• Annual CSCP Review Part 1: Collecting Stakeholder Input

    by David Morrill | May 15, 2023

    Comprehensive School Counseling Program

    Conducting an annual Comprehensive School Counseling Program (CSCP) program review, as required in the CSCP written plan, should include feedback from school administrators and other educational partners. SSB 5030 requires each school to develop a process for conducting an annual CSCP review, but it allows schools to develop their own process. If you have not yet established a process for collecting feedback, allow us to make a suggestion: consider a simple open-ended survey. 

    We have always found that surveys requiring narrative feedback contain distinct comments that are much easier to understand and accept than a numerical value on a Likert scale (1-5 for example). When you receive a 3.5 average on a question such as, “Was the CSCP program successful,” there isn’t much you can do with this information. But with a narrative response, stakeholders have an opportunity to tell you what is working and what isn’t, and the specifics included can be very helpful in determining your next steps needed to improve.  

    A simple and effective way to obtain feedback from stakeholders is to distribute an anonymous survey (such as on Google Forms) to staff, students, and parents asking two open-ended questions and including a comment section. The form could look something like this:

    School Counseling Program Review (See sample here.)

    Please identify which stakeholder group they belong to [ ] parent/family [ ] student or [ ] staff/admin. 

    1. What are three things the school counseling program should continue doing?

    2. What are three things the school counseling program should consider changing/adding?

    3. Additional comments:

    This simple survey format produces rich feedback on what is working or going well in the program (things to continue) and areas to change, improve or stop (things to consider). The comment section also allows individuals to explain their opinions. My experience is to limit individuals to three items because it suggests that the items they mention are the most important. 

    A good time to annually send out this survey is in May, allowing enough time before the end of the school year to reflect upon and quantify responses. Because the survey isn’t using a numerical scale, it will take longer to analyze the data, but typically key areas to continue and to consider become obvious in the data review. 

  • A Letter from WASA & AWSP

    by David Morrill | May 09, 2023
    wasa and awsp logos side by side

    Superintendents, Principals, and Assistant Principals:

    The Executive Teams from AWSP and WASA met on April 25th for a discussion to begin exploring opportunities for collaboration as related to the health and future sustainability of the principalship here in Washington state. This interest is not only shared by our respective associations, but also by principals and superintendents alike. We know that superintendents view the principal as a key member of the district leadership team, and more importantly an essential element in the creation of superior schools and sustaining that level of excellence over time.

    In our visit on April 25, we began thinking together about the challenges of the principalship within the context of State Statute and Agency Rules and Requirements, as well as challenges at the local level. What are the most impactful and difficult challenges for principals, within the aforementioned context? How might WASA and AWSP work together to develop strategies that serve to mitigate some of these challenges?

    We are pleased to report this discussion reinforced our shared interest in supporting principals and the principalship. Both associations look forward to a continuation of this discussion and development of strategies that we can refine and pursue in both the short and long-term. We will keep you informed in the weeks and months to come as we continue this important conversation.

    Good luck as you lead toward the conclusion of the 2022-23 school year. While these are the busiest of times for superintendents and principals, this is also a time to celebrate the efforts of staff and the incredible accomplishments of the students under your care. Please give yourselves permission to quietly take pride and satisfaction in your leadership and its impact on the staff and students in your school or school district. Your leadership does matter.

    We hope to see you in Spokane at Summer Conference in June!

    Sincerely,

    signatures for Joel Aune and Scott Seaman

    G. Joel Aune                        Scott Seaman
    Executive Director             Executive Director
    WASA                                   AWSP

  • Parents Bill of Rights

    by David Morrill | May 04, 2023

    text saying parents bill of rights with outline figures of families and a photo of senator Lisa wellman


    As a 2022 interim project, Senator Lisa Wellman (D-Mercer Island), Chair of the Senate Committee on Early Learning and K-12 Education, asked committee staff to put together a document that identifies and categorizes references to parents and guardians in state law, rules, and model policies. The final document organizes these policies by topics such as attendance and truancy, classroom access and parental involvement, curriculum and instructional materials, special education, graduation, and more. 

    A short summary of each law and the specific number of the model policy that the Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA) publishes is available. Specific policies and procedures for each district can be found on school district websites.

    Senate committee staff also identified existing communications systems to parents, such as the OSPI website and the Office of Education Ombuds.

    Senator Wellman said, “The impetus for this report came from SB 5858, a bill introduced in 2022 by Senator Perry Dozier (R-Waitsburg). This legislation sought to establish what they were referring to as a parent’s bill of rights related to their child’s public education. I merely asked that Senate Committee Services compile the expanding number of rights already enshrined across multiple RCWs, WACs, and statutes into a list. These findings were presented during the February 1, 2023 meeting of the Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee.

    I am sharing this resource with you in hopes that you may utilize the contents herein to further discussions with constituents, parents and students, and anyone with an interest in Washington’s education system.”

    Get more information and/or download a free copy.
  • The AWSP Equity Guide: The Heart Work of School Leadership

    by Caroline Brumfield | May 02, 2023

     

    We are excited to have made our final edits to a new publication called The AWSP Equity Guide: The Heart Work of School Leadership. A big shout out to our team of authors: Dr. Kyle Kinoshita (UW Bothell), Dr. Christine Espeland (UW Tacoma/UW Smart Center), and AWSP Associate Directors Kamrica Ary-Turner and Gina Yonts. 

    The AWSP Equity Guide is really a guide of self-discovery, providing a “zero entry” pool to the deep end, and resources and learning opportunities for leaders who are intent in growing their skillset and knowledge about equity and how it intersects with our leadership practices. The AWSP pro-learning team has used the guide as a primary resource in our AWSP New Principal Mentor Training program and Implementation Sessions. The goal is to have the guide available to schools and districts by the AWSP/WASA Summer Conference, taking place June 25-27 in Spokane.

    The guide highlights a glossary of commonly used words and definitions (from all state partners for consistency) and an interactive guide (think "choose your own adventure"). Both of these resources are accessed by a QR code, and hosted online so we can easily update them and keep our content and resources relevant and “future-proof." 

    The guide itself is broken into six distinct parts:

    1. Equity Basics
    2. Equity Leadership Dispositions
    3. Equity Anchors
    4. Creating an Awareness for Equity
    5. Leading Inquiry for Equity
    6. Taking Action for Equity

    The intent of the guide is to allow individuals to have access to common vocabulary and resources, and to chart your own professional journey to uncover things you may or may not have been exposed to regarding equity. The guide takes an adult learner stance and should help provide context, learning, and opportunities to connect your learning to the AWSP Framework and the AWSP School Leader Paradigm. Each of the sections cites best practice in equity-based leadership to help guide the individual or team’s learning. YOU are doing so much…it’s a great way to acknowledge and push yourself/teams to keep furthering their leadership practices. 

    If you or your system are interested in learning more, please plan to join us at the WASA/AWSP Summer Conference in June to learn more and engage with our team. We are here to support your individual and team’s journey to tackle historical inequities in our system. We can do this together!

  • Just One Moment

    by David Morrill | May 01, 2023

     

    Group of elementary school students standing together in a classroom

    Mr. Regalado died 9 years ago. Thousands of students, like me, who spent time in the darkroom at his side with our negatives and prints, asking about exposure, composition, and what made a good photograph good, mourned when we heard the news. He was one of those teachers that zealously approached his subject, mastered the command of his ship (à la his classroom), and built a community of learners at the tables in his room. From his class, I remember learning about Henri Cartier-Bresson, AKA "The Father of the Decisive Moment."

    Henri Cartier-Bresson | Fotografiska Stockholm
    "There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment." HC-B

    And so, on this ordinary day, I offer this challenge: find a moment today worth capturing, do so privately or with a camera, and share* this moment with someone — a colleague, your spouse or partner, or with your community on your messaging app. 

    "Photography is, for me, a spontaneous impulse coming from an ever-attentive eye which captures the moment and its eternity." If photography does this, what a wonder that unfolds before us every day when we all teach and care for our students!

    *Of course, I know that you know about student privacy rules. ;)
     
  • School Celebration Newsletter | May 2023 Edition

    by Julie Woods | May 01, 2023
    Blue rectangular background with title and date

     


    WELCOME TO MAY

    Welcome to the beautiful month of May. I would say that May is a magical time for the students and staff we serve. It is the final push of knowledge and skills for our students to ensure they are ready to move on to the next grade, level of content, or post-high school graduation. Our staff is digging deep this month and truly giving their students everything they have left. They (like us) are exhausted but we are all determined to dig a bit deeper to finish strong. The month of May is full of celebration opportunities for you to utilize to celebrate with your staff. Some are ridiculously simple and others will require a bit of prep work. I have no doubt that this month's School Celebration Newsletter has something for everyone. Let me know if I can support you or ever be a listening voice. You can find me on Twitter @sholtys or drop me an email at cindy.cromwell@kelsosd.org anytime. I believe in you!!


    image of flowers with


    MAY DAYS TO CELEBRATE

    May 1 | May Day!! How about placing a single flower on each staff member’s desk for their Monday morning arrival OR it is also National Mother Goose Day. What a great day to read a favorite childhood story or to ask staff to share one of their favorite Mother Goose Stories by either creating a poster for written responses or a display in the hallway.

    May 2 | National Teacher Appreciation Day — Turn your staff room into a serenity room, have students write notes of appreciation, or sign a banner that reads “Our School has the BEST Teachers”.

    May 3 | National Two Different Colored Shoes Day — This is super simple to pull off. Encourage your staff to wear two different shoes (maybe in your school colors). I must do a shout-out to my friends in Montana as May 3 is National Montana Day!! AND it is also National Skilled Trades Day (one of my favorites) this is a great day to celebrate trades around your community and the options these career paths can provide for your students.

    May 4 | Today has some amazing days of celebration. Let your imagination go wild on this one. It is National Star Wars Day (May the 4th be with you), Bird Day, AND National Weather Observers Day. Here are a few ideas for this awesome day:

    A. Star Wars  Utilize Yoda quotes throughout the day, pass out light saber candy sticks (found on Amazon or in many candy stores) go around school, and pass these out telling the recipients “Oh, the force is strong with you. You will achieve great things.”

    B. Bird Day  This one is especially fun if your school mascot happens to be a bird—If you have a bird mascot you could create a scenario that this National Holiday is all about YOUR special bird. The mascot could dress up and walk around with balloons as if it was created just for them. Add in party hats and the singing of happy birthday to really take it to the next level. OR incorporate this into your science lessons where classes go on a walk to bird watch OR you could hide pictures of birds throughout your school as part of a scavenger hunt and provide each staff member with a card that identifies each missing bird. Staff write the location of the bird on the card and turn it in at the end of the day to be in a raffle (Or they could send you a selfie with the birds they find throughout the school)

    C. National Weather Observers Day — Create a dress-up day for your students and staff where they can dress up for their favorite weather. (eg snow-dress like they are going skiing; rain- umbrella and rain pants; sun-sunglasses. Note: you may have to remind the staff about dress codes on this one)

    Side idea: Add some Star Wars theme to your Teacher Appreciation Celebrations this week

    May 5 | Cinco de Mayo I LOVE this day!! I could honestly eat tacos every day of the year. Celebrate this by filling a piñata with treats of snacks and office supplies (post-its, sharpies), AND have a nacho or taco bar. You truly can not go wrong with this day.

    May 5 | School Lunch Hero Day is a must-do celebration for your food service workers. This year reach out to not only the heroes in your own school that help feed your students but also remember those working behind the scenes delivering and dealing with the ordering of food and processing the paperwork. Encourage students and staff to celebrate this day with cards, signs, notes, and words of thanksgiving.

    May 10 |  National Clean Up Your Room Day. As we are getting closer to the end of the year feel free to tweak this one and connect it to student lockers and desks. A little pre-cleaning before the end of the year will ease the clean-up process for everyone.

    May 10 | National School Nurses Day — This is another must-do day. Flowers, student and staff thank you notes, lunch provided, decorations, and treats throughout the day. Provide your school nurse with all of their favorite treats and then branch out to the staff with a treat cart and have staff choose a fun snack they would like or have a celebration potluck for this great holiday.

    May 11 | National Eat What You Want Day — Have a potluck where everyone brings their favorite comfort food. Or this is a great day to bring out your treat cart and have staff choose a fun snack.

    May 12 | National Limerick Day — throughout the day use limericks to make announcements, say thank yous, and as you interact with students.

    May 15 | National Chocolate Chip Day — Super easy alert!! On your way to work pick up chocolate chip cookies.

    May 16 | Do Something Good for Your Neighbor Day — Encourage students to do a random act of kindness in celebration of this day all week. Have students take a picture and post their good deed to your school's social media sites. This is great PR for your school and is something we should always be modeling as leaders. You could also celebrate National Barbecue Day today by purchasing bottles of BBQ Sauce and adding a tag that reads “Thank you for being the secret sauce for our students' success.”

    May 17 | National Pack Rat Day — Another opportunity to encourage students and staff to clean up desks, backpacks, school bags, lockers, and that scary staff refrigerator.

    May 19  | One of those days that has a ton of opportunities:

    A. National Pizza Party Day — Ask your PTO to purchase pizza for lunch for staff today.

    B. NASCAR Day — Decorate a table, staff room, or snack wagon with checkered flags. "We Are Zooming Towards the Finish Line." Have Chex mix available along with beverages and decorate with hot wheels cars.

    C. National Devil's Food Cake Day — Nowadays you can purchase these as cupcakes or cookies. This might be a great way to help your staff get their chocolate fix today.

    May 23 | National Lucky Penny Day —  Grab a few index cards and tape a penny on each one. Write a note on each and hand out to your staff. Ideas include,  “You are a lucky penny for your students”, “Every day we work together I consider myself lucky”, “How did I get so lucky to hire you?”

    May 24 | National Scavenger Hunt Day and National Escargot Day — So hide a few pictures of Gary the Snail from SpongeBob and the staff that find them win a prize.

    May 25 | National Brown Bag It Day — Hide different treasures or party favors in brown bags and have staff choose these grab bags for a special treat or reward.

