it came to using retired contract services.

Scheduled for Executive Session on 1/23 before House Appropriations Committee.

SB 5349/HB 1056: Repealing some postretirement employment restrictions.

Sponsors: Conway, Robinson,  Wilson,C.,  Keiser, Hasegawa,  Cleveland,  Holy, Hunt,  Kuderer,  Nobles, Saldaña,  Shewmake,  Trudeau, Valdez

See above. Scheduled for public hearing on 1/23 before Senate Ways and Means Committee.

**HB 1057/SB 5350: Providing a benefit increase to certain retirees of the public employees' retirement system plan 1 and the teachers' retirement system plan 1.

Sponsors: Stokesbary, Fitzgibbon,  Leavitt, Simmons,  Rude,  Bateman, Pollet,  Street,  Goodman, Robertson,  Macri,  Donaghy, Bronoske,  Paul,  Bergquist, Wylie,  Kloba,  Ormsby

By Request: Select Committee on Pension Policy (SCPP)

Comment: This bill would provide a 3% increase not to exceed $110/month for TRS1/PERS1 Plan retirees. The Governor included this one-time increase in his released supplemental budget. Same COLA as granted last session. However, there is an addition: During the 2023-2025 fiscal biennium, 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.

Scheduled for public hearing 1/26 before House Appropriations Committee.

**SB 5350: Providing a benefit increase to certain retirees of the public employees' retirement system plan 1 and the teachers' retirement system plan 1.

Sponsors: Conway, Hasegawa,  Lovick,  Robinson, Wagoner,  Pedersen,  Keiser, Randall,  VanDeWege,  Liias, Cleveland,  Frame,  Hawkins, Holy,  Hunt,  Kuderer, Lovelett,  Mullet,  Muzzall, Nguyen,  Nobles,  Saldaña, Shewmake,  Stanford,  Trudeau, Valdez,  Warnick,  Wilson, C., Wilson, L.

See HB 1057 above. Scheduled for public hearing 1/23 before Senate Ways and Means Committee.

SB 5121: Extending the expiration date of the joint select committee on health care oversight.

Sponsor: Cleveland

Comment: The expiration date of this committee is to be extended. Its goal must be to ensure that these multiple health and insurance regulatory agencies are not duplicating their efforts and are working toward a goal of increased quality of services leading to reduced costs to the health care consumer.

This bill has passed committee and in Senate Rules awaiting further action.

**HB 1201/SB 5294: Concerning actuarial funding of state retirement systems.

Sponsors: Ormsby, Macri,  Morgan

By Request: Office of Financial Management

Comment: This bill deals with eliminating the unfunded liability (UAAL) of TRS/PERS Plans 1. The intent is that by so doing, the employer surcharge currently being paid to decrease the UAAL, will be reduced to a zero(O%) added charge: PERS on 6/30/25; SERS on 8/31/25 and TRS on 8/31/24. This will save the state in excess of $4B and school districts whose staffing exceeds state reimbursement will also save dollars. Cities and counties will also save money. This bill also repeals the commitment made last session to pay $800 M toward eliminating the TRS 1 unfunded liability, assuming investment returns will make up the difference.

This bill had public hearing on 1/18 and is awaiting further action.

**SB 5294: Concerning actuarial funding of state retirement systems.

Sponsors: Rolfes, Van De Wege

See HB 1201 above. Scheduled for public hearing 1/23 before Senate Ways and Means Committee.

**HB 1294: Concerning cost-of-living adjustments for plan 1 retirees of the teachers' retirement system and public employees' retirement system.

Sponsors:  Steele, Robertson,  Ortiz-Self, Volz,  Jacobsen,  Riccelli, Santos,  Pollet

Comment: This bill is an attempt to establish a permanent (3% maximum) COLA for TRS/PERS Plan 1 members. No movement to date.

**HB 1459: Providing an annual adjustment in the public employees' retirement system and teachers' retirement system plan 1 benefits capped at $110 per month by adjusting the long-term investment rate of return assumption.

