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Advocacy
Learn about our legislative priorities and other supported issues, participate in discussion groups, and find out more ways to get involved. February 17 bond update: As of moments ago, there are officially enough ballots counted to validate (with a buffer - 17,662 counted!!!) and the bond is now passing with OVER 74% (74.09%, but that's over 74!). WE DID IT!!! This is such fantastic news! Thanks again for all that you did to make this happen! Legislative Committee Schedule: Week 4 Monday, January 30 1:30 p.m., House Education, HHR A Public Hearing: 1. HB 1246 - Concerning school bus safety. 2. HB 1279 - Concerning school safety drills. 3. HB 1284 - Requiring creation of a statewide school emergency panic button program. 4. HB 1310 - Creating a program to provide students and the community with the means to report anonymously concerning unsafe or violent activities, or the threat of these activities. 5. HB 1319 - Concerning the frequency of evaluations for certain educators. 1:30 p.m., Senate Commerce, Labor & Sports, SHR 4 Public Hearing: 1. SB 5149 - Addressing paid family leave. 2. SB 5032 - Implementing family and medical leave insurance. 3. Providing reasonable accommodations in the workplace for pregnant women [S-0721.1]. 4. SB 5299 - Promoting healthy outcomes for pregnant women and infants. The draft bill is posted on the Committee's website here, and is also available from committee staff. Possible executive session on bills heard in committee. Other business. 1:30 p.m., Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education, SHR 1 Work Session: High school graduation requirements. Public Hearing: 1. SB 5202 - Authorizing nationally recognized college assessments for high school assessment purposes. 2. SB 5238 - Requiring that cursive writing be taught in common schools. 3. SB 5241 - Concerning the educational success of youth in foster care. Possible executive session on bills heard in committee. Other business. Tuesday, January 31 8 a.m., Senate Higher Education, SHR 3 Work Session: · Issues and Perspective on Student Textbooks. · Teaching Requirements for Faculty. Public Hearing: 1. SB 5234 - Requiring establishment of a system-wide credit policy regarding AP exams. 2. SB 5285 - Conducting a workforce study of employment opportunities in the agriculture, environment, and natural resources economic sectors intended to provide educators with the information needed for informing students about employment opportunities in the studied fields. 3. SB 5361 - Concerning the opportunity scholarship program. Possible executive session on bills heard in committee. Other business. 1:30 p.m., House Education, HHR A Public Hearing: 1. HB 1303 - Concerning educational interpreters. 2. HB 1412 - Creating a pilot project to provide middle and junior high school students strategic and intentional academic support beyond the traditional school day. 3. HB 1444 - Facilitating on-time grade level progression and graduation for certain students. 4. HB 1445 - Concerning dual language in early learning and K-12 education. 5. HB 1451 - Improving language access for public school students and families with limited English proficiency. 1:30 p.m., Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education, SHR 1 Work Session: Parent/Family engagement and community-school connections. Public Hearing: 1. SB 5258 - Creating the Washington academic, innovation, and mentoring (AIM) program. 2. SB 5291 - Creating a pilot project to provide middle and junior high school students strategic and intentional academic support beyond the traditional school day. Possible executive session on bills heard in committee. Other business. 3:30 p.m., House Capital Budget, HHR B Work Session: 1. School Construction. 2. Early Learning Facilities’ Needs. Wednesday, February 1 1:30 p.m., House Higher Education, HHR D Work Session: Report from the William D. Ruckelshaus Center on "Situation Assessment of the Regulation of For-Profit Degree-Granting Institutions and Private Vocational Schools in Washington." Public Hearing: 1. HB 1439 - Regulating the institutions of higher education, including for-profit institutions and private vocational schools, to protect students from unfair business practices. 2. HB 1440 - Establishing a student loan bill of rights. 3. HB 1425 - Creating the Washington next generation educational savings account pilot program. 4. HB 1452 - Concerning the opportunity scholarship program. 1:30 p.m., House Early Learning & Human Services, HHR C Work Session: Overview of the Recommendations of the Children's Mental Health Work Group. Thursday, February 2 8 a.m., House Education, HHR A Public Hearing: 1. HB 1235 - Assessing physical education practices in public schools. 2. HB 1346 - Clarifying the authority of a nurse working in a school setting. 3. HB 1377 - Improving students' mental health by enhancing nonacademic professional services. 4. HB 1508 - Promoting student health and readiness through meal and nutrition programs. 5. HB 1542 - Concerning dropout prevention through engaging youth in farming. 1:30 p.m., Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education, SHR 1 Work Session: 1. Home visiting. 2. Programs for highly capable students. Public Hearing: 1. SB 5246 - Concerning the department of early learning's access to records and personal information for purposes of determining character and suitability of child care workers and individuals who have unsupervised access to children in child care settings. 2. SB 5247 - Updating certain department of early learning advising and contracting mechanisms to reflect federal requirements, legislative mandates, and planned system improvements. 