SHARE:  

January 17, 2025

AND WE'RE OFF...

A Message from WSSDA President Derek Sarley:


It was a busy first week for the 2025 legislative session, with your WSSDA strategic advocacy and policy & legal teams deep in bill analysis, unpacking a pile of new proposals, and reviewing how our organization’s permanent and legislative positions should inform our responses to each new piece of legislation. A few thoughts on how school board members can most effectively advocate for our students during this long session:


Above all else, keep your focus on the Big Three priorities. Many, many, many other bills will be dropped that demand a response, but if we’re going to exit this session with the funding our students truly need, we must keep our attention and advocacy focused on our asks around Special Education, MSOCs, and transportation. We are stronger together. Remember what unites us.


We also need to help legislators understand how the investments we’re asking them to make will improve outcomes for our students. There are a lot of districts in financial difficulty right now. That weight falls directly on school board members, because we’re the ones who must make tough decisions when there’s not enough money to go around. But we can’t dwell on the negative. It’s our job to paint a positive vision for the future, powered by the state stepping up with the funding our students deserve.


So when you advocate on special education, mention the gaps you’re facing, but also gather information from your staff about how additional funding will help improve student services. Where you have positive stories to share, whether that’s expanding inclusionary practices or how you handle disciplinary issues, start there and then explain how fully funding this critically important component of basic education will help us meet our students’ true needs.


Finally, remember the human. You ran for your school board because you support public education and want to help make things better. Legislators run for the same kinds of reasons. They have ideas about policies that they think will help. Or they’ve heard from their constituents about their needs and desires from schools.


We may not agree with every policy they propose. But too often, we write them off right up front, and not always with a great deal of collegiality. In the long run, we will be more effective if we approach these conversations in a spirit of partnership. They want what’s best for kids too. We can help them understand how to connect their good intentions to workable implementations. If we do that, it also preserves our credibility for the times we really do need to say: “NO.”


This is a hugely important session for public education. As we push forward on the Big Three, every voice counts, every testimony makes a difference, and every email matters.


The more we engage, the better off our students will be.


Thank you for your advocacy!

Derek Sarley

WSSDA President

ADVOCACY CALL TO ACTION

WSSDA PRIORITIES UP NEXT WEEK


The Senate Early Learning and K-12 Committee will hear bills on the Big Three during their hearing on Wednesday, January 22nd and also on staffing for high-poverty schools on Thursday, January 23rd. Your board may want to testify, or at least sign in with support, for WSSDA's member-adopted priorities. It is exciting to see these bills are already up for consideration in just the second week of the session. Let's show Senators how grateful we are for their attention to these issues by engaging in the process. Sign in and testifying instructions are provided in the Tools and Resources section below (like how to sign in on a bill or testify). Also, you can utilize the templates and talking points for these issues on WASA's WA School Funding webpage to make it turnkey and ready for your voice.


Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education - Wednesday, 1/22 @ 1:30pm

SB 5187 - Providing adequate and predictable student transportation.

SB 5192 - Concerning school district materials, supplies, and operating costs.

SB 5263 - Concerning special education funding.

SB 5307 - Concerning special education funding.


Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Thursday, 1/23 @ 10:30am

SB 5009 - Modifying the student transportation allocation to accommodate multiple vehicle types for transporting students.

SB 5120 - Expanding the learning assistance program.

Download WSSDA's 2025 Legislative Priorities

FOCUS ON SPECIAL EDUCATION

From the Washington Observer, January 17, 2025:


"The conversation in education circles, and now the statehouse, points to the desire to make meaningful changes to how special education is paid for in Washington. A few bills circulating in both chambers propose different solutions to the persistent challenge of fully funding special education.


Why you should care about this: Special education is part of the state’s paramount duty to provide all children with free public education, including those with disabilities; a hard-fought federal civil right. Despite this, special education is acutely underfunded in Washington. That’s why last year, Superintendent Chris Reykdal asked the state to invest $1 billion in new spending for special education from 2025-27 to help backfill this expensive entitlement. Whether he gets that cash is TBD, but lawmakers are paying special interest to this education equity challenge.


One of Reykdal’s top policy priorities was to remove the 16% cap on state dollars for special education. School districts get state money based on the average annual enrollment of special education students relative to basic education student enrollment, but that money is capped at 16%. This leaves school districts with more than 16% of their students assigned individual education plans out of luck, and many school districts report dipping into local levy dollars to subsidize the state’s obligation for special education."

Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC)

Performance Audit on Special Education: Funding Formulas and Spending

By law, school districts must provide special education to eligible students with disabilities. The state helps support the additional cost of providing services. State funding is determined using a set of formulas established by the Legislature.

In the 2022-23 school year, the state provided $1.96 billion in funding to school districts for special education. Another $393 million came from the federal government, including temporary pandemic relief funding.


The Legislature directed JLARC to review special education funding and service delivery. JLARC staff completed two reports for this study.

  • This report addresses the funding formulas and district spending.
  • A separate report addresses service delivery and access.


U.S. Department of Education and IDEA:

Building and Sustaining Inclusive Educational Practices

This guidance emphasizes the importance of students with disabilities achieving challenging state academic standards while being educated alongside their friends and peers in general education settings to the greatest extent appropriate.


