By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org
Four days remain in the 2026 legislative session, with lawmakers planning to end on time – March 12 by midnight. They will leave town passing supplemental operating, capital and transportation budgets, hundreds of bills, and a tax on millionaires – ostensibly to support public schools and other priorities, but with specific carve-outs and earmarks funding many things, but not K-12 education.
After passing budget proposals back and forth less than 10 days ago, the budget teams began meeting in earnest to identify areas of agreement and smooth out differences. The rules of both chambers require the budget documents to be posted 24 hours prior to a vote. Typically, the Office of the Code Reviser – those good folks who actually put legislation and budgets into bill format – needs a day to get the documents ready, which means that the reconciliation needs to be completed by Tuesday at the latest.
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Click here for Marie’s comprehensive bill tracker and details report for Week 9 of the 2026 Legislative Session.
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Both the Operating (ESSB 5998) and the Transportation (ESSB 6005) budget negotiators have called for conference committees. That means when the document emerges during a “conference committee” announcement, the only option rank-and-file legislators will have is to vote Aye or Nay on the budgets. No further amendments are allowed.
Friday, February 27, the Senate sent over to the House, their version of the capital budget, SSB 6003. The House didn’t replace that language with their own and return it to the Senate to set up a conference committee. That means the House will likely put the agreed-upon capital budget on the floor as a striking amendment, send it back to the Senate, and the Senate will concur, saving time in both chambers.
Speaking of time, with a Democratic majority of 59 to the Republicans’ 39 seats, the House minority party doesn’t have a lot of tools at its disposal to change the outcome of a vote on the floor. But they can burn up the clock by offering amendments and demanding that each amendment be roll-called rather than the loud screams of Nay and Aye that shake the chambers during certain debates or allowing seatmates and others in the chamber to push the green or red buttons on the desks of absent members.
Last Thursday, House Republicans flexed this tool, requesting a rollcall “voice” vote by every member which took a little over five minutes per amendment. Add to that about 15 minutes for debate per amendment (there were 48 offered, although several were withdrawn), and it meant for another long night, with the House adjourning at 1:22 AM.
The test run bill was 2SSB 5974, controversial legislation offered by Mill Creek Senator and former Snohomish County Sheriff John Lovick. The bill would change eligibility criteria for becoming a police chief, marshal or sheriff, including requiring a person to have at least five years of law enforcement experience; require backgrounds checks verifying that a person meets the eligibility requirements; and, among other items, place limits on the use of volunteers, youth cadets, and specially commissioned officers by police chiefs, marshals, and sheriffs. House Community Safety Committee Chair Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland, had the honor of rising to oppose each amendment.
Why does this matter? House Republicans are saying that the number of amendments they plan to post to ESSB 6346, the tax on millionaires, will pale in comparison. (Likely a Monday, March 9th bill.) House Republicans also are taking aim at ESSB 6260, the Office of Financial Management bill that cuts K-12 funding. The title of the bill lends itself to some interesting possible theatrics on the House floor: “An act relating to implementing efficiencies and programming changes in public education.” Bring popcorn.
Where is everything shaking out?
Funding cuts
Instead of investing any new funds in K-12 to close persistent funding gaps in Materials, Supplies, and Operating Costs (MSOC), transportation or special education, for example, the final operating budget will cut K-12 programs by at least $85 million and perhaps as much as $140 million.
We got a glimpse of what might be agreed to in the budget Sunday with the striking amendment to ESSB 6260, the “K-12 cuts bill” mentioned above. The bill would address issues related to bus depreciation, Transition to Kindergarten, and Running Start, add a deeper cut to school districts with 25% or more of their total student enrollment engaged in Alternative Learning Experience (ALE) education, and eliminate the inflationary adjustment for National Board bonuses to certificated teachers after the 2025-26 school year.
