Dear friends and neighbors,

As the father of four students and the husband of a special education teacher in Seattle Public Schools, I have great appreciation for the importance of supporting quality public schools. I recognize the challenges that our schools are facing, especially stemming from enrollment and funding decreases. As a member of the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee and the Senate Ways & Means Committee, I worked hard this year with my colleagues to address the most pressing needs in our state’s education system. In this newsletter, I’ll share a few highlights of our legislative work to improve Washington’s public schools.

Increasing K-12 education funding

One of the largest increases in K-12 education this session was a $72 million investment (SB 5882) to pay for more paraeducators. This change to our funding model will unlock dollars that schools can use to increase staffing, prevent layoffs, or raise salaries for staff who provide critical supports for students with disabilities and those who need extra help. Another $45 million will expand the number of students eligible for free meals.

We took another step toward meeting the goal of fully funding special education by increasing the special education “cap” from 15% to 16%. Over the last two years, the state has increased special education funding by nearly $450 million, but we have more work to do.

The Legislature also made historic investments in school construction, increasing state support from $271 to $375 per square foot – a total increase of $79 million. In all, the 2024 capital budget adds $306 million for public schools, including $45 million for updating school HVAC systems and $68 million for skills centers and other career and technical education facilities. Strong revenues from the capital gains tax, which are dedicated by law to school construction, made all of these investments possible.

Finally, I am happy to report that I secured $100,000 in the operating budget for Seattle Public Schools to conduct a study of why families have left the district and how they may be attracted back. The report is due by the end of the 2024-25 school year and should give us useful information as we address recent enrollment declines and the resulting budget shortfalls.

Safer and more inclusive schools

In addition to our budget work, the legislature passed several policy bills to strengthen public schools.  Those include:

  • SB 5462 will require school districts to adopt curriculum that covers inclusive, age-appropriate materials that tell the histories, contributions, and perspectives of LGBTQ+ Washingtonians. I’m proud that those contributions will gain recognition, but I’m especially excited that more students will have the chance to see themselves in their school’s curriculum. Click here to watch my remarks from the floor debate on the legislation.
  • HB 2331 will prohibit school boards from banning books from classrooms and libraries through discriminatory practices and will improve the review process for books coming into or being removed from a school’s library system. This bill will ensure our kids have access to a diverse library collection and make sure school officials don’t ban books or materials solely because the material focuses on protected classes, such as Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, or LGBTQ+ people.
  • HB 1956 will require all middle and high schools to educate students on the dangers of opioids, particularly the synthetic opioid fentanyl. SB 5804 will require all schools to have opioid overdose treatment (NARCAN) available if needed. We need to make sure our kids have this potentially life-saving information, and this bill will make it uniform in school curricula across the state.

Thanks for taking the time to read this newsletter. Please contact me at Jamie.Pedersen@leg.wa.gov with any questions. In the coming weeks, I’ll continue to provide updates on major issues addressed by the Legislature this year. If you missed last week’s update on gun safety, it is available on my website.

Best wishes,

Jamie