We have made it to the end of another week on the hill, and this one came with its first major cut-off of the session. Wednesday, January 31, was the last day for committees to pass bills out of their house of origin. Bills that were not scheduled for executive session and voted out of committee by 5pm on Wednesday, did not move forward. It was a flurry of activity and hearing schedules were packed. Lawmakers have to make the most of their time during short sessions because time between cut-offs is brief at best. Monday, February 5, is the fiscal committee cut-off, meaning that bills currently in the House Appropriations and Senate Ways & Means committees will need to be voted out by end of day Monday.
We watched as various bills that were expected to move forward this session came to a standstill on Wednesday. Although not uncommon, there were quite a few bills that shared companion bills in the opposite house that did not move forward. SB 5559, which concerned restraint or isolation of students in public schools, did not make it out of the Senate Ed committee on Wednesday, but its companion bill in the house, 3SHB 1479, did move forward.
A big win for Senator Wellman and the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Committee was moving forward SSB 5804, which would put the life-saving opioid reversal medication naloxone, or “narcan,” in all Washington K-12 public schools. As reported in Crosscut, this legislation is timely as Washington experiences a public health crisis driven by the rise in fentanyl related overdoses and deaths. Its companion in the house, HB 2029, did not move forward.
Fiscal Committee Hearings on TVW.org:
Senate Ways & Means Committee
- Friday, February 2nd @ 1:30pm
- Saturday, February 3rd @ 9am
- Monday, February 5th @ 10am
House Appropriations Committee
- Friday, February 2nd @ 10:30pm
- Saturday, February 3rd @ 9am
- Monday, February 5th @ 10:30am
Bills We’re Following
ESHB 1113: which requires the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) to adopt rules for reviewing and vacating reprimands related to behavior that did not involve a student issued to certificated professional educators. The bill is in the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Committee.
HB 1146: which requires public schools to notify high school students and their families about available dual credit programs and any available financial assistance. The bill is in the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Committee.
2SHB 1228: which would establish grant programs for establishing dual language education and tribal language education programs, as well as establish multilingual skill bonuses for certificated instructional staff and paraeducators (hearing time: 12:47). The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee.
3SHB 1239: which would establish a simple, uniform, and easily accessible state-level process for the receipt and classification of complaints involving the elementary and secondary education system, and would require school districts to post the complaint process on their websites and make information available about the complaint process (hearing time: 39:40). The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee.
ESHB 1277: which requires improving the consistency and quality of the implementation of the fundamental course of study for paraeducators. The bill is in the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Committee.
3SHB 1479: which concerns restraint or isolation of students in public schools and educational programs (hearing time: 18:33 and 40:26). The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee.
3SHB 1565: which requires a feasibility report for a statewide online platform for recruitment and hiring of public school employees, establishes teacher residency programs, requires a teacher exchange program report, intends to improve beginning educator quality and increase beginning educator retention and to establish minimum requirements for educator workforce research (hearing time: 1:20:54). The bill is in the House 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 permits school districts to maintain a supply of epinephrine and epinephrine autoinjectors (hearing time: 3:42). The bill is in the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Committee.
HB 1879: which would name the curriculum used to inform students about tribal history, culture, and government after John McCoy (lulilaš) (hearing time: 00:37). The bill is in the House Rules Committee.
SHB 1914: which aims to improve special education services received by qualifying students by requiring school districts to provide parents information about the Office of the Education Ombuds with special education materials, and to provide parents with a monthly report about the quantity and method of special education services delivered to their students (hearing time: 1:37:53). The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee.
SHB 1915: which would require school districts by the 2025-26 school year to provide high school students with access to at least one-half credit of financial education instruction (hearing time: 22:26). The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee.
HB 1922: which would require OSPI to establish a grant program for the purchase and installation of vape detectors in public schools (hearing time: 1:36:19). The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee.
HB 1935: which promotes resource conservation practices that include student education and leadership opportunities in public schools (hearing time: 45:54). The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee.
SHB 1956: which directs the Secretary of Health to annually develop and distribute a statewide multimedia substance use prevention and awareness campaign that meets specified requirements and requires OSPI to distribute school and classroom substance use prevention and awareness materials (hearing time: 0:46). The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee.
HB 2018: which would require OSPI to conduct a two year pilot program where selected sites implement a strategy to restrict student mobile device use during instructional hours and to report to the OSPI with certain information related to implementing the restriction, and would requires the Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA) to develop a model policy for restricting student mobile device use during instructional hours based on the information gathered from the pilot program (hearing time 1:21:44). The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee.
SHB 2037: which would require, beginning with the 2027-28 school year, public schools to provide instruction on the Holocaust and other genocides and crimes against humanity when the topic aligns with the social studies learning standards (hearing time: 51:04). The bill is in the House Rules Committee.
SHB 2038: which concerns data collection on student transfers and withdrawals from public schools and school districts (hearing time: 1:18:20). The bill is in the House Rules Committee.