The following are the K-12 education programs targeted by House and Senate Democrats in the budget or through ESSB 6260:
- Cuts to Transition to Kindergarten (TTK). This is an early learning intervention program for four-year-olds who will be entering kindergarten the next school year. In the 2025 session the final budget froze the number of participating four-year-olds to a total of 7,266 across the state. The House would reduce the number of students served by about 1,800 spaces and redistribute which districts get TTK; the Senate would reduce the number to 2,200 and prioritize existing programs.
- Cuts to Local Effort Assistance (LEA). Last session the legislature promised to provide a $400 per student enhancement in calendar year (CY) 2027 to LEA-eligible districts. LEA helps equalize property poor districts that can’t raise the same per student dollar amount in local levies as property rich districts can. Both approaches renege on that promise, although the House would offer $300 per student, while the Senate would offer only $150.
- In addition, as mentioned above, the proposed striking amendment to ESSB 6260 would decrease LEA payments even further, so that districts that have 25% of their total students enrolled fully in online ALE programs would receive less LEA funding. This is a cut from the 33% hit these districts took last session.
- Why does this matter? School districts that have robust online ALE programs don’t get state or federal funding for these students based on free or reduced price meal eligibility because the district doesn’t serve meals to their online students. Districts tend to use the LEA they receive for online ALE students to support interventions and provide enrichment activities.
- The reasons students who participate in online ALE programs vary, but for a lot of the kids it’s because they just don’t do as well in a traditional brick and mortar school.
- Extending bus depreciation by two years. Both budget proposals would extend bus depreciation payments from the current 13-year cycle to 15 years for the big buses, and from 8 years to 10 years for the smaller buses. This will keep lower performing diesel buses on the roads two years longer, pumping more greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, harming student health, and adding more maintenance costs to districts to keep the buses in service. This is also problematic, since under the McCleary Washington State Supreme Court decision, student transportation is considered basic education, and the Legislature should not be cutting basic education due to financial reasons.
- Harm to districts that purchased ZEV buses. Like the additional cut to LEA for ALE programs, the budget would reduce depreciation payments to any school district that secured federal grants to purchase zero emission buses. This is just two years after the legislature passed a law to require districts to do just that. The budget would basically use the federal grants that districts secured to plug state funding gaps, changing the rules on these districts after the fact.
- Unfunded mandate to implement school health rules. Since 2009, the operating budget has included a proviso that would prohibit the State Board of Health and Department of Health from amending or adopting health and environmental rules, which would impose costly requirements on schools without the legislature providing funding. That would change this year, with the Senate proposal requiring all districts to implement Phase 1 activities of proposed school rules without any state funding, regardless of school district size. This sets a dangerous precedent and, because the budget doesn’t offer increases to MSOC, which supports facility maintenance, would be just another state obligation expected by the legislature to be met through school levy funds.
- Cuts to school district Medicaid reimbursements. The House budget would cut $3.4 million in the Health Care Authority’s Medicaid match funding, lowering the state match for school districts supporting students Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) from 50 percent to 25 percent. This reduction would amount to an ongoing cut to essential school-based health services, including behavioral health supports, occupational and physical therapy, audiology, nursing, and speech language therapy.
- Rollbacks to Running Start. While the reduction from 1.4 student FTE to 1.2 student FTE won’t hurt a school district’s bottom line per se, it could mean the difference between a student earning an associate’s degree or not. And that impacts affordability of postsecondary education – this is at the same time legislators are passing more bills related to notification requirements and more staff engagement to students about financial assistance opportunities.
The final operating budget is expected to be released around Wednesday, so more information will be available in the final Sine Die report.
Action – Passed – Top Five
- E3SHB 1634 would direct OSPI and ESDs to develop a technical assistance and training framework to assist public schools supporting student behavioral health. The bill was not modified in the Senate so it will head to the Governor’s desk.
- ESHB 1795 would prohibit mechanical, chemical and physical restraint, and the physical restraint of a student that is life threatening. The bill also would specify that isolation cannot be used as a planned behavior intervention in IEPs or federal 504 plans and would allow restraint only under specified circumstances. And the bill would prohibit the construction, repurposing, or otherwise establishing of any new room or other enclosed area for the primary purpose of student isolation. The bill was modified in the Senate, so it will return to the House for concurrence.
