Last
evening was Sine Die – the End of the Regularly Scheduled Legislative Session.
The agreed
upon budget has been released, voted
on and sent to the governor. The following is the highlights from the
legislative session. It’s not comprehensive, but it incorporates the key
issues that the PTA has been following all session long.
Usually, the E-wire’s friend Erik has his own comments over at
Washington State Wire, but he’s still asleep.
We’ll share his additional thoughts
and those of WA State School Directors Association's Government Relations Director Marie Sullivan on Monday. Until then, this is what we have:
PTA Priority
Bill - HB 2207 – Passed the Senate last
night, but was almost derailed over a broader fight on the Capital
Budget. WSSDA and PTA worked the doors in a frantic effort to get this
critical rural funding piece put into place. This was a PTA Priority bill
to allow rural and timber based school districts the ability to keep Federal Timber
Dollars in addition to basic education dollars from the state. In the
past, Washington has deducted these federal funds when calculating basic
education funding for these districts. This bill starts the process to
change that unfair practice.
PTA Priority
Bill - SB 6552 -the omnibus education
reform act, has passed
both the House and Senate and is on the way to the Governor for
signature. This means 24 credit is now the framework for obtaining your
high school diploma in Washington State. Fixes in the House make for
flexibility on the local level to take into account funding, special needs, and
ELL students. All in all, a good compromise bill that left most people
surprisingly happy.
PTA Priority
Bill - SB 6129 - The Paraeducator
Bill - is funded in the budget, has passed both houses, and is on its way
to the Governor’s Desk for signature. This was another PTA Priority bill.
PTA Priority
Bill – HB 2335 – Foster Care Services
Expansion was whittled down from its broader category to now only cover kids
who are working at least 80 hours a month. It is a start, and for a broad
policy change like this, we are lucky to have it funded in an off-year budget
at all. Kudos to Region 2 Legislative Team which kept in regular touch
with their senators (at times, sending 4 e-mails a minute) to ensure
passage. The end result, it was funded in the final budget, but the
policy bill was not passed by the Senate. After working with allies to
drive home the need for the bill, the Senate Ways and Means Committee held a
special 3 minute hearing, passed it out, and it was sent to the floor where it
passed and is now on the Governor’s Desk. Drama is great if it is
SOMEONE ELSE’S BILL.
PTA Priority
Bill - HB 2540 – Career and Technical
Education Course Equivalencies – This bill was incorporated into SB 6552 and
passed the legislature.
PTA Priority
Bill – HB 2536 – Breakfast after the
bell – passed the House and was included in the House budget but did not have
enough support in the Senate. Already, we are working on how to pass this
policy bill and fund it in the 2015 session.
PTA Priority
Bills 2797 and 6483 – Capital Funding
for School Construction – neither of these bills passed and SB 6483 did not
even come up for a vote in the Senate. There is already discussion about
working on a bi-partisan, bicameral solution over the interim.
PTA Priority
Bill – The Dream Act – Passed and is
funded. In addition to the $5 million provided to fund the Act, an
additional $25 million in match funding for private donations is provided to
expand the opportunity scholarships statewide.
PTA Ally
Priority Bill – Healthiest Next Generation Bills HB 2643 and SB 6383 – Both bills dealing with Childhood Obesity died in the
Senate, but parts of the bill survived in the final budget. Allies are
already regrouping and it is hopeful that some arrangements can be made to move
in this direction next legislative session.
IN THE
BUDGET…
MSOC
(maintenance, supplies, and operating costs) were funded at a higher rate than
we expected. The dollar amounts were not fixed into statute, so there are
no strings on how the school districts have to spend the money. This
allows for flexibility in case some districts come up short on funding needs
but it is intended as a down-payment for moving ahead on McCleary. The
total increase per student is $66.32 per FTE and is distributed proportionately
across all seven categories. In addition, to help finance the costs of
going to 24 credit, MSOC is increased $164.25 per FTE for grades 9-12. In
addition to more MSOC money for grades 9-12, there is funding provided for more
guidance counselors and enhanced funding for high school laboratory science
courses. This money is flexible, but districts should be warned that the
legislature will be reviewing how the money is spent, so best to use a good
smell test when allocating, ok?
Movement on
larger policy documents to close the opportunity gap failed to pass this
session. However, the budget did provide for $245,000 in initial one-time
start-up costs to begin the discussion on cultural competency, best practices
in handling expulsion, and ELL accountability. The results of which may
provide a framework for a path forward in the 2015 session.
Funding was also
provided to expand the teacher mentoring program through OSPI, the Beginning
Educator Support Team (BEST), to the tune of $2 million.
The Biliteracy
Seal Bill authored by Representative Luis Moscoso and Senator Pam Roach passed
and is funded in the budget. Both members of the legislature have been
advocates for increasing the language capabilities of our children in
Washington State and this latest effort will allow High School Diplomas to
reflect high proficiency in a language other than English.
Cost of Living
Adjustments for teachers was funded in the House, not in the Senate. It
may be taken up next legislative session unless there is an initiative to the
voters this fall mandating it. Watch your ballot box folks, it’s going to
likely be more than guns and Tim Eyman initiatives this year.
There is a ton
more in the Budget – so why not take a gander for yourself here and here to
check it out.
Short E-wire
today since, well, most of my
legislative colleagues and fellow policy makers are probably still tucked into
bed at this time. PTA hero Chris Reykdal is on the House floor cleaning
out his desk at the moment (I love how Facebook allows us to keep in touch real
time with our elected leaders). We’ll reconnect with a few of our best
and brightest over the interim. The PTA is fortunate to have allies in
the House and Senate from both parties without whom we would have had far less
a successful session. Get some rest guys, the 2015 Session starts in 306
days….
Top Story aside
from the legislature being out of session, the Teacher Evaluation Fix failed to
materialize which places us into something of a limbo with the Federal
Government on our state waiver. Up to $40 million in Title 1 money will
be affected. In some cases, the money can be made up with MSOC dollars,
but in Tacoma Schools where the Title 1 money was used to open pre-schools to
close the opportunity gap in low income areas, it will be difficult to maintain
those facilities next school year. Here is more
on the story. And a little bit more here
and here.
After a lot of drama, the Veteran’s Educational Benefit bills and the Homeless
Funding bills passed as the legislature was winding down. Read about that
here
and here.
Oh, yeah, and we
finally
got the 24 Credit Diploma bill! Last minute changes in the House which
were pushed by a coalition of PTA and State School Directors led to a
compromise agreement that is on its way to the Governor’s Desk.
The Everett
Herald opines
on the marathon discussion of climate change in the Senate over the weekend.
Property tax law
is convoluted and sometimes has unintended consequences. This is a problem
in both rural and non-rural counties.
Peter
Callaghan on Open Meetings Act.
See you next week!!!
The E-Wire is written by PTA Legislative Staff and Edited
by Director Sherry Krainick.
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