3. SB 5357 - Establishing a pilot project to license outdoor early learning and child care programs. Possible executive session on bills heard in committee. Other business. Friday, February 3 8 a.m., House Capital Budget, HHR B Public Hearing: 1. HB 1289 - Concerning plaques for certain state-funded capital budget projects. 2. HB 1325 - Concerning the evaluation and prioritization of capital budget projects at the public two-year and four-year institutions of higher education. 3. HB 1395 - Allowing public transportation benefit area authorities to use job order contracts and procedure. 4. HB 1538 - Requiring prime contractors to bond the subcontractors portion of retainage upon request. 5. HB 1551 - Creating a competitive equipment assistance grant program to enhance student nutrition in public schools. Other Legislative News ________________________________________________________ December 2016 Update Suzanne Gugger Shorewood PTA Legislation/Shoreline Council Legislation Chair What can we do now? No matter who you are and what you believe, the last couple of weeks were tough. Families are feeling a lot of uncertainty, and in some cases, fear and depression. If you lean progressive, you saw the election go the way that you were not expecting. If you lean conservative, it's tough to celebrate publicly when you live in Western Washington. One of the best ways to feel better and empowered to effect change that you care about by acting locally. "Local" can be within your school, within Shoreline or Lake Forest Park, it can be within the county or region, or even State level. Encourage your student if they want to support an issue or volunteer at an event for a cause that is of interest to them. Here are some ideas to share with your families: 1) Volunteer to fill a committee or leadership role in your school! Ask yourself what you can do to help your school?
2) Support local groups and organizations that do good work in our community. The WORKS has opportunities on Wednesday evenings. Hopelink in Shoreline has many ways to help. Turning Point supports local at risk students and immigrant families. Volunteer at the YMCA, Teen Feed, or your place of worship. There are so many opportunities to donate your time or money to help make a difference in our community - and great ways for your students to get service hours too! 3) Join a walk or event that benefits a cause you can get behind as a family.
4) Teens can apply to be a Page in the Washington State Legislature. During each week of the legislative session students ages 14 to 16 from across the state serve as legislative pages, who assist with the Legislature's work by making deliveries and performing other necessary tasks. This is a fabulous opportunity for students to learn about the Legislature's role, its process, and its participants. Page School is a joint program of the House and Senate. 5) Get involved in the upcoming Shoreline School District construction bond campaign, or focus on voter registration. Ultimately, we are in this together. Looking at the new Washington State PTA Legislative platform, and you will see issues that touch all of us. These are issues that address the whole child; every child; health, safety, welfare, and education. What matters to you? Talk about it, and choose an action. Take action Want your voice to be heard? Join your local PTA and learn how you can further advocate for kids! Get legislative news and keep up on WSPTA’s advocacy through the Grassroots Connection blog. You can sign up for email updates at the blog site. Washington State PTA
www.wastatepta.org Founded in 1905, the Washington Congress of Parents and Teachers is a branch of the National Congress of Parents and Teachers (the National PTA). The Washington State PTA is a nonprofit membership association which seeks to bring together the home, school and community on behalf of all children and youth. WSPTA Vision : Making every child's potential a reality WSPTA Mission: PTA is a powerful voice for all children.PTA is a relevant resource for families and communities.PTA is a strong advocate for the education and well-being of every child. National PTA www.PTA.org National PTA, founded in 1897, is the nation's oldest child advocacy organization. It is comprised of nearly 6 million members in PTA units throughout the United States and Europe.For over 113 years National PTA has reminded our country of its obligations to children's education, health and well-being by recognizing the power and value of parent and family engagement. We offer the support, information, and resources necessary to help volunteers advocate for all children. |
PTA Contacts & Links:
Einstein PTA Heather Cimuchowski Director of Legislation Shoreline PTA Council http://www.shorelinepta.org/legislative-advocacy.html Cari Stalter & JD Wallace Co-Chairs of Legislation legchair@shorelinepta.org Washington State PTA Region 6 Heidi bennett Legislative Chair heidi@bennettdirect.net WSPTA Advocacy Director Sherry Rudolph ptaadvocacydir@wastatepta.org Washington State PTA Nancy Chamberlain - Legislative Director - WSPTA (wastatepta.org) ptapres@wastatepta.org Washington State Legislative Contacts: Governor Jay Inslee www.governor.wa.gov/contact King County Council Dist. 1 Councilmember Rod Dembowski - King County 32nd Dist. Legislative team 32nd Legislative District Team (wa.gov) Sen. Jesse Salomon Rep. Cindy Ryu Rep. Lauren Davis Federal Legislative Contacts: 1st Congressional District Suzan DelBene https://delbene.house.gov/ US Senate Maria Cantwell www.cantwell.senate.gov US Senate Patty Murray www.murray.senate.gov |
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