Sponsors: Stokesbary, Ormsby,  Santos,  Robertson, Bergquist,  Steele,  Volz, Maycumber,  Graham,  Kloba, Chambers,  Jacobsen,  Eslick, Gregerson,  Macri,  Bateman

Comment: This is basically a capped permanent COLA proposal. A public hearing 1/26 before House appropriations is scheduled.

SB 5169: Concerning health care plans administered by the health care authority that are available to Medicare eligible retirees.

Sponsors: Hunt, Wilson, C.

Comment: The public employees' benefits board must allow Medicare eligible 9 retirees access to the uniform medical plan classic (UMP) Medicare. This is in reaction to an earlier attempt by the Health Care Authority to remove UMP as an future offering due solely to the huge cost increase and differential compared to the newly added PEBB Advantage (United Health Care) plans. The outrage among school retirees forced the agency to back off that attempt. This is designed to insure they don’t do it in the future.

Scheduled for public hearing on 1/27 before Senate Heath Care Committee.

SB 5296/HB 1007: Concerning interruptive military service credit for members of the state retirement systems.

Sponsors: Nobles, Van De Wege,  Billig,  Boehnke, Braun,  Cleveland,  Conway, Fortunato,  Holy,  Hunt, Lovick,  Rivers,  Robinson, Stanford,  Wagoner,  Wellman, Wilson, C.

Comment: See HB 1007 above.

HB 5490:Concerning health care coverage for retired or disabled employees denied coverage for failure to timely notify the authority of their intent to defer coverage.

Sponsors: Rolfes

Comment: This bill came to Sen. Rolfes from an agitated constituent who missed the deadline to continue membership in PEBB post-retirement. This bill allows a ‘second bite at the apple’ if certain conditions and timelines are met. It was introduced 1/20 and no further action since.

Other Areas of Potential Fiscal Impact and (Often, Unfunded) to Districts

HB 1068: Concerning injured workers' rights during compelled medical examinations.

Sponsors: Bronoske, Simmons,  Ryu,  Goodman, Berry,  Bateman,  Peterson, Taylor,  Doglio,  Gregerson, Wylie,  Pollet,  Davis, Santos,  Ormsby,  Fosse

Comment: This allows an injured worker to make an audio and video recording of a compelled medical examination, and to have one person of the worker's choosing present during the examination. 

Scheduled for Executive Action on 1/20 before House Labor Committee.

HB 1099: Requiring certain wages in public works contracts to be at least the prevailing wage in effect when the work is performed.

Sponsors: Berry, Ormsby,  Goodman,  Bateman, Reed,  Pollet,  Doglio, Simmons,  Bronoske,  Gregerson, Kloba,  Santos,  Riccelli, Fosse

Comment: Requires public works contracts to specify that wages paid to workers will not be less than the latest prevailing wage rate in effect at the time the work is performed. Scheduled for Executive Session on 1/20 before House Labor Committee.

HB 1106: Concerning qualifications for unemployment insurance when an individual voluntarily leaves work.

Sponsors: Fosse, Reeves,  Reed,  Berry, Doglio,  Wylie,  Kloba, Santos,  Ormsby

Comment: Expands access to unemployment insurance benefits by adding circumstances where a person may voluntarily quit for good cause. Scheduled for Executive Session on 1/20 before House Labor Committee. 

HB 1136: Requiring employers to reimburse employees for necessary expenditures and losses.

Sponsors: Reeves, Reed,  Berry,  Walen, Ramel,  Pollet

Comment: An employer shall reimburse an employee for all necessary expenditures and losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of the employee's duties. Reimbursement must be paid within 30 days of the employer's actual or constructive notice of the expenditure or loss.

HB 1187: Concerning privileged communication between employees and the unions that represent them.

Sponsors: Hackney, Berry,  Bateman,  Ramel, Doglio,  Simmons,  Lekanoff, Bronoske,  Wylie,  Stonier, Pollet,  Ormsby

Comment: To effectuate the public policy favoring effective collective bargaining, it is necessary to protect confidential union–employee communications in the course of union representation against disclosure. Scheduled fore Executive Session on 1/27 before House Labor Committee.