- ESHB 2320 would prohibit the manufacturing of certain firearms and firearm components through use of a three-dimensional printer or computer numerical control milling machine, subject to exceptions. The bill also would prohibit the sale or transfer of certain digital firearm manufacturing code, subject to exceptions. Because it was modified in the Senate, it will return to the House for concurrence.
- 2SHB 2429 would extend the Children and Youth Behavioral Work Group two years to December 30, 2031, and require the Governor to establish a leadership council to address children and youth health and wellness issues and coordinate efforts to implement Washington Thriving Strategic Plan. The bill was modified by the Senate policy committee so will return to the House for concurrence.
- ESHB 2557 would require a school district to provide the student’s parent or guardian with a copy of the special education evaluation report no later than the 35th school day following receipt of consent to evaluate the student, unless an exception applies or the parent or guardian provides a written waiver. The bill passed the Senate 49-0. It was delivered to the Governor on March 5th.
Passed – Resolutions
- ESHB 1295 would require that updated or newly adopted literacy curricula for kindergarten through 4th graders meet certain specified criteria, beginning in 2027, and that school districts implement these criteria consistent with the curriculum developer’s guidance and school district policies. As amended on the floor of the Senate, the bill also would direct school districts to implement curriculum purchased or updated to be consistent with the developer’s guidance and district policies, to the extent possible without incurring undue financial or operational burden, with the expectation of achieving full fidelity and sustainability over time.
It also would require the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) to adopt revised standards for any teacher endorsement with literacy-related competencies that does not include the essential elements of language comprehension, phonological awareness, orthographic knowledge, fluency, vocabulary, and oral language development and proficiency.
The bill was modified in the Senate policy committee and on the Senate floor, so it will return to the House for concurrence.
- ESHB 2225 is Governor-requested legislation and would regulate AI companion chatbots. This important bill was modified on the Senate floor, including another amendment proposed by Washington State PTA. It will return to the House for concurrence.
- In nearly the last set of bills to run on the Senate floor, SHB 2594 passed by a vote of 48-0. The bill would codify the federal McKinney-Vento law into state law. Much of what the bill does is already practiced or required in state law.
Is the Legislature eliminating the new sales tax imposed last session?
Yes, the Legislature has two bills in which the extension of sales tax on services would exempt school districts, schools and ESDs.
- ESSB 6351 would specifically eliminate the new sales and use taxes on schools for activities such as temporary staffing, live presentations, and digital and web-based services. The bill passed the Senate unanimously and has been referred to the House Finance Committee but has not been scheduled for a public hearing.
- The House floor striking amendment to ESSB 6346 offered by Rep. April Berg, D-Mill Creek, includes all of the exemptions from the new sales and use tax (passed in the 2025 session) as written in SHB 2257 when it left the House Finance Committee. The bill would apply not only to school districts and ESDs but would exempt nonprofit organizations from the live presentations tax and offer other varied exemptions for before and after school activities and related school instruction and events. These exemptions would begin July 1, 2026, and would remain in effect even if other sections of the bill were struck down or deemed unconstitutional.
As a reminder, the primary purpose of ESSB 6346 is to establish the so-called “millionaire’s tax.”
Agreement reached on new state tax on earned income over $1 million
Democrats and Governor Ferguson announced a deal Friday morning, and the details were included in the Berg striking amendment. Starting in 2028, this bill would impose a 9.90 percent tax on individuals with adjusted gross income of more than $1 million annually (indexed for inflation). With spouses or domestic partners, their combined standard deduction would be limited to $1 million, regardless of whether they file joint or separate returns, which means the new tax would apply to income earned above $1 million, after all deductions were applied. The first tax payments and returns would be due in calendar year 2029.