    May 26 | National Paper Airplane Day — Have a paper airplane competition for staff to participate in. For those of you that went with a Top Gun theme for your school year, this is a great way to connect to your school year theme.

    May 26 | National Road Trip Day — (This is the Friday before Memorial Day)-Make a road trip goodie bag for all of your staff. Include: bottled water, granola bar, licorice, pack of gum, life savers, and a note to encourage them to charge their batteries over this 3-day weekend.

    May 29 | National Paperclip Day — (I know it seems like everything has its own special day right?) Could this be your way to remind staff of a task you need them to work on as we close up the school year? Attach a note to a paper clip that says something like “Happy National Paperclip Day. May this clip be a reminder to submit your supply list to me by the end of the week?” Fill in whatever task or to-do item here.

    May 30 | National Hole in My Bucket Day. Have you read the book about being a bucket filler? If your students or staff are familiar with this story you could easily connect today’s special celebration to your work.

    May 31 | National Macaroon Day AND another one of my favorites which is National Smile Day. Surprise your staff with a tray full of a variety of macaroons and then add notes of appreciation and kindness on post-its in the staff bathrooms and in the staff room that will make them smile and remind them you care.


    Cindy is in her 23rd year as a school administrator. She is currently the principal of Kelso Virtual Academy and Loowit Alternative High School within the Kelso School District in Kelso, Washington. Cindy has been recognized by the National Association of Secondary School Principals as the 2021 National Digital Principal of the Year. She has two teenagers and has been married to her husband, Leszek for 23 years. Find her on Twitter @sholtys.
  • Mentoring Sessions: That's a Wrap

    by David Morrill | Apr 30, 2023

    Principal Mentoring

    The AWSP Mentor Implementation Sessions have wrapped up, and a big thank you to all of you who participated in mentoring, training, and walking with new school leaders this year. We were able to mix things up a bit and keep many school leaders in their buildings by hosting our virtual implementation sessions to complete training requirements. We also learned much about facilitating a large statewide network, and with the help of post-session feedback, we adjusted presentation content and learning as the sessions unfolded. This was a big lift! Thank you to my AWSP colleagues, David Morrill and Dameon Brown, for their support on the technology side and problem-solving and learning between sessions to meet the learner's needs.

    One resource our facilitator, Dr. Angela Brooks, exposed participants to were the CASEL 5 Competencies. As session feedback came in, we wanted to be sure and let participants know that Washington state has its own K-12 SEL Standards, and they look very familiar to CASEL standards. I understand that several systems across the state have taken a crack at aligning by developing a crosswalk document. Thank you to Dr. Cathy Sork of Dorothy Fox Elementary in the Camas School District for sharing with us and all of you!

    SEL standards are not new…but maybe knowing a bit about where they came from and what a crosswalk might look like is helpful to you and your mentee. So many systems do things in isolation, it's amazing to have a room full of mentors and districts represented to share tools, tips, and takeaways! Thank you to all of our partners in the work! Until next time…

  • Legislative Update | 2023 Sine Die Edition

    by David Morrill | Apr 26, 2023

    legislative update header graphic

    That's a Wrap

    The House and Senate pounded their gavels one last time on Sunday, April 23, as they declared “Sine Die” for the 2023 Legislative session. This Latin term means “without a day,” and it is used to describe an adjournment when the date to reconvene is not specified and when the Legislature intends to leave town for the last time. However, there is a bit of a caveat to that statement since the Legislature may come back for a special session to address the Blake Decision. More on that later.


    Budget

    The Saturday before “Sine Die,” the budget conference committee released its agreed-upon final operating budget (SB 5187) of $69.3 billion for the next two years. According to Senate Ways and Means Chair Christine Rolfes, “This budget reflects the collaboration of many Washingtonians. It is the biggest investment in public education since McCleary.” The Senate Democrats further explained that “the budget includes $2.9 billion in total new spending for K-12 education. This includes the continued rollout of the past biennium’s investment in nurses, counselors, and social workers in schools, lowering the financial burden on school districts. Special education will receive a significant new investment of $417 million. An additional $91 million will create more slots for children eligible for Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program.”

    Representative Steve Bergquist, Vice Chair for the House Appropriations Committee, agreed and said that the budget makes “historic investments” for K-12, early learning, and higher education.

    The Senate Republican perspective from leader John Braun is that “the high level of learning loss suffered by Washington’s school children is the equity issue of our time because it has increased the learning gap, leaving children of color and those in lower-income families further behind. I’m very disappointed that the $70 million allocated in the Senate budget proposal to close that gap was absent from the final budget. That’s a huge disservice to our kids. I am glad, however, that the budget includes $800 million over four years to enhance special education programs. Republicans have fought for five years for more special education funding because the kids receiving those services deserve better than they’ve been getting.” Republicans in both the House and the Senate were disappointed that funding was not included for family advocate positions related to special education students.

    We thank the Legislature for investing in K-12 education, early learning, and higher education.

    Key budget items include increases in a variety of programs based on the budget summary document linked here.

    K‐12 Salaries and Health Benefits ($544.3 million in 2023‐25; $1.56 billion 5‐year total)

    Budgeted inflation for salaries is 3.7% in the 2023‐24 school year and 3.9% in the 2024‐25 SY. SEBB health benefit rates are increased to $1,100 per employee per month in the 2023‐24 SY and $1,157 per employee per month in the 2024‐25 SY. These amounts are in addition to $734 million in 2023‐25 and $2.3 billion over five years for salary inflation at the maintenance level.

    Special Education Enhancements ($371 million in 2023‐25; $817.3 million 5‐year total)

    Funding is provided to increase excess cost multipliers, raise the funded enrollment limit, support inclusionary practices, and lower the safety net threshold as required under HB 1436.

    Free School Meal Expansion ($46.5 million in 2023‐25; $83 million Federal FY2023 and 2023‐25; $144.6 million 5‐year total)

    Funding is provided to support expanded access to free meals through the federal Community Eligibility Provision pursuant to HB 1878 from 2022 and HB 1238 from 2023.

    Special Passenger Transportation Reimbursement ($26.0 million for 2023‐25)

    Funding for special passenger excess cost reimbursement is provided for school districts with a demonstrated need for funding beyond the amounts provided through STARS for special passengers. SB 5174 did not pass this year, but this additional funding is provided.

    Dual Credit Enrollment Enhancements ($9.7 million in 2023‐25; $21.3 million 5‐year total)

    Funding is provided to increase the Running Start combined maximum enrollment cap from 1.2 FTE to 1.4 FTE.

    College in the High School Fees ($23.8 million in 2023‐25; $47.9 million 5‐year total)

    Funding is provided for a new funding structure for College in the High School courses as provided in SB 5048. Beginning September 1, 2023, institutions of higher education must provide enrollment and registration in College in the High School courses at no cost for students in grades 9–12 at public high schools.

    Transition to Kindergarten ($48.6 million savings 2023‐25; $41.8 million Federal 2023‐25; $56.4 million 5‐year total savings, $114.0 million is appropriated in a new program)

    Funding for TtK enrollments previously included in General Apportionment are transferred to the new TtK budget program. Funding is sufficient to support the projected caseloads for participating school districts, charter schools based on the February 2023 caseload forecast.

    Federal Reappropriations for Schools ($1.1 billion Federal 2023‐25)

    Remaining funding from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESEER) fund, the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) fund, and other emergency federal funding for schools appropriated in the 2021‐23 biennium are reappropriated in the 2023‐25 biennium. Reappropriations include remaining ESSER subgrants to districts, non‐subgrant ESSER and GEER funding for learning recovery, free school meal programs, Transition to Kindergarten, community‐based organizations, mastery‐based learning, and other items. I am waiting for more information on what the impact of this is on ESSER projects that were already in the works through OSPI.

    Capital Budget

    A big thank you to Dan Steele, Assistant Executive Director for WASA, for details on the Capital Budget. Dan writes, “For K–12 education, the final Capital Budget provides $871.5 million. The majority of this appropriation is for the School Construction Assistance Program (SCAP). SCAP receives $588.2 million in the new two-year budget.” For Dan’s complete “Sine Die” update, read his latest This Week in Olympia - Sine Die Edition. There is much more information there related to capital projects for small schools, skill centers, distressed schools, safety upgrades, and more.

    Additional funding for education programs such as science, dual language, financial literacy, plant-based school meals, homeless student stability, and other areas are listed beginning on page 545 of this agency-level detail report.

    Our team was thrilled to see that the Outdoor School for All program received $20 million each for the next two years. Many more students will get to experience overnight camp, which is fantastic. For more information, check out Outdoor Schools WA.


    Bills that Passed

    Staff

    SB 5175 | School Principal Contracts

    This bill extends the maximum term of a written contract between a school district board of directors and a principal from one to three years. A contract for a duration of more than one year may be offered if the principal has:

    • been employed as a principal for three or more consecutive years;
    • been recommended by the superintendent as a candidate for a two or three-year contract because the principal has demonstrated the ability to stabilize instructional practices,
    • received a comprehensive performance rating of level 3 or above in their most recent comprehensive performance evaluation, and
    • met the school district's requirements for satisfying an updated record check. A contract between a board of directors and a principal for a term of three years may not be renewed before the final year of the contract.

    As this bill passed through the House, we worked with Representative Monica Stonier (D–Vancouver) on ideas that would help set the context for when longer contracts may be offered to principals. We believe that the conditions the Legislature included in the final bill make sense and point to very important pieces of leadership development. As an association, we are focused on ways to “Grow, Support, and Sustain” building leaders. Our system needs to pay attention to the growth of leaders through robust internship experiences, mentoring programs, professional development, and evaluation processes.

    This bill references each of those pieces, and we have resources that can help with the conversations that may now occur between administrative teams as they potentially take the step of offering some principals these extended contracts. How can district administrators use the AWSP Leadership Framework or the School Leader Paradigm documents as resources to support conversations and actions related to principal contracts? What else does our system need to put in place to support leaders?

    We have already begun conversations with our colleagues at WASA about the implications of this bill. We look forward to partnering with them as we think about ways to better support all school leaders in their work.

    HB 1015 | Paraeducator Requirements

    This bill replaces the ETS ParaPro assessment and says the Paraeducator Board must adopt one or more assessments that meet a rigorous standard of quality and can be used to demonstrate knowledge of, and the ability to assist in, instruction in reading, writing, and mathematics, as well as set a passing score for each assessment adopted.

    HB 1210 | Recording of School Board Meetings

    This bill requires all school district board meetings to be audio recorded, subject to exceptions for executive sessions and emergencies, with recordings kept for at least one year.

    Student Safety and Support

    HB 1207 | Responding to HIB/Discrimination

    This bill will change the term "emergency expulsion" to "emergency removal" and permit certain students to request that their records use the new term. It would also require OSPI to develop a model student handbook that includes, among other things, a complaint procedure related to harassment, intimidation, bullying, and discrimination.

    HB 1230 | Department of Health Info on School Websites

    This bill requires school districts to post a prominent link on their homepage, and the homepage of each school within the district, to the DOH information about safe storage of drugs and weapons and to make the information accessible through various communication means.

    HB 1238 | School Meals

    This bill phases in “Universal Meals for All” by increasing funding for school meals. OSPI reports that almost 200 additional schools will be able to provide universal meals for students over the next two years.

    SB 5257 | Elementary School Recess

    This bill requires 30 minutes of recess and encourages recess before lunch. It also includes language that discourages withholding recess for disciplinary or academic reasons. Here are some resources for school leaders about best practices related to recess.

    HB 1622 | Supporting Students Experiencing Homelessness

    This bill supports grants focused on providing educational stability and promoting housing stability for students experiencing homelessness. It also encourages the development of collaborative strategies between education and housing partners.

    HB 1701 | Concerning Institutional Education Programs

    This bill establishes that OSPI is responsible for the delivery and oversight of basic education services to justice-involved students who are under the age of 21 and served through institutional education programs in facilities not under the jurisdiction of DSHS or the Department of Corrections (DOC).

    SB 5365 | Preventing the Use of Vapor and Tobacco Products by Minors

    This bill increases monetary penalties the Liquor and Cannabis Board may impose against cigarette and tobacco products retailer licensees and vapor products retailer licensees for violations of provisions related to selling or giving cigarette, tobacco, or vapor products to persons under 21. It also modifies sanctions and fines for purchasing, possessing cigarette, tobacco, or vapor products by persons under 18 to participate in up to four hours of community service and referral to a smoking cessation program at no cost.

    SB 5599 | Supporting Youth Seeking Protected Health Care

    This bill says that if a licensed youth shelter or homeless youth program knows a youth is away from home with permission, that shelter or program has a duty to contact the parents or guardians unless a compelling reason exists. Compelling reasons include when a minor is seeking or receiving protected health care services. Mandated reports have a duty to report child abuse and neglect. After receiving a report from an overnight youth shelter or other licensed organization that provides services to homeless youth that a minor child who is seeking or receiving gender-affirming treatment or reproductive health care services is being served by the shelter or organization without parental permission, DCYF must: offer to make referrals on behalf of the minor for appropriate behavioral health services; and offer services designed to resolve the conflict and accomplish a reunification of the family.

    HB 1346 | Purple Star Award

    This bill establishes the Purple Star designation to recognize school districts that demonstrate educational and social-emotional supports to students of military service members.

    SB 5127 | Clarifying School Districts’ Ability to Redact Personal Information

    This bill says that the personal information of a child enrolled or who has been enrolled in a school district contained in any records, including correspondence, is exempt from public disclosure requirements.

    Student Learning

    HB 1550 | Transition to Kindergarten

    This bill renames Transitional Kindergarten as the Transition to Kindergarten (TtK) program, and states that this program is not part of the state's program of basic education. It directs OSPI to adopt rules for the administration and the allocation of state funding for this program and specifies minimum requirements for these rules. It provides a funding formula for the program using certain portions of the prototypical school funding model and requires certain data to be reported. Current TtK programs will remain in place for the 2023-24 school year, but changes would come in the following school year.

    SB 5072 | Highly Capable Students

    This bill establishes new requirements for the identification of students who may be eligible for highly capable services, including conducting universal screenings once in or before second grade, and again in or before sixth grade.

