This week, the Senate Ways & Means Committee held public hearings on HB-1590 and HB-1664 that were both on our CALLS TO ACTION list. These bills are both about funding public education.
UPDATE: Both bills below are scheduled for executive session in the Ways & Means Committee on Monday, February 28, 2022 at 10AM. Please email before 2/28.
HB-1590: Concerning enrollment stabilization funding to address enrollment declines due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is the bill seeks to fund school districts that have lost students due to unforeseen circumstances. This would give the OSPI about $500 million in government school funding to compensate for the lost students this school year. From what we are seeing, the unenrollment is not a “temporary blip” as Reykdal would have you believe. This would use 2019-20 school year enrollment numbers to fund public schools. With the possibility of Covid-19 injections being required for school students, we could see the enrollment levels continue to decline rapidly. Funding should follow the student and it is time to send the message to our schools that they are failing our students and they don’t get paid for empty seats.
This bill is not yet scheduled for an executive session. Please email the members of the Ways & Means committee directly and let them know you oppose this bill.
christine.rolfes@leg.wa.gov; david.frockt@leg.wa.gov; june.robinson@leg.wa.gov; wilson.lynda@leg.wa.gov; sharon.brown@leg.wa.gov; mark.schoesler@leg.wa.gov; jim.honeyford@leg.wa.gov; andy.billig@leg.wa.gov; john.braun@leg.wa.gov; reuven.carlyle@leg.wa.gov; steve.conway@leg.wa.gov; manka.dhingra@leg.wa.gov; chris.gildon@leg.wa.gov; bob.hasegawa@leg.wa.gov; sam.hunt@leg.wa.gov; karen.keiser@leg.wa.gov; mark.mullett@leg.wa.gov; ron.muzzall@leg.wa.gov; jamie.pedersen@leg.wa.gov; ann.rivers@leg.wa.gov; kevin.vandewege@leg.wa.gov; keith.wagoner@leg.wa.gov; judy.warnick@leg.wa.gov; lisa.wellman@leg.wa.gov
2SHB-1664: Concerning prototypical school formulas for physical, social, and emotional support in schools.
This bill would allow for funding in schools for healthcare and “social emotional” supports. We don’t believe that our schools should be in the business of providing children with healthcare…or social emotional. Our schools need to be focused on academics for our students. 70% of Washington students are failing in math and 52% are failing in English. Public schools do not need more funding.
From Julie’s testimony on this bill:
Increasing the healthcare resources and funding for counselors and social workers in our public schools detracts from the main mission of our schools which is to educate, not provide health care. Over the last two decades we have seen the push to increase healthcare in schools, while decreasing the involvement of parents by allowing minors and other adults to provide consent for these students. This has broken the trust between parents and schools because services are rendered and parents are completely kept in the dark, intentionally. This funding will allow the schools to decide what services children receive, not the parents. Considering that 70% of our students failed the state math test and 52% failed the English test, it does not make sense to expand taxpayer funding for non-education related programs.
Please use the same set of email addresses to write to the members of the Ways & Means committee in opposition to this bill (please send 2 separate emails)
christine.rolfes@leg.wa.gov; david.frockt@leg.wa.gov; june.robinson@leg.wa.gov; wilson.lynda@leg.wa.gov; sharon.brown@leg.wa.gov; mark.schoesler@leg.wa.gov; jim.honeyford@leg.wa.gov; andy.billig@leg.wa.gov; john.braun@leg.wa.gov; reuven.carlyle@leg.wa.gov; steve.conway@leg.wa.gov; manka.dhingra@leg.wa.gov; chris.gildon@leg.wa.gov; bob.hasegawa@leg.wa.gov; sam.hunt@leg.wa.gov; karen.keiser@leg.wa.gov; mark.mullett@leg.wa.gov; ron.muzzall@leg.wa.gov; jamie.pedersen@leg.wa.gov; ann.rivers@leg.wa.gov; kevin.vandewege@leg.wa.gov; keith.wagoner@leg.wa.gov; judy.warnick@leg.wa.gov; lisa.wellman@leg.wa.gov
