Preview - 2020 Session Begins

January 10, 2020 

The 2020 Legislative Session begins Monday, Jan. 13. 

Stay current on legislative issues by taking any of the following actions:

• Subscribe to the OurVoice Blog, by clicking on the purple “Subscribe” button to the right
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WEA publishes “This Week in Olympia” every Friday evening on the OurVoice website 

As always, WEA has a legislative agenda to support our students, our profession, and public education. This year’s agenda features five focus areas:

• Promoting equity, combating racism, and eliminating discrimination 
• Ensuring safe public schools and campuses for all students and staff 
• Recruiting, retaining and respecting quality public school employees and college faculty 
• Improving learning conditions to support student success 
• Building stronger relationships between students, families and educators 

WEA’s annual lobby day will be on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 20. Buses of educators from across the state will bring people to Olympia to talk with legislators and share their stories about the issues they face relating to our legislative priorities. RSVP on Facebook, or contact your local president or staff to learn more.

Below is a list of bills that have been pre-filed by legislators and/or which are scheduled to be heard the first week of session. 

Promoting equity and combating racism

SB 5834  – Would inform parents about students’ rights to a free public education without regard to immigration status or religion.

SB 6066  –  Would expand ethnic studies materials and resources for K – 6 grades.

Safety for students and staff

HB 1888 -- Would limit the release of some personal information of government employees, including birthdates. You can send a message to your lawmakers to protect our privacy and pass HB 1888 early in the session.

HB 2184  – Would require comprehensive sexual education with an affirmative consent curriculum.

Recruiting and retaining quality staff

SB 6067 – Would eliminate Ed TPA requirements.

HB 2012/SB 5821 -- Would provide equitable bonuses to K-12 ESA staff who achieve national certification through their professional organizations

WEA Retired

SB 6165 – Would provide a small COLA for some Plan 1 retirees. WEA opposes because we believe all Plan 1 retirees deserve a full COLA.   

Looking ahead 

We also look forward to bills being filed regarding:

• Improving higher education transparency
• Allowing districts to offer optional benefits outside of the SEBB,
• Fully funding I-1351 by prioritizing the phase-in of investments that address student needs for safety, mental, social, emotional and behavioral health and work to eliminate the opportunity gap.
• Paying student teachers
• Removing the cap on sick leave accrual
• Fully funding all four days of the Paraeducator certification program will be a budget issue we continue to support.
• Expanding the flexibility of the learning assistance program for student behavior health supports
• Providing racial literacy professional learning for all school staff

Of course, we will keep you posted about any bill related to our legislative agenda, every Friday, in This Week in Olympia.