HB 1246: Concerning eligibility for health benefits from the school employees' benefits board for school employees.

Sponsors: Ortiz-Self

Comment: School employees anticipated to work less than 630 hours in any single school employees' benefits board organization may establish eligibility for benefits by working for more than one school employees' benefits board organization if the combined hours the school employee is anticipated to work is at least 630 hours per school year. Employer contributions for an employee eligible under this subsection (6)(d)(ii) shall be prorated across the employee's school employees' benefits board organizations based on data reported.

Scheduled for public hearing 1/26 before House Appropriations Committee.

SB 5059:  Concerning prejudgment interest.

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

Comment: This was proposed last session. Briefly stated, judgments founded on the tortious conduct of a "public agency" shall bear interest from the date ((of entry)) the cause of action accrued. So if a district is found liable for neglecting to act in a child’s best interest, years after the fact, it will pay a penalty and interest from the day the neglect/damage first occurred. from the date the action is commenced or the date the minor attains the age of eighteen years, whichever is earlier.

Scheduled for public hearing on 1/24 and Executive Session on 1/26 before Senate Law and Justice Committee.

SB 5061: Concerning access to personnel records.

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

Comment: Requires an employer to furnish an employee with a complete, unredacted copy of their personnel file at no cost within 14 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 14 days of the written request. • Allows an employee to bring a private action for violations of certain rights regarding personnel files and discharge information and entitles the employee to equitable relief, graduated statutory damages up to $1,000, and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs of each violation.  

This had a public hearing on 1/12 and no further action to date.

SB 5084: Creating a separate fund for the purposes of self-insured pensions and assessments.

Sponsors: Braun, Keiser,  Mullet

Comment: Creates a self-insurance reserve fund for payments from self-insured employers related to workers' compensation pensions and from the overpayments reimbursement fund.

Referred to Senate Ways and Means after passing Senate Labor Committee.

SB 5123: Concerning the employment of individuals who lawfully consume cannabis.

Sponsors: Keiser, Frame,  Hunt,  Kuderer, Mullet,  Nguyen,  Randall, Stanford,  Van De Wege,  Wellman

Comment: Prohibits employers, with some exceptions, from discriminating against a person in hiring if the discrimination is based on the person's use of cannabis outside of work or on certain employer-required drug screening tests.

Scheduled for Executive Session action on 1/24 before Senate Labor Committee.

SB 5212/HB 1068: Concerning injured workers' rights during compelled medical examinations.

Sponsors: Stanford, Conway,  Dhingra,  Lovelett, Nguyen,  Valdez

Comment: See HB 1068 above. SB 5212 scheduled for public hearing 1/26 before Senate Labor Committee.

SB 5237: Establishing complaint procedures to address noncompliance with certain state education laws.

Sponsors: Wilson, C., Wellman,  Hunt

Comment: This is an act relating to establishing complaint procedures to address noncompliance with certain state education laws. Complaints are to be filed and investigated by OSPI. The PESB may hold the Superintendent responsible and act accordingly. School directors can also be removed from office.

Public hearing 1/16 before Senate Education Committee. No further action to date.

SB 5240: Concerning unemployment insurance benefits appeal procedures.

Sponsors: Braun, Keiser,  Mullet

Comment: A dispute of an individual's initial determination, determination of allowance or denial of allowance of benefits, or redetermination of allowance or denial of benefits, all matters covered by such initial determination, determination, redetermination shall be deemed to be in issue subject to appeal.

Scheduled for Executive Session 1/24 before Senate Labor Committee.

SB 5275: Expanding access to benefits provided by the school employees' benefits board.

Sponsors: Robinson, Hunt,  Keiser,  Lovick, Nobles,  Randall,  Wellman, Wilson, C.

Comment: Pursuant to contractual agreement with the authority, access to health care benefits can be expanded to an "Employer group" for the school employees' benefits board program meaning an employee organization representing school employees, a school district for the purposes of covering a school board director, and a tribal school as defined in RCW 28A.715.010, obtaining employee benefits through a contractual agreement with the authority to participate in benefit plans developed by the public employees' benefits board.

