Overview from Washington State PTSA on Legislative Action for Public Education

 Here's a really in-depth look at what is happening in the final days of this legislative term.

What we’re watching this week

The Legislature is set to adjourn “sine die” on Sunday, April 23rd. We should see final operating, capital, and transportation budgets late in the week, and will be reviewing for the impact on upcoming school years, new grant programs, etc.

On April 12, just outside of the 10-day window requiring bills to pass by a two-third’s majority, 20 Senate Democrats introduced SB 5770, a measure that would change the voter-approved property tax growth factor for state and local governments from 1% to 3% and would change the definition of inflation from the implicit price deflator to urban Consumer Price Index. The state property tax was lifted in 2017 to help with the McCleary fix and expires in calendar year 2023. This bill would take effect in calendar year 2024. The bill hasn’t been scheduled for a public hearing. Here’s a Seattle Times story on various revenue bills.

In addition, pressure has mounted on budget writers to not decrease funding to school districts due to a loss of regionalization and/or experience factor. And the House offered LEA support for this school year due to unanticipated losses related to increased property assessed value. The Senate didn’t provide a soft landing for regionalization or the experience factor and didn’t offer the LEA funding.

Finally, the House and Senate had different proposals for special education, so either concurrence on HB 1436 or the conference committee operating budget will show what the final numbers are on special education funding.

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