Since a large majority of school districts across Washington sent out RIF notices this week, here's how we got to the point:
First came the McCleary lawsuit & #waleg arrogantly & carelessly rushed to meet the deadline last minute without seeking any feedback from stakeholders. They fucked up royally, but ignored us when we told them they made things worse.
Neither the state NOR the feds have EVER fully funded IDEA/Special Ed as promised. WA State has had a cap on what it will pay for Special Ed, the rest used to come out of our local levies, which #waleg has now restricted our collection of. The ~$25M deficit my district has this year is DIRECTLY tied to our SPED costs.
What this all means for kids is that fewer of their needs will be met, class sizes will get larger, teachers will be more stressed & under WAY more pressure, parents will get pissed, & the right wingers will increase their drumbeat for "school choice" aka school #vouchers claiming that public schools are failing. And in #waleg, the Democrats are just as much to blame for this as the GOP. None of them have made ANY attempt to rectify what they screwed up.
🚨 Action alert! 🚨 #HighSpeedRail is still a long ways away, & we need more ambitious #rail improvements in the meantime. Unfortunately, the goals set out in the latest #AmtrakCascades long term plan are moving backward not forward.
VICTORY! Washington State Senate sends bill ending child marriage to Governor Inslee
On February 23rd, 2024, forty-eight out of forty-nine state senators voted in favor of State Representative Monica Stonier’s legislation to set a minimum age of eighteen for both parties to legally marry, in a big win for human rights. …
@nwprogressive#WA#waleg We need help defeating 2 initiatives. First one: Sign In CON to oppose I-2111 (Ban State Income Tax) in House Ways & Means
(https://www.takeaction.network/xactions/35035?tanref=XI)
DEADLINE: Feb 27 • 11:30am
I-2111 purports to be a ban on income taxes, but we already don’t have an income tax in Washington state. That’s why I-2111 won’t do anything to help regular folks.
The Association of Washington Cities astroturfing child deaths to justify their NIMBY, car-dependency that actually increases child deaths.
Requiring that bars have parking and requiring that they are located in places most people have to drive to does not reduce traffic violence. If AWC cared about this issue at all they might've consulted with people who are actually trying to reduce traffic violence.
People forget that Gov Inslee appointed Hobbs to Secretary of State to get him out of the way in the #WALeg because he was such an obstructionist. Now, no surprise, he's being an obstructionist in the SoS office.
Most of us are tired of election cycles every year, multiple times a year.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
We can move all the local elections to Even-Years to happen at the same time as State and Federal elections. That way we can stop having election cycles on odd years all together.
“Neighborhood cafes are popular with many folks in smaller communities because they give people easier access to their services and create a stronger sense of community. By making these cafes more accessible, this bill would be a win-win for small businesses and the people they serve.”
Washington's short legislative session is in high gear, Unfortunately, despite HB 1951's good intent of dealing wth algorithmic description, it looks like it was written by tech lobbyists. Here's my written testimony.
An excerpt:
"My position on HB 1951 is CON. While the goal of providing protections against algorithmic discrimination is vital, the bill as drafted does not actually provide meaningful protections to Washingtonians. Other witnesses at the hearing discussed several of the key problems with the bill including the lack of requirements for transparency (aka notice) or opt-out, the narrowness of the definition of "automated decision tool" (Sec. 1(3)), and the lack of a private right of action.
Coming at it from the technical perspective, I'd also like to highlight the weakness of the impact assessment requirements in Section 3."
Please click “Support” on the official webpage below to tell #WALeg to #DitchDST the safe and legal way, as supported by history, science, and common sense. Yes on SB 5795! https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill/5795
Hey Washington State residents: the "Washington VOICES Act", HB 2250, has a hearing in the legislature in less than a week! We need you to sign in "pro" in favor of this bill to show your support to the State Government Committee. Please do it before January 24! It's quick and easy: