2020 Supplemental Operating and Capital Budgets Signed by Governor
Prepared by Marie Sullivan, WSPTA Legislative Consultant, legconsultant@wastatepta.org Friday afternoon, March 27, Governor Jay Inslee signed the 2020 supplemental operating and capital budgets. The Governor acknowledged that in normal times he would have signed the budget with very few changes. “These are not normal times, however, and we need to look ahead to our falling revenues…
Category:
Advocacy
,
Legislative
2020 Legislative Session – Week Nine Recap, Sine Die
Legislature adjourns March 12 Prepared by Marie Sullivan, WSPTA Legislative Consultant, legconsultant@wastatepta.org The Legislature adjourned “sine die” on March 12, leaving $2 billion in the Rainy-Day Account and nearly $1 billion in reserves. To support COVID-19 efforts, the Legislature appropriated $200 million, of which $25 million was set aside in a new unemployment account created…
Category:
Advocacy
,
Legislative
Information regarding ESSB 5395 – Comprehensive Sexual Health Education Bill
Prepared by Marie Sullivan, WSPTA Legislative Consultant Parents who are wondering about ESSB 5395, the comprehensive sexual health education bill, may find the following bill information or this bill report helpful. As always, I encourage people to “read the bill.” Here some things to keep in mind: Timing & Curriculum If your district doesn’t currently…
Category:
Advocacy
,
Legislative
2020 Legislative Session – Week 8 Recap and Final Bill List
Spring forward – session likely to end March 12 Prepared by Marie Sullivan, WSPTA Legislative Consultant, legconsultant@wastatepta.org As mentioned in the last report, this week was expected to be fast and furious and it didn’t disappoint. March 6 was the deadline for most bills to pass the opposite chamber; the main exceptions are budget bills,…
Category:
Advocacy
,
Legislative
2020 Legislative Session – Week 7 Recap and Look Ahead to Week 8
Leaping into the last two weeks! Prepared by Marie Sullivan, WSPTA Legislative Consultant, legconsultant@wastatepta.org Both the House and Senate released proposed supplemental operating, capital and transportation budgets on February 24. Usually one chamber will release a budget proposal, and the following week the other chamber will release its budget proposal. But this 60-day session is…
Category:
Advocacy
,
Legislative
Call to Action: Special Education Funding Remains Insufficient
Dear Washington State PTA Member, Every child, no matter what their ability, deserves a high-quality education. Unfortunately, the various funding factors that determine how much special education support a school district receives cause significant gaps and vast inequities across our state. We are asking you to remind our legislators that until every student with disabilities…
Category:
Advocacy
,
Legislative
Call to Action: Equity Regardless of Student Immigration Status
Dear Washington State PTA Member, Access to a free public education is a basic right of all children residing in the U.S. and Washington. Nearly 40 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that undocumented school-aged children have the right to a high-quality public education. Since it is the vision of PTA that every child’s…
Category:
Advocacy
,
Legislative
Call to Action: Paraeducator Funding
Dear Washington State PTA member, Paraeducators are the only educators who spend their entire workday with students, directly assisting them in learning, growing and navigating the world around them. Many paraeducators begin as PTA volunteers and continue to develop their relationships with these students in their own communities. We are asking you to contact your…
Category:
Advocacy
,
Legislative
WSPTA Testifies to House Committees
WSPTA Asks for Limits to High Capacity Magazines Kate Dillon Levin testified before the House Finance committee February 25th in favor of a new bill that would restrict high capacity magazines. Levin is one of the authors of the Preventing Gun Violence resolution adopted at Legislative Assembly. Hear Kate’s testimony. House education committee hears immigration…
Category:
Advocacy
,
Legislative
2020 Legislative Session – Look Ahead to Week 7
Legislative Session Highlights The legislative session has passed the halfway point. Of the more than 4,600 bills on the docket (including those automatically reintroduced from the last session), fewer than 600 remain “alive” after last Wednesday’s House of Origin cut-off deadline. The House and Senate are releasing their supplemental budgets on Monday, February 24. Keep up…
Category:
Advocacy
,
Legislative