    SB 5355 | Sex Trafficking Prevention Education

    Beginning no later than the 2025-26 school year, school districts, charter schools, and state-tribal education compact schools must offer instruction in sex trafficking awareness and prevention. The instruction may be offered beginning in grade seven, but each student must be offered the instruction at least once before completing grade 12. The instruction may, at the discretion of the school or school district, be integrated into a relevant course or a course may be repurposed to include this instruction. OSPI must review curricula related to the awareness and prevention of sex trafficking. To the extent practicable, OSPI must make available in the library of openly licensed courseware, curricular resources related to the awareness and prevention of sex trafficking.

    SB 5065 | Encouraging Bone Marrow Donation

    School districts, charter schools, and state-tribal compact schools that serve students in any of the grades 9 through 12 are encouraged to offer instruction in awareness of bone marrow donation to students. Beginning with the 2023-24 school year, instruction in awareness of bone marrow donation may be included in at least one health class necessary for graduation. This instruction must be an instructional program provided by the National Marrow Donor Program or other relevant nationally-recognized organizations. OSPI must post a link on its website to this instructional program.

    High School

    HB 1308 | Performance Pathway

    This bill says that school districts may offer students the opportunity to meet graduation pathway requirements by completing a performance-based learning experience through which the student applies knowledge and skills in a real-world context, providing evidence of applying state learning standards to ELA and math standards (this was amended from the original version that allowed students to choose two of the core areas).

    SB 5243 | High School and Beyond Plans

    This bill revises High School and Beyond Plan (HSBP) requirements and requires OSPI to facilitate the transition to and adoption of a common online platform for HSBPs. This will take a few years to develop and it will require school districts to provide access to an adopted universal platform within two years of platform development.

    HB 1536 | Withholding High School Diplomas

    The authority for school districts to withhold the diploma of a student who is responsible for loss or willful damage to property of the school district, a contractor of the district, an employee, or another student is limited to property loss or damages that exceed $1,000. School districts are required to release a withheld student's diploma at the earlier of: five years from the date of the student's graduation; or until the amount owed is less than $1,000. Community service performed by the student in lieu of payment of monetary damages must be credited at the applicable local or state minimum wage, whichever is greater. Information about withheld diplomas must be published and maintained in a location on the school district website that facilitates easy access to the information. When publishing required information about withheld diplomas on their websites, school districts must include information about the preceding five years, rather than three years, and must annually update the data from the prior reporting year to reflect the permitted release of diplomas.

    HB 1658 | Work Experience for High School Credit

    Beginning in the 2023-24 school year, public high school students aged 16 years and older may earn up to two elective high school credits through paid work experience, provided specified requirements are met.

    HB 1013 | Regional Apprenticeship Programs

    This bill directs OSPI and ESDs to establish the Regional Apprenticeship Preparation Pilot Program with five program sites located statewide.

    SB 5617 | Equivalency Agreements Between Skill Centers and Districts

    An interdistrict cooperative agreement between all participating school districts in a skill center must stipulate that any approved state and local equivalency courses offered by the host district must be honored as equivalency courses by all school districts participating in the skill center. The list of approved local and state equivalency courses must be provided by the host district to participating districts on an annual basis by September 1st.

    SB 5593 | Student Data Transfer

    Public institutions of higher education in Washington must enter into data sharing agreements with OSPI to facilitate the transfer of high school student directory information for the purpose of informing Washington high school students of postsecondary educational opportunities available in the state. Federally designated minority-serving institutions and Community and Technical Colleges are also included.

    HB 1232 | College Bound Scholarship

    For College Bound Scholarship-eligible students enrolling in a postsecondary education institution for the first time beginning with the 2023-24 academic year, a C grade point average is required only for those students seeking direct admission to a public or private four-year institution of higher education.

    HB 1316 | Expanding Access to Dual Credit Programs

    Running Start programs will now be funded up to a combined maximum enrollment of 1.4 FTE.

    SB 5048 | Eliminating College in the HS fees

    This bill requires institutions of higher education to provide enrollment and registration in College in the High School courses at no cost to students in grades 9 through 12 at public high schools.

    SB 5583 | Improving Young Driver Safety

    The Department of Licensing must develop a comprehensive implementation plan for the expansion of the current driver training education requirement to obtain a driver's license for persons between the ages of 18 and 24. The target date for implementation of the new driver training education expansion is July 1, 2026.

    Summary

    It is truly amazing to read about and witness the very complicated work of our Legislature. The staff who work there are to be commended for their dedicated work each session. For a complete list of education bills that passed this session, here is my final bill tracking list.

    Bills Outside of Education

    Here’s a good summary of a broad section of bills that passed this session from Crosscut. As they write, “Washington legislators passed sweeping new restrictions on firearms purchases, ended exclusionary zoning laws, and streamlined permitting processes to ease the state’s deepening housing crisis, and wrote new state budgets that boost public worker pay, education funding, and an ambitious slate of clean-energy projects.”

    Carry-over From Previous Legislative Sessions

    As a reminder, here is a list of some programs that passed due to previous legislation, along with links to related OSPI web pages. Work on these programs continues to evolve in our schools and districts.


    Interim Planning and Continued Advocacy

    As I mentioned earlier, there may be a special session to address the Blake Decision (a Washington Supreme Court case from 2021 that said the felony statute related to possession of a controlled substance was unconstitutional). The temporary rule in place makes unlawful possession of a drug a misdemeanor crime on the third occurrence, with treatment options for the first two offenses. This rule expires on July 1, 2023. Legislators were working on a new possession statute (SB 5536), but the House failed to pass the conference committee agreement. If a special session to address this does not take place, the temporary law will expire, and local jurisdictions will pass their own laws about how to handle these cases. It was a fascinating moment to watch unfold on the House floor.

    As we head into the interim, there will be continued conversations on bills that did not pass and on ideas for new bills. For example, there was an addition to the budget to create a technical assistance manual related to best practices for restraint and isolation. Principals will be included in the development, and HB 1479 will no doubt return next session.

    At AWSP, we will continue to work to explain the current concerns that many of you have related to working conditions, contracts, and other employment issues. Many of our ideas in SB 5085 had broad support, and some of them need further explanation and understanding. We are committed to working with you and all of our education partners to find ways to grow, support, and sustain building administrators.


    Get Involved

    A HUGE thank you to the members of our Advocacy Advisory Council. We meet weekly during the legislative session each year, and their input and opinions are incredibly important to our efforts.

    Our advocacy efforts need all of our voices to contribute to the process. There are many different ways (big and small) that you can get involved in these efforts. If you have questions or comments or want to get involved, please reach out to me. Thank you!

  • Make an Equity Impact with the Anti-Racist Daily Newsletter

    by David Morrill | Apr 21, 2023

    Principal Mentoring

    Speaking of EQUITY… have you ever heard of the ARD Newlsetter? Talk about powerful and impactful daily learning on all things related to the topic of Anti-Racism. As our team has been working to find resources for the AWSP Equity Guide, The Heart Work Of School Leadership, I stumbled across this organization and its newsletter. They have podcasts to listen to as well as professional learning opportunities. I have added this daily read to my morning workflow and have pushed myself to continue reading and learning about how racism creeps into almost everything.  From bank bailouts to exploitation of farmworkers and how inequality fuels a global water crisis to questioning your understanding of “authentic” food…I’m getting curious and thoughtful and paying a bit more attention to so many different inequalities as they are exposed and, at times, right under my very nose!

    The ARD newsletter pushes my comfort level and provides a different perspective on things. Equity work is a journey, and I am glad to have a newsletter like this one that pushes on my thinking and opens up my mind to other perspectives. If you’re a daily reader like me…sign up and let me know. If you cannot stomach another email in your inbox…opt for the Weekly Digest and just read with the Sunday Paper (if you’re lucky enough to get an old-fashioned Sunday paper *heavy sigh*!). Until next time…

  • Retirement & Health Benefits for April 21, 2023

    by Julie Woods | Apr 21, 2023


    Retirement Blog

     

    "The future is uncertain, but the end is always near."

    - Jim Morrison


    Sine Die approaches and a sense of glee and panic pervades the air as multiple bills either pass or fail to advance. Concurrence, recession, and just plain obstruction are on display.

    Multiple bills, close to 400, will be sent to the Governor who is even now in the process of signing them. To date, there have been no vetoes.

    Below is a summary of what is known. A year-end, post-Session report will be more definitive.


    Retirement Related Proposals

    HB 1008: Concerning participating in insurance plans and contracts by separated Plan 2 members of certain retirement systems.

    Comment: It allows certain individuals who separate from a position covered by the Public Employees', School Employees', and Teachers' Retirement System Plans 2, without retiring, the opportunity to participate in retiree benefits of the Public Employees' Benefits Board.

    This bill has been sent to the Governor for action.

    SHB 1056: Repealing some postretirement employment restrictions.

    Comment:Changes the postretirement employment restrictions on benefits eligibility for Public Employees' Retirement System, Teachers Retirement System, and School Employees Retirement System Plans 2 and 3 members that retired under the 2008 Early Retirement Factors (ERFs). • Permits 2008 ERF members to work in retirement system–covered employment for up to 867 hours per year without suspension of retirement benefits. • Adjusts benefits for individuals that chose the 3 percent per year early retirement reduction to the level of reduction in the 2008 ERFs for future benefit payments. Effective 1/1/2024.

    The Senate adopted a striker with an amendment that reads: Removes the recalculation of retirement benefits for retirees that were eligible to take a 2008 early retirement factor but took a higher reduction in benefits so that they could return to work.”

    The House has asked the Senate to recede from its amendments and it did. The bill then passed 47/1/1. It will sent to the Governor for his signature.

    ESSB 5294: Concerning actuarial funding of state retirement systems.

    Comment: Beginning July 1, 2027, a new minimum UAAL rate is established for both TRS 1 and PERS 1 of 0.5 percent. The scheduled payment of $800 million into the TRS 1 fund is reduced to $250 million.

    This bill passed the House as amended and was sent back to the Senate for concurrence. The Senate did not concur. The house receded from its amendment and the bill passed. It has been sent to the Governor for his action.

    SB 5350: Providing a benefit increase to certain retirees of the public employees' retirement system plan 1 and the teachers' retirement system plan 1.

    Comment: A one-time, 3 percent benefit increase is provided to PERS plan 1 and TRS plan 1 retirees up to a maximum of $110 per month. The benefit increase goes into effect on July 1, 2023. To be eligible for the increase the member must be retired on or before July 1, 2022. This increase only applies to members that are not receiving a minimum benefit. The Select Committee on Pension Policy is directed to study and recommend an ongoing COLA for plan 1 retirees. The recommendation must consider employer contribution rate stability and coordinate the effective date with the reduction or elimination of the unfunded actuarial accrued liability.

    The House receded from its amendments and the bill has been sent to the Governor. reconsider.


    Other Areas of Potential Fiscal Impact (and often unfunded) to Districts

    SHB 1068: Concerning injured workers' rights during compelled medical examinations.

    Comment: Allows an injured worker to make an audio and video recording of an independent medical examination, and to have one person of the worker's choosing present during the examination.

    This bill was amended, then approved by the Senate. One adopted amendment reads, “Requires (1) the worker to provide seven calendar days' notice to the entity scheduling the exam that the independent medical exam will be recorded and (2) the department of labor and industries to adopt rules to define the notification process. Another adopted amendment reads, “Removes the prohibition on recording neuropsychological exams. Prohibits the worker from materially altering the recording or posting it to social media.”

    The House concurred and this bill has been sent to the Governor.

    ESHB 1106: Concerning qualifications for unemployment insurance when an individual voluntarily leaves work.

    Comment: Expands access to unemployment insurance benefits by adding circumstances where a person may voluntarily quit for a good cause. Senate adopted amendments expands access to unemployment insurance (UI) benefits by adding circumstances where a person may voluntarily quit for good cause and requires a report to the legislature regarding UI claims related to benefits for separations from employment because of inaccessible care for a child or vulnerable adult. Another adopted amendment provides that benefits paid because care for a child or vulnerable adult in the claimant's care is inaccessible shall not be charged to the experience rating account of any contribution paying employer.

    The House concurred and the bill has been sent to the Governor.

    ESHB 1187: Concerning privileged communication between employees and the unions that represent them.

    Comment: Creates a privilege from examination and disclosure for a union representative and a union employee concerning any communication between the union representative or union employee made during union representation and creates exceptions to this privilege. • Applies the privilege from examination and disclosure to the union members and organizations that represent employees of college districts, employees of school districts, public employees, faculty at public four-year institutions of higher education, civil service employees, ferry employees, port employees, and labor unions.

    The House concurred with the Senate amendments and the bill has been sent to the Governor.

    SHB 1200: Requiring public employers to provide employee information to exclusive bargaining representatives.

    Comment: The bill requires certain public employers to provide exclusive bargaining representatives employee information, such as contact information, date of hire, salary, and jobsite location, of employees in bargaining units if the employer has that information in its records. It allows an exclusive bargaining representative to bring a court action if a public employer fails to comply with the requirement to provide information.

    The bill was amended by the Senate which the House accepted. The bill has been sent to the Governor for action.

    EHB 1210: Concerning the recording of school board meetings.

    Comment: Requires all school district board meetings to be audio recorded, subject to exceptions for executive sessions and emergencies, with recordings kept for one year. • Specifies that a public records request for recordings of meetings of a school district board of directors must include the date of the meetings requested or a range of dates. • Encourages school districts to make the content of school board of directors meetings available in formats accessible to individuals who need communication assistance and in languages other than English.

    The Governor signed the bill 4/13/2023. It is effective 6/30/24.

    SHB 1521: Concerning the duties of industrial insurance self-insured employers and third-party administrators.

    Comment: This bill specifies that self-insured employers and third-party administrators have a duty of good faith and fair dealing to workers with respect to all aspects of workers' compensation. • Requires the Department of Labor and Industries to enforce the duty of good faith and fair dealing. • • Provides penalties for violations of this duty. One adopted amendment reads, “Provides that nothing be interpreted as allowing a private cause of action outside of the original jurisdiction of the Department to assess penalties and rights to appeal.” Another adopted amendment reads, “Limits the duty of good faith and fair dealing and related penalties to self-insured municipal employers and their third-party administrators.”