Download the WASA - WSSDA- WASBO Legislative Conference Special Education One-Pager

WEIGHING IN ON BILLS

WSSDA staff carefully considers each education bill and identifies one or more member-adopted positions to determine a position before weighing in. Additionally, the Legislative Committee, each member representing their Director Area (DA), meets every week to sift through some of the most challenging issues and brings forward perspectives that can be shared during testimony or written comments. Below are the options available to "weigh in."


There are many bills being heard next week, including some that your district may have great support for and/or concerns about. Please review WSSDA's Bill Watch which includes the weekly schedule. Your district has the opportunity to weigh in representing its community, student, staff, and district perspectives on the many and various policy proposals. Don't miss the chance to have your voice be heard!

Sign-In 

  • State WSSDA's position for the record as Pro, Con, or Other.
  • WSSDA has a legislative and/or permanent position that aligns with or connects to the bill, but it is not a legislative priority this session.


No Position

  • WSSDA will not weigh in on a bill if there is no clearly related member-adopted legislative or permanent position.

Testify 

  • The bill is likely one of WSSDA's priorities or of deep concern.
  • If we are con or other, we inform the bill sponsor in advance.
  • State our position during a live hearing, which is also recorded for the record.


Written Comments

  • We may submit our position on a bill via email and/or through the online system for the record.

HOW WSSDA WEIGHED IN

Guided by WSSDA's member-adopted positions, we weighed in on the governor's proposed operating and capital budgets and several bills. Some of your fellow school board members also provided expert testimony as follows:

 

Appropriations (House) 1/13 @ 4:00pm

HB 1198 - Making 2025-2027 fiscal biennium operating appropriations. (Testified CON - Marissa Rathbone, WSSDA Staff)

 

Letter of concern from WSSDA and other education organizations on former Governor's proposed operating budget

 

Ways and Means (Senate) 1/13 @ 4:00 pm

SB 5195 - Concerning the capital budget. (Signed in PRO)

 

Ways and Means (Senate) 1/14 @ 4:00pm

SB 5167 - Making 2025-2027 fiscal biennium operating appropriations. (Written Testimony CON - Marissa Rathbone, WSSDA Staff)

SB 5102 - Establishing a public records exemption for the proprietary information of public risk pools. (Signed in PRO)

 

Early Learning & K-12 Education (Senate) 1/15 @ 1:30pm

SB 5210 - Establishing the ninth grade success grant program. (Signed in PRO, Levon Williams, WSSDA Staff)

SB 5189 - Supporting the implementation of competency-based education. (Signed In PRO)

 

Early Learning & K-12 Education (Senate) 1/16 @ 10:30am

SB 5186 - Concerning school district elections. (Testified OTHER, Ronda Litzenberger, Eatonville School Board)

SB 5190 - Allowing school districts to request extensions to state energy performance standard deadlines for K-12 school buildings. (Signed In PRO)

 

Capital Budget (House) 1/16 @ 1:30pm

HB 1216 - Concerning the capital budget. (Signed In PRO)

 

You can also track education bills and the weekly schedule on the WSSDA website. Email us with questions or comments at strategicadvocacy@wssda.org

ADVOCACY TIPS

Make that call. 

Things happen fast during session. If you want to have an impact, you need to reach out to your legislators to share your perspective, especially when WSSDA sends a call to action.


Present solutions, not just the problems. 

Whenever you have concerns about a bill, offer a solution or an alternative to help the sponsor get to where they and we want a bill to be.


Be flexible. 

It is common for over 2,000 bills (that number is not a typo!) to be filed during a session. Identify opportunities to advance priorities along with other ideas or bills and decide when compromise is better than getting nothing.


Persuade. 

Advocacy is about persuading people, not being right. Listen to where people are coming from and frame what you want to say with that in mind. Acknowledge what they want, find common ground with the policy aims, and explain why your amendment/idea works to support an end goal.


Disagree with policies, not people.

Discuss ideas, not individuals or groups. 


You don’t have to be a legislative expert. 

Don’t be deterred by the complexity of the process, the jargon, or the terminology. You have something to bring: actual in-the-field experience and knowledge of your issues. That’s what legislators want to hear. Relax and be you!


Ask. 

If you don’t understand something, ask. It is absolutely okay to say, "I don't know but I'll find out and get back to you." Then do that! There are many people eager to help you get answers!

TOOLS & RESOURCES

The Washington State Legislature and TVW offer many tools and resources to help you navigate the legislative session. Check them out below.

Understanding the Process

How to Participate

WELCOMING LEVON WILLIAMS

TO WSSDA'S STRATEGIC ADVOCACY TEAM

We are thrilled to welcome our newest WSSDA staff member to the Strategic Advocacy branch and the 2025 legislative session. What a great time to get started as our advocacy and policy analyst! Levon is already soaking it all in as we walk the marble floors of the Capitol, meet legislators and their staff, and work collaboratively with our education partners. Levon is a great addition to our collective advocacy work. Please give him a warm welcome and get ready for some great education policy insights from him in the days ahead!

YOUR STAFF SUPPORTS

We're here to support you. Don't hesitate to call or email us anytime with questions.

Marissa Rathbone

Director of Strategic Advocacy

360-481-5842

m.rathbone@wssda.org


Levon Williams

Advocacy and Policy Analyst

l.williams@wssda.org

Daniel Lunghofer

Accountant (and school finance guru)

d.lunghofer@wssda.org

Follow us on Instagram!

Instagram