Legislative Priorities

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2025 Legislative Session Priorities

 

2025 Legislative Session Bills/Resolutions to watch (Updated March 27, 2025)

 

 

The Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Olympia School District No. 111, Thurston County, Washington (the “District”) supports legislative action at the state level as follows:

 

Materials, Supplies, and Operating Costs

The district has an obligation to deliver relevant and engaging learning experiences for our students. We ask the legislature to amply and sustainably fund basic operating costs, freeing up other funds to pay for curriculum and classroom supplies. Insurance along with utilities must be paid for before a district can explore learning options.

 

  • The 2024-25 insurance premium increased 20 percent or $443,000. Utilities increased 8 percent last year, over $255,000.

  • A $522 per student increase in MSOC is needed to cover Olympia non-staffing costs. The current general ed rate funded by the state in 2024-25 is $1,533 and should increase to $2,055 per student.

 

Special Education Support

The Legislature has made significant investments in Special Education over the last several years, making progress in our dependence on the levy for special ed costs. A next significant step will be to increase the per-pupil multiplier.

 

  • In 2023-24, Olympia diverted more than $6.3 million from other programs to support the special ed program.

  • To fill the gap in funding, both per pupil multipliers would need to be 1.5.

  • Current multipliers are 1.12 for students spending at least 80 percent of their day in general education settings. And 1.06 for students spending less than 80 percent of their day in general education.

 

Transparent and Predictable Transportation Funding

Pupil transportation is a key part of the state’s program of basic education. We ask the legislature to address the shortcomings within the current system or consider alternate funding models. As designed, the STARS formula does not generate adequate funds for districts and is neither transparent, nor predictable.

 

Continued Priorities

The board continues to support the following initiatives:

 

  • Raise school levy lids and restore local effort assistance to realize the full purchasing power of state investments made over the last five years.

  • Take early action on Transition to Kindergarten, to ensure state funding for the number of students being served by the program.

  • Address inequities among school districts created by regionalized salary model.

  • Continue implementation of the state’s Staffing Enrichment Workgroup’s recommendations.

  • Acknowledge the importance of substitutes for positions beyond teachers and align funding with the need for one day per month.

  • Include African American studies and Native American studies as a required part of curriculum.

  • Address the impact that social media and continuous access to cell phones have on student mental health.

  • Expand access to full-day early learning programs.

  • Improve student success in running-start by increasing the school district share of funding to support the necessary wrap around services in the home high school.

  • Seek new, dedicated revenue sources for expanded education programs.

 

ADOPTED by the Board of Directors of Olympia School District No. 111, Thurston County, Washington, at a regular open public meeting thereof, of which due notice was given as required by law, held this 24th day of October 2024, the following Directors being present and voting in favor of the resolution. OLYMPIA SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 111, THURSTON COUNTY, WASHINGTON.

 

2025 Legislative Session Bills/Resolutions to watch

 

Updated March 27, 2025

 

House Bill No.

Senate Bill No.

Name

 Current Status

Sponsor

What it Does 

Potential New Revenue (Unknown New Expenditures)

 --

5192

Concerning school district materials, supplies, and operating costs.

House Approps 3/19, funded in Senate Budget

Nobles, Wellman, Chapman, Cortes, Dhingra, Hasegawa, Krishnadasan, Pedersen, Slatter, Stanford, Trudeau, Wilson, C.

Increases general ed MSOC by $77 above maintenance level and HS $15 above ML.
- Sets MSOC as one amount per student rather than nine distinct and transparent categories. Restricts use of funds to distinct categories. Allocates MSOC on a fiscal year basis rather than a school year basis. Allocates based on a three-year average student FTE rather than the current year. Defines an inflationary measure as IPD for the previous calendar year.

 $897,000
 

 5253

Extending special education services to students with disabilities until the end of the school year in which the student turns 22.

House Approps 4/2

Pollet, Couture, Taylor, Callan, Simmons, Penner, Wylie, Kloba, Timmons, Bergquist, Salahuddin

Requires school districts to provide an appropriate education to students with disabilities from age 3 to the end of the school year in which the student turns 22.

Indeterminate. The district special education enrollment percentage currently exceeds the funded cap.

 --

 5263

Concerning special education funding.