    This bill was amended by the Senate and the House has refused to concur.

    HB 1656: Concerning unemployment insurance benefits appeal procedures.

    Comment: This bill adds disputes of unemployment insurance (UI) determinations of allowance or denial of allowance of benefits or redeterminations, in addition to a dispute of initial determinations, as issues in appeals proceedings regardless of the grounds in the notice of appeal. • Removes provisions that in a UI appeal on a dispute of a claimant's claim for waiting period credit or UI benefits claim that all UI issues relating to the claimant's right to receive such credit or UI benefits for the period in question are deemed to be in issue regardless of the particular grounds in the notice of appeal; and the claimant's availability for work is determined apart from all other matters.

    It was signed by the Governor on 4/13/2023. It is effective 7/23/2023.

    SB 5084: Creating a separate fund for the purposes of self-insured pensions and assessments.

    Comment: Creates a self-insurance reserve fund for payments from self-insured employers related to workers' compensation pensions and from the overpayments reimbursement fund.

    This bill has been sent to the Governor for signature.

    ESSB 5123: Concerning the employment of individuals who lawfully consume cannabis.

    Comment: This bill was amended by the House. It prohibits employers, with some exceptions, from discriminating against a person in hiring if the discrimination is based on the person's use of cannabis outside of work or on certain employer-required drug screening tests. The House amended the bill to excludes from the bill persons seeking positions: • with a general authority law enforcement agency; Senate Bill Report - 3 - ESSB 5123 • with a fire department, fire protection district, or regional fire protection service authority; • as a position as a first responder; and • as a position as a corrections officer. It also codifies the underlying bill in chapter 49.94 RCW, rather than chapter 49.44 RCW, subjecting its provisions to enforcement by the Attorney General and other limitations provided under the Fair Chance Act.

    The Senate concurred with the House amendments. The bill has been sent to the Governor.

    SSB 5127: Clarifying school districts' ability to redact personal information related to a student.

    Comment: Creates a new exemption to the Public Records Act for personal information in any records pertaining to a student currently or previously enrolled in a local education agency.

    This bill will be sent to the Governor for his signature.

    E2SSB 5174: Providing adequate and predictable student transportation.

    Comment: Requires the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to administer transportation safety net awards to school districts with excess special passenger costs for special education, homeless, and foster students, as defined in the operating budget. • Provides that, no earlier than for a contract affecting the 2024-25 school year, school districts may only enter into a pupil transportation services contract if the contractor provides certain health benefit and retirement contributions to employees who choose to opt in for coverage. • Provides reimbursement subject to funding provided specifically for increased costs to school districts that are directly attributable to increased benefits as required in the bill. (Although the sponsor suggests that legislators will try their best to fully fund, but…….)

    The Senate refused to concur, and the House insists on its position. Stalemate.

    ESSB 5217: Concerning the state's ability to regulate certain industries and risk classes to prevent musculoskeletal injuries and disorders.

    Comment: This bill repeals the law prohibiting the Department of Labor and Industries (Department) from adopting rules related to ergonomics or musculoskeletal disorders. • Provides limitations on the adoption of new rules, including allowing rules only for industries or risk classifications where compensable claims involved musculoskeletal injuries and disorders that are at a rate greater than two times the overall state claim rate for these types of injuries and disorders over a recent five-year period. • Requires the Department to: (1) identify industries and risk classifications most likely to be selected for rulemaking; (2) review and report certain claims data; and (3) consider certain factors during • Allows the Department to provide funding to certain employers to purchase additional equipment and requires up to three additional ergonomists to provide consultation to certain employers. Provides that no rule may be effective prior to July 1, 2026. (6) Modifies the review of claims data to data identified as compensable claims over the five-calendar year period that ended two calendar years before the report is published. Requires L&I to provide up to three additional ergonomists, funded from the accident and medical aid funds, to provide consultation to employers in the industries and risk classifications in the published list. Requires L&I annually to identify a list of industries or risk classes most likely to be selected for future rule making and prioritize efforts to provide technical assistance to those employers.

    This bill has been sent to the Governor for his signature.

    SSB 5275: Expanding access to benefits provided by the school employees' benefits board.

    Comment: Allows tribal compact schools, employee organizations representing school employees, and school board directors the option of providing health care through the School Employees Benefits Board through SEBB beginning January 1, 2024. Employers opting into coverage under SEBB may determine the terms of employee and dependent eligibility and must pay premiums set by HCA.

    Passed House 97/0. The Governor signed the bill on 3/30/23. Becomes effective 1/1/2024, however, HCA will be reaching out to eligible parties prior to that date with information.

    SSB 5286: Modifying the premium provisions of the paid family and medical leave program.

    Comment: Modifies the statutory formula for determining the premium rates for the Paid Family and Medical Leave Program.

    This bill has been sent to the Governor for his signature.

     

    Fred Yancey
    The Nexus Group LLC

  • Special Education and 504 Tips & Resources | April 21, 2023

    by David Morrill | Apr 21, 2023

     

    image of inclusion cutout people

    The content from this post comes from Dr. Whitehead's weekly email.


    These emails are sent out weekly to leaders in special education and Section 504. Each email contains tips and resources on a variety of topics that are meant to keep you informed and up to date. Please consult your district attorney if you are looking for legal advice, as this is out of my realm. The opinions contained herein are my own.

    Please feel free to reach out if you have ideas on topics and resources. This week’s emails include links to information on:

    PNW SLP Summit Registration: Please feel free to pass this on to anyone interested. –Last chance to sign up!

    Please feel free to reach out if you have ideas on topics and resources. This week’s emails include links to information on:

    Everyone:

    Behavior Support Plan Template--- Thank you Jessica Whitehead!!!!

    504:
    Dyslexia and Anxiety in Kids
    How good must a 504 plan be to pass legal muster?

    Special Education & 504 Case Law:
    Differing Adjudicative Systems—New for April
    National Compilation of Case Law 1998 to present

    Special Education:
    Aligning High School and Beyond with Transition Plans
    Legislative Tracker Link

    Yellow—OSPI requested/supported

    Purple—Sped

    OSPI:
    April Updates


    Upcoming Classes and Events

    Structured Literacy, Science of Reading, & Dyslexia

    Culture, Data, and Leadership

    Special Education Teacher PD

    151422 Refining Special Education Services for Improved Outcomes

    151424 Refining Special Education Services for Improved Outcomes

    MTSS Support

    Washington SEL Institute

    IPP & UDL

    Dr. Alicia Roberts-Frank admin training

    Dyslexia and MTSS Support—Contact Alicia Roberts Frank

    IPP and Para Training Support—Contact Jenny Parker

    Early Learning (P-3) Support—Contact Kerri Blankenship

    Computer Science: Senate Bill 5088

     
  • Retirement & Health Benefits for April 14, 2023

    by Julie Woods | Apr 14, 2023


    Retirement Blog

    “The finish line is just the beginning of a whole new race.”

    Anonymous

    As Sine Die approaches, the legislature will go ‘dark’. Negotiations between both chambers, caucus members, the Governor’s office, and legislature leadership will be taking place outside of the public eye. Budgets need to be adopted, and altered bills need to be reconciled/concurred by the opposite body. The balls/bills will continue bouncing back and forth until finally caught by the Governor. Bill signings are occurring.

    The status of selected bills is given below. Note that any can change with little notice. Some, such as SB 5294, that were assumed ‘dead’, may come back. There also will be bills yet to come, or that will resurrect, whose passage will be needed because they are linked to the budget. And some bills are truly dead that did not make the most recent cut-off (4/12/23).

    A reminder that unless noted otherwise, bills that have been signed by the Governor are effective 90 days after adjournment. (7/23/23)


    Retirement Related Proposals

    HB 1008: Concerning participating in insurance plans and contracts by separated Plan 2 members of certain retirement systems.

    Comment: It allows certain individuals who separate from a position covered by the Public Employees', School Employees', and Teachers' Retirement System Plans 2, without retiring, the opportunity to participate in retiree benefits of the Public Employees' Benefits Board.

    This bill has been sent to the Governor for action.

    SHB 1056: Repealing some postretirement employment restrictions.

    Comment: Changes the postretirement employment restrictions on benefits eligibility for Public Employees' Retirement System, Teachers Retirement System, and School Employees Retirement System Plans 2 and 3 members that retired under the 2008 Early Retirement Factors (ERFs). • Permits 2008 ERF members to work in retirement system–covered employment for up to 867 hours per year without suspension of retirement benefits. • Adjusts benefits for individuals that chose the 3 percent per year early retirement reduction to the level of reduction in the 2008 ERFs for future benefit payments. Effective 1/1/2024.

    The Senate adopted a striker with an amendment that reads: Removes the recalculation of retirement benefits for retirees that were eligible to take a 2008 early retirement factor but took a higher reduction in benefits so that they could return to work.”

    This bill passed the Senate and will be sent to the House for concurrence.

    *Note Regarding Pension Funding**: A number of bills dealing with pension funding have been offered this session. The primary difference between them is how to fund or not fund any cost-of-living increase. See below for status.

    ESHB 1057:Providing a benefit increase to certain retirees of the public employees' retirement system plan 1 and the teachers' retirement system plan.

    Comment: This would grant a one-time, capped 3% COLA for TRS1/PERS1 plan members. It also directs the SCPP to recommend a path to regain permanent COLA for these retirees. It was amended by the Senate W/M Committee to remove provisions delaying the imposition of the contribution rate increases attributable until July 1, 2027, and directing that the supplemental contribution rate not be charged for the benefits created in this bill until July 1, 2027, and directs that the supplemental contribution rate not be charged for the benefits created in this bill. SB 5350 was a companion prior to the adoption of the House amendment. It was presumed ‘dead’ since no action had been taken since 3/28. However, the decision obviously was made to put ESHB 1057 aside in favor of SB 5350. 

    ESHB 1057 is ‘dead’. See SB 5350 below.

    ESSB 5294: Concerning actuarial funding of state retirement systems.

    Comment: This bill was amended by the House Appropriations Committee. It lowers the surcharge contribution rates in effect for the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS), currently 3.5% and the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) Plans 1 rates, currently 5.75%. PERS 1 would be lowered to 2.5% in 2024; 2.0% in 2025;1.5% in 2026; 1.0% in 2027, and 0.0% in 2027. TRS 1 rates would be 1.0% in 2024: .50% in 2025, and 0.0% from 2026 forward. It reduces the scheduled payment of $800 million into the TRS 1 fund to $250 million. The substitute Senate bill was included in their budget.

    This bill passed the House as amended and has been sent back to the Senate for concurrence. The Senate did not concur. The bill is in dispute.

    SB 5350: Providing a benefit increase to certain retirees of the public employees' retirement system plan 1 and the teachers' retirement system plan 1.

    Comment: This bill was amended by the House to Delay the impact of the benefit cost on the contribution rate for benefits added to the PERS and TRS 1 after June 30, 2009, until July 1, 2027. It specifies that a supplemental contribution rate shall not be charged for the benefits granted in the bill. Effective 1/1/2023.

    It will be sent back to the Senate for concurrence. The Senate did not concur on 4/13/23. The bill will be sent back to the House. The bill is in dispute. They will be asked to reconsider. 

    SB 5490: Concerning health care coverage for retired or disabled employees denied coverage for failure to timely notify the authority of their intent to defer coverage.

    Comment: A retired or disabled employee who was eligible to defer coverage when they left employment, but failed to do so and later applied for retiree coverage and was denied solely for failure to notify HCA of their plan to defer coverage, and appealed the denial of benefits by December 31, 2022, may enroll in retiree health care. A retired or disabled employee enrolling in benefits may only enroll in a fully insured Medicare Advantage or Medicare supplement plan. A retiree taking advantage of this provision must apply by the end of the open enrollment period for the plan year beginning January 1, 2024.

    The Governor signed the bill, and it became effective 3/30/2023.


    Other Areas of Potential Fiscal Impact (and often unfunded) to Districts

    SHB 1068: Concerning injured workers' rights during compelled medical examinations.

    Comment: Allows an injured worker to make an audio and video recording of an independent medical examination and to have one person of the worker's choosing present during the examination.

    This bill was amended, then approved by the Senate. One adopted amendment reads, “Requires (1) the worker to provide seven calendar days' notice to the entity scheduling the exam that the independent medical exam will be recorded and (2) the Department of Labor and Industries to adopt rules to define the notification process. Another adopted amendment reads, “Removes the prohibition on recording neuropsychological exams. Prohibits the worker from materially altering the recording or posting it to social media.”

    This bill will be sent back to the House for concurrence.

    ESHB 1106: Concerning qualifications for unemployment insurance when an individual voluntarily leaves work.

    Comment: Expands access to unemployment insurance benefits by adding circumstances where a person may voluntarily quit for a good cause. Senate adopted amendments expand access to unemployment insurance (UI) benefits by adding circumstances where a person may voluntarily quit for good cause and requires a report to the legislature regarding UI claims related to benefits for separations from employment because of inaccessible care for a child or vulnerable adult. Another adopted amendment provides that benefits paid because care for a child or vulnerable adult in the claimant's care is inaccessible shall not be charged to the experience rating account of any contribution paying employer.

    This bill has been sent back to the House for concurrence.

    ESHB 1187: Concerning privileged communication between employees and the unions that represent them.

    Comment: Creates a privilege from examination and disclosure for a union representative and a union employee concerning any communication between the union representative or union employee made during union representation and creates exceptions to this privilege. • Applies the privilege from examination and disclosure to the union members and organizations that represent employees of college districts, employees of school districts, public employees, faculty at public four-year institutions of higher education, civil service employees, ferry employees, port employees, and labor unions.

    This bill was amended by the Senate and will be sent back to the House for concurrence.

    SHB 1200: Requiring public employers to provide employee information to exclusive bargaining representatives.

