AWSP Blog

Following marathon hearings by the fiscal committees in both houses, the chambers are now publicly engaged in floor action where numerous bills are debated and voted upon. As is generally the norm, for every nine bills brought to either floor and approved by the body, the tenth bill becomes hotly contested. That’s when the theatrics occur. One example, is after passing a number of bills fairly easily, a bill dealing with union dues, SHB 1575 brought things to a halt as the Republicans demanded the bill be read in its totality, a very rare occurrence.

This research used child-led tours to investigate how young children’s spatial autonomy is enacted in two contrasting environments: their home and a forest setting. Spatial autonomy, by inviting children to form a relationship with their environment, can promote agency, a sense of self, self-confidence, and a healthy relationship with their environment.

“No! No! No!” was the constant refrain heard as the committees and floor debated numerous amendments to the budget proposals. Requests for spending totaled more than the amount either house was willing to spend or to make a priority. Concurrently, policy committees continued to hear and then move bills. All of which have been reported previously in greater detail.

Welcome to another episode of AWSP News, where we discuss this year’s National Assistant Principals Week, how Vicki Puckett and the Mercer Island School District empower and use student voice, how the Association of Washington Student Leaders can help you harness student voice, and a great example from Bob Walters on how to use our pay gap video with your district administration.

The big news was the release of the House Budget. Released at noon, Tuesday, public hearing on same day at 3:30, passed out of committee the next day and to be voted out of the chamber Friday. Wham! Bam! Done deal. The Senate will release it's budget Friday, March 29th. The public hearing will be Monday, April Fools’ Day, so at least there is some time to review prior to that time.

Did you know that the average child in a military family will move six to nine times during a school career? That's an average of three times more frequently than non-military families. The Department of Defense sponsors the Month of the Military Child to honor military children and their families who make daily sacrifices for our country.

International studies document multiple benefits children gain from engagement with school gardens. What’s not been well studied are implementation practices. This study, which is based on the premise that experiencing the benefits of school gardens depends on successful implementation, aimed to gain insight in implementation practices of school gardens.

School bathrooms tend to have a bad rep. Historically, they’ve been known for being unkept or where mischief and bullying happen. However, many schools are taking their restrooms back and turning them into havens of inspiration, motivation, and peace.

This week has been filled with committee hearings on various bills as both houses rush to hear, then vote bills out of committee, in order to beat the next policy and fiscal deadlines. The state revenue council issued the latest revenue projections and wow, the unanticipated and now new revenue shows an additional $861 million for the 2019–221 budget. Of course, remember at the start of the session, it was reported that the state was looking at over $1 billion-dollar shortfall after case load projections and funding court mandates.

In this episode of AWSP News, we discuss March Madness in our “Walk a Mile in My Shoes” campaign, our AWSP News special report on principal contracts and the pay gap, a new TPEP report from UW, The Main Idea education book review service you’ll soon have access to, our Equity Conference with WASA and WSSDA, OSPI’s MTSS Fest in Spokane, an updated survey for elementary science instruction, and the support of partners SPU and Horace Mann.