By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org
The Washington State Legislature convenes Monday, January 8th, for the second year of the 68th biennium and a 60-day session that is scheduled to end by March 7, 2024. Legislators must adopt supplemental budgets for operating, capital, and transportation based on updated revenue forecasts and changes to caseloads.
Lawmakers also will try to fund priorities: when they convened last week, at the top of the list for some is addressing homelessness and affordable housing, while the fentanyl crisis has also garnered a specific focus. Legislative and budget leaders gathered last week to discuss their priorities – the far-ranging discussion can be found here (a little less than four hours):
- The discussion begins with a 20-minute briefing by polling expert Stuart Elway, who surveyed Washington voters on the most important issues for 2024.
- The next hour is House and Senate transportation leaders.
- House and Senate operating budget leaders go next for about 45 minutes, followed by House and Senate caucus leaders for the next 50 minutes or so.
- Governor Inslee joins for the final segment, starting about 3 hours into the recording.
Session will start with 600+ new bills on Monday
Legislators have the opportunity to “pre-file” legislation in advance of the upcoming session. On December 4, House and Senate bills were placed in the hopper, giving other legislators, stakeholders, lobbyists, and the public the opportunity to preview what’s on lawmakers’ minds. As of January 5, 2024, more than 600 bills had been pre-filed; these bills range in topics and will be on the Introduction sheets on Day 1 and will be referred to various policy and fiscal committees for consideration.
Keep in mind that all bills from the 2023 session that weren’t enacted remain eligible for reconsideration in the 2024 session. Since this is a short session, with deadlines for bills compressed, it’s impossible for all the bills to receive a public hearing. Here is the cutoff calendar:
- January 31 – bills must pass policy committees;
- February 5 – bills must pass fiscal committees;
- February 13 – last day (5 PM) to consider bills in their chamber of origin;
- February 21 – bills must pass opposite chamber policy committees;
- February 26 – bills must pass opposite chamber fiscal committees;
- March 1 – last day (5 PM) to consider bills from the opposite chamber, except for initiatives to the legislature and alternatives to the initiatives; budgets and matters necessary to implement budgets, including revenue matters; and messages between the two chambers, including to resolve differences between the two chambers.
- March 7 – Sine Die – final day of regular legislative session.
Governor Inslee’s Proposed 2024 Supplemental K-12 Operating & Capital Budget
On December 13, Governor Jay Inslee issued his final budget proposals, with supplemental budgets for operations, capital, and transportation. Here is a quick look at the matters most related to K-12 education. Budget highlights of all three can be found here. In addition, specific budget briefing summaries can be found on that page. For more detailed analysis and review, please check out the Agency Recommendation Summaries (RecSum). The Governor’s 2024 supplemental budget bills can be found here, and the 2024 supplemental capital plan can be found here.
Many of the bills that would implement these funding changes have been introduced at the request of the Governor or the state budget Office of Financial Management. Other state agencies or separately elected officials also may have “request legislation” that implements budget additions or changes this session.
What’s new or the same in 2024?
As in the 2023 legislative session, committees will hear from the public using both in-person and remote testimony. The rules remain the same as well: the portal to sign up to testify opens immediately following public notice of the hearing and closes 1 hour prior to the start of the hearing. Written testimony must be submitted within 24 hours of the hearing start time.
The Legislative Information Center has made it easier to sign up to testify, state your position for the record, or submit written testimony by including that option on each bill’s page. Just go to the Bill Info page, type in the bill number, and on the right hand side will be an option to “Sign Up to Testify/Submit Written Testimony.” Clicking the button will take you automatically to the committee hearing and the bill at issue, eliminating a lot of guesswork or time trying to find the right committee, the correct time slot, and the right bill.
Legislators also will be limiting the number of people in their offices, although the space limits are determined by each legislator. The same applies to masking on the Capitol campus. Masking is encouraged but not required. An exemption might be any set by individual legislators, who may ask meeting visitors to wear a mask. It’s always a good idea to have one handy this year.