    Comment: The bill requires certain public employers to provide exclusive bargaining representatives employee information, such as contact information, date of hire, salary, and job site location, of employees in bargaining units if the employer has that information in its records. It allows an exclusive bargaining representative to bring a court action if a public employer fails to comply with the requirement to provide information.

    The bill was amended by the Senate and will be sent back to the House for concurrence.

    EHB 1210: Concerning the recording of school board meetings.

    Comment: Requires all school district board meetings to be audio recorded, subject to exceptions for executive sessions and emergencies, with recordings kept for one year. • Specifies that a public records request for recordings of meetings of a school district board of directors must include the date of the meetings requested or a range of dates. • Encourages school districts to make the content of school board of directors meetings available in formats accessible to individuals who need communication assistance and in languages other than English.

    This bill passed Senate 48/0 and will be sent to the Governor for signature.

    SHB 1521: Concerning the duties of industrial insurance self-insured employers and third-party administrators.

    Comment: This bill specifies that self-insured employers and third-party administrators have a duty of good faith and fair dealing to workers with respect to all aspects of workers' compensation. • Requires the Department of Labor and Industries to enforce the duty of good faith and fair dealing. • • Provides penalties for violations of this duty. One adopted amendment reads, “Provides that nothing be interpreted as allowing a private cause of action outside of the original jurisdiction of the Department to assess penalties and rights to appeal.” Another adopted amendment reads, “Limits the duty of good faith and fair dealing and related penalties to self-insured municipal employers and their third-party administrators.”

    This bill was amended by the Senate and will be sent back to the House for concurrence.

    2SHB 1618: Concerning the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse.

    Comment: This bill would remove the statute of limitations for recovery of damages as a result of childhood sexual abuse. • • Applies the act retroactively and prospectively.

    This bill was scheduled for Executive Session on 3/4/23, but no action was taken. This bill did not make cut-off so may be ‘dead,’ however, there is a strong lobby promoting this, so note that ‘dead’ is in quotes.

    SB 5084: Creating a separate fund for the purposes of self-insured pensions and assessments.

    Comment: Creates a self-insurance reserve fund for payments from self-insured employers related to workers' compensation pensions and from the overpayments reimbursement fund.

    This bill has been sent to the Governor for signature.

    ESSB 5123: Concerning the employment of individuals who lawfully consume cannabis.

    Comment: This bill was amended by the House. It prohibits employers, with some exceptions, from discriminating against a person in hiring if the discrimination is based on the person's use of cannabis outside of work or on certain employer-required drug screening tests. The House amended the bill to exclude from the bill persons seeking positions: • with a general authority law enforcement agency; Senate Bill Report - 3 - ESSB 5123 • with a fire department, fire protection district, or regional fire protection service authority; • as a position as a first responder; and • as a position as a corrections officer. It also codifies the underlying bill in chapter 49.94 RCW, rather than chapter 49.44 RCW, subjecting its provisions to enforcement by the Attorney General and other limitations provided under the Fair Chance Act.

    Passed House 57/41 with amendments will be sent to Senate for concurrence.

    SSB 5127: Clarifying school districts' ability to redact personal information related to a student.

    Comment: Creates a new exemption to the Public Records Act for personal information in any records pertaining to a student currently or previously enrolled in a local education agency.

    This bill will be sent to the Governor for his signature.

    E2SSB 5174: Providing adequate and predictable student transportation.

    Comment: Requires the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to administer transportation safety net awards to school districts with excess special passenger costs for special education, homeless, and foster students, as defined in the operating budget. • Provides that, no earlier than for a contract affecting the 2024-25 school year, school districts may only enter into a pupil transportation services contract if the contractor provides certain health benefits and retirement contributions to employees who choose to opt-in for coverage. • Provides reimbursement subject to funding provided specifically for increased costs to school districts that are directly attributable to increased benefits as required in the bill. (Although the sponsor suggests that legislators will try their best to fully fund, but…….)

    This bill was amended by the House and sent back to the Senate for concurrence.

    ESSB 5217: Concerning the state's ability to regulate certain industries and risk classes to prevent musculoskeletal injuries and disorders.

    Comment: This bill repeals the law prohibiting the Department of Labor and Industries (Department) from adopting rules related to ergonomics or musculoskeletal disorders. • Provides limitations on the adoption of new rules, including allowing rules only for industries or risk classifications where compensable claims involved musculoskeletal injuries and disorders that are at a rate greater than two times the overall state claim rate for these types of injuries and disorders over a recent five-year period. • Requires the Department to: (1) identify industries and risk classifications most likely to be selected for rulemaking; (2) review and report certain claims data; and (3) consider certain factors during • Allows the Department to provide funding to certain employers to purchase additional equipment and requires up to three additional ergonomists to provide consultation to certain employers. Provides that no rule may be effective prior to July 1, 2026. (6) Modifies the review of claims data to data identified as compensable claims over the five-calendar year period that ended two calendar years before the report is published. Requires L&I to provide up to three additional ergonomists, funded from the accident and medical aid funds, to provide consultation to employers in the industries and risk classifications in the published list. Requires L&I annually to identify a list of industries or risk classes most likely to be selected for future rule-making and prioritize efforts to provide technical assistance to those employers.

    This bill has been sent to the Governor for his signature.

    SSB 5275: Expanding access to benefits provided by the school employees' benefits board.

    Comment: Allows tribal compact schools, employee organizations representing school employees, and school board directors the option of providing health care through the School Employees Benefits Board through SEBB beginning January 1, 2024. Employers opting into coverage under SEBB may determine the terms of employee and dependent eligibility and must pay premiums set by HCA.

    Passed House 97/0. The Governor signed the bill on 3/30/23. Becomes effective 1/1/2024; however, HCA will be reaching out to eligible parties prior to that date with information.

    SSB 5286: Modifying the premium provisions of the paid family and medical leave program.

    Comment: Modifies the statutory formula for determining the premium rates for the Paid Family and Medical Leave Program.

    This bill has been sent to the Governor for his signature.

     

    Fred Yancey
    The Nexus Group LLC

  • Legislative Update | April 10-14, 2023

    by David Morrill | Apr 14, 2023

    legislative update header graphic

    Close to the Finish Line

    Just ten more days of this year’s legislative session remain. All policy bills had to pass off the floor of the opposite house by April 12. Once again, there were some very late nights and some bills that didn’t make it past this deadline. Over the next few days of the session, legislators will pass bills necessary to implement the budget, continue work to concur on different versions of bills that have passed, and come to an agreement over a final budget. And all of this should end by Sunday, April 23.

    Here’s the latest on what’s happening with the budget and the surviving bills.


    Budget Update

    Budget writers from the House and Senate are working to compromise on the various funding and policy areas of the operating budget. The final budget will be SB 5187. For a look at how the budgets are similar and different, check out this side-by-side comparison from the League of Education Voters.

    As I shared last week, education advocates have communicated to legislators their preferences for the Senate funding level for special education and transportation. The next layer of communication around education funding will go out soon from a group of legislators to the primary budget writers to encourage them to follow the House budget for smoothing losses due to the regionalization rebase and the House levy equalization offset funding. Districts are very concerned about how regionalization has (or hasn’t) been adequately addressed in this session and the negative impact on their budgets.


    Principal Contract Bill

    SB 5175 passed easily off the House floor by an 84-14 margin, and it was amended to clarify that a superintendent might offer a contract for more than one year when a principal has:

    • been employed as a principal for three or more consecutive years;
    • been recommended by the superintendent as a candidate for a two or three-year contract because the principal has demonstrated the ability to stabilize instructional practices, and received a comprehensive performance rating of level 3 or above in their most recent comprehensive performance evaluation; and
    • met the school district's requirements for satisfying an updated record check.

    This bill is now on the concurrence calendar, and since the House and Senate passed slightly different versions, they need to come to an agreement on the final language.

    Senator Lisa Wellman does not agree with the House version and has asked the House to recede from their amendments. She says, “this bill shows respect for principals and the vital role they play with our children.” She believes that with these amendments, too many people and too many hoops would be involved in creating these contracts and would prefer simpler language. The Senate Republicans like the sideboards that have been put on the bill.

    I’ve communicated to both the House and the Senate that we are fine with this bill, with the amendment or without. We hope that legislators find a way to agree on the final language allowing districts to offer principals up to a three-year contract.


    Bills that Passed

    Here are a few more bills that passed this session. I’ll have my “Top 10” list of important bills from this session ready to share soon, along with a final legislative update the week of April 24.

    SB 5311 raises the special education cap from 13.5% to 15% and increases the multiplier at a greater rate than the House. This language was added to the House bill about special education (HB 1436) so the House bill will be the final bill that addresses special education funding.

    SB 5174 is the transportation funding bill. This bill was narrowed from its original version and would create the Transportation Safety Net. Safety net awards would be provided to school districts with a demonstrated need for additional transportation funding for special passengers, as mentioned above.

    HB 1015 will replace the ETS ParaPro assessment and says the Paraeducator Board must adopt one or more assessments that meet a rigorous standard of quality and can be used to demonstrate knowledge of, and the ability to assist in, instruction in reading, writing, and mathematics, as well as set a passing score for each assessment adopted.

    HB 1550 is the Transition to Kindergarten bill. It would rename Transitional Kindergarten as the Transition to Kindergarten program, and state that this program is not part of the state's program of basic education. It directs OSPI to adopt rules for the administration and the allocation of state funding for this program and specifies minimum requirements for these rules. And it provides a funding formula for the program using certain portions of the prototypical school funding model and requires certain data to be reported. Current TK programs will remain in place for the 2023-24 school year, but changes would come in the following school year. This bill is on the concurrence calendar and I’m not sure if there will be agreement between the House and the Senate on the different versions.

    HB 1658 would authorize high school students to earn up to two elective credits for paid work experience.

    SB 5048 is fantastic because it will require institutions of higher education to provide enrollment and registration in College in the High School courses at no cost to students in grades 9 through 12 at public high schools. HB 1316 is another dual credit bill that will allow Running Start students to be funded up to a combined maximum enrollment of 1.4 FTE.

    HB 1207 has now passed both the House and the Senate, and it would change the term "emergency expulsion" to "emergency removal" and permit certain students to request that their records use the new term. It would also require OSPI to develop a model student handbook that includes, among other things, a complaint procedure related to harassment, intimidation, bullying, and discrimination.

    HB 1308 says that school districts may offer students the opportunity to meet graduation pathway requirements by completing a performance-based learning experience through which the student applies knowledge and skills in a real-world context, providing evidence of applying state learning standards to ELA and math standards (this was amended from the original version that allowed students to choose two of the core areas).

    SB 5243 will revise high school and beyond plan (HSBP) requirements and require OSPI to facilitate the transition to and adoption of a common online platform for HSBPs. This will take a few years to develop and it will require school districts to provide access to an adopted universal platform within two years of platform development.

    The recess bill, SB 5257, requires 30 minutes of recess and encourages recess before lunch. It also includes language that discourages withholding recess for disciplinary or academic reasons.

    There are a few more bills that have passed that will have an impact on your work as school leaders. Here is my latest bill tracking list.


    Get Involved

    Our advocacy efforts need all of our voices to contribute to the process. There are many different ways (big and small) that you can get involved in these efforts. If you have questions or comments or want to get involved, please reach out to me. Thank you!

  • You Have Five Jobs

    by David Morrill | Apr 12, 2023

     

    outline of a person standing on a path of five arrows with a purple gradient background

    A great mentor of mine told me once that I have five jobs in life, and only five.

    1. To be the best friend that you can be. Not just to those you know and call your friend; it is easy to be a friend to those you know and love daily. How about those you do not know? That car on the side of the road with a flat tire, stop and help. To the acquaintance going through loss, hug them and donate to the meal train. Check-in on the stranger crying on a park bench. Be the best friend that you can be.

    2. Be the best community member you can be. Give of yourself. Give your blood and money like it doesn’t hurt because you can always get more. Most importantly, give your greatest gift, time! The one thing so valuable that you can never get it back. Give it.

    3. Be the best son or daughter you can be. To whomever your parent figures are in your life, care for them. We all have people who have sacrificed to help us get to where we are. None of us did this all by ourselves. If you are a person of faith, this is that path.

    4. Be the best husband, wife, or partner that you can be. If you have chosen to walk this journey with another, take care of them. Listen, support, and cherish the people you have committed to. Honor their journey, and they will lift you in yours.

    5. Be the best father or mother that you can be. You have a great responsibility if you have children or others you care for. Love them unconditionally, teach them, challenge them, grow them, and keep them safe. This is my favorite job.

    My mentor would say if you do these five jobs, what kind of teacher will you be? If you do these five jobs, what kind of school leader will you be?

    At times we will fail in some of these jobs. In life, we will always have failings. Our recognition of failure allows us to grow and be even better in those jobs. Lean into these jobs, and you will be delighted with the school leader you will become.

  • Legislative Update | April 3-7, 2023

    by David Morrill | Apr 07, 2023


    legislative update header graphic

    We are in the final few weeks of this year’s legislative session, which should end on time on April 23. This week the April 4 cutoff date passed for bills to move out of budget committees. Now the House and Senate are focusing their efforts on meeting the next cutoff date of April 12, when bills (except those necessary to implement the budget) need to pass off the floor of the opposite house. Between now and the end of the session, the action will be both on the floor and behind the scenes as budget negotiations occur.

    I watched from the gallery yesterday as SB 5175 easily passed off the House floor by an 84-14 margin. An amendment was added to clarify that a superintendent might offer a contract for more than one year when a principal has:

    • been employed as a principal for three or more consecutive years;
    • been recommended by the superintendent as a candidate for a two or three-year contract because the principal has demonstrated the ability to stabilize instructional practices, and received a comprehensive performance rating of level 3 or above in their most recent comprehensive performance evaluation; and
    • met the school district's requirements for satisfying an updated record check.

    As we met with legislators about this bill, we offered these ideas about why districts might want to offer a longer contract.

    • It is an option that districts can choose to use to recruit and retain leaders, especially for hard-to-fill high school positions.
    • We hope districts see this as an opportunity to maintain consistent leadership.
    • Dismantling bad-for-student systems and working to make deep, systemic change takes time and consistent, effective leadership.
    • Principals deserve greater job security due to the complex nature of their jobs and the years of experience required to become a highly effective and impactful school leader.

