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 – funding special education – while the House worked beyond the 5 PM mark, debating dozens of amendments until 2:30 AM on ESHB 1296, their version of the “parent’s rights” bill.

House versions of bills to fund special education (SHB 1357) and school district operating costs (SHB 1338) failed to pass the House by this cutoff but Senate bills on the topics are alive and well.
Seattle Democrat Jamie Pedersen, who is also the Senate Democratic Majority leader and 5263 bill sponsor, shared with his colleagues that the time had come to remove the artificial cap, increase the multipliers and lower the safety net threshold to ensure students with disabilities were getting the funding they needed and had a right to.

Bill co-sponsor and Senate Republican leader John Braun, R-Chehalis, called the bill “the gold standard,” saying how pleased he was that the bill made the safety net more accessible, and urging his colleagues to support the bill.

The bill would result in nearly $2 billion in new spending on special education over the next four years. This is less than the original bill, but is still a significant investment in a year plagued by budget challenges. Read the fiscal note here.

E2SSB 5263 has been scheduled for a public hearing in the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, March 19 at 4 PM. Also scheduled for March 19 is ESSB 5192, funding Materials, Supplies & Operating Costs (MSOC). The bill is nowhere near the level needed to fully close the gap between what the state allocates compared to what the costs are to operate schools, but it is a starting point and keeps the door open on the discussion.

WSPTA encourages all members to register their support for these two bills:

To record your support for the Special Education funding bill, please click here, indicate Pro, and type “Parent Advocate” or your PTA in the line for organization.

To record your support for the MSOC bill, please click here, indicate Pro, and type “Parent Advocate” or your PTA in the line for organization.

Members are also encouraged to write to House Appropriations Committee members with their stories about why the committee shouldn’t weaken these two bills and your support to restore SB 5192 to the levels intended in the original HB 1338. All legislators use the same style of email: firstname.lastname@leg.wa.gov.

Is it dead yet?

A bill that would ask voters if they would like to change the constitutional threshold from 60% to simple majority for passing school bonds is on life support. As previously reported, SSJR 8200 would require two-thirds of the Senate to advance to the House, which means all 30 Senate Democrats must support the measure and at least three Senate Republicans must join them in the vote. 2SSB 5186, the policy bill, only requires a majority to advance but is meaningless unless the other measure is placed on the November ballot.

While technically dead because they missed the March 12th deadline, the bills haven’t been sent to the “X files” yet, leaving some chance at resuscitation. Time will tell, but with tax increases on the horizon, it’s a tough sell this session to Republicans.

Speaking of revenue

The Legislature received some good news last week, when the carbon credit auction resulted in about $34 million more revenues than projected. The total auction will bring in about $230 million, which should help with this year’s balance sheet and some of the next biennium related to Climate Commitment Act programs.

In addition, Tuesday, March 18 is the final revenue forecast for the session. TVW will have the action on the 2 PM revenue review, with a lesser watched 12:30 PM show discussing the status of transportation revenues.

The forecast is the last piece of information budget writers need as they finalize their two-year spending plans, with both House and Senate budgets expected to be released the week of March 24th. This will be followed by public hearings, votes, and floor action in short order. Quick action by each chamber allows budget negotiators to roll up their sleeves and begin working together on final operating, capital and transportation budgets.

As a side note, on March 10th Senate Republicans released a proposed 2025-27 operating budget. For K-12 public schools, PSSB 5167 (Gildon/Torres) would add nearly $3 billion from the previously enacted 2023-25 and 2024 supplemental budgets, while removing about $102.7 million in various provisos and programs. The total budgeted proposal for public schools was $35.9 billion. Listen to the news conference here.

Gains included:

• $60 million for Special Education;
• $60 million for MSOC; and
• $5.6 million for chronically absent students.

The proposal also cut about $83.5 million from levy equalization and $4.3 million by eliminating learning device grants. It assumed $9.3 million in savings from school bus depreciation for districts that received federal grants to purchase electric school buses and $72.3 million in savings by freezing the Transition to Kindergarten (TtK) program in the 2025-26 school year. On TtK, the Senate proposal would begin increasing enrollment by 3% annually beginning in the 2026-27 school year.

Senator June Robinson, D-Everett, who is the Senate Democrats’ lead operating budget writer, said the Republican proposal was touted as a “no cuts” budget but actually included $6 billion in cuts. She said many of the cuts or savings were identified through bipartisan conversations where Republicans were at the table and would also be reflected in her proposal. She also said it failed to spend Climate Commitment Act funding appropriately and ignored state employee collective bargaining agreements. Robinson’s statement can be found here. Senate Republicans are no longer “at the table” as the final touches on the Democrats’ operating budget proposal are made.

In statements this past week, Robinson shared that to bridge the budget shortfalls and deliver a budget that balances over the next four years, she expects to need to make about $6 billion in cuts and hopes to raise at least $4 billion in new revenue. The projected shortfall numbers range from $6.6 billion to $15 billion, with nearly everyone agreeing that the 2026 fiscal year (July 1, 2025-June 30, 2026) is the worst year of the four-year outlook.

