Supporting funding flexibility
Heidi Bennett, long-time WSPTA member, testified in support of SB 6132, which would create more flexibility within the Learning Assistance Program to use funding for staff that support student behavioral issues and mental health. Watch her testimony here.
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Advocacy
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Legislative
WSPTA asks Legislature to Make Broad Investments in Special Education
On January 22, parent volunteer Susan Leusner testified before the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education on SB 6117, a bill that would add about $11 million to special education funding to support students who spend 80% or more of their time in general education classrooms. Here’s her testimony.
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Advocacy
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Legislative
2020 Legislative Session – Week 1 Recap and Look Ahead to Week 2
Historic day kicks off 2020 session Prepared by Marie Sullivan, WSPTA Legislative Consultant, legconsultant@wastatepta.org The House kicked off the 2020 session January 13 by swearing in Rep. Laurie Jinkins, D-27, as the first woman Speaker of the House in Washington state history. Jinkins and many colleagues wore white in celebration of women’s suffrage, and Jinkins…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
WSPTA Testifies before House for Budget Priorities
Click to hear President Kutzera’s testimony Washington State PTA President Janice Kutzera testified in front of the House Appropriations Committee today, January 13, on the opening day of the legislative session. Read her full testimony. She spoke to HB 2325 Supplemental Operating Budget. President Kutzera asked the committee to support four budget priorities. Fund the…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
2020 Legislative Session – Pre-session Report
Legislature expected to act quickly in 60-day session Prepared by Marie Sullivan, WSPTA Legislative Consultant, legconsultant@wastatepta.org The second year of the 66th Legislature will convene Monday, January 13, with Democrats holding the Governor’s office and majorities in the House and Senate. The Senate will swear in one new member, Republican Ron Muzzall of Whidbey Island,…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
Advocacy in Olympia 2020
PTA members adopt and add to the legislative priorities each year. Our platform focuses on all aspects of the health, safety, well-being, and education of children and youth – and 1.1 million kids need YOU to be their voice on Focus Day, January 20, 2020. What ARE our legislative priorities? How do you learn enough…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
2019 WSPTA Legislative Assembly Recap
Attendees to the 2019 WSPTA Legislative Assembly kept up to a relentless pace of attending classes, issue topic education, caucusing and consideration of resolutions and issues. The theme at this year’s sold-out event at Bellevue College in Bellevue, WA was “Superheroes of Advocacy”. The event kicked off with a general session bipartisan legislator panel featuring…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
Welcome to WSPTA’s 41st Annual Legislative Assembly
Dear PTA leaders and members, On behalf of your Washington State PTA board of directors and staff, I would like to invite you to attend the 41st annual WSPTA Legislative Assembly taking place October 26-27, 2019 at the Bellevue College in Bellevue. At legislative assembly, you will discover the power PTA has to advocate for…
Call to Action – Save Student Meals
Dear Washington State PTA member, PTA members know that nutrition is essential to children’s health and well-being, and that hungry children can’t focus on learning. The USDA is currently taking public comments on a proposed rule change that threatens to leave tens of thousands of Washington State students without access to the free school meals…
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Legislative
2019 Legislative Session End of Session Report
Prepared for the Washington State PTA By Legislative Consultant Marie Sullivan Legislature ends session on time, passes $52.4 billion operating budget For the first time since 2009, the Washington State Legislature ended a 105-day budget session on time with just minutes to spare. This was the second year in a row, however, for lawmakers to…
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Advocacy
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Legislative