    In my thank you email to those legislators who supported this bill, I included part of Scott’s testimony where he said, “This bill is about hope. This bill is about protecting, reaffirming, and encouraging our best and brightest to not only remain in their roles, but to continue being agents of change and hope in their schools.”

    We hope this bill provides you with hope because the conversation about your critical role in our education system has been elevated across the state.


    Budget Update

    Budget writers from the House and Senate are working to compromise on the various funding and policy areas of the operating budget. For a look at how the budgets are similar and different, check out this side-by-side comparison from the League of Education Voters.

    Education advocates continue to communicate with legislators about several key funding priorities. Here is an excerpt from a letter that was sent last week to Chair Rolfes and Chair Ormsby from many districts and statewide associations (including AWSP):

    Thank you for the investments in public education in both the Senate and House operating budget proposals. As you work to develop a final budget, please consider our comments regarding these priority funding items for schools:

    1. Special Education: The Senate adjustments to the multiplier and cap for special education funding allows direct investment and support for our students with individual education plans. We respectfully request the Senate language and investment with the addition of inclusionary practice investment dollars.
    2. Pupil Transportation: The Senate level of funding for pupil transportation is preferable as the House budget does not provide any additional pupil transportation funding. The legislature has passed bills the last two years which would have updated our broken STARS formula and invested in special populations. Please take this first step proposed in the Senate budget.

    3. Rebase: We request that you follow the House lead for smoothing losses due to the rebase. The rebase smoothing mechanism proposed in the House budget allows districts who are losing regionalization and/or experience factor funding additional time to plan to resize budgets and prepare for reduced funding in these two areas. We also ask for your consideration of lowering the percentage of loss of regionalization and experience factor to not more than 1% per year.
    4. Levy Equalization: Levy equalization is significantly reduced this year based on new assessed valuation rates. The House recognizes the difficult budget problem this creates for school districts across the state and provides funding for districts who lose a significant amount of funding. Please maintain this House levy equalization offset funding in the final budget.

    5. Learning Assistance Program: The Learning Assistance Program (LAP) is funded in the Senate budget using federal ESSER funds which then imposes federal funding rules on this state-level reimbursement program. School district administrators have raised serious concerns that the rules for LAP may conflict with those for ESSER. Please do not use ESSER funds to replace state level program funds where federal and state rules may create conflict.

    If you can send an email to your legislators about the importance of addressing these funding pieces, this is the week to do so. Thank you!


    Bills That Keep Moving

    Both of the special education funding bills are still alive. The Senate bill, SB 5311, would raise the special education cap from 13.5% to 15% and increase the multiplier at a greater rate than the House. The House version, HB 1436, funds special education at a lower level.

    SB 5174 is the transportation funding bill. This bill was narrowed from its original version and would create the Transportation Safety Net. Safety net awards would be provided to school districts with a demonstrated need for additional transportation funding for special passengers, as mentioned above.

    HB 1550 is the Transition to Kindergarten bill. The current version is much improved, and it would rename Transitional Kindergarten as the Transition to Kindergarten program, and state that this program is not part of the state's program of basic education. It directs OSPI to adopt rules for the administration and the allocation of state funding for this program and specifies minimum requirements for these rules. And it provides a funding formula for the program using certain portions of the prototypical school funding model and requires certain data to be reported. Current TK programs will remain in place for the 2023-24 school year, but changes would come in the following school year.

    HB 1658 would authorize high school students to earn up to two elective credits for paid work experience.

    If you are interested in small school construction, SB 5126 (common school trust revenue to the small school modernization program) is still moving, and the Senate Capital budget gets a good review by OSPI for its attention to small schools. HB 1044 would provide capital financial assistance to small school districts.

    SB 5048 is a fantastic bill that passed the Senate. This bill will require institutions of higher education to provide enrollment and registration in College in the High School courses at no cost to students in grades 9 through 12 at public high schools.

    HB 1207 has now passed both the House and the Senate, and it would change the term "emergency expulsion" to "emergency removal" and permit certain students to request that their records use the new term. It would also require OSPI to develop a model student handbook that includes, among other things, a complaint procedure related to harassment, intimidation, bullying, and discrimination.

    HB 1308 says that school districts may offer students the opportunity to meet graduation pathway requirements by completing a performance-based learning experience through which the student applies knowledge and skills in a real-world context, providing evidence of applying state learning standards to ELA and math standards (this was amended from the original version that allowed students to choose two of the core areas).

    SB 5243 passed the Senate, and it would revise high school and beyond plan (HSBP) requirements and require OSPI to facilitate the transition to and adoption of a common online platform for HSBPs. It would require school districts to provide access to an adopted universal platform within two years of platform development.

    The recess bill, SB 5257 has now passed both the House and the Senate and requires 30 minutes of recess and encourages recess before lunch. It also includes language that discourages withholding recess for disciplinary or academic reasons.

    HB 1316 is another dual credit bill that would allow Running Start students to be funded up to a combined maximum enrollment of 1.6 FTE. It would also allow high school graduates with 15 or fewer college credits to earn before meeting associate degree requirements to continue participation in the summer academic term following graduation. I believe that Senator Hawkins intends to add a floor amendment to this to add 10th grade Running Start (one online class only per quarter) but I’ve been working with the WEA and the Washington School Counselor Association to oppose this idea.

    There are a few more education bills out there that will pass and I’ll have my “Top 10” list of important bills from this session ready to share in a few weeks. There are also some bills that didn’t make it this year that will most likely return next session. Here is my latest bill tracking list.


    Get Involved

    Our advocacy efforts need all of our voices to contribute to the process. There are many different ways (big and small) that you can get involved in these efforts. One is by reading these weekly updates! Shout out to Michelle Zimnisky, Principal at Northwood Elementary in Puyallup, who told me last week that she’s a regular reader. Thanks, Michelle!

    If you have questions or comments or want to get involved, please reach out to me.

  • Retirement & Health Benefits for April 7, 2023

    by Julie Woods | Apr 07, 2023


    Retirement Blog

    “Follow the bouncing ball…..”

    Mitch Miller

    As Sine Die approaches, action on bills received from the opposite house continues at a brisk pace.  And bills (balls) continue bouncing. As mentioned earlier, some bills passed in the form they were received will go to the Governor; some will not move at all, and others will be amended and then sent back. If there is no agreement, they are then sent back again. And on and on.   

    Below are bills that appear still ‘alive’, NTIB, and/or still being worked by various constituencies. (Bills that are in respective Rules’ Committee are still generally alive until April 12th.)  Negotiations between both houses are occurring as both bodies work with the looming deadlines.

    Unless noted otherwise, bills that have been signed by the Governor are effective 90 days after adjournment.


    Retirement Related Proposals

    SHB 1007: Concerning interruptive military service credit for members of the state retirement systems.

    Comment: Retirement credit can be awarded if, in any armed conflicts, the participant was awarded the respective campaign or expeditionary badge or medal…. the ‘expeditionary badge' qualifier was added.

    Signed by the Governor 4/6/23.

    HB 1008: Concerning participating in insurance plans and contracts by separated Plan 2 members of certain retirement systems.

    Comment: It allows certain individuals who separate from a position covered by the Public Employees', School Employees', and Teachers' Retirement System Plans 2, without retiring, the opportunity to participate in retiree benefits of the Public Employees' Benefits Board.

    This bill is in Senate Rules awaiting further action.

    SHB 1056: Repealing some postretirement employment restrictions.

    Comment:Changes the postretirement employment restrictions on benefits eligibility for Public Employees' Retirement System, Teachers Retirement System, and School Employees Retirement System Plans 2 and 3 members that retired under the 2008 Early Retirement Factors (ERFs). • Permits 2008 ERF members to work in retirement system–covered employment for up to 867 hours per year without suspension of retirement benefits. • Adjusts benefits for individuals that chose the 3 percent per year early retirement reduction to the level of reduction in the 2008 ERFs for future benefit payments. Effective 1/1/2024.

    This bill is in Senate Rules awaiting further action.

    *Note Regarding Pension Funding**: The good news about the bills mentioned below is that contribution rates/surcharges will be reduced. This will save districts dollars they are paying for staff not funded by the state’s basic apportionment formula. The ‘bad’ news is that some of the bills assume rosy investment returns will offset the loss of dollars that were previously dedicated to paying down the unfunded liabilities in Plans 2. WSSRA has been working with legislators and favors SSB 5294 (see below), which offers a stepped-down reduction in rates that may help prevent both an eventual increase again in unfunded liabilities and a future rate increase or reinstatement.

    ESHB 1057:Providing a benefit increase to certain retirees of the public employees' retirement system plan 1 and the teachers' retirement system plan.

    Comment: This would grant a one-time, capped 3% COLA for TRS1/PERS1 plan members. It also directs the SCPP to recommend a path to regain a permanent COLA for these retirees. It was amended by the House Appropriations Committee. Delays the impact of the benefit cost on the contribution rate for benefits added to the PERS and TRS 1 after June 30, 2009, until July 1, 2027. Specifies that a supplemental contribution rate shall not be charged for the benefits granted in the bill. “The rate for benefit improvements that became effective after June 30, 2009, shall not include a rate for the improvements in this act until July 1, 2027.” The Senate amended the bill as well. It removes provisions delaying the imposition of the contribution rate increases attributable until July 1, 2027, and directs that the supplemental contribution rate not be charged for the benefits created in this bill. (SB 5350 was a companion prior to the adoption of the House amendment. This bill is likely ‘dead’.)

    Both bills have been referred to their respective Rules committees for further action.

    ESSB 5294: Concerning actuarial funding of state retirement systems.

    Comment: This bill was amended by the House Appropriations Committee. It lowers the surcharge contribution rates in effect for the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS), currently 3.5%, and the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) Plans 1 rates, currently 5.75%. PERS 1 would be lowered to 2.5% in 2024; 2.0% in 2025;1.5% in 2026; 1.0% in 2027 and 0.0% in 2027.  TRS 1 rates would be 1.0% in 2024, .50% in 2025, and 0.0% from 2026 forward.  It reduces the scheduled payment of $800 million into the TRS 1 fund to $250 million. The substitute Senate bill was included in their budget.

    This bill passed the House as amended and has been sent back to the Senate for concurrence. This is likely to be approved and sent to the Governor.


    Other Areas of Potential Fiscal Impact (and often unfunded) to Districts

    SHB 1068: Concerning injured workers' rights during compelled medical examinations.

    Comment: Allows an injured worker to make an audio and video recording of an independent medical examination and to have one person of the worker's choosing present during the examination.

    This bill is on the Senate floor calendar awaiting further action.

    SHB 1105: Requiring public agencies to provide notice for public comment that includes the last date by which such public comment must be submitted.

    Comment: Requires that public agencies soliciting public comment for statutorily specified periods of time provide notice of the first and last date and time which public comment will be accepted. • • Establishes penalties for agencies failing to provide notice. The amendment summary reads, “Notice of the public comment solicitation period must also include the first date public comments may be submitted and the time by which comments must be submitted. An agency that fails to provide notice is subject to the same penalties as the member of a governing body who violates another provision of OPMA, and liability ensues regardless of whether a meeting occurs. Agency members are not personally liable for violations of the act.

    It is before Senate Rules awaiting further action.

    ESHB 1106: Concerning qualifications for unemployment insurance when an individual voluntarily leaves work.

    Comment: Expands access to unemployment insurance benefits by adding circumstances where a person may voluntarily quit for a good cause.

    This bill is on the Senate floor calendar awaiting floor action.

    ESHB 1187: Concerning privileged communication between employees and the unions that represent them.

    Comment: Creates a privilege from examination and disclosure for a union representative and a union employee concerning any communication between the union representative or union employee made during union representation and creates exceptions to this privilege. Applies the privilege from examination and disclosure to the union members and organizations that represent employees of college districts, employees of school districts, public employees, faculty at public four-year institutions of higher education, civil service employees, ferry employees, port employees, and labor unions.

    This bill is on the Senate floor calendar awaiting further action.

    SHB 1200: Requiring public employers to provide employee information to exclusive bargaining representatives.

    Comment: This bill was amended by the Senate and has floor amendments hanging. It requires certain public employers to provide exclusive bargaining representatives employee information, such as contact information, date of hire, salary, and job site location, of employees in bargaining units if the employer has that information in its records. • Allows an exclusive bargaining representative to bring a court action if a public employer fails to comply with the requirement to provide information.

    On Senate floor calendar awaiting further action.

    EHB 1210: Concerning the recording of school board meetings.

    Comment: Requires all school district board meetings to be audio recorded, subject to exceptions for executive sessions and emergencies, with recordings kept for one year. • Specifies that a public records request for recordings of meetings of a school district board of directors must include the date of the meetings requested or a range of dates. • Encourages school districts to make the content of school board of directors meetings available in formats accessible to individuals who need communication assistance and in languages other than English.

    This bill passed Senate 48/0 and will be sent to the Governor for signature.

    E2SHB 1320: Concerning access to personnel records.

    Comment: This bill was amended by the Senate. It requires an employer to furnish an employee or former employee with a complete copy of their personnel file at no cost within 15 business days of a request. • Mandates an employer to furnish a former employee with a signed written statement with the effective date of discharge, whether the employer had a reason for the discharge, and if so, the reasons, within 14 calendar days of the written request. • Allows an employee or former employee to bring a private action for violations of certain rights regarding personnel files, discharge information, and redaction logs, and entitles the employee to equitable relief, graduated statutory damages up to $1,000, and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs of each violation. •

    Allows for redaction of personnel files under certain circumstances.

    Scheduled for Executive Session (4/3/23) before W/M Committee but no action was taken. Likely ‘dead’.

    SHB 1521: Concerning the duties of industrial insurance self-insured employers and third-party administrators.

    Comment: This bill specifies that self-insured employers and third-party administrators have a duty of good faith and fair dealing to workers with respect to all aspects of workers' compensation. • Requires the Department of Labor and Industries to enforce the duty of good faith and fair dealing. • • Provides penalties for violations of this duty.

