2024 Legislative Platform - League of Education Voters

League of Education Voters is committed to creating the right system conditions to make big educational changes students will experience at the school level.

Together, we must do this by urgently addressing the systemic and structural barriers in Washington schools that further inequity among students and limit our ability to get every child what they need, when they need it. In particular, we must focus on community-driven solutions to support students and families who have been historically and systemically underserved – including students of color, students living in poverty, students receiving special education services and students with disabilities, students learning English, students who identify as LGBTQ+, students experiencing homelessness, and students impacted by trauma.

Together, we can work to create the conditions for meaningful change and build better systems for the future of Washington students and families.

The following priorities will help us respond to the impacts of the pandemic and move us toward a more equitable and just education system:

CREATE SAFE AND INCLUSIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

The goal:

Schools are equipped with systemic, preventative supports that reduce and de-escalate students’ behavioral crises without the use of harmful practices. Students, especially students of color and students with disabilities, feel safe, welcomed, and cared for in their school environments.

The conditions we must create to meet this goal:

Eliminate the practice of isolation and significantly limit the use of restraint, which both disproportionately harm students of color and students with disabilities through trauma, exclusion, or disengagement from learning and community.

Build capacity in schools through high-quality training to support the elimination of isolation, reduction of restraint, and use of alternative de-escalation practices.

PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORTS FOR WELLNESS AND INCLUSION AT SCHOOL

The goal:

Learners and educators alike have access to robust mental health resources at school so they can heal, grow, and thrive. Schools have what they need to prioritize a foundation of safety, inclusion, and belonging in all learning environments, particularly for students of color, students gaining English proficiency, students with disabilities, and other students historically marginalized from school.

The conditions we must create to meet this goal:

Dedicate funds to grow the number of effective mental health professionals serving students. Ensure educators have access to mental health support while at school as well.

Fully resource behavioral prevention supports in schools, such as mental health resources, social-emotional learning, inclusionary practices, and the training and tools necessary to effectively implement them into the everyday.

Ensure students are provided access to food while at school to enable them to be fully engaged in their learning.

SUPPORT STUDENTS RECEIVING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES

The goal:

All students have their needs accurately identified and students with disabilities have access to the resources and services they need to meaningfully access their education.

The conditions we must create to meet this goal:

Support educators, districts, and schools in adopting and implementing Universal Design for Learning and other inclusive practices that make learning environments more accessible and engaging to all types of learners and thinkers.

Include parents as partners and support them as they navigate the Individualized Educational Program (IEP) process.

Create funding structures that enable districts to provide the resources and support every student needs to access their education and create inclusive school communities.

ESTABLISH EQUITABLE FUNDING STRUCTURES

The goal:

All students have access to the holistic wrap-around, social-emotional, and academic supports they need to fully access their education.

The conditions we must create to meet this goal:

Establish state funding structures that value and support all students, are rooted in equity, and are centered on the needs of students.

Establish a local levy system that creates equitable access to local resources and centers the needs of students, including charter public school students.

Allow a simple majority of voters to approve school district construction bonds to better enable students to be in structurally sound, modern learning environments.

League of Education Voters is co-facilitating the Spokane Future Educators of Color Consortium (SFECC) and is including their priorities as part of our 2024 legislative support platform. The SFECC is a consortium of invested and impacted community members across the Spokane region who are working to diversify the educator workforce so that it is representative of the global majority. These priorities include:

Career navigation and advising
- Robust counseling, advising, and mentorship support for students in the K-12 system, especially for students of color aspiring to become teachers, that allow students to engage with their chosen profession from an early age.
- Mentorship and advising supports for adults, especially people of color, seeking to become an educator.

Expanded teacher pathways
- Support more pathways for paraeducators to become certificated teachers with an emphasis on placing more global majority teachers in the K-12 system.

League of Education Voters 2024 Legislative Platform (PDF)

Plataforma Legislativa de la Liga de Votantes por la Educación 2024 (PDF)

Field Report – 2024 Legislative Platform (PDF)

2024 Supplemental Budget Summary (PDF)

2024 Supplemental Budget Side-By-Side (PDF)

2024 Legislative Session Funding Equity Assessment (PDF)

Special Education Funded Enrollment Cap FAQ

Preguntas Frecuentes Sobre el Tope de Financiación de la Educación Especial (PDF)

League of Education Voters 2023 Legislative Platform (PDF)

Plataforma Legislativa de la Liga de Votantes por la Educación 2023 (PDF)

Field Report – 2023 Legislative Platform (PDF)

2023-25 Biennial Budget Summary (PDF)