A public hearing 1/19 was held and no further action to date.

SB 5286: Modifying the premium provisions of the paid family and medical leave program.

Sponsors: Robinson, King,  Keiser,  Liias, Stanford,  Wellman,  Wilson, C.

Comment: Amends the premium rate calculation in the Paid Family and Medical Leave Program (PFML) to be based on a specified formula rather than the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Account (Account) balance ratio on September 30th of the previous year. • Sets a maximum rate of 1.2 percent and removes the Employment Security Department's authority to assess a solvency surcharge if the Account balance ratio falls below a certain threshold.

Currently before Senate Rules Committee.

The Nexus Group LLC

Principal Bills Keep Moving

The second week of the session is coming to an end. Almost 1,000 bills have been introduced so far, with more on the way. The highlight of the week was that our two bills related to principal and assistant principal employment were both passed out of the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Committee. SB 5085 and SB 5175 now move on to the Rules Committee, where legislators on that committee will decide if and when to bring it to the full Senate for a vote. 

SB 5175 would allow districts to provide principals with multiyear contracts (up to three years), and this passed without any amendments. SB 5085 has several key components to support principal employment, but section (5) related to employment applications was removed during the committee process. 

Your Voices

Several other bills that I’m tracking were heard this week, and we had some fantastic principal voices in committee hearings. Thanks to Mandy Jessee, Principal at Fisher Elementary in Lynden, and Lyon Terry, Assistant Principal at Mount View Elementary in Highline, for providing testimony related to HB 1015, which would remove the current required paraeducator assessment. Thanks to Woody Howard, Principal at Ben Franklin Elementary in Vancouver, and Patrick Vincent, Principal at Union Gap K-8 School, for providing testimony about SB 5257, which would require schools to offer 45 minutes of recess. The committee ran out of time to hear from everyone who signed up to testify, so their comments were submitted in writing, but this is still a really important way to share our position. 

Thanks also go to Lacey Griffiths, Assistant Principal at RA Long High School in Longview, who was prepared to give testimony on HB 1207, which would change “emergency expulsion” to “emergency removal.” But I completely failed to mention that she needed to register more than one hour before the hearing began, so she had to submit her testimony in writing (which is still super important!) My apologies, Lacey! I now have a post-it note on my desk that says, “Remind people to sign up for testimony more than one hour before the hearing!”

Day/Week on the Hill

Our AWSP Day and Week on the Hill begins next Monday, January 30th. A group of principals is headed to Olympia for the day to meet with their legislators and attend the House and Senate Education Committee hearings that afternoon. We also have a legislator reception that evening. Some principals are making appointments with their legislators for virtual meetings that week. 

Our advocacy efforts need all of our voices to contribute to the process. There are many different ways (big and small) that you can get involved in these efforts. Your participation can be as easy as doing an action alert to email your legislators or signing in support of a specific bill. Or, if you feel really passionate about a specific bill, we would love to have you testify. Reach out and let me know. It takes all of us to make an impact!

Budget

The major focus on education funding this week was with regard to increased support for special education. The Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee heard two bills related to special education funding. SB 5031 focuses on increasing the safety net, and SB 5311 would increase the multipliers and the enrollment cap. Another bill in the House, HB 1436, also would increase the multipliers, but this bill would remove the enrollment cap entirely. Advocates are pushing for the Legislature to do much more for special education funding than was proposed in Governor Inslee’s budget.

Coming Next Week

For the full list of bills being heard next week, check out my complete bill tracking document. The main bills that concern us next week include several related to Dual Credit programs, an update to High School and Beyond Plans, and school meals. 

There have also been some bills introduced this week that we will want to pay close attention to. Those include HB 1479 regarding restraint and isolation and HB 1308 regarding a new graduation performance pathway.

Thank you for all that you do to support students and staff–and for checking in on our advocacy efforts. If you have questions or comments or want to get involved, please reach out to me.

