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 their “concurrence” or “dispute” lists, i.e., agreeing with the changes made in the opposite chamber or refusing to concur and sending the bill back, either to remove the amendments or insist on their position. In some cases, a six-person conference committee (comprised of two members of the majority party and one member of the minority party from the House and Senate) will be requested to work out the differences.
Passing the House on that final day were E2SSB 5263 (Special Education funding) and ESSB 5192 (school operating costs). Both bills were amended on the House floor and are on the concurrence calendar in the Senate.
Special Education
As passed the House by a unanimous vote, E2SSB 5263:
- Removes the 16% cap on total student enrollment for special education funding;
- Collapses the two-tiered multiplier into a single excess rate of 1.16 (up from 1.12 and 1.09);
- Lowers the safety net threshold to 1.8 times the average per pupil expenditure, beginning in the 2024-25 school year, for:
- school districts with fewer than 1,000 students;
- school districts that have 60% of their students participating in the community eligibility school meal program; or
- school districts with 60% of their students enrolled in the Transitional Bilingual Instruction Program.
- Makes the safety net threshold 2 times the average per pupil expenditure rate for all other school districts.
- Requires OSPI to make quarterly payments to school districts with fewer than 1,000 students and to school districts that meet these three conditions beginning in the 2025-26 school year:
- The safety net award is provided for a high-cost student who receives special education services from an authorized entity located outside of the state;
- The school district has successfully applied for and received a safety net award for the high-cost student in a prior school year and the student’s placement has not changed since the safety net award was granted; and
- The school district meets all other safety net award eligibility requirements as determined by the Safety Net Oversight Committee.
The bill also would:
- Set aside 0.006 of the funding (based on no enrollment cap and the increased multiplier) for OSPI to provide professional development and technical assistance, and review school districts for disproportionality of enrollment in special education services;
- Develop and maintain a statewide online system for Individualized Education Programs (IEPs);
- Create a pilot program for up to 20 school districts to create school-wide centers of excellence for inclusionary practices. For participating districts, the excess cost multiplier would be set at 1.5 (not 1.12);
- Link the rate for special education funding for infants and toddlers to the rate for three- and five-year-olds;
- Change the allocation and cost accounting methodology for special education to shift 25 percent of the basic education allocation amount for special education students to the school district’s special education program for expenditure.
While the bill immediately would remove the cap on enrollment, the multiplier is significantly lower and the threshold is a little higher to reach than proposed in the original bill sponsored by Senators Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, and John Braun, R-Centralia. For a summary of the various special education bills and amended versions, click here.
Materials, Supplies and Operating Costs (MSOC)
By a vote of 85-12, the House adopted an amendment to ESSB 5192 that increased the base level per student amount by a total of $81.26. This amount equates to an annual inflationary adjustment of $45.99 and an additional $35.27.
The MSOC amount is a far cry from the $350.75 per student proposed in HB 1338, as originally introduced by Rep. April Berg, D-Mill Creek, and 28 other House Democrats. It is also well below the $190.40 per student that passed the Senate March 6th. For most districts, the amount will not cover even the latest insurance or utility increases. For a review of the bill’s journey, click here.
Bills that have passed both chambers and will be delivered to the Governor
- 2SHB 1273 extends a pilot program to increase career and technical education dual credit participation and credit attainment by covering certain expenses.
- 2SSB 5358 would allow exploratory career and technical education to 6th grade students in middle school.
Other bills on the tracking list that were amended in the opposite chamber will return for concurrence or dispute decisions over the next week, in the process as described above.
Advocacy in Action
Washington State PTA weighed in on SB 5813, increasing funding to the Education Legacy Trust Account (ELTA), on Wednesday, April 16th in the Senate Ways & Means Committee. 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 to the capital gains tax and the estate tax, saying that the tax sources were progressive, tested, and proven and, because they are solely dedicated to the ELTA, are worthy of support. Listen to Lizzy here.
The Week Ahead
Both the Senate and House have released a bunch of new tax bills, including increases to property taxes, business and occupation taxes, retail and excise taxes, and taxes on the carbon credits offered by EV car dealerships (e.g., Tesla), along with removing tax preferences and adjusting fees and licenses.
The Senate also has released a very small version of the wealth tax (34 cents for every $1,000 on the portion of assets owned by a Washington resident in excess of $50 million), dedicating the new revenues from SSB 5797 to the Education Legacy Trust Account. This is likely the “test” case that Governor Ferguson said he was willing to consider in previous remarks.
On Saturday, April 19th, the Senate debated and acted upon the tax bills, while the House Finance Committee passed four tax bills out of committee on a party line vote.
While it appears that the majority Democrats have agreed on the tax packages needed to balance the operating budget over the next four years, Governor Bob Ferguson released remarks stating that “raising $12 billion in taxes is unsustainable, too risky and fails to adequately prepare Washington state for the crisis that looms ahead.” Legislative Democratic leadership was quick to respond, saying that it was time for the Governor to share which revenues he would support and what additional cuts he would propose.
Rumor over the weekend has it that Governor Ferguson is lukewarm to the property tax increases proposed in SHB 2049 and SB 5812. In addition to lifting the percentage of growth in the property tax from a limit of one percent to three percent, the bills would increase the maximum per student levy rate by $500 and would increase Local Effort Assistance (LEA), beginning in calendar year 2026. SB 5812 was scheduled for executive action on Friday, April 18th, but no vote was taken.
As amended in the House Finance Committee on April 19th, SHB 2049 would increase the maximum LEA rate by $150 in calendar year 2026 and $250 in calendar year 2027, and then by $200 in the 2030 and 2031 calendar years.
In response to the Governor’s tepid support, the bill will be further amended on the House floor to remove the state and local property tax increases. See the amendment here. Also being removed will be the references to LEA. However, school districts getting LEA shouldn’t panic yet – according to lawmakers the operating budget will include those increases. What remains in the bill are the $500 per student levy lift and the K12 Equity in Education Funding work group.
The House also met on Saturday, with a long debate over HB 2050 and taking up other bills labeled as “savings.” HB 2050 would reduce school district apportionment payments in the months of February, March and April, and return the payments in the August apportionment for the next two school years. The bill also would reduce Local Effort Assistance (LEA) payments to school districts with 33% or more students enrolled in Alternative Learning Environment (ALE) programs.
The House also turned its attention to bills on the concurrence list. Following floor action, both chambers adjourned through Monday.
The final day of the 105-day regular session is Sunday, April 27th. The Legislature is expected to adjourn that day, but whether two-year budgets will be adopted by that time is unclear at the time of this report. However, budget writers from the House and Senate began meeting in person last week and will continue that work over the next week in the hopes that they will adjourn with all their work completed.
Sad news over the weekend
Some of you will have seen this news, but to say that Olympia is rocked and saddened by the sudden death of Senator Bill Ramos, D-Issaquah, would be an understatement.
A former Issaquah City Council member, Bill was as solid of an advocate for schools, his community, and the state as they come. He served in the House most recently, being elected to former Senator Mark Mullet’s seat in November 2024.
According to the news, Senator Ramos had come home Saturday after working on the Senate floor until about 4:30 PM and gone for a run on a neighborhood trail. He was 69. Please send up a prayer or positive thought to his family and offer a moment’s pause for the passing of this thoughtful, kind, generous man who always had a smile on his face, hope in his heart, and a willingness to listen and help whenever he could. I am personally devastated and wish his family peace.