House Approps 3/19, funded in Senate Budget

Pedersen, Braun, Bateman, Chapman, Conway, Dhingra, Frame, Krishnadasan, Liias, Nobles, Orwall, Salomon, Shewmake, Stanford, Valdez, Wilson, C. 

Remove the cap of 16% for special education funding ($380,000). Remove the tier multiplier system and increase the overall multiplier to 1.32 (current multipliers are 1.12 and 1.06) ($3.6 million). Increase multiplier for 3 to 5-year-olds from 1.2 to 1.32 ($175,000). Allows an OSPI carve-out of .005 for statewide special education activities (-$128,000). Allow costs to qualify for safety net if they exceed statewide average per pupil expenditures by 1.75 times (currently 2.2) (indeterminate).

 $4,027,000
 

 5358

Career and Technical Education in sixth-grade. 

Passed Senate, Referred to Approps

Shavers, Leavitt, Salahuddin, Bergquist, Reed, Paul, Pollet, Simmons, Hill

 Expands CTE courses to 6th grade when 6th grade is offered in middle school. Does not extend funding.

$0

1338

--

School operating costs.

Not funded in House budget bill.

Berg, Bergquist, Ramel, Stonier, Santos, Tharinger, Taylor, Alvarado, Wylie, Berry, Nance, Ryu, Donaghy, Street, Goodman, Doglio, Mena, Kloba, Pollet, Paul, Walen, Shavers, Duerr, Davis, Salahuddin, Macri, Reed, Callan, Fosse

Increases general ed MSOC by $16 above maintenance level and HS at ML. CTE MSOC remains at maintenance level. Skills Center MSOC is increased $12. Defines an inflationary measure as IPD for the previous calendar year. Establishes rebasing every four years.

$170,000

1357

  --

 Special Education funding and support for inclusionary practices.

IDENTIFIED IN BUDGET BILL

 Stonier, Santos, Obras, Timmons, Scott, Ortiz-Self, Nance, Fosse, Salahuddin, Wylie, Macri, Hill

Increase the tier 1 multiplier to 1.18 and tier 2 multiplier to 1.09(current multipliers are 1.12 and 1.06) ($757,000). Establishes an inclusionary practices grant program. Allows an OSPI carve out of .005 for statewide special education activities (-$128,000).

$629,000

1543

5514

Increasing compliance pathways for the clean buildings performance standard with alternative metrics and extensions for reporting.

Exec Session Senate Envir, Energy, Tech 3/28

Doglio, Ramel, Berry, Ryu, Reed, Duerr, Parshley, Ormsby

 --

--

2012

 

Funding the transition to kindergarten program.

House Approps 3/24

Bergquist, Couture, Ormsby, Pollet, Nance, Gregerson, Scott

Provides appropriation for the current school year to address the funding shortage. Caps future enrollments in the program at the 2024-25 level.

--

2049

 

Investing in the state's paramount duty to fund K-12 education and build strong and safe communities.

House Finance 3/24

Bergquist, Pollet, Santos, Peterson, Fosse, Ryu, Ormsby, Parshley, Macri, Wylie, Berry, Ramel, Street, Gregerson, Doglio, Farivar, Reed, Reeves, Hill, Callan.

LEVY: $2.4 million in 2025-26 and $5.2 million in 2026-27.

Adds a per pupil enhancement between 2026 to 2030. Eenhances LEA limits as well

LOCAL PROPERTY TAX:
Allows for the local property tax to increase by population change and inflation not to exceed 103%. (currently 101%)

K-12 FUNDING FORMULAE
Requires a study.

$2,400,000

2050

 

Implementing K-12 savings and efficiencies.

House Approps 4/3

Ormsby, Parshley, Macri, Gregerson.

Shifts 2.5% of apportionment payments into August. The shift is pulled from February, March, and April. May require a loan from capital projects when cash on hand gets short.

--

 

Please Note: The Governor must sign legislation before it becomes enacted.

 

 

Thurston County Legislators

 

22nd District:

 

Senator Jessica Bateman: Democrat

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Representative Beth Doglio: Democrat

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Representative Lisa Parshley: Democrat

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35th District:

 

Representative Travis Couture: Republican

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Representative Dan Griffey: Republican

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Senator Drew MacEwen: Republican

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