2020 legislative review
Education & Workforce Development
Amy Anderson : Education , Workforce , Health Care , and Federal Issues
The 2020 legislative session saw efforts to support the child care and early childhood learning system through increased access and changes to the state subsidy for child care . State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal ’ s K-12 budget , the state ’ s institutions of higher education and workforce system sought additional funding for dual credit opportunities . They also sought funding for school counselors , student work-based learning opportunities and incumbent worker training .
Early learning and child care legislation were in abundance during the 2020 session . Sen . Claire Wilson , D-Federal Way , and Rep . Tana Senn , D-Bellevue , introduced similar omnibus bills addressing the vast needs of the system which is necessary to support job growth and economic expansion . Senn ’ s bill , HB 2661 , was in line with the work of the child care collaborative task force , which AWB co-chairs , and the recommendations submitted to the Legislature and Gov . Jay Inslee in November 2019 . Wilson ’ s bill , SB 6253 , provided increased funding to the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program ( ECEAP ) and the Working Connections Child Care ( WCCC ) program including expansion of eligibility . Both the Senate and the House bills addressed the state child care subsidy program . The House version provided support for the child care workforce while the Senate version provided support for additional wraparound services and encouraged the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction ( OSPI ) and the Department of Children , Youth and Families ( DCYF ) to work together on preschool programs in the public school system and shared services efforts . While neither of the bills made it out of the Legislature this session , AWB was supportive of the policy , particularly in the House version , with a few caveats . We would like to see more support for employer-sponsored child care programs and employers that provide resources and support for their employees ’ child care needs .
While the policy bills did not pass , the Legislature did make significant investments in early childhood education and child care for Washington state , including $ 39 million to the ECEAP and WCCC programs to increase subsidy rates for child care ; almost $ 2 million to provide a 12-month grace period of child care subsidies through WCCC for families experiencing homelessness ; and adding $ 6 million in funding to help smooth the WCCC copay cliff ( a key issue that AWB has been supporting ). Unfortunately , the governor vetoed the $ 6 million to smooth the Working Connection Child Care copay cliff in an effort to adjust the budget in anticipation of reduced revenue due to the COVID-19 crisis and provide needed funding to combat a prolonged outbreak of the virus .
While significant investments were made in all levels of education this session , because of the COVID-19 crisis , several levels of investments were reduced or cut in anticipation of declining revenues and the need for additional resources to combat the crisis in Washington state . Student mental health has been an issue of great importance for our state ’ s public schools as our school system is addressing several identified traumas that impact a student ’ s ability to learn . An additional $ 32 million was provided in the supplemental budget to increase the number of counselors in high-poverty schools across the state . Unfortunately , due to the need to address potential revenue decreases and increased demand for resources due to the COVID-19 crisis , this line of funding was cut in Inslee ’ s veto of several budget items from the 2020 supplemental budget . Additional funding for local school districts that remained intact was a one-time infusion of $ 45.8 million in Local Effort Assistance ( LEA ) to help districts cope with higher than anticipated assessed property values for calendar year 2020 . The higher than expected property values made impacted districts eligible for less LEA support than had been expected when award amounts were budgeted for 2020 . The LEA formula is not changed and as identified , this is a one-time infusion of dollars .
20 association of washington business