Senator Murray concerned about early learning & equitable education funding
By Danica Noble, WSPTA Federal Legislative Committee Last December, I met with Senator Patty Murray’s policy advisor on education in Washington, D.C. as a member of Washington State PTA’s Federal Legislative Committee. We explored common ground, as WSPTA had recently adopted Resolution 18.45 “High-quality Preschool to Third Grade Early Learning,” one of Senator Murray’s priorities.…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
Legislature passes halfway point, budgets released soon
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org While the Senate adjourned for the weekend February 9, the House worked into the wee hours last Friday and through late afternoon Saturday in an effort to advance bills before the February 13 deadline by which bills must pass out of the chamber in which they started. See the full 2024 Bill…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
WSPTA Recognized by National PTA for Advocacy Efforts
National PTA President-Elect Dr. William Datema presents the 2024 Outstanding State PTA Advocacy Award to Washington State PTA., represented by Angela Steck and Gwen Loosmore. Washington State PTA is proud to be the 2024 recipient of the Outstanding State PTA Advocacy Award, as recognized by National PTA. This honor is awarded to one state PTA whose…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
WSPTA Testifies: Increased Allocation for Materials, Supplies, and Operating Costs
Advocacy in Action! Shoreline School District parent advocate Michelle Harris testified on behalf of Washington State PTA in strong support of HB 2494, increasing the allocation for Materials, Supplies, and Operating Costs. Michelle shared that for her district, skyrocketing insurance increases will cost $2 million or about 8% of the enrichment levy. Watch Michelle here.…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
Mid-Week Update: Fiscal cutoff spells end for more bills
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org Monday, February 5 was the final day for bills to pass out of the fiscal committees in the chamber in which they started. The exceptions to this are revenue bills and any bills labeled Necessary to Implement the Budget or NTIB. And, as a reminder, no bill is ever officially done…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
Summer EBT Food Program Requires Support from Olympia
by Nigar Suleman, WSPTA Federal Legislative Committee, and Susan Baird-Joshi, WSPTA Federal Legislative Chair Due to the Public Health Emergency expiring, 2023 was the last year for Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) food benefits. Now, thanks to new federal funding initiatives, benefits that aim to reduce child hunger when school is not in session will…
Bills advance, falter as Legislature reaches committee cutoffs
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastate.pta January 31st was the first cutoff of the session, signaling the start of deadlines that will become more compressed as the Legislature heads towards Sine Die on March 7th. The next cutoff is Monday, February 5th which is the last day for bills to pass out of the fiscal committees to…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
WSPTA Testifies: Schools Meals for All Students
Advocacy in Action! WSPTA Advocacy Committee member Danica Noble testified in favor of SB 5964, providing school meals to all students at the January 29th public hearing of the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee. While the bill didn’t advance, the companion to it – HB 2058 – is moving through the process in…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
2024 Washington Legislative Page Applications are Open
Last day to apply is February 9, 2024 During the legislative session, students from across Washington come to Olympia to serve as pages for the Washington State Legislature. Each week, the House and Senate provide pages the opportunity to take part in the legislative process and observe the Legislature and other branches of state government…
2024 Legislative Session: Policy Cutoff Approaches
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org Remember those 600+ bills introduced on Day 1 of the 2024 legislative session? Since then, nearly 600 more bills have been introduced – and this on top of bills not enacted last year that still have some juice! Policy and budget committees have been busy holding public hearings and voting on…
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Advocacy
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Legislative