Fast and furious action at the midpoint of session

Taking Action in Olympia, Session Week 5

Announcement about school mask mandate increases importance of school employee leave pool bill

Educators are on the frontlines teaching and supporting our students through the pandemic.  Many of us have exhausted our leave with COVID illness or quarantine and we need more options so that we aren’t pressured to come to school when we’re sick.  Now that the school mask mandate could be lifted, potentially resulting in more spread, it’s critical that the legislature pass HB 1992 to create a school employee leave pool.  Right now the bill is awaiting a vote on the House floor.

Have you run out of leave?  Share your story.

Take action! Coming up this week… 

• Tuesday at 5pm is the cutoff to pass policy (non-budget) bills in their chamber of origin so schedules for floor action will be changing through the weekend until cutoff.  We may need to make last minute pushes to get bills on the docket.  Stay tuned!
• The bill to make Juneteenth a school holiday (HB 1617) has a hearing Wednesday. Last year we made it a state holiday, but it wasn’t added as a school holiday.
• A bill recognizing January as Chinese American History Month (SB 5264) has a hearing on Wednesday. 
• Band-aids are a poor solution for a broken education funding system, and we shouldn’t make it worse in trying to fix it.  Two bills in the House Education Committee, SB 5181 and SB 5202, are no substitute for system fixes.  WEA will sign in “other” to raise these concerns.

If you’re interested in testifying on these bills, please contact WEA Lobbyist Simone Boe.

Student mental health supports bill passes the House

This week we celebrated National School Counselor Week so it was appropriate that our student mental health bill moved in the House! Our students need more support from nurses, social workers, counselors, and psychologists and with a vote on Thursday we’re one step closer to making that happen.  The bill to increase funding for these supports (HB 1664) passed on the floor of the House and now heads to the Senate.  If you haven’t yet, share your student mental health story!

WEA members who testified this week

Carmon Munro (WEA Fourth Corner president, Burlington-Edison EA) and Jeb Binns (NEA Board Member and Highline EA)

WEA members who submitted written testimony this week

Vallerie Fisher (Seattle EA), Glenn Jenkins Auburn EA), Monika Christensen (Wenatchee EA) and Amy Nylen (Ferndale EA)

If you provided verbal or written testimony before the legislature, we’d like to do a shout-out about you! Please contact WEA Lobbyist Simone Boe.

Tracking our priorities

• We continue to communicate with lawmakers about the increases in inflation and the need for including COLAs that at least keep pace with inflation in the budget. 
• Our mental health supports bills (HB 1664 and SB 5595) are moving, with the House bill passing on the floor and the Senate bill up for a possible vote before cutoff.
• The bill allowing retirees to work more hours (HB 1699) heads to the Senate after passing on the House floor.
• The voting rights bill (SB 5597) and retiree plan 1 COLAs (SB 5676) passed on the Senate floor and are now on to the House.
• Still awaiting votes are ergonomic protections (HB 1837) and the two bills to make higher education more accessible (HB 1659 and  HB 1835).

Get the news as it happens… 

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