See you at Focus Day!
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org Parents and students will descend on Olympia today to meet with their state legislators during the annual Washington State PTA Focus Day. Members also will hear from Senators and Representatives over the lunch hour and will participate in a march around the capitol grounds in support of closing K12 funding gaps. If you weren’t able to travel to the State Capitol,…
And … We’re Off!
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org Today marks the start of the 60-day session and it’s already setting off at a fast pace with public hearings on Governor Bob Ferguson’s proposed 2026 supplemental budgets and a variety of policy bills. Remember, all bills from 2025 are still eligible to move forward this year, but they’ll need to meet cutoff deadlines. And, legislators have been very busy “pre-filing” bills which will…
January Checklist for Councils Supporting Local PTAs
January Monthly Tasks Continue assisting with items from the “Ongoing Tasks” list. Refer to the January Checklist for Running Your PTA. Reflections entries due to WSPTA by January 12 Councils can access the submission form here. Contact Reflections@wastatepta.org with questions. Remind local PTAs about the 1099-NEC due for independent contractors by January 31 For contractors, you paid more than $600…
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PTAs and Politics: Protecting Your PTA’s Tax-Exempt Status
One of the many benefits of being a part of PTA is support around topics that may be new or seem intimidating to you, like protecting your PTA’s tax-exempt status. Washington State PTA would like to help our PTAs sort out some of the challenges that politics and elections can bring. This resource provides guidelines…
Category:
Advocacy
WSPTA Requests Vetoes from Governor Ferguson
Washington State PTA joined other statewide associations to request a veto of a bill that would reduce state funding to students enrolled in Alternative Learning Experience programs in eight school districts and a “section veto” of a bill that would make the inflationary growth rates different for per student enrichment levies and per student local…
Category:
Advocacy
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Legislative
And That’s a Wrap: Legislature Adjourns
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org After an exceptionally tough and challenging session, the Washington State Legislature adjourned around 6:30 PM on April 27th, the final day of the regularly scheduled 105-day session. When the 2025-27 operating budget was revealed by the Conference Committee on Saturday, April 26th, one of the best bits of news was that…
Category:
Advocacy
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Legislative
State Association Letter to Legislators on School Funding
Washington State PTA and state K-12 education associations sent a letter to the legislature expressing their disappointment and frustration with the lack of significant investment this session in public schools and our state’s 1.1 million students. PTAs are encouraged to borrow liberally from the letter and/or send your own stories to legislators before they adjourn…
Advocacy in Action: No Harmful Budget Gimmicks
Advocacy in Action! Danica Noble testified against HB 2050, a bill that would shift apportionment payments from February, March, and April and replace the funds in August. This budget gimmick would help the state balance its fiscal issues, but will create a cash flow problem for school districts, and worsen their financial instability. Listen to Danica here.
Week 14 Legislative Review: It’s the Final Countdown
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org View our comprehensive bill tracker for Week 15 ahead here. Wednesday, April 16 was the final day for bills to pass out of the opposite chamber, with the exception of bills that save the state money or raise money. Starting the next day, both the House and Senate began working on…
Advocacy in Action: Increase Capital Gains and Estate Taxes to Fund Education
Washington State PTA weighed in on SB 5813, increasing funding to the Education Legacy Trust Account (ELTA), on Wednesday, April 16. The bill was one of many being proposed to fill in the approximately $16 billion shortfall facing the state over the next four years. Former Advocacy Director Lizzy Sebring shared WSPTA’s support for increases…
Category:
Advocacy
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Legislative