Back to committee work

Committees will swing back into action through April 2nd, although a lot of bills have lost traction along the way. With such a looming budget shortfall, each chamber killed what the fiscal committees didn’t to relieve pressure on state funding for new programs.

For those keeping score, these bills failed to meet the March 12 cutoff:

• HB 1132 would have limited bulk purchases and transfers of firearms and ammunition.
• HB 1152 would have established secure storage requirements for firearms in vehicles and residences.
• HB 1338 – MSOC bill – however, SB 5192 still alive
• HB 1357 – SpEd bill – however, SB 5263 still alive
• HB 1805 would have created a local sales and use tax to fund services for children and families that enhance well-being, promote mental health, and provide early intervention.
• SB 5637 would have required information about media literacy and civic education be incorporated into social studies curriculum.

Advocacy in Action

• Hopefully everyone attended a town hall last weekend or is planning to attend one in the future. Report how it went to us at PTAadvocacydir@wastatepta.org

The Week Ahead – All hearings can be found on TVW – Schedule subject to change

Higher Education & Workforce Development (Senate) – SHR 2 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 3/17 @ 10:30am

• 2SHB 1587 – Public Hearing – Encouraging local government partner promise scholarship programs within the opportunity scholarship program. (Remote Testimony Available). (Support)

Community Safety (House) – HHR D and Virtual JLOB – 3/17 @ 1:30pm

• ESSB 5105 – Public Hearing – Concerning sexually explicit depictions of minors. (Remote Testimony Available).
• SSB 5282 – Public Hearing – Reestablishing the advisory board for the missing and exploited children task force. (Remote Testimony Available).

Education (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 3/17 @ 1:30pm

• SSB 5123 – Public Hearing – Expanding protections for certain students to promote inclusivity in public schools. (Remote Testimony Available). (Support)
• ESB 5235 – Public Hearing – Repealing and reorganizing outdated statutes concerning public schools. (Remote Testimony Available).

Human Services (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 3/17 @ 1:30pm

• HB 1028 – Public Hearing – Addressing child exposure to violence. (Remote Testimony Available).
• ESHB 1385 – Public Hearing – Concerning fingerprint background check on applicants. (Remote Testimony Available). (Support)

Civil Rights & Judiciary (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 3/18 @ 10:30am

• E2SSB 5098 – Public Hearing – Restricting the possession of weapons on the premises of state or local public buildings, parks or playground facilities where children are likely to be present, and county fairs and county fair facilities. (Remote Testimony Available). (Support/High)

Environment, Energy & Technology (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 3/18 @ 1:30pm

• 2SHB 1497 – Public Hearing – Improving outcomes associated with waste material management systems. (Remote Testimony Available).

Postsecondary Education & Workforce (House) – HHR C and Virtual JLOB – 3/18 @ 1:30pm

• SB 5542 – Public Hearing – Expanding tuition waivers for high school completers at community and technical colleges. (Remote Testimony Available). (Support/Low)

Education (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 3/18 @ 4:00pm

• SB 5177 – Public Hearing – Considering the experiences of historically marginalized and underrepresented groups when identifying professional development resources on certain topics. (Remote Testimony Available).
• SSB 5253 – Public Hearing – Extending special education services to students with disabilities until the end of the school year in which the student turns 22. (Remote Testimony Available).
• SSB 5327 – Public Hearing – Concerning learning standards and graduation requirements. (Remote Testimony Available). (Concerns/Monitoring)

Early Learning & K-12 Education (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 3/19 @ 1:30pm

• ESHB 1651 – Public Hearing – Concerning teacher residency and apprenticeship programs. (Remote Testimony Available).
• HB 1796 – Public Hearing – Concerning school districts’ authority to contract indebtedness for school construction. (Remote Testimony Available).

Appropriations (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 3/19 @ 4:00pm

• ESSB 5192 – Public Hearing – Concerning school district materials, supplies, and operating costs. (Remote Testimony Available). (Support/High)
• E2SSB 5263 – Public Hearing – Concerning special education funding. (Remote Testimony Available). (Support/High)

Education (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 3/20 @ 8:00am

• ESSB 5004 – Exec Session – Updating emergency response systems in public schools including panic or alert buttons.
• SB 5189 – Exec Session – Supporting the implementation of competency-based education.
• SSB 5570 – Exec Session – Supporting public school instruction in tribal sovereignty and federally recognized Indian tribes.
• SSB 5253 – Exec Session – Extending special education services to students with disabilities until the end of the school year in which the student turns 22.

Early Learning & K-12 Education (Senate) – SHR 1 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 3/20 @ 10:30am

• ESHB 1296 – Public Hearing – Promoting a safe and supportive public education system. (Remote Testimony Available). (Concerns/Medium)
• EHB 1393 – Exec Session – Providing public school students with opportunities for cultural expression at commencement ceremonies.

Finance (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 3/20 @ 1:30pm

• HB 2033 – Public Hearing – Concerning the taxation of nicotine products. (Remote Testimony Available).

Higher Education & Workforce Development (Senate) – SHR 2 and Virtual J.A. Cherberg – 3/20 @ 1:30pm

• 2SHB 1273 – Public Hearing – Improving student access to dual credit programs. (Remote Testimony Available).