We know that trying to fit everything into an elementary school day is a challenge. With limited time in the day, some subjects end up on the back burner, even though the content is vital for students’ future success in school, college, and beyond. 

Kimberley Astle, Associate Director of Elementary Science at OSPI, is currently collecting examples of elementary (K-5) instructional schedules at the classroom, school, and district level that include time allocated for science learning. 

The goal is to understand how teachers, schools, and districts are finding successful ways to organize instructional minutes so that elementary students are provided with the learning time they need for a quality science education.

The information collected will be used to develop a guiding resource illustrating schedule examples and strategies that are working in practice in a variety of contexts.

Please share this survey link to any elementary teachers, coaches, principals, and district leaders who could provide schedule examples.   

We are each other’s best resources! Please share your tried-and-true schedules and watch for additional schedule examples in the near future.

Session Begins!

This year’s legislative session kicked off on Monday, January 9th, and the Capitol was hopping! It was so great to see legislators, staffers, lobbyists, and other people bustling around the buildings and walkways of the Capitol Campus. For the most part, things feel the same as they did in 2020 when legislators last met in person. There are some new security features, such as metal detectors prior to going into the gallery sitting areas of the House and Senate floors, and there are more locked doors in the Cherberg and O’Brien office buildings. But, there are plenty of friendly faces to greet you in hearing rooms or escort you to members’ offices.

Budget

The first part of the week focused on the opening activities of the session, including getting 29 new members sworn in and listening to Governor Inslee’s State of the State Address. Both the Senate Ways and Means and House Appropriations Committees begin their committee hearings by listening to testimony about the Governor’s budget. The common theme from education advocates was the need for additional funding for special education and transportation. I submitted written testimony emphasizing the need for additional funding for principal internship and mentorship programs.

Policy Committees

Many committee chairs use the beginning of a long legislative session to hold “work sessions” on various topics so that new members can get up to speed on current issues, reports, or even on the history of bills passed in that area. House Education did just that, holding two different work sessions on the history of K-12 education and funding in our state, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on education. The Washington Joint Legislative Review and Audit Committee (JLARC) presented its preliminary findings on the Racial Equity Effects of Restricting In-Person Learning During the Pandemic. Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education, however, jumped right into bill hearings.

Bills heard this week in Senate Education included bills encouraging bone marrow instruction in schools, lowering the age to enroll in schools to age 6 (from age 8), changing the notification date for nonrenewed contracts to June 1, creating the Purple Star Award, and removing classified staff from the definition of PSES staff to ensure that the enhanced funding to the prototypical model is being spent on these specific certificated staff (nurses, counselors, psychologists, etc.)

Principal Bills

The highlight of the week for AWSP was the Senate Education Committee hearing on Thursday, where our two principal (and assistant principal) bills were heard. Senator Lisa Wellman, who chairs this committee, is the prime sponsor for both bills. SB 5175 would allow districts to offer principals contracts of up to three years. SB 5085 would update the terms of employment for principals and assistant principals to do these things:

• Remove statutory limitations on the scope of collective bargaining for bargaining units containing only supervisors, or principals and assistant principals, or both.

• Require the citation of specific evaluation criteria when transferring a principal or an assistant principal to a subordinate certificated position.

• Require that years of administrator experience count towards total years in future positions when a principal or assistant principal is transferred to a nonadministrative subordinate position.

• Apply employment provisions relating to principals to assistant principals as well.

• Specify that in addition to whether an applicant has ever been placed on administrative leave, a school district employment application may not include a question asking whether the applicant has ever been on a plan of improvement, has ever been under an investigation, or has ever resigned in lieu of termination.

• Require evaluators of principals and assistant principals to receive training in evaluation procedures.

Dr. Scott Seaman and I testified at the Capitol, and a fantastic panel of principals testified remotely. Their stories were powerful, and Senator Wellman wrote to tell me that she is “deeply grateful for our principals and the leadership they provide our schools. The group you had testifying was wonderful.”  