Finally, security rules requiring access to legislator offices remain the same. Visitors must have an appointment with a legislator and must check in with the security offices on each of the floors before entering the office. While some security staff are not as rigid, in most cases, visitors must have their name on a list showing the appointment time and which legislator they will be meeting with.
What’s hot this year?
Not surprisingly, special education funding and school staffing have (or will have) competing bills. Senator Lisa Wellman (D-Mercer Island) has introduced an updated transportation funding bill. A bill will be introduced to clarify the Experience Factor, which takes into account the number of years an educator has been teaching in Washington and advanced degrees compared to bachelor’s degrees. Several policy bills would create new graduation requirements (e.g., financial education, computer science competency, agricultural literacy), while others add to the list of new activities for upcoming school years. The topic of isolation and restraint of students remains a priority for House Education Chair Sharon Tomiko Santos (D-Seattle); Senator Claire Wilson (D-Federal Way) is offering an alternative to the House bill considered last session and again this year.
In addition, legislators are giving school construction assistance a once-over look, including introducing a new bill in the Senate to seek a Constitutional amendment that creates a simple majority for bonds. SB 5823 is scheduled for a public hearing on Wednesday in the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee at 10:30 AM. Also scheduled that day is SB 5789, which would reimburse school districts for sales tax on school construction projects. Over in the House, a bill has been introduced to address funding issues for districts that have a history of bond failures (HB 2017), and HB 1044 from the 2023 session is expected to return for discussion this year.
Here’s a quick overview of the funding-related bills:
- School districts with state regionalization factors could see a bump to their enrichment levies under SB 5956, requested by OSPI. Currently, enrichment levies are the lesser of $2.50 per $1,000 assessed value or the “maximum per-pupil limit,” which is $2,500 for districts with fewer than 40,000 students and $3,000 for districts with more than 40,000 students. The bill would modify the definition of “maximum per-pupil limit,” starting in calendar year 2025 to allow the per-pupil amount to be multiplied by the regionalization factor for the district for the prior school year.
- SB 5873 would direct OSPI to provide an analysis of 2025-26 school year transportation costs and allocations by June 1, 2027, so that the legislature may revise the overall student transportation funding model. In the meantime, the bill would make eligible transportation costs related to students attending skill centers, as well as distinct passenger categories (students with disabilities, students who are homeless, and students in the foster youth system). The allocation formula would be adjusted to eliminate the regressive analysis and add “total sum of miles driven,” and include a multiplier for certain urban districts and rural districts with large geographical bus routes and few students. The bill is scheduled for a hearing on Wednesday, Jan. 10, at 10:30 AM in Senate Education.
- SB 6031 by Senator John Braun (R-Chehalis) would encourage districts to use the vehicle type deemed to be the safest and most cost-effective to transport students and ensure those costs are reimbursed.
- While bills are expected to promote the Governor’s $3/hour increase and OSPI’s $7/hour increase for paraeducators, two bills have been introduced related to the prototypical funding formula. HB 1960 and SB 5882 would add to the minimum allocation of the prototypical school staffing formula for paraeducators and noninstructional aides in the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years and then would replace and set new minimums ratios for the 2026-27 school year:
At least four bills have been introduced regarding special education funding, and several have been introduced regarding special education services or related legislation. As mentioned above, the Governor proposed a 17.25% lift to the enrollment cap (up from 15%). Rep. Michelle Caldier (R-Gig Harbor) has a proposal to remove the cap entirely, and Rep. Travis Couture (R-Allyn) would phase out the cap over the next four school years. OSPI doesn’t remove the 15% cap but would seek to fund excess costs. Here’s a look at the special education funding bills and their differences:
| Topic | HB 1923 | HB 2174 | HB 2175 | HB 2180 / SB 6014 |
| 15% Cap | Phases out cap:
2024-25 SY: 15.5% 2025-26 SY: 16% 2026-27 SY: 16% 2027-28 SY: no cap |
No but creates a mechanism to fund when a district is more than 15% | Removes cap | Lifts cap to 17.25% |
| Requested by: | OSPI | WSPTA | Governor | |
| Safety net changes | No limit to safety net for districts with fewer than 2,500 FTE students; districts that received safety net awards in the prior school year; and districts when at least 10% of enrollment is identified as having a military parent. | No | No | No |
| Report on overidentification | Yes | The ability to fund over 15% would be based on a district submitting evidence that it is not over-identifying students and has an approved spending plan for special education services. | No | No |
None of the bills have been scheduled for a public hearing yet, but at least the House versions are expected to be referred to the House Appropriations Committee for consideration.
