March 30, 2025

WEEK 11 IN REVIEW

Spring officially sprung on the Washington state Capitol grounds this past week. Daffodils and flowering trees are in bloom and many of the humans there were sniffling and rubbing eyes in allergic response. Or maybe there was more to that eye watering? In the midst of nature doing its thing, the nature of the legislative process also continued to take its course. In Week 11, the House and Senate released their proposed operating budgets on Monday which were heard in their respective fiscal committees on Tuesday. WSSDA testified pro in Ways and Means as the Senate proposed significant investments in K-12 to bring $2.2 B to Special Education and $400 M to MSOC over the next four years. Because the House only offered about 22% of that for Special Education and nothing for MSOC, WSSDA testified as other in Appropriations.

The House and Senate adopted their respective budgets on Thursday evening, with one very consequential amendment to K-12. In the House, Amendment 62 passed which would remove a statutory restriction that prohibits the Department of Health (DOH) from implementing school-related rules until the Legislature has reviewed and funded the rules. The proposed language would now enable DOH to implement school-related rules without the legislature's review or funding. WSSDA has previously shared our concerns about the cost impacts to such rule-making throughout the past year as the Board of Health has been shopping some significant rule changes related to school environment health and safety. This has the potential for significant unfunded costs to districts.

While the Senate's proposed K-12 funding levels bring hope, the discrepancies between the two bodies are more than just discouraging. Now that their budget bills are passed, negotiations will continue between the House and Senate over the next four weeks to identify where numbers will land, and which amendments will stick. Those discussions will be inextricably linked to cuts and the slew of newlyintroduced tax proposals that will be heard in committees next week. To learn more about those proposals, check out the Washington Education Association (WEA) side-by-side that lays out the differences between budgets and includes some of the tax proposals on the table. Although there has been pressure for the education community to weigh in on tax increases, none of the Senate's tax proposals direct revenues to a protected account for the purposes of K-12 and only one of the House proposals are directed to the Education Legacy Trust Account (ELTA) which education shares with early learning and higher education. When asked to weigh in on tax proposals, WSSDA has shared the following message with legislators:

"I recognize the urgency and challenges you face with the budget shortfall, and I appreciate your diligence during these difficult times.

As a state agency that is member-driven, the Washington State School Directors’ Association is limited in our advocacy. We can only address bills and budget proposals that are related to issues that have a position adopted by our member school boards. Currently, we do not have any member-approved positions regarding the proposed revenue concepts or tax increases. However, our members can advocate as private citizens.

Our attorney is reviewing any legal restrictions we may face as a public sector / government entity should our members decide to adopt a relevant position in the future, allowing us to weigh in on such proposals. I apologize for not being able to assist you in this matter at present."

There are four full weeks ahead of us to continue to advocate for our students and schools, and to work to influence the final decisions of the legislature. We have listed some action steps below for your board to consider over the next week where your voice will be particularly critical. If you have questions in the meantime, please don't hesitate to reach out by emailing strategicadvocacy@wssda.org.

ACTION ALERT FOR WEEK 12

There is much for our legislators to navigate between cuts, revenue, and funding any bills that come at a cost to implement. What they decide in the next 28 days will determine what is and is not possible for our 295 school districts. WSSDA reiterated that point along with a reminder about our funding needs and priorities, alongside our education partners, in this Education Advocates Letter to the Legislature. Here are some things you can do to advance your perspectives and influence final decisions:

Write a letter.

Like the letter WSSDA and its partners wrote to the legislature this past week, your district can do something similar by writing your legislators directly. Follow models from Tacoma Public Schools and Clover Park School District. Find your legislators' contact information here.

HB 2050 will be heard in House Appropriations on Thursday, April 3rd at 1:30 pm. This bill has two key parts that may be of concern to school districts and their board:

Proposes changes to the apportionment schedule by reducing payments in February and March and moves payment out to August. School districts may have to borrow money (with additional interest expense) or delay payments to vendors that could result in late payment penalties as a result of this proposed change.
Limits the enrollment used to calculate Local Effort Assistance funding to when the district's Alternative Learning Experience enrollment exceeds 33%.

HB 2049 will be heard in House Finance on Thursday, April 3rd at 8:00 am. This is the House’s version of 101% Property Tax lift. This bill includes an updated version of HB 1356 to increase school district levy lids and LEA.

Communicate concerns to the Senate about apportionment scheduling.

While they do not have a stand-alone bill to address the issue, the Senate budget also shifts the apportionment schedule by locking us in too tightly to “school year”, not fiscal year. We support a proposed amendment (but not introduced) from OSPI that asks to replace existing language with a more feasible approach.

Communicate concerns to the Senate about cuts to vital programs.

The Senate's budget cuts the Beginning Educator Support Team (BEST) funding to support new educators in half and eliminates $8 million in funding for Teacher/Principal Evaluation Program (TPEP) training. A list of the districts and Educational Service Districts that receive those funds now are listed here: Beginning Educator Support Team Grants. The TPEP training is required for administrators and many districts also offer training for teachers. If the training dollars go away, it is possible that districts will need to continue to provide training out of their own budgets. The House doesn’t make the same cuts.

Communicate concerns to the House about unfunded mandates.

Amendment 62 passed in the House as a part of the proposed operating budget and would remove a statutory restriction that prohibits the Department of Health (DOH) from implementing school-related rules until the Legislature has reviewed and funded the rules. This has the potential for significant unfunded costs to districts. Let them know how you are already meetings some of these proposed rules given local need and what the local cost would be should they not fund the rest.

There are other opportunities to weigh in this week as well. Your board may wish to review WSSDA's weekly schedule and bill watch for more information on other bills up this week in fiscal committees.

FEDERAL ADVOCACY AND UPDATES

The Committee for Education Funding (CEF) as a part of the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) has shared some important updates regarding the government’s budget for education in the fiscal year 2025 (FY25). Here’s a simplified breakdown of the situation:

Current Status of Funding: The federal government has approved a budget for FY25, but there is still a lot of uncertainty about how much money will be alocated. The U.S. Department of Education has not provided the latest information on their budget page, which makes it difficult to know the final funding amounts.

Programs with Known Funding: CEF has created a table that shows which educational programs have confirmed funding amounts. The programs listed in black, such as Title I (which helps low-income schools), IDEA (which supports students with disabilities), Impact Aid, Title III (for English language learners), and Title IV-A (which focuses on student support), will receive the same funding as in FY24. This is good news because these programs are secure for the moment.

Programs at Risk: On the other hand, programs highlighted in red, such as Title II (which supports teacher training), do not have confirmed funding levels. This means that these programs could be in jeopardy. There are concerns that the government might choose to redirect funds away from these programs to support other priorities.

Major Concerns: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has removed a webpage that used to show how much money has been allocated, known as “apportionments.” This information is legally required to be public, and without it, it becomes harder to track how much federal funding is actually being distributed. There is increasing concern that the current administration may not follow the funding plans that Congress intended. This concern has grown since the White House decided not to release nearly $3 billion in emergency funding that is not related to education programs.

The Council of Great City Schools Legislative and Policy Conference was held in D.C. this past week and WSSDA Board Member, Eliza Rankin, brought back this helpful resource from meetings with Washington's Congressional Delegation. There are opportunities to engage with WSSDA's Federal Relations Network (FRN) to learn more about advocacy with the other Washington. For more information about FRN, contact WSSDA's Advocacy and Policy Analyst, Levon Williams.