    This bill is in Senate Rules awaiting further action.

    2SHB 1618: Concerning the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse.

    Comment: This bill would remove the statute of limitations for recovery of damages as a result of childhood sexual abuse. • • Applies the act retroactively and prospectively.

    This bill was scheduled for Executive Session on 3/4/23 but no action was taken. May be indicator that bill is ‘dead’.

    HB 1656: Concerning unemployment insurance benefits appeal procedures.

    Comment: It adds disputes of unemployment insurance (UI) determinations of allowance or denial of allowance of benefits or redeterminations, in addition to a dispute of initial determinations, as issues in appeals proceedings regardless of the grounds in the notice of appeal. • Removes provisions that in a UI appeal on a dispute of a claimant's claim for waiting period credit or UI benefits claim that all UI issues relating to the claimant's right to receive such credit or UI benefits for the period in question are deemed to be in issue regardless of the particular grounds in the notice of appeal; and the claimant's availability for work is determined apart from all other matters.

    Passed both houses and sent to the Governor for his signature.

    SB 5084: Creating a separate fund for the purposes of self-insured pensions and assessments.

    Comment: Creates a self-insurance reserve fund for payments from self-insured employers related to workers' compensation pensions and from the overpayments reimbursement fund.

    In House Rules awaiting further action.

    ESSB 5123: Concerning the employment of individuals who lawfully consume cannabis.

    Comment: This bill was amended by the House. It prohibits employers, with some exceptions, from discriminating against a person in hiring if the discrimination is based on the person's use of cannabis outside of work or on certain employer-required drug screening tests.

    Passed House 57/41 with amendments will be sent to Senate for concurrence.

    SSB 5127: Clarifying school districts' ability to redact personal information related to a student.

    Comment: Creates a new exemption to the Public Records Act for personal information in any records pertaining to a student currently or previously enrolled in a local education agency.

    This bill is in House Rules awaiting further action.

    E2SSB 5174: Providing adequate and predictable student transportation.

    Comment: Requires the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to administer transportation safety net awards to school districts with excess special passenger costs for special education, homeless, and foster students, as defined in the operating budget. • Provides that, no earlier than for a contract affecting the 2024-25 school year, school districts may only enter into a pupil transportation services contract if the contractor provides certain health benefits and retirement contributions to employees who choose to opt-in for coverage. • Provides reimbursement subject to funding provided specifically for increased costs to school districts that are directly attributable to increased benefits as required in the bill. (although sponsor suggests that legislators will try their best to fully fund, but……..)

    It is in House Rules awaiting further action.

    SSB 5275: Expanding access to benefits provided by the school employees' benefits board.

    Comment: Allows tribal compact schools, employee organizations representing school employees, and school board directors the option of providing health care through the School Employees Benefits Board through SEBB beginning January 1, 2024. Employers opting into coverage under SEBB may determine the terms of employee and dependent eligibility and must pay premiums set by HCA.

    Passed House 97/0. The Governor signed the bill on 3/30/23. Becomes effective 1/1/2024; however, HCA will be reaching out to eligible parties prior to that date with information.

    SSB 5286: Modifying the premium provisions of the paid family and medical leave program.

    Comment: Modifies the statutory formula for determining the premium rates for the Paid Family and Medical Leave Program.

    In House Rules awaiting further action.

     

    Fred Yancey
    The Nexus Group LLC

  • Legislative Update | March 27-31, 2023

    by David Morrill | Mar 31, 2023


    legislative update header graphic

    🌸🍒 Cherry Blossoms With a Cherry on Top 🌸🍒

    What an amazing week of advocacy here in our Washington and in the “other” Washington, our nation’s capital. Our 12 principals arrived just in time for peak cherry blossom viewing. What a treat!

    AWSP staff and members representing in D.C.

    The National School Leaders Advocacy Conference is organized each March by NAESP and NASSP. We spent the first two days learning from expert panels, congressional staff, principals from around the country, and Cindy Marten, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Education, about various pieces of federal legislation and effective advocacy strategies. On Wednesday, over 400 principals headed to the Capitol to meet with their members of Congress to talk about educator shortages, improving school mental health, wellness, and safety resources, and various budget priorities. Our group shared poignant stories about students and staff in their buildings related to each area, and we built relationships with decision-makers and principals from other states.

    Here in our Washington, the cherry on top for this week was listening to the House Education Committee pass SB 5175 out of their committee unanimously! An amendment was added to clarify that a superintendent might offer a contract for more than one year when a principal has:

    • been employed as a principal for three or more consecutive years;
    • been recommended by the superintendent as a candidate for a two or three-year contract because the principal has demonstrated the ability to stabilize instructional practices, and received a comprehensive performance rating of level 3 or above in their most recent comprehensive performance evaluation; and
    • met the school district's requirements for satisfying an updated record check.

    We appreciate your messages to legislators encouraging them to support this bill and look forward to watching it pass off the House floor soon.


    House Budget

    This week, the House released its budget. We knew it would have less funding than the Senate did for key programs like special education and transportation, but there are a few items that the House included that the Senate did not. I’ll look for a side-by-side comparison of these budgets next week to share with you. In both budgets, legislators would take ESSER funds allocated to OSPI (not to individual districts) and reroute these dollars to programs in this year’s operating budget. As you can imagine, this is not sitting well with people. Stay tuned for how this might be resolved.

    Here are some of the highlights from the House budget:

    K-12 Education Increases

    K-12 Salaries and Compensation ($593 million 2023-25; $1.67 billion 5-year total)
    Salary allocations are increased for inflation as provided in HB 1732 (K-12 inflation adjustments) and rebasing. Budgeted inflation for salaries is 3.7% in the 2023-24 school year (SY) and 3.9% in the 2024-25 SY.

    SEBB health benefit rates are increased to $1,116 per employee per month in the 2023-24 SY and $1,178 per employee per month in the 2024-25 SY. These amounts are in addition to the $734 million in 2023-25 and $2.3 billion 5-year for salary inflation at maintenance level.

    Special Education Enhancements ($94 million 2023-25; $67 million Federal 2023- 25; $366 million 5-year total)
    Funding is provided to increase excess cost multipliers, raise the funded enrollment limit, support inclusionary practices, and lower the safety net threshold as required under HB 1436 (Special education funding). Funding is also provided for summer evaluations, and extended transition supports.

    Free School Meal Expansion ($56.4 million 2023-25; $28.5 million Federal 2023-25; $178 million 5-year total)
    Funding is provided to support expanded access to free meals through the federal Community Eligibility Provision pursuant to HB 1878 and HB 1238 (Free school meals).

    Dual Credit Enrollment Enhancements ($19.4 million 2023-25; $36.9 million 5-year total)
    Funding is provided to increase the Running Start combined maximum enrollment cap from 1.2 FTE to 1.6 FTE.

    Transition to Kindergarten ($14.7 million 2023-25; $26.6 million 5-year total)
    Funding is provided for the implementation of HB 1550 (Transition to Kindergarten), which creates the Transition to Kindergarten (TTK) program beginning in the 2024-25 school year. Funding is sufficient to support 5,077 FTE students in the TTK program during the 2024-25 school year.

    Professional Education Workforce ($12.0 million 2023-25; $31.7 million 5-year total)
    Funding is provided for the implementation of HB 1565 (Prof. education workforce), which establishes a teacher residency program and establishes educator workforce data collection and analysis requirements. Funding is sufficient to support five teacher residency cohorts with 17 residents per cohort, beginning in the 2024-25 school year. Additional funding is provided for the Beginning Educator Support Team (BEST) program to increase the number of beginning teachers who receive mentoring support. This funding is important to us because there may be some funds here for additional principal mentors.


    Bills That Keep Moving

    Here are a few key bills that keep moving. Some are still making their way through fiscal committees and need to pass out of those committees by Tuesday, April 4, the next cut-off day. Some bills don’t have a fiscal impact and are waiting on a vote by either the House or the Senate.

    Both of the special education funding bills are still alive. The Senate bill, SB 5311, would raise the special education cap from 13.5% to 15% and increase the multiplier at a greater rate than the House. The House version, HB 1436, funds special education at a lower level.

    SB 5174 is the transportation funding bill. This bill was narrowed from its original version and would create the Transportation Safety Net. Safety net awards would be provided to school districts with a demonstrated need for additional transportation funding for special passengers, as mentioned above.

    HB 1550 is the Transition to Kindergarten bill. The current version is much improved, and it would rename Transitional Kindergarten as the Transition to Kindergarten program, and state that this program is not part of the state's program of basic education. It directs OSPI to adopt rules for the administration and the allocation of state funding for this program and specifies minimum requirements for these rules. And it provides a funding formula for the program using certain portions of the prototypical school funding model and requires certain data to be reported. Current TK programs will remain in place for the 2023-24 school year, but changes would come in the following school year.

    HB 1658 would authorize high school students to earn up to two elective credits for paid work experience.

    If you are interested in small school construction, SB 5126 (common school trust revenue to the small school modernization program) is still moving, and the Senate Capital budget gets a good review by OSPI for its attention to small schools.

    SB 5048 is a fantastic bill that passed the Senate. This bill will require institutions of higher education to provide enrollment and registration in College in the High School courses at no cost to students in grades 9 through 12 at public high schools.

    HB 1207 is now in the Senate, and it would change the term "emergency expulsion" to "emergency removal" and permit certain students to request that their records use the new term. It would also require OSPI to develop a model student handbook that includes, among other things, a complaint procedure related to harassment, intimidation, bullying, and discrimination.

    HB 1308 says that school districts may offer students the opportunity to meet graduation pathway requirements by completing a performance-based learning experience through which the student applies knowledge and skills in a real-world context, providing evidence of applying state learning standards to ELA and math standards (this was amended from the original version that allowed students to choose two of the core areas).

    SB 5243 passed the Senate, and it would revise high school and beyond plan (HSBP) requirements and require OSPI to facilitate the transition to and adoption of a common online platform for HSBPs. It would require school districts to provide access to an adopted universal platform within two years of platform development.

    The recess bill, SB 5257 has now passed both the House and the Senate and requires 30 minutes of recess and encourages recess before lunch. It also includes language that discourages withholding recess for disciplinary or academic reasons.

    HB 1316 is another dual credit bill that would allow Running Start students to be funded up to a combined maximum enrollment of 1.6 FTE. It would also allow high school graduates with 15 or fewer college credits to earn before meeting associate degree requirements to continue participation in the summer academic term following graduation. Senator Hawkins intends to add a floor amendment to this to add 10th grade Running Start (one online class only per quarter).

    HB 1565 has a short title of the “Educator Workforce Act.” This bill establishes a teacher residency program and continues work to identify the quality and effectiveness of educator preparation and workforce programs. It has been amended to focus on establishing residency programs for special education teachers only.

    There are a quite a few bills that didn’t make it, including HB 1113 on educator reprimands, HB 1478 on student rights, HB 1479 on restraint and isolation, and SB 5054 on PLCs. If you have questions about a bill that isn’t listed, reach out to me.


    Next Week

    The fiscal committees have some long agendas today and through the weekend to hear the remaining bills that need to pass out by April 4. After that, it’s back to the floor for a few weeks to pass bills out from the opposite house and on to the Governor. Meanwhile, the budget writers will try to reconcile their differences behind the scenes to create final operating, transportation, and capital budgets. Check out my latest bill tracking list for a quick look at the bills being acted upon next week and a list of the bills still moving through the Legislature.


    Get Involved

    Our advocacy efforts need all of our voices to contribute to the process. There are many different ways (big and small) that you can get involved in these efforts. If you have questions or comments or want to get involved, please reach out to me.

    Thank you so much!

  • Retirement & Health Benefits for March 31, 2023

    by Julie Woods | Mar 31, 2023


    Retirement Blog

    “I grew up with six brothers. That is how I learned to dance--waiting for the bathroom.”

    Bob Hope

    As important deadlines are past and/or upcoming, negotiations between leadership, caucus members, and legislators of the opposite party are occurring behind closed doors. Those outside must wait to see what emerges. The assumed to be conference budget is a key piece yet to come. But other bill proposals also await action. So, it remains critical to continue to push/advocate with individual legislators while we learn to dance.

    Below are bills that appear still ‘alive’ and are either reflected in the budget or awaiting further action by the opposite house. Remember that negotiations between both houses are still to occur. Bills from the opposite house that have been amended once passed the floor will either need to be approved by their house of origin or not.


    Retirement Related Proposals

    SHB 1007Concerning interruptive military service credit for members of the state retirement systems.

    Comment: Retirement credit can be awarded if, in any armed conflicts, the participant was awarded the respective campaign or expeditionary badge or medal…. the ‘expeditionary badge qualifier was added.

    This bill passed the Senate 49/0 and has been sent to the Governor.

    HB 1008: Concerning participating in insurance plans and contracts by separated Plan 2 members of certain retirement systems.

    Comment: It allows certain individuals who separate from a position covered by the Public Employees', School Employees', and Teachers' Retirement System Plans 2, without retiring, the opportunity to participate in retiree benefits of the Public Employees' Benefits Board.

    This bill is in Senate Rules awaiting further action.

    SHB 1056: Repealing some postretirement employment restrictions.

    Comment: Changes the postretirement employment restrictions on benefits eligibility for Public Employees' Retirement System, Teachers Retirement System, and School Employees Retirement System Plans 2 and 3 members that retired under the 2008 Early Retirement Factors (ERFs). • Permits 2008 ERF members to work in retirement system–covered employment for up to 867 hours per year without suspension of retirement benefits. • Adjusts benefits for individuals that chose the 3 percent per year early retirement reduction to the level of reduction in the 2008 ERFs for future benefit payments. Effective 1/1/2024.

    This bill is in Senate Rules awaiting further action.

    *Note Regarding Pension Funding**: The good news about the bills mentioned below is that contribution rates/surcharges will be reduced. This will save districts dollars they are paying for staff not funded by the state’s basic apportionment formula. The ‘bad’ news is that some of the bills assume rosy investment returns will offset the loss of dollars that were previously dedicated to paying down the unfunded liabilities in Plan 2. WSSRA has been working with legislators and favors SSB 5294, which offers a stepped-down reduction in rates that may help prevent both an eventual increase again in unfunded liabilities and a rate increase or reinstatement.