Many thanks to these amazing leaders for their time and expertise in planning and delivering their testimony:

• Heidi Maurer, Principal, Kentlake High School, Kent

• Jason Smith, Principal, Rogers High School, Puyallup

• Dr. Robert Gary, Principal, Madison Middle School, Seattle

• Carlos Gonzalez, Principal, McFarland Middle School, Othello

• Justin Hendrickson, Principal, South Shore K-8 School, Seattle

• Gerrit Kischner, Principal, Thornton Creek Elementary, Seattle

• Brent Osborn, Principal and AWSP President, Lakeside High School, Nine Mile Falls

Watch the hearings on TVW, listen to the audio, or read a transcript. The transcript contains some errors, but it's pretty good.

Bill Tracking

Next week is another busy week with about 15 education bills up for hearing, including a bill that would ensure students receive sufficient time at recess each day (45 minutes) and a bill that would change “emergency expulsion” to “emergency removal.” 

View all the bills I'm tracking.

If you are interested in helping with our advocacy efforts, please reach out to me. Your participation can be as easy as doing an action alert to email your legislators or signing in support of a specific bill. Or, if you feel really passionate about a specific bill, we would love to have you testify. Reach out and let me know. It takes all of us to make an impact!

Renton School District AP focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion and is always student-centered.

OLYMPIA — Jessica Buchan, assistant principal at Renton High School in the Renton School District, was named this year’s Washington State Secondary Assistant Principal of the Year. Buchan will also be recognized at the national level by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), where she will compete with winners from other states for the NASSP’s National Assistant Principal of the Year award, announced in early April.

Buchan has been an assistant principal for six years, serving in that role for the past two years at Renton High School. She believes all teachers have the capability to be master teachers, which grounds her work in teacher observation, feedback cycles, and evaluation. With her International Baccalaureate and AVID background, she knows all students need access to rigorous instruction and the proper support to reach high expectations. 

Taking pride in her instructional leadership, Buchan coaches teachers on a variety of pedological practices. This allows teachers to increase challenges for students and, at the same time, provide support and access for students furthest from educational justice. Buchan values all voices and makes an effort to seek out traditionally underrepresented groups when making decisions, from hourly staff not often present in meetings to parents working multiple jobs who might not be able to attend events or have a presence at the school.

In her time at Renton High School, her leadership helped the school in creating systems and structures to help student achievement and increase student attendance. For example, the amount of students attending 95-100 percent of the time has increased by 20 percent. Not only are more students there, more often, but the ASB has become more representative of student voice and their actions more relevant to the school community.

“When discussing new initiatives, Jessica always brings the discussion back to ‘Is this good for kids?’ If it’s good for kids, it’s hard to go wrong,” said Gioia Pitts, the district’s Chief of Secondary Education. She added, “She is passionate about making a difference in the lives of students. This involves reaching all students, motivating the unmotivated, and building authentic relationships. She never gives up.”

Whether through her instructional leadership skills, her equity-centered leadership focusing on each students’ needs, or her impact on culture, climate, and community, Buchan helps make Renton High School a better place for everyone. Nowhere does this show up more than in her desire to keep what’s best for kids front and center.

“The job of a high school assistant principal is filled with many challenges and rewards. While all school staff work in unison each day to provide students with meaningful education, it is outstanding that Jessica’s hard work in this role as well as her commitment to serving students, families, and staff is being honored by AWSP,” said Dr. Damien Pattenaude, Superintendent of the Renton School District.

Download the press release (PDF). 

For More Information  David Morrill | Communications & Technology Director | (800) 562-6100

Kent School District Principal Grows Distinguished Teachers and a Culture of Hope

OLYMPIA — Dana Stiner, principal at Pine Tree Elementary School in the Kent School District, was named this year’s Washington State Elementary Principal of the Year. Stiner will also be recognized at the national level by the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP). She will be recognized with winners from other states as one of NAESP’s National Distinguished Principals.

Personable. Trusted. Genuine. These are just a few of the qualities describing Kent School District Principal Dana Stiner. She’s one of those people you wish you could clone – and so are the outcomes of her achievements. 

