Week Six: Make way for Focus Day!
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org Click here to view the comprehensive Week 6 bill tracker. More than 280 people have registered for Washington State PTA’s Focus Day in Olympia, and the capital will be a crowded place, with many rallies and protests taking place on the Capitol campus. WSPTA members will be meeting with legislators and…
WSPTA Testifies: Fully Fund Special Education and Student Transportation
Advocacy in Action! President Angela Steck testified in favor of SSB 5263, a bipartisan bill that would increase funding for special education services. Angela also asked for funding to support inclusionary practices and a study that would identify how other states fund programs to support students with disabilities. Listen to Angela here. Angela also spoke…
Week 4 is done, two weeks to go for policy cutoff
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org Click here to view our comprehensive Week 5 Bill Tracker We are one month into the 105-day session and policy committees are really digging into hearings and voting on the bills in their committees before the first deadline for bills to remain under consideration – February 21st. Bills on “the Big…
WSPTA Testifies: Closing the Funding Gaps
Advocacy in Action! On Monday, February 3, WSPTA President Angela Steck testified in favor of HB 1338, a bill that would close the gaps between what the state funds and what it costs to operate schools across the state. Angela asked House Appropriations Committee members to pass the bill and pointed out that PTAs have…
Week Four: Big 3 Bills Continue to Advance
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org Click here to see the week four bill tracker. Last week the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee advanced three bills related to special education funding, Materials, Supplies & Operating Costs (MSOC), and student transportation. SB 5187 would direct OSPI to update the student transportation funding formula (report due June 1,…
Gov. Bob Ferguson creates rapid response team to support children facing separation
Last week, National PTA released a statement on the importance of protecting children regardless of immigration status. The following is the text of a press release published this week by the Office of Washington Governor Bob Ferguson. January 27, 2025 Executive Order brings agencies, schools together to support kids separated from parents or caregivers OLYMPIA…
Big 3 bills heard in Senate Ed, Special Education bills to be heard this week
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org You can access the Week 3 Bill Tracker here. The Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee heard testimony on four bills related to what is being informally called “The Big 3.” These bills seek to close the funding gaps that have widened in three specific basic education and constitutionally protected areas:…
WSPTA Testifies: Close the Funding Gaps
Advocacy in Action On January 22, the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee heard public testimony on bills that would close the funding gaps in what are being called “The Big Three” – special education, school operating costs (MSOC), and student transportation. WSPTA Board Secretary Melissa Stone was part of a panel of education…
Pomp, Ceremonies, Committees and an Inaugural Ball Kick off 105-day Session
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org Newly elected state House of Representative members and Senators were sworn in at opening ceremonies in the House and Senate on January 13, the first day of this long session. On Tuesday, former Governor Jay Inslee, who had served three terms (12 years), addressed a joint session of the House and Senate…
69th Legislature Convenes January 13 Amid New Faces, Projected Deficit
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org The Washington State Legislature convenes Monday, January 13th for the first year of the 2025-27 biennium and a 105-day session that is scheduled to end April 27, 2025. Legislators must adopt two-year budgets for operating, capital, and transportation, based on updated revenue forecasts and changes to caseloads since they left town in…