URGENT ADVOCACY ACTION 

May:

The Legislature is working its way through the budget negotiations, and they need to hear from members on one important issue that is up for debate.  Testing scores being linked to Graduation.  Click here to send this letter to your legislators encouraging them to DE-LINK state tests scores from graduation!

March:

Your Government and Public Relations Committee has been working on tracking important legislation and has an advocacy action request for all members. House Bill 1377 is a bill we have been working on for 3 years. It includes language we wrote with help from NASP, defining the role of the school psychologist aligned with the NASP professional practice model. This bill also defines the role of school counselors and school social workers, stipulates collaboration between these three roles be provided at the district level, and creates a task force to work on the shortage problems we are all facing. This bill is a very important first step in addressing both our role and the shortage we experience every day. HB 1377 passed through the house with a large margin of support and is now in the Senate Education Committee. GPR has made a form letter available for you to send to members of the Senate Education Committee who are having a public hearing on HB 1377 on 3/27/2017, Monday afternoon. 

Please send this letter to all members of the Senate Education Committee today.  We are asking that this go to only members of the committee at this time.  As such, please copy this letter into the body of an email and send it to these email addresses in an email titled In Support of HB 1377.  Don't forget to sign the letter!

hans.zeiger@leg.wa.gov; joe.fain@leg.wa.gov;ann.rivers@leg.wa.gov;judy.warnick@leg.wa.gov; 

andy.billig@leg.wa.gov; Christine.rolfes@leg.wa.gov; mark.mullet@leg.wa.gov

General Update

WSASP's first annual week of action is over, and we are very proud of the work done for Washington's students and school psychologists. Click here for information about what we did.

The GPR Committee is hard at work on specific legislation, and will be providing an update soon.

For information about legislation specifically pertaining to social and emotional learning, check out the SEL for WA website.

Make sure you check the Federal Advocacy page for requests from NASP.

2017 Legislative Update 

Below is information about bills currently being tracked or monitored by the WSASP GPR Committee.

High Priority Bills

HB 1377 – Student Mental Health: Improving students' mental health by enhancing nonacademic professional services.

This bill includes language from HB 1900 which we worked hard on in 2015 and 2016.  This bill defines the roles of the school psychologist, school social worker, and school counselor.  The new iteration also includes funding for time to collaborate between these groups at the building or district level.

Bill Progress: This bill was voted on by the House on Tuesday, March 7, 2017, and passed with 57 Yeas, 40 nays, and 1 excused.  This bill moved from the Senate committee on education with a do pass recommendation to the Ways and Means Committee, who had a public hearing on the bill on 3/30/2017.

SB 5283 – Educational Staff Associates/Services Years: Concerning the calculation of years of service for educational staff associate positions for salary allocation purposes.

Bill Progress: This bill was passed through the Senate Education committee on February 6, 2017 by executive action and moved to the Ways and Means Committee where it still sits.

HB 1643 – Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program: Creating a loan forgiveness program for teachers in high-need schools.

Bill Progress: This bill is likely dead in committee, but language from it might end up as an amendment to HB 1827 , or be brought back next year.

HB 1827 – Educator Workforce Supply: Relating to expanding the current and future educator workforce supply through evidence-based strategies.

This bill is meant to improve and incentivize the recruitment and retention of highly effective educators, especially in high-need subject, grade-level, and geographic areas. It is meant to establish a cohesive continuum of high quality professional learning from preparation programs to job embedded induction, mentoring, collaboration, and other professional development opportunities.

Bill Progress: This bill was passed through the House Education committee on February 16, 2017 by executive action and moved to the Rules Committee , where it still sits.

Medium Priority

SB 5258 – Washington AIM Program: Creates the Washington academic, innovation, and mentoring program to enable eligible neighborhood youth development entities to provide out-of-school time programs for youth six to eighteen years of age.

Bill Progress: This bill was passed through the Senate on March 3, 2017 with 46 yeas, 1 nay, and 2 excused.  This bill since gone through the House Education Committee, and was referred to Appropriations, where it now sits.

SB 5348 – Special Ed/Certificate of Individual Achievement: Concerning students who receive special education services who earn certificates of individual achievement. This bill would require that they get a regular diploma and still be eligible for transition 18-21 services.

Bill Progress: This bill was passed through the Senate Education committee on February 14, 2017 by executive action and moved to the Ways and Means Committee, where it still sits.

Low Priority

SB 5639 – Alternative Student Assessments: Allows a student to use an alternative assessment without taking the statewide student assessment at least once if the student: (1) Is enrolled in a school district with which a technical college has a signed interlocal agreement on file with the superintendent of public instruction; (2) Was under twenty-one years of age at the beginning of the school year; (3) Is enrolled tuition-free; (4) Is enrolled in the school district for the purpose of earning a high school diploma or certificate; and (5) Has participated in instructional activity at the technical college during the current school year.

Bill Progress: This bill was passed through the Senate on March 2, 2017 with 48 yeas, 1 nay, and 0 excused.  This bill will now go to the House, where it will start with the Education Committee.

HB 1511 – Learning Assistance Program: Concerning the learning assistance program (LAP is state version of Title) increased funding.

Bill Progress: This bill was passed through the House Education committee on February 16, 2017 by executive action and moved to the Appropriations Committee , where it still sits.