    ESSB 5294: Concerning actuarial funding of state retirement systems.

    Comment: This bill was amended by the House Appropriations Committee. It lowers the contribution rates in effect for the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) and the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) Plans 1 UAAL rates in effect from Fiscal Year 2024 until Fiscal Year 2028 by increasing them generally from 0.50 to 1.0.  This was done to address concerns that with the original rate proposal, the unfunded liability may continue or worsen. It continues to reduce the scheduled payment of $800 million into the TRS 1 fund to $250 million. The substitute Senate bill was included in their budget.

    This bill is in House Rules awaiting further action.

    SSB 5350: Providing a benefit increase to certain retirees of the public employees' retirement system plan 1 and the teachers' retirement system plan.

    Comment: This would grant a one-time, capped 3% COLA for TRS1/PERS1 plan members. It also directs the SCPP to recommend a path to regain a permanent COLA for these retirees. It was amended by the House Appropriations Committee. Delays the impact of the benefit cost on the contribution rate for benefits added to the PERS and TRS 1 after June 30, 2009, until July 1, 2027. Specifies that a supplemental contribution rate shall not be charged for the benefits granted in the bill. “The rate for benefit improvements that became effective after June 30, 2009, shall not include a rate for the improvements in this act until July 1, 2027.” (ESHB 1057 is the companion but differs regarding rates. The surcharges go away to be reinstituted later. (Dates are specified)) 

    Both bills have been referred to their respective Rules committees for further action.

    SSB 5121: Extending the expiration date of the joint select committee on health care oversight.

    Comment: Extends the expiration date of the Joint Select Committee on Health Care Oversight from December 31, 2022, until December 31, 2026, and renames it the Joint Select Committee on Health Care and Behavioral Health Oversight.

    The Governor signed this bill 3/30/23. Expires Dec. 31, 2026.

    SSB 5490: Concerning health care coverage for retired or disabled employees denied coverage for failure to timely notify the authority of their intent to defer coverage.

    Comment: Allows certain retired public employees who were denied retiree health care coverage by the Public Employees Benefits Board another limited opportunity to enroll. • Only retired or disabled employees who were denied coverage for failure to notify the Health Care Authority of their deferral of coverage, and appealed the denial before December 31, 2022, are provided the new opportunity to enroll.

    This Governor signed this bill 3/30/23. This act takes effect immediately.


    Other Areas of Potential Fiscal Impact (and often unfunded) to Districts

    SHB 1068: Concerning injured workers' rights during compelled medical examinations.

    Comment: Allows an injured worker to make an audio and video recording of an independent medical examination and to have one person of the worker's choosing present during the examination.

    This bill is in Senate Rules awaiting further action.

    SHB 1105: Requiring public agencies to provide notice for public comment that includes the last date by which such public comment must be submitted.

    Comment: Requires that public agencies soliciting public comment for statutorily specified periods of time provide notice of the first and last date and time which public comment will be accepted. • • Establishes penalties for agencies failing to provide notice. The amendment summary reads, “Notice of the public comment solicitation period must also include the first date public comments may be submitted and the time by which comments must be submitted. An agency that fails to provide notice is subject to the same penalties as the member of a governing body who violates another provision of OPMA, and liability ensues regardless of whether a meeting occurs. Agency members are not personally liable for violations of the act.

    Senate State Government amended the bill. It is before Senate Rules awaiting further action.

    ESHB 1106: Concerning qualifications for unemployment insurance when an individual voluntarily leaves work.

    Comment: Expands access to unemployment insurance benefits by adding circumstances where a person may voluntarily quit for a good cause.

    This bill has been sent to Senate Rules for further action.

    ESHB 1187: Concerning privileged communication between employees and the unions that represent them.

    Comment: Creates a privilege from examination and disclosure for a union representative and a union employee concerning any communication between the union representative or union employee made during union representation, and creates exceptions to this privilege. • Applies the privilege from examination and disclosure to the union members and organizations that represent employees of college districts, employees of school districts, public employees, faculty at public four-year institutions of higher education, civil service employees, ferry employees, port employees, and labor unions.

    This bill is before Senate Rules awaiting further action.

    SHB 1200: Requiring public employers to provide employee information to exclusive bargaining representatives.

    Comment: This bill was amended by the Senate. It requires certain public employers to provide exclusive bargaining representatives employee information, such as contact information, date of hire, salary, and job site location, of employees in bargaining units if the employer has that information in its records. • Allows an exclusive bargaining representative to bring a court action if a public employer fails to comply with the requirement to provide information.

    This bill is before Senate Rules awaiting further action.

    EHB 1210: Concerning the recording of school board meetings.

    Comment: Requires all school district board meetings to be audio recorded, subject to exceptions for executive sessions and emergencies, with recordings kept for one year. • Specifies that a public records request for recordings of meetings of a school district board of directors must include the date of the meetings requested or a range of dates. • Encourages school districts to make the content of school board of directors meetings available in formats accessible to individuals who need communication assistance and in languages other than English.

    This bill has been moved to the Senate floor calendar awaiting further action.

    E2SHB 1320: Concerning access to personnel records.

    Comment: This bill was amended by the Senate. It requires an employer to furnish an employee or former employee with a complete copy of their personnel file at no cost within 15 business days of a request. • Mandates an employer to furnish a former employee with a signed written statement with the effective date of discharge, whether the employer had a reason for the discharge, and if so, the reasons, within 14 calendar days of the written request. • Allows an employee or former employee to bring a private action for violations of certain rights regarding personnel files, discharge information, and redaction logs, and entitles the employee to equitable relief, graduated statutory damages up to $1,000, and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs of each violation. •

    Allows for redaction of personnel files under certain circumstances.

    Scheduled for public hearing Senate Ways and Means 3/31/23.

    HB 1656: Concerning unemployment insurance benefits appeal procedures.

    Comment: It adds disputes of unemployment insurance (UI) determinations of allowance or denial of allowance of benefits or redeterminations, in addition to a dispute of initial determinations, as issues in appeals proceedings regardless of the grounds in the notice of appeal. • Removes provisions that in a UI appeal on a dispute of a claimant's claim for waiting period credit or UI benefits claim that all UI issues relating to the claimant's right to receive such credit or UI benefits for the period in question are deemed to be in issue regardless of the particular grounds in the notice of appeal; and the claimant's availability for work is determined apart from all other matters.

    It is on the Senate Consent calendar awaiting further action.

    2SSB 5048: Eliminating college in the high school fees.

    Comment: It requires institutions of higher education to provide enrollment and registration in College in the High School (CHS) courses at no cost to students in grades 9 through 12 at public high schools. • Requires the Legislature to appropriate funds to fund CHS courses at inflation-adjusted rates. • Directs high schools that provide CHS courses to include information in the course catalog, and to notify parents and guardians by email and in beginning-of-the-year packets, that there is no fee for students to enroll in CHS courses. • Requires parental and guardian notifications to also explain CHS credit transfer procedures.

    Moved to House Appropriations awaiting further action.

    SB 5084: Creating a separate fund for the purposes of self-insured pensions and assessments.

    Comment: Creates a self-insurance reserve fund for payments from self-insured employers related to workers' compensation pensions and from the overpayments reimbursement fund.

    Referred to House Appropriations awaiting further action.

    ESSB 5123: Concerning the employment of individuals who lawfully consume cannabis.

    Comment: This bill was amended by the House. It prohibits employers, with some exceptions, from discriminating against a person in hiring if the discrimination is based on the person's use of cannabis outside of work or on certain employer-required drug screening tests.

    Passed House 57/41 with amendments Will be sent to Senate for concurrence.

    SSB 5127: Clarifying school districts' ability to redact personal information related to a student.

    Comment: Creates a new exemption to the Public Records Act for personal information in any records pertaining to a student currently or previously enrolled in a local education agency.

    This bill is in House Rules awaiting further action.

    E2SSB 5174: Providing adequate and predictable student transportation.

    Comment: It requires the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to administer transportation safety net awards to school districts with excess special passenger costs for special education, homeless, and foster students, as defined in the operating budget. • Provides that, no earlier than for a contract affecting the 2024-25 school year, school districts may only enter into a pupil transportation services contract if the contractor provides certain health benefits and retirement contributions to employees who choose to opt-in for coverage. • Provides reimbursement subject to funding provided specifically for increased costs to school districts that are directly attributable to increased benefits as required in the bill.

    It is in House Rules awaiting further action.

    Note: A similar but not companion bill, HB 1248 concerning pupil transportation, remains in House Rules. It also requires that school district contracts for pupil transportation services must include sufficient funds to provide employees of the contracting employer with health benefits and pension contributions equivalent to those of school district classified employees. • Provides one-time supplemental allocations to districts that experience higher costs because of the new contract requirements. A proposed amendment, among other changes, replaces one-time supplemental allocations of $200 per employee working more than 630 hours per month for districts that experience higher costs under the new contract requirements with a reimbursement subject to funding provided specifically for increased costs.

    SSB 5275: Expanding access to benefits provided by the school employees' benefits board.

    Comment: Allows tribal compact schools, employee organizations representing school employees, and school board directors the option of providing health care through the School Employees Benefits Board through SEBB beginning January 1, 2024. Employers opting into coverage under SEBB may determine the terms of employee and dependent eligibility and must pay premiums set by HCA.

    Passed House 97/0. The Governor signed bill 3/30/23. Becomes effective 1/1/2024.

    SSB 5286: Modifying the premium provisions of the paid family and medical leave program.

    Comment: Modifies the statutory formula for determining the premium rates for the Paid Family and Medical Leave Program.

    Scheduled for Executive Session before House Appropriations 3/31/23.

    2SSB 5593: Improving equity in the transfer of student data between K-12 schools and institutions of higher education.

    Comment: A proposed striker (1) Requires data-sharing between institutions of higher education and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to obligate the institutions to include the statewide student identifier for each student. (2) Requires institutions of higher education, in providing information about student enrollments and outcomes to the OSPI, to include the statewide student identifier for each student. (3) Requires the OSPI, in identifying a process for making information about a student's enrollment in an institution of higher education available to the student's district, to require that information provided to school districts include the statewide student identifier for each student. (4) Defines "statewide student identifier" as the statewide student identifier that is required by statute and included in the longitudinal student data system. (5) Establishes a new definition of "directory information" for the proposed data-sharing agreements by removing a reference to a federal definition and specifying that the term means the names, addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers of students and their parents or legal guardians.

    Scheduled for public hearing before House Appropriations 3/31.23.

     

    Fred Yancey
    The Nexus Group LLC

  • Introducing the AWSP Learning Lab

    by David Morrill | Mar 30, 2023

     

    cartoon drawing of a man coming out of a computer screen with two people watching him surrounded by books, gears, and  light bulbs

    In 2020, we launched our learning management system just in time to shift to a virtual Summer Conference as the pandemic canceled everything. We use a product called Path, and today we are rebranding "Path" to the AWSP Learning Lab. Why? Because while we believe in the power of in-person, and our professional learning team delivers engaging and fun content with adult learning in mind, we need more.

    Principals and assistant principals across the state have very different access to professional learning. If you're along the I-5 corridor in the Puget Sound, you have way more options than in rural parts of southeast Washington. Budgets for professional learning, support for being out of the building, family and home life — all those things impact a leader's ability to travel, access resources, and improve. While we offer custom training delivered at your district or school, we can't be everywhere all at once. 

    The Learning Lab brings content to you, wherever you are, on your time, and with or without your team. Some courses are designed to be watched with a team, and some are designed just for you as a leader on your own time. You'll find live events and webinars to connect with fellow principals and AWSP, and others to learn from us and/or our partners. In fact, we've got some great events right around the corner, including:

    In addition to those three, we have a few more things we're working on as well. Head to learn.awsp.org to check out the Learning Lab. You can get to it any time, anywhere, and on any device. It's where you can learn to lead and lead to learn. And if you have a topic, guest, or state agency you want us to feature for your access or learning, let us know

  • The Daily Coach: A Tool for Mentors and Mentees

    by Caroline Brumfield | Mar 27, 2023

    The Daily Coach logo

     

    Happy “almost spring break”, amazing mentors and mentees!

    You have been working your tails off, and WE NOTICE! Do you remember the children’s book by Jill Murphy called Five Minutes' Peace? Mrs. Large (mama elephant) wants five minutes’ peace from her energetic children, but chaos follows her all the way from the kitchen to the bath and back again. You might be feeling like the main character in this children’s story as you navigate the next few weeks heading into a much-deserved Spring Break—too much to do, lots of interruptions, and students/staff who are just as ready for the break and to give you lots of opportunity to breathe and co-regulate.

    Over the course of the next few months, I will share some resources, newsletters, and ideas to incorporate into your daily workflow and leadership practices that I, and the leaders I support, have been finding helpful, inspiring, and reflective.

    I’ve been following The Daily Coach and reading it daily. It's short, insightful, and I read it as one of the first things I do when I sit down with my cup of morning coffee to “wake up” to tackle the day. Short paragraphs of leadership wisdom, sometimes it’s a comeback story or a bulleted list of items to prompt reflection or journaling. Today’s “Magic Question” was, "Where are the growth opportunities in my life?"

    There is a FREE tier subscription I’ve been using, and again it’s helped get my mind focused to tackle the day. I find the overall majority of the daily email strong—how could this be a helpful tool to you in your mentoring or daily leadership?

    • Share with your Mentee…there are so many practical things that are timely for new leaders, or…
    • Mentees might want to share with School Leadership Team, or…
    • Post “Nuggets of Truth” in your weekly bulletin, or…
    • Add the link to your weekly communication to staff and parent newsletters, or…
    • Post on the *ahem* back of staff bathroom stall doors

    The possibilities are endless!

    I’d love to hear back from you if you find The Daily Coach a helpful leadership tool. As mentors and mentees, please look for weekly blogs detailing other helpful, free resources to help with the leadership lift this spring. Until next time…

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