Lisa In The News

With fingers crossed, Gig Harbor’s Peninsula School District made the move to ban social media access and restrict cellphone use in classrooms this year. There has been less pushback than anticipated and some surprising gains, one district official said. “We came out of the pandemic and realized something has changed about students and their relationships with their devices,” said Kris Hagel, ...

Washington is the only state in the nation that doesn't require kids to go to school until age 8 — but that could change this year. What's happening: A bill in Washington's Legislature would lower the state's compulsory age for school attendance ...

Alarmed at the number of special education students shipped away from Washington, state lawmakers and education officials hope to use this legislative session to increase oversight of kids sent out of state, prohibit or limit the use of isolation and restraint, and ultimately find a way to bring those students back home.

This year, Washington state lawmakers are making big promises to fund and improve the education services that help roughly 158,449 disabled kids around the state. If the promise sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Lawmakers worked on this issue the last time they were all together in person, writing the state budget in 2019. After two years of dousing educational pandemic ...

The Legislature will consider a bill this year that would lower the compulsory school age for children from 8 to 5. Under current state law, parents must send their children to school – whether it be public, private or home-based instruction – starting at the age of 8. While most families opt to send their children to school before then, they ...

Washington’s last-in-the-nation minimum age for compulsory education is antithetical to the state’s values of educating its youngest residents. Lowering the age of compulsory education to age 5 — from age 8 — should be a no-brainer. Most states require school enrollment by age 5 or 6. Washington offers free public education for all children aged 5 and older, but doesn’t require ...

Despite Washington’s status as a technology hub, more than 40% of the state’s public K-12 school districts didn’t offer a single class in computer science, according to recent data. That’s abysmal. Not every young Washingtonian will want to grow up to work in computer-related industries, but each student should have the opportunity to explore these in-demand and lucrative careers. Click here ...

The Evergreen State takes the top spot again in the U.S. News Best States ranking on the strength of its tech sector and other industries. SEATTLE—BUOYED BY ITS rapidly expanding economy, Washington state is on a winning streak. For the second time, Washington has been named No. 1 in the U.S. News Best States ranking and is the first state to earn ...

Even as teachers in neighboring Idaho and Oregon are being vaccinated, in Washington most educators currently will have to wait weeks or even months before they'll become eligible. At the moment, only seniors and healthcare workers qualify to get the shot. Teachers, and several leading lawmakers, have been pushing for that to change. The first push from lawmakers came in mid-January, with ...

If you’ve been in Seattle for any length of time recently, you’ve probably seen a land acknowledgement on a building, at an event, or in artwork created here: “We are on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People past and present, and honor with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe.” Nice words to say! ...