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Public comment period closes April 1!
The What, Why, Who, and How of the Youth Action Plan What: On January 21, 2014, the Metropolitan King County Council approved legislation calling for the development of a Youth Action Plan that will set King County’s priorities for serving infants through young adults. The Youth Action Plan will guide and inform the County’s annual investment of more than $75 million in services and programs serving infants through young adults. The Youth Action Plan is to be developed by an appointed Task Force comprised of representatives from a broad range of organizations and entities with substantial expertise and knowledge relevant to children and youth, but that is also diverse in its views and experiences, including but not limited to geographic, racial, and ethnic diversity. Why:
Who: Members of the Youth Action Plan Task Force were appointed by King County Executive Dow Constantine and the County Council through Motions 14097 and 14112. Task Force Member List with biographies When: The Council’s legislation calls for a proposed Youth Action Plan to be submitted to the Council and the Executive on April 15, 2015. A progress report is due to the Council in September, 2014. How: This work is unanimously supported across King County government and is endorsed by many community organizations. To ensure that King County continues to be a strong partner with the state, cities, private sector, non-profit and philanthropic organizations input will be welcomed from these entities and other community members. Please see below for information on meetings of the task force and other opportunities to engage. Additionally, the Forum for Youth Investment, a non-profit organization that helps adults get youth ready for life, is facilitating the work of the Task Force. The Forum for Youth Investment has conducted youth planning efforts across the nation, including New Orleans, Nashville, the State of Massachusetts, and other areas.
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From Senator David Frockt, 46th District (Seattle, Kenmore, LFP)
Dear Friends and Neighbors, Another week has passed and I really enjoyed meeting with all the constituents who came to visit my office here in Olympia. With 38 days left in regular session, our focus is turning towards writing the 2015 – 1017 operating budget. While this will not be an easy process I will do my best to see our safety net funded, tuition frozen or lowered, and that we meet our McCleary commitment to fully fund education. Town Hall this Tuesday I know how hard it is to travel to Olympia during the week and we as your 46th delegation want to make sure to stay in contact during the legislative session. We want to hear from you on the issues most important to you. We hope you will be able to join by phone us next Tuesday for our telephone town hall. Tuesday March 24th 6:00 pm Call 1-877-229-8493 and enter 18646 Shortly before 6 o’clock Tuesday evening, you should receive a phone call inviting you to stay on the line and participate in our Telephone Town Hall. If you want to ask a question, simply need to press “ * 3 ” (press the “star” button and then the “3” button). If for some reason you don’t receive the call and you want to join, please call the toll-free telephone number directly, 1-877-229-8493, and then enter the PIN code No. 18646 when prompted. Thanks to WAState PTA Leg Director Sherry Kranick for passing this on! Social and Emotional Learning and Breakfast after the Bell Legislation Moves to Floor Action.
This has been a wild week for the Washington PTA. The Senate versions of Breakfast after the Bell SB 5437 and Social and Emotional Learning SB 5688, have passed out to Senate Rules before the cut-off.Our legislative champion in the Senate, Senator Steve Litzow, sponsored both bills and his efforts on behalf of Washington's kids have been successful thus far. Over in the House, Representative Zack Hudgins version of Breakfast after the Bell, HB 1295, has also been moved out of committee and into House Rules. Sadly, Representative Senn's version of Social and Emotional Learning, HB 1760, was not moved forward in committee. The next big challenge will occur this coming week when all bills must be voted off the Senate floor and over for hearings in the State House of Representatives. This is a difficult session for new initiatives, even ones that are proven effective. If you get the chance, e-mail[email protected], [email protected], and [email protected] to thank them for their efforts! Proponents of Change for Education Capital Budget hit a roadblock - key bills not moving forward. Whereas other segments of our "Top 5" priorities experienced success this week, supporters of change in how we allocate and obtain capital funding dollars for schools hit the skids. Although Senate Bill 5859 by Senator Jamie Pedersen had been moving forward with substantial bipartisan support, the bill failed to be voted out of committee on Friday. This bill would have reduced the threshold requirements for school districts to qualify for matching funds for projects. Current law discriminates against larger, high growth districts. This bil l is an attempt to strike a balance in the name of fairness. The statutory changes offered by the bill are unlikely to be enacted this session. However, and we stress the "However" quite strongly here - this does not mean that parts of the bill will not make their way into the Senate's proposed Capital Budget later this year. Consider this to be "Schroedinger's Bill" - it is both alive and dead at the same time. House Bill 1941 on the other hand, is truly dead. This bill would have reduced the bond requirements from 60% voter approval to a simple majority in general elections. The bill was imperfect - it only offered a change for November general elections and it split many allies in the education community. Some representatives saw the proposal as at least a start in the process to have a bill moving forward while others saw challenges with only allowing for a November vote. PTA leaders testified on behalf of the bill in committee while urging amendments to allow for more opportunities to run bond issues bey ond the originally offered November date. Supporters have declared they will continue to work this issue during the interim. Rep. Gerry Pollet's Higher Education Tuition Planning Proposal Gaining Traction in the House. House Bill 1238 by Representative Pollet is one of many bills that looked at finding solutions to the rising costs of higher education tuition in Washington State. Pollet's bill aims to task the Washington Student Achievement Council (WASC) to develop a roadmap with the ultimate goal of restricting higher education costs to no more than 10% of the state's median family income. The study requires WASC to develop a series of potential solutions to the problem in a report due no later thanDecember 15, 2016. &n bsp;What sets this bill apart from the others is the comprehensive scope and direction in developing a plan to control price hikes. The bill passed out of committee and is currently awaiting action in House Rules. -Washington State PTA, March 2, 2015 At our February 23 meeting, we were honored to host some of our community's best Emergency Leaders. As promised, Shoreline Fire Chief Matt Cowan sent us this link to share, about kids sleeping through smoke alarms:
http://www.today.com/video/today/51286858#51286858 Please pass it on! |
AuthorShoreline PTA Council Archives
May 2016
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