Dr. Stiner is in her sixth year as principal at Pine Tree Elementary. Before her arrival, the school had four different principals in four years. Turnover was high, student behavior was a challenge, and bullying was on the rise. Dana worked closely with staff to create a plan that included a positive reward system, social skills training, and developing a culture where everyone felt heard. Her team’s work resulted in an environment where students thrived socially and academically and where students looked forward to going each day.

Dr. Stiner’s dedication to knowing each student and staff member individually is part of what lends to the positive culture. Kent School District Executive Director Dr. Christine Avery explains, “Dr. Stiner is a distinguished instructional leader that knows every student by name/strength/need, is in every classroom every day, engages in side-by-side coaching daily with teachers, and has earned the trust and respect of her diverse families and community.” 

Dr. Stiner also knows how to mix learning with fun. For example, she dreamed up the idea of a vending machine for books. Her office manager was able to acquire an old vending machine and convert it to hold books. Now the vending machine has become part of the school’s PBIS reward system. 

When asked about Dr. Stiner, there is no shortage of praise from her team. Dr. Avery writes, “Dana is the most deserving principal for this award because she improves the lives of children every day. She changes the trajectory of a student’s life by growing distinguished teachers and creating a school environment focused on learning, a sense of belonging, hope, and joy. She is relentless on her focus to improve curriculum, instruction, and assessment and thereby achieves closing achievement, opportunity, and equity gaps for her students.”

National Distinguished Principal of the Year Program
Stiner will be honored next fall in Washington D.C. as part of the National Distinguished Principal of the Year program, sponsored by the National Association of Elementary School Principals in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Education. All state winners participate in a series of events and activities over the course of two days, culminating in a formal awards banquet. There is no national winner at the elementary level.      

Download the press release (PDF). 

For More Information  David Morrill | Communications & Technology Director | (800) 562-6100

Bethel School District principal is moving the needle on inclusion, collaboration, and test scores.

OLYMPIA — Shannon Leatherwood, principal at Spanaway Middle School in the Bethel School District, was named this year’s Washington State Secondary Principal of the Year. Leatherwood will also be recognized at the national level by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). She will compete with winners from other states for the NASSP National Principal of the Year award.

Leatherwood, in her 12^th year as a principal and fifth at Spanaway Middle School, leads with two principles. First, she is driven by what is best for students. And secondly, she believes if something isn’t sustainable, it’s not worth doing.

A tireless advocate for students, Leatherwood leads by example and serves with her whole heart, creating a culture of inclusivity, support, and pride in students, staff, and community while maintaining a high standard of academic excellence. In her time at Spanaway Middle School, she has built a strong and collaborative leadership team, increased the school's inclusionary practices, created better access to quality learning, improved school and student safety by growing restorative practices and strengthening support systems. This was all done by providing the right professional development for the school’s staff to grow their individual and collective efficacy.

Shannon believes in paying forward what she received as a leader and does so as the president of the Bethel Principal Association, mentoring fellow administrators, serving on district-level committees, and presenting at statewide conferences. She centers her greatest accomplishments around the themes of culture, systems, and learning and believes relationships form the core of culture. It’s those relationships that allowed her staff to embrace collective efficacy on three key messages about their belief in students: “What we’re doing here is important. We believe you can do this. We are not giving up on you.”

The results speak for themselves. In fact, only one of our state’s 541 middle schools saw more growth in their test scores than Spanaway Middle School. For all those reasons and more, Leatherwood is a deserving winner.

“We are so excited to see Shannon recognized as Secondary Principal of the Year for the state. Shannon is an amazing leader who has demonstrated the ability to truly be the learning leader of her school in a way that results in both improved school culture and increased student achievement,” said Brian Lowney, Ph.D., Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Schools in the Bethel School District. “Shannon is an outstanding representation of the fantastic principals, teachers, and staff who are dedicated to serving the students and families in Bethel.”

Download the press release (PDF). 

For More Information  David Morrill | Communications & Technology Director | (800) 562-6100