While the bill includes an intent section that references the state’s paramount duty to make ample provision for the education of all children in the state, it doesn’t actually dedicate any of the funding to the Education Legacy Trust Account (ELTA) or specify that K-12 funding will increase. In fact, the actual language of the intent section reads, “… the intent of this act is to ‘maintain and preserve’ essential governmental services” – it does not say the purpose of the act is to “increase K-12 funding.”
The intent section also says the bill is intended to provide tax relief for the sections that would make the exemptions mentioned above, referencing those sections specifically. Repealing this unfair and costly tax on school districts has been a priority this session, particularly since legislators last year said ESSB 5814 was never meant to apply to school districts and ESDs. The focus this year to get rid of it is appreciated.
Bills that failed to pass by the opposite chamber’s floor cutoff
The following bills didn’t meet the March 6th deadline to pass the “opposite chamber.”
- SB 5240 would have allowed designated trained school personnel to administer any single-use, premeasured epinephrine that does not require preparation from a vial in response to suspected anaphylaxis regardless of whether the student has a prescription for epinephrine on file or possesses epinephrine. Also, the bill would have made changes, including requiring documentation of training and retention of documentation, expanding liability protections to school contractors, and applying school use of epinephrine provisions to all public schools.
- SB 5901 would have excluded public schools located on military bases from counting as part of a district’s inventory for the purposes of the state match provided by SCAP. However, an effort is under way in the capital budget to provide some guidance to OSPI through at least June 30, 2027, with the hope of getting the bill through next session.
- SB 5906 would have prohibited early learning facilities, schools and school districts, higher education, adult family homes and other areas from allowing federal law enforcement for the purposes of immigration from entering non-public areas without a valid warrant or court order.
- SB 5956 would have created new prohibitions against using AI in student discipline and surveillance in public schools.
- SB 6049 would have excluded the Healthy Youth Survey results from public disclosure.
- SB 6222 would have allowed school districts to surplus technology hardware.
Advocacy in Action
- The House and Senate released their operating budget proposals on Sunday, February 22. WSPTA President, Tori Emerson, shared her concerns about the cuts to K-12 education in her testimony before the Senate Ways & Means Committee and the House Appropriations Committee on Monday, February 23rd. Listen to Tori here and here.
- On February 24th, WSPTA Advocacy Committee member Kristi Schlesinger and her daughter Ava testified in support of ESHB 1295, supporting literacy for students in kindergarten through 4th grade. Ava shared her experiences as a student diagnosed with dyslexia and how having a specific recognition of this challenge and a change in instruction through structured literacy turned her school life around. Listen to Ava here. Proud mom Kristi explained why having this focus for all students is not only valuable but critical to their success as her mental health and wellbeing. Hear Kristi’s testimony here.
- More than 1,000 WSPTA members sent over 10,000 emails to budget writers last week, stating their strong opposition to the proposed cuts to public education. Thank you to everyone who participated!
If you would like to be a part of future campaigns around promoting WSPTA’s legislative priorities, you can join Action Network to receive timely advocacy alerts delivered straight to your inbox.
The Week Ahead
As the budgets come together, look for various fiscal committees to schedule a public hearing and executive session to consider what are called “trailer” bills – bills that are NTIB or truly “necessary to implement the budget” beyond the June 30, 2027, end of the biennium. The legislature can make cuts to various programs, including K-12, in the budget bills. But without statutory changes, the cuts are only valid for the fiscal period in which the budget begins and ends.
Schedule subject to change: All committees can be watched on TVW.
Appropriations (House) – HHR A and Virtual JLOB – 3/9 @ 8:00am
- ESSB 6260– Exec Session – Implementing efficiencies and programming changes in public education.
Ways & Means (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 3/9 @ 10:00am
- HB 2747– Public Hearing – Concerning budget sustainability. (Remote Testimony Available). (If measure is referred to committee.)
Ways & Means (Senate) – SHR 4 and Virtual JACB – 3/10 @ 2:00pm
- HB 2747– Exec Session – Concerning budget sustainability. (If measure is referred to committee.)