Action Turns Again to Committees, Revenue Up
Action returns to policy and budget committees as the opposite chamber takes up bills that passed the original chamber. Policy committees have until March 29 to hear and act on policy bills; the fiscal cutoff is April 4th. Keep in mind that bills that get changed in the opposite chamber must return to the original chamber…
WSPTA Region 2 FACE Chair Testimony
Thursday, March 16 – During the afternoon Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee public hearing, Jessica Garcia, WSPTA Region 2 Family and Community Engagement Chair/Bellevue PTSA Council President, testified in favor of SHB 1618 (family engagement coordinators). Ms. Garcia spoke with passion about her first-hand experience with family engagement and the great importance it…
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Family Engagement
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Legislative
WSPTA Bill Status & Week 11 Events Report
Monday, March 20 1:30 PM Early Learning & K-12 Education (Senate) – SHR 1, SHB 1046 – Public Hearing – Concerning certificates of academic and individual achievement. 1:30 PM Education (House) – HHR A SB 5070 – Public Hearing – Concerning para-educators. Tuesday, March 21 1:30 PM Early Learning & K-12 Education (Senate) – SHR…
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Health & Well-being
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Legislative
Levy Cliff Bill Causes Flurry of Last Minute Activity
In a surprise move March 8 before the 5 p.m. deadline, Senate Republicans brought a bill that would extend current local district levy authority through January 1, 2019. The expanded levy authority and linked levy equalization was put in place in the 2010 session, with the thought that the Legislature would have fully funded K-12…
Legislative Session; Week 9
Education (House) – HHR A, JLOB – 3/13 @ 1:30pm SSB 5241 – Public Hearing – Concerning the educational success of youth who are homeless or in foster care. Capital Budget (House) – HHR B, JLOB – 3/14 @ 3:30pm ESSB 5702 – Public Hearing – Improving state funding for school construction, modernization, and asset…
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Education
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Legislative
Senate Advances Bill to Extend Levy Cliff to 2019
As its last bill of the March 8 cutoff, the Senate Wednesday night passed an amended bill on the “levy cliff” (ESB 5023), with all members voting in favor; with the exception of Republican Senator Michael Baumgartner of West Spokane. The Senate ran their version of the bill so they could change the title to…
2017 Session Starts with Pomp, Work Sessions and Hearings
The 65th Washington State Legislature kicked off a 105-day session January 9, swearing in 18 new House and 12 new Senate members, one of the largest freshman classes for both chambers in many election cycles. The Senate is controlled by a Republican majority of 25-24, while the House majority is 50 Democrats to 48 Republicans.…
Erika Kapur Testifies before Senate Budget Committee
Erika Kapur, a 45th legislative district constituent and Washington State PTA (WSPTA) Region 2 Legislative Chair, testified yesterday afternoon in support of Governor Inslee’s proposed education budget. Her testimony can be found at 1 hour, 30 minutes into the Senate Ways & Means committee hearing; watch her testimony here. “This budget addresses many of the important…
Governor Releases Ed Budget, Asks for $3.9B in New K-12 Funding
Kicking off the 2017 budget proposals to resolve the “McCleary problem,” Governor Jay Inslee released his education and revenue budgets today, with a request for $3.9 billion in total spending over the two-year budget cycle. In a Monday preview, staff indicated that nearly two-thirds of the funding would boost compensation for all educators and add…