A Message from our Council PTA of the Year 2024-2025: Lake Washington PTSA Council
Lake Washington PTSA Council 2.8 was surprised and deeply honored to receive the Outstanding Secondary / Council PTA of the Year award at the 2025 WSPTA Convention. LWPTSA Council has had a strong year of growth. We added a new college essay workshop to our council’s student programs; we leveled up our DEI committee to Diversity,…
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Awards of Excellence Changes for 2025-2026
The Awards of Excellence Program recognizes local PTAs, community PTAs, and councils whose level of effort in specific areas help them make a difference in their communities. The Awards of Excellence committee has been working hard to update the awards information and judging rubric based on feedback we received through surveys. Please see below for…
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Week 13: Capital Budgets Released, Governor Says “No Go” on Wealth Tax
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org View our comprehensive bill tracker looking ahead to week 13 here. Over the past few weeks, lawmakers have been focused on releasing their proposed House and Senate biennial budgets for operations, transportation and construction and narrowing down the number of bills under consideration that will make it to Governor Bob Ferguson’s…
Week 10: Senate Advances Special Education Bill
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org Be sure to check out our comprehensive Week 10 Bill Tracker to see how bills we support have fared. Wednesday, March 12 was the deadline for bills to pass out of the chamber in which they began. The Senate celebrated the cutoff by passing E2SSB 5263 by a vote of 48-0…
Game Planning Your School’s Open House
by Jenn Talingo, WSPTA Membership Director It is the season of open houses, back-to-school nights, and back-to-school bashes! As you prepare for these events, consider having a tri-fold board that lets prospective members know what your PTA did last year and what your PTA plans to do this year. Publicize your PTA membership goals! Set…
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Washington State PTA Opposes Initiative 2117
Washington State PTA (WSPTA) is the oldest and largest volunteer child advocacy association in the state. Our 80,000 plus members support mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change which pose a direct threat to the health and well-being of all children and youth. WSPTA also supports ample funding for schools and promotes safe and healthy…
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It’s the final countdown
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org Friday, March 1st was the final deadline by which bills had to pass out of the opposite chamber to remain under consideration this session. Many bills were amended in the opposite chamber, which means they will return to their “house of origin” for concurrence, dispute, or conference committee. Typically, conference committees…
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Announcement from the WSPTA Special Education Committee
Hey PTA leaders, did you know there are now resources to support and include disabled students and their families in your PTA community and at your events on the Washington State PTA website? Under the focus area tab, you can find a link to the Special Education page. There are resources including how to ensure…
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Whose Money is it?
Andrew Estep Dear Members, As we slowly recover from the pandemic, a few bright spots shine. One that is shining through is that many PTAs have much larger bank balances than they had in the past. For some, that seems to be a luxury and not a problem. It can, however, be a problem. Charitable…
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From the Executive Director
Andrew Estep Dear Members, For me, July means Independence Day, barbecues, picnics, and vacations. It also means enjoying friends, family, and community. We get to go to baseball games, enjoy 16+ hours of daylight (in Washington), and celebrate our good fortune to be Americans. I was talking with a college-age student yesterday. Her family had…
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