2016 Legislative Update
Highland Terrace PTA meeting
May 11, 2016
103rd WSPTA Annual Convention
Registration is open for the 103rd WSPTA Annual Convention in Yakima, May 20-22nd, 2016.
Visit the WSPTA website for more information.
2016 Legislative Session Summary
In March, a special legislative session agreed to compromises on budgets and bills, including funding K-3 classroom facility construction and K-12 education spending.
Left undone this session were large investments in basic education or K-12 construction and bills to increase beginning teacher compensation.
Here’s where we are with WSPTA Top 5 Legislative Priorities:
- Fully Funding McCleary
No progress was made to fund K-12 basic education as ordered by the State Supreme Court in the McCleary lawsuit. Legislators said there wasn’t enough time or information to move forward on reducing the state’s reliance on local levies for basic education and to increase teacher compensation.
Therefore, a new task force will focus on levy reform and teacher compensation, and make recommendations on collective bargaining for teachers and creating a state-run educator health care plan. - Social and Emotional Learning
Bills associated with social and emotional learning passed the Legislature and were signed into law April 1. These include the creation and funding of mental health services for school age children; a one-day suicide prevention “train the trainer” session. OSPI is required to create and maintain an online social and emotional training module for educators, administrators, and other district staff by September 1, 2017. - Increasing Capital Funding
A compromise was made to the capital budget proposal, which includes a $34.5 million increase to invest in K-3 classroom facilities. The budget also adds $34.8 million to the School Construction Assistance Program, and creates a pilot project of $5.5 million for five districts to build modular classrooms.
Failing to pass was a bill that would’ve changed the super-majority requirement — a 60 percent vote — to a simple majority percent vote – 51% — in order to pass bonds for capital improvements. - Increased Access to Higher Education
Several bills were introduced to help make higher education more affordable and accessible to Washington students and their families. Lawmakers invested an additional $8 million to maintain tuition reductions and $18 million for the State Need Grant. Policies include creating the “reverse transfer” of academic credits from 4-year institutions to 2-year community and technical colleges, and creating a new college savings plan. - Breakfast After the Bell
Even with enormous stakeholder and legislator support, the Breakfast after the Bell bill failed to gain traction in the State Senate this session. A compromise bill was introduced to clarified that time spent in a classroom eating a morning meal could count as instructional time.
Failure to Pass This Session
SB 6408, a bill that would’ve created a professional track for paraeducators, failed to pass the House budget committee. However, $1.75 million was added to the supplemental budget for professional development during the 2016-17 school year.