Did you know that, because Washington is the 42nd state, the stairs to the Washington state capitol in Olympia have 42 steps? (Sorry to switch movies on you all, but I must to give a shout out to all my "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" fans. If this isn't enough to get you to the Capitol, I don't know what is.)

And, like Rocky, we all have to keep exercising those steps if we want to get a win.

Rocky could not have been successful without his key supporters to include Mickey, Tony, Apollo, and Adrian, among many other coaches and collaborators that bolstered his strengths, abilities, and perseverance.

WSSDA's success can also be attributed at least in part to the support of many collaborators who are also in our corner. At yesterday's InSession Live, two of WSSDA's key partners, Dan Steele from WASA and Tyler Muench from OSPI, presented on the complexities of the proposed supplemental Operating and Capital Budgets. They joined us yesterday to help us unpack the proposed budgets, as well as other ongoing issues this session, so that we may all be better advocates for our students - now and in the future.

We knew there would be a lot of details to track. As such, you may still access a recorded version of yesterday's InSession Live. Many of your questions were answered during the one-hour webinar, as follows:

1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the House and Senate proposed supplemental operating budgets and how should we be advocating for the best of each? (0:00 - 16:00)
2. What should we do right now about HB 1983 on Unemployment Insurance for Striking Workers?: (16:00 - 20:00)
3. What does "Necessary To Implement the Budget" (NTIB) really mean?: 20:00 - 21:00
4. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the House and Senate proposed supplemental capital budgets and how should we be advocating for the best of each? (21:30 - 44:45)
5. How should we be thinking about school construction advocacy now and in the interim, especially considering that one of our greatest champions (Senator Mark Mullet) will not be returning to the legislature next year? (44:50 - 48:45)
6. Sounds like we might be getting another study on the well-studied problem of underfunding school construction. What do all those previous studies say? (49:00 - 50:58)

As you turn your attention to interim advocacy plans, remember that legislators need to hear how districts are demonstrating academic progress. When you talk with them next, share specific stories and data from your own district, in addition to statewide data demonstrating clear academic gains.

A few other steps for your interim advocacy planning:

• Thank your legislators for any investments in public education.
• Schedule school visits with legislators in April, May, and June (including but not limited to graduations)
• Coordinate student tour guides.
• Show how previous investments have supported student learning and academic outcomes.

Lastly, consider using the talking points and research from these newly-developed WSSDA Topic Briefs, all of which connect to your member-adopted legislative priorities:

• Ample, Equitable, and Stable Public Education
• Advance Special Education
• Build Safe and Healthy Schools
• Transport and Feed Students

The Platform Revision Window will open March 11th and close April 8th at 5 pm. There will be no extensions. During this time, school boards can propose revisions to WSSDA’s advocacy platform.

To help your board navigate this process, WSSDA hosted another Leg Rep Network Meeting this past week and shared a step-by-step guide on the revision process. The ppt and recording are both available for your review. Here are some other helpful tips as your board navigates this process over the next month:

PROPOSAL PREPARATION 

☐ Consider the issues within the school board’s purview needing legislative advocacy. 

☐ Review WSSDA’s (225) member-adopted positions to see if your board’s interests are already represented. 

☐ Before crafting a new position to propose, determine if your board can amend an existing WSSDA position instead. 

☐ Reach out to your Director Area representative on the Legislative or Resolutions Committee if you have questions about how the committee will process your board’s submission and possibly help fine-tune your proposal. 

☐ Schedule one or more board meetings to discuss and vote on your board’s proposal(s) prior to the deadline. Your board’s approval is required for all proposal submissions. 

☐ Consider sharing your board’s proposal with other boards to also approve and submit. 

PROPOSAL CONTENT 

☐ Do not include references to the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) or Revised Code of Washington (RCW) because they are regularly subject to change, which could invalidate the position. 

☐ If proposing a position, note that permanent positions begin with “WSSDA believes…” and legislative positions begin with “WSSDA will support or initiate legislation that…” 

☐ If you cite an acronym, please be sure it is completely spelled out the first time it is used in the proposal so others will understand it. 

☐ Build your proposal language in a Word document to check for spelling, grammar, and word count. Be concise. 

☐ Provide any data, statutory references, workgroup reports, or other resources to help in building a complete rationale statement. 

NOTE 

☐ Be prepared to provide the board meeting date of when the proposal was approved. 

For more information about how to engage in the platform revision process, contact strategicadvocacy@wssda.org.