February is Here!

As the calendar flipped to February this week and I realized it was the 25th day of this year’s legislative session, I felt a little relief. January was a blur as hundreds of education bills were introduced, and keeping track of those and all of the associated conversations about them takes a lot of mental energy. The first cut-off date of the year is fast approaching. February 17 is when bills must be passed out of their policy committees. The fast pace of keeping up with committee hearings continues for just two more weeks.

This week started off with a bang as we had about 20 principals come to Olympia on Monday to meet with legislators and attend the House and Senate Education Committee hearings. We also hosted a few legislators at our first-ever advocacy reception that evening. Many thanks to those who came to advocate and to those who met virtually with their legislators throughout the week.

Principal Bills

SB 5085 is on the Senate Floor Calendar, which means it could be voted on by the whole Senate soon. After conversations with our AWSP Board and with our partners at WASA, we requested an amendment to remove section (2) of the bill related to bargaining working conditions. WASA has agreed to pull a workgroup together as soon as possible to identify tangible solutions that will attract, retain, and sustain our school leaders. We discussed at length the need for (1) immediate steps/actions to better support school leaders, and (2) to backward map next year’s legislative session collaboratively and intentionally.

SB 5175 related to multi-year contracts for principals is in the Senate Rules Committee.

Budget

As you can see on my bill tracking list linked at the end of this blog, there is no shortage of bills related to the operating and capital budgets. This week, my focus has been on communications with legislators about our requests for increased funding for the principal internship and mentorship programs. Our request is for about $4 million each year (the funding for these two programs before receiving some ESSER funds to enhance them is about $750,000). Support for these two programs is critical to the success of our future building leaders.

The main push by education leaders and advocates in our state is additional special education funding. Our local districts are paying around $400 million each school year from local levy funds to cover these costs. The state needs to do more. Read this recent letter from eight statewide associations (including the PTA, WEA, WASA, WSSDA, OSPI, and AWSP) about our common budget requests.

Policy Bills

Bills are starting to move out of committees, many with amendments. Here are a few that I’ve been paying attention to.

SB 5257, the “Recess Bill,” was amended to require 30 minutes of recess (instead of 45 minutes).

HB 1749, Restraint and Isolation, had a hearing this week in House Education. I sent in several specific questions and comments that I received from our members across the state. The House Education Committee is committed to working on this bill to ensure the language is clear. The Senate version of this bill (SB 5559) will be heard on Monday, February 6.

HB 1550, Transitional Kindergarten (TK), had a lengthy hearing in the House Education Committee this week, and there is great concern from districts about this bill. The data clearly shows students in TK programs have performed well in kindergarten. Districts want to continue these programs. The Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) and OSPI are continuing to meet together and with legislators to iron out details related to funding and formalizing these programs.

Next week, the House Education Committee will start moving out of committee dual credit-related bills. They will also hear bills related to teacher residency programs and adding a performance pathway for graduation as an option for districts. The Senate Early Learning and K–12 Education Committee spent time discussing a 185-day school year this week, and they will take action soon on their bill about High School and Beyond Plans.

Learn More or Get Involved

Check out my complete bill tracking document for the full list of bills being heard this week.

Our advocacy efforts need all of our voices to contribute to the process. There are many different ways (big and small) that you can get involved in these efforts. Your participation can be as easy as doing an action alert to email your legislators or signing in support of a specific bill. Or, if you feel passionate about a specific bill, we would love to have you testify. It takes all of us to make an impact!

If you have questions or comments or want to get involved, please reach out to me.