HB 2058: which would require all school districts to provide breakfast and lunch without charge to any requesting students, beginning with the 2024–25 school year (hearing time: 31:24 and 1:04:15). The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee.
HB 2110: which concerns reorganizing statutory requirements governing high school graduation (hearing time: 48:53). The bill is in the House Rules Committee.
SHB 2130: which would extend eligibility for special education services to the end of the school year in which a student eligible for special education services turns 22 years of age (hearing time: 0:44). The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee.
SHB 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 2025-26 school year (hearing time 1:05:30). The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee.
SHB 2239: which would encourage school districts to provide instruction on skills that promote social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health and wellness (hearing time: 16:12). The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee.
SHB 2267: which would provide public school students with opportunities for cultural expression at commencement ceremonies (hearing time: 56:00). The bill is in the House Rules committee.
SHB 2331: which would bar school boards from refusing to approve, or prohibiting the use of, an educational material on the basis that it relates to the study of contributions of individuals or groups that are part of a protected class, and would establish new requirements for written complaints about instructional materials (hearing time: 11:08). The bill is in the House Rules Committee.
SHB 2398: which would require school district instructional materials committees (IMCs) to include parents of students in a number equaling less than one half of the total membership of the IMC (hearing time: 11:08). The bill is in the House Rules Committee.
SSB 5804: which would require school districts to maintain at least one set of opioid reversal medication doses within each high school (hearing time: 11:24 and 45:14). The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.
SSB 5809: which would authorize charter schools to apply for state grants on the same basis as school districts (hearing time: 1:05:54). The bill is in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.
SSB 5849: which requires that all students show competency in high school learning standards related to computer science in order to graduate from high school, but specifies that the requirements do not increase the number of high school credits required for graduation, beginning with the 2029 graduating class. The bill also provides various options in which students may demonstrate competency in computer science learning standards (hearing time: 1:18:12). The bill is in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.
SB 5850: which would establish a grant program for community-based organizations to support students who are chronically absent, and would require each ESD to develop and offer staff training on early warning systems to identify and locate students who are chronically absent (hearing time: 1:12:13). The bill is in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.
SSB 5851: which requires public middle, junior high, and high schools to provide Holocaust and genocide instruction when this topic aligns with the social studies learning standards beginning with the 2027-28 school year (hearing time: 4:00). The bill is in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.
SB 5852: would require that special education safety net awards only be adjusted for errors in applications or IEPs that materially affect the demonstration of need. (hearing time: 1:52 and 26:52). The bill is in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.
SSB 5882: which would phase in additional staffing allocations for paraprofessionals in instructional and non-instructional roles in an effort to improve the individualized support for student learning and behavioral needs (hearing time: 28:55). The bill is in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.
SB 5883: provides that a school district has the burden of proof when it is a party to a special education due process hearing and creates an exception to this burden of proof requirement in circumstances when a parent seeks reimbursement for a unilateral parental placement (hearing time: 7:01 and 38:26). The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.
SSB 5923: which tasks OSPI to review and update substance use prevention education materials and resources provided to students and families in middle and high schools and requires education to prevent fentanyl and other opioid use to be provided once a year to all students in seventh and ninth grade (hearing time: 14:11 and 58:18). The bill is in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.
SB 6014: which would increase the K-12 special education enrollment funding cap from 15 percent to 17.25 percent (hearing time 19:51 and 1:06:02). The bill is in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.
SB 6018: which would designate early learning coordinators at educational service districts (hearing time: 51:07). The bill is in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.
SB 6123: which would establish the minimum state average allocation for salaries for classified administrative staff at $91,733, and for other classified staff to $54,633, beginning with the 2024-25 school year (hearing time: 22:23). The bill is in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.
SSB 6205: which would mandate instruction on the meaning and history of the pledge of allegiance in public schools (hearing time: 19:00). The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.
SB 6216: which would establish a regional school-based mental and behavioral health student assistance program through the educational service districts (ESDs), and would create a grant program to support school districts in developing and implementing a plan for recognition, screening, and response to emotional or behavioral distress in students (hearing time: 1:02:39). The bill is in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.
SSB 6264: which would require the State Board of Education (SBE) to develop and recommend a process to identify and designate schools and school districts that are implementing competency-based education (CBE) and identify costs associated with this process (hearing time: 59:30). The bill is in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.
Odds and Ends
How daily mindfulness lessons are showing positive results in one Florida elementary school. This week from NPR, To Help These Kids Deal With Trauma, Mindfulness Lessons Over the Loudspeaker.
“Some educators prefer inquiry; some prefer direct instruction. Depending upon your biases, you’re likely to see a complicated, mixed body of research as glass half full or glass half empty.” From KQED’s MindShift, Two Groups of Scholars Revive the Debate Over Inquiry vs. Direct Instruction.
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.