Legislative Update

For the third year in a row, TVW's Inside Olympia interviewed Washington's Teacher of the Year and one of our Principals of the Year. This year, the teacher also happened to be the National Teacher of the Year, Mandy Manning. Our Middle Level Principal of the Year, Marc Gallaway, represented principals.

Our mission is to support principals and the principalship in the education of all students. Part of supporting the education of all students is our core responsibility as educators to fearlessly shield children from traumatic events, ensure their safety and advocate for the health and well-being of all children, particularly those most vulnerable. The statements below from the national associations were all issued before President Trump signed an executive order ending the forcible separation. Here's a good explainer from CNN on what the order actually does from CNN.

Fred Yancey, a retired principal and superintendent, represents AWSP on issues related to health care and retirement. Check out his summer conference update linked here with updates about the School Employee Benefit Board (SEBB), the Public Employee Benefit Board (PEBB), and pensions. Fred can be reached at fyancey@comcast.net if you have questions.

At the risk of repetition, the legislative session and Governor’s actions have concluded. This was a session that was akin to a sprint to the finish line with the Democrat majorities in both houses pushing many pieces of legislation that had stalled in previous sessions. There were 1,425 new bills introduced and 310 passed during this 60-day session. In 2017, for comparison, for the 193 days of regular and special sessions, 377 bills passed. So, what happened regarding pensions, health care, financials and other issues?

The PEB Board held its monthly meeting March 21, 2018. A short summary follows. A briefing book offers more details. This report primarily focuses on issues related to retirees, both those who are pre-Medicare eligible and those that are Medicare eligible and choose PEBB insurance as their supplemental health policy.