Happy Friday! It is hard to believe that we have made it to the last week of the 2024 Legislative Session. Next Thursday, March 7, is the final day, and what a whirlwind this short session has been. On Monday, legislators watched as their bills succeeded (or failed) to make it out of fiscal committees before the 5pm deadline. Today, March 1, is the cut-off for Rules committees to get bills scheduled to the floor calendar. Bills that do not make it to the floor will never make it to the governor’s desk. 

Last Friday, the Senate passed its Operating Supplemental Budget, ESSB 5950, which will likely be the backbone of the final 2024 Operating Supplemental Budget. Keep in mind that budget bills do not follow the same path as other legislation. Most negotiations are done behind closed doors and in the final days of session. As The Seattle Times put it, “You can think of the ongoing short session, which ends March 7, as the halfway mark in the state’s two-year budget cycle,” and these particular budget negotiations have many issues lawmakers are having to factor in. 

One such factor that could impact state spending on K-12 Education is the potential impacts of Initiative 2109, which will appear on the November ballot. If passed, I-2109 would repeal the state’s new capital gains tax and the state could expect to collect about $1 billion less in that tax per year. This could have direct impacts on the state’s funding of K-12 schools. According to The Seattle Times, each year $500 million in revenues from the tax go to a state education account spanning early learning, K-12 and higher education. Any capital gains tax revenues above $500 million go toward building and repairing schools. Rep. Steve Bergquist, D-Renton, was quoted saying, “The state must fund basic K-12 education, so a repeal in November would mean that legislators would target early learning and higher education programs, as well as nonbasic spending on K-12, to trim spending of proceeds from the tax.” 

• Watch House and Senate Floor action on TVW.org

Bills We’re Following

HB 1146: which requires public schools to notify high school students and their families about available dual credit programs and any available financial assistance in order to reduce dual credit and exam costs for students and their families. The bill has passed the Senate Rules Committee.

3SHB 1228: which creates grant programs for establishing dual language education and tribal language education programs, as well as requires literacy supports in service of American Indian and Alaska Native students, and modifies modifies requirements related to the seal of biliteracy and the Transitional Bilingual Instruction Program. The bill has passed the Senate Rules Committee.

E4SHB 1239: which would direct the Office of the Education Ombuds to create a simple and uniform access point for the receipt of complaints involving the elementary and secondary education system, as well as require the PESB and the Paraeducator Board to report to the Legislature on a code of educator ethics. This bill would also modify the defense for use of force on children with respect to teachers and other school staff. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.

ESHB 1277: which directs the Paraeducator Board to update rules and publish guidance related to the fundamental course of study, and requires school districts to provide paraeducators two days of the four-day fundamental course of study, in person and by specified deadlines, unless the school district is granted an exemption by the Paraeducator Board. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.

EsHB 1608: which requires the Secretary of Health to issue a statewide standing order prescribing epinephrine and epinephrine autoinjectors to any school district for use by designated trained school personnel. The bill also amends requirements related to school supplies of autoinjectors to also include epinephrine. The bill has passed the Senate Rules Committee.

HB 1879: which would name the curriculum used to inform students about tribal history, culture, and government after John McCoy (lulilaš). The bill has passed both chambers and has been signed by the House Speaker.

SHB 1915:  which requires public school students, beginning with the class of 2031, and charter schools, and state-tribal education compact schools, beginning in or before the 2027-28 school year, to earn one-half credit of financial education instruction (FEI) as a graduation prerequisite. The bill also directs the Financial Education Public-Private Partnership to review specified financial education information submitted by school districts and create a statewide implementation plan for the financial education credit provision and graduation requirements by September 30, 2026. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.

E2SHB 1956:  which directs the Department of Health to develop, implement, and maintain a statewide drug overdose prevention and awareness campaign to address the drug overdose epidemic through 2029, and tasks OSPI with developing and updating age-appropriate substance use prevention and awareness materials for school and classroom use. The bill also requires OSPI to adjust the state health and physical education learning standards for middle and high school students to add opioids to the list of drugs included in drug-related education. The bill has passed the Senate Rules Committee.

2SHB 2236: which directs OSPI to develop an Allied Health Professions Career and Technical Education Core Plus Program and provide available curriculum and instructional materials to districts and skill centers for optional use by the 2027-28 school year. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.

ESHB 2331:  which requires school district Instructional Materials Committees (IMCs) to include at least one parent member, and directs the IMC to include recommendations for culturally and experientially representative instructional materials. The bill also prohibits school districts from refusing to approve or prohibit the use of any instructional (or supplemental) material on the basis that it relates to or includes the study or contributions of any individual or group who is part of a protected class unless the content contains discriminatory bias. The bill has passed the Senate Rules Committee.

SSB 5804: which requires all school districts, charter schools, and state-tribal education compact schools, to obtain and maintain opioid overdose reversal medication in each school and to adopt a related policy. The bill also makes grant programs available for purchasing opioid overdose reversal medication and training personnel to administer the medication. The bill has passed the House Rules Committee.

SB 5852: which modifies safety net award eligibility and award adjustment provisions and requires that a survey of small school districts be used to implement a simplified, standardized safety net application. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.

2SSB 5882: which increases staff allocations for teaching assistants, office support staff, and non instructional aides in the prototypical school funding model. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.

SB 5883: which establishes burden of proof requirements for special education due process hearings. The bill has passed both chambers and has been signed by the Senate President. 

Odds and Ends

“It was a little shocking for us when there was so much opposition to the bill because the intent was really to hear other genocide voices and incorporate them.” From The Seattle Times, Holocaust Education Requirement Fails in WA Legislature.

 “Some colleges and universities with teacher training programs are amending their courses so they’re more in line with the latest research.” This week from KQED’w MindShift, Teacher Training Programs Don’t Always Use Research-Backed Reading Methods.

Meet CSTP’s Legislative Update Coordinator Samantha Miller

Samantha Miller returns as CSTP’s Legislative Updates Coordinator for the 2024 legislative session. She writes weekly emails during the legislative session focusing on bills that impact Washington educators.

Samantha has degrees in both Political Science and History, as well as a Master in Teaching. Samantha has worked in Elementary Education for 6 years, most recently as a 3rd Grade general education teacher. The majority of her time is spent chasing around her two children who keep her very busy. Samantha enjoys running, working in her yard, listening to political podcasts, and spending time with her family.