The Week Ahead
Week 1 kicks off with public hearings on the Governor’s proposed supplemental budgets in the House and Senate respective budget committees. Policy committees are also launching into the work quickly, with public hearings and even some executive action scheduled this week.The House Education Committee has scheduled work sessions on the topic of isolation and restraint on Monday and Tuesday. It has reserved Thursday for a public hearing on five bills, including last session’s E2SHB 1479.
Appropriations (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 1/8 @ 4:00pm
- HB 2104 – Public Hearing – Making 2023-2025 fiscal biennium supplemental operating appropriations. (Remote Testimony Available). (If measure is referred to committee.)
Ways & Means (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 1/9 @ 4:00pm
- SB 5950 – Public Hearing – Making 2023-2025 fiscal biennium supplemental operating appropriations. (If measure is referred to committee.)
Education (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 1/8 @ 1:30pm
- Work Session: Student Isolation and Restraint: Part I – Legal, Data, and Issue Background.
Education (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 1/9 @ 4:00pm
- Work Session: Student Isolation and Restraint: Part 2 – Panelist Perspectives.
Early Learning & K-12 Education (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 1/10 @ 10:30am
- SB 5789 – Public Hearing – Concerning the sales and use tax for school construction assistance program capital projects. (Remote Testimony Available). (If measure is referred to committee.)
- SB 5823 – Public Hearing – Concerning school district elections. (Remote Testimony Available). (If measure is referred to committee.)
- SB 5873 – Public Hearing – Providing adequate and predictable student transportation. (Remote Testimony Available). (If measure is referred to committee.)
- SB 5882 – Public Hearing – Increasing prototypical school staffing to better meet student needs. (Remote Testimony Available). (If measure is referred to committee.)
Appropriations (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 1/10 @ 4:00pm
- HB 2104 – Public Hearing – Making 2023-2025 fiscal biennium supplemental operating appropriations. Continued from January 8 (Remote Testimony Available). (If measure is referred to committee.)
Education (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 1/11 @ 8:00am
- E2SHB 1479 – Public Hearing – Concerning restraint or isolation of students in public schools and educational programs. (Remote Testimony Available). (If measure is referred to committee.)
- HB 1914 – Public Hearing – Improving the education of students with varying abilities by enhancing special education services. (Remote Testimony Available). (If measure is referred to committee.)
- HB 2038 – Public Hearing – Collecting data on student transfers and withdrawals from public schools and school districts. (Remote Testimony Available). (If measure is referred to committee.)
- HB 2058 – Public Hearing – Increasing student access to free meals served at public schools. (Remote Testimony Available). (If measure is referred to committee.)
Capital Budget (House) – HHR B and Virtual JLOB – 1/11 @ 1:30pm
- HB 2089 – Public Hearing – Concerning the capital budget. (Remote Testimony Available). (If measure is referred to committee.)
Early Learning & K-12 Education (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 1/11 @ 1:30pm
- SB 5790 – Public Hearing – Concerning bleeding control equipment in schools. (Remote Testimony Available). (If measure is referred to committee.)
- SB 5850 – Public Hearing – Supporting students who are chronically absent and at risk for not graduating high school. (Remote Testimony Available). (If measure is referred to committee.)
- SB 5923 – Public Hearing – Addressing fentanyl and other substance use prevention education. (Remote Testimony Available). (If measure is referred to committee.)
Appropriations (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 1/11 @ 4:00pm
- SHB 1368 – Public Hearing – Requiring and funding the purchase of zero emission school buses. (Remote Testimony Available).
Ways & Means (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 1/11 @ 4:00pm
- SB 5949 – Public Hearing – Concerning the capital budget. (If measure is referred to committee.)