Tag Archives: K-12 education

Hawkins calls for statewide “School Employee Vaccination Day”

Following his Jan. 11 letter with legislative education committee leaders to the governor and state Department of Health urging greater access to the COVID-19 vaccine for school employees, 12th District state Sen. Brad Hawkins is now calling for a statewide “School Employee Vaccination Day.”

With the federal government’s recent decision to release more vaccine supply and many of the doses already allocated by Washington not yet administered, Hawkins says it is time to get going statewide to protect those helping to fulfill the state’s paramount duty regarding education.

“I’m calling on Governor Inslee to designate February 1 as our state’s ‘School Employee Vaccination Day’ and for the Department of Health to allow school districts and health care providers at the local level to coordinate access for any school employee who wishes to get vaccinated,” said Hawkins, the ranking Republican member on the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee.

“Let’s not overthink this,” added Hawkins. “Start planning today to set aside two dates in February for both doses. Providers can get lists from their school districts, ask staff to present identification cards, and start getting vaccines in people’s arms. School employees are critical workers and deserve to be protected as soon as possible.”

Hawkins acknowledges the challenge of coordinating vaccinations, but he believes it is often made worse by the state’s “top-down” approach and limiting flexibility at the local level.

“I’m thankful the health care providers in my region have been successful at getting our allocation of vaccinations administered, but the state should simplify things and provide more local flexibility in decision-making. Get the vaccines to our locals and let them get it done.”

Education committee leaders urge vaccine access for all school employees

Washington state’s education committee leaders, including 12th District state Sen. Brad Hawkins, urged Gov. Jay Inslee and the state Department of Health to revise recent guidance so that all school employees who wish to get a vaccination can receive one in February as part of Phase 1B2.

According to the Department of Health’s recent guidance and timeline, which health care providers are following, school employees “50 years or older” are eligible to receive their vaccines as early as February. However, school employees “under 50 years” of age will not be eligible until at least April. The Jan. 11 letter comes at a time when school districts throughout Washington are expecting many, if not all, grade levels to soon return to classrooms to potentially interact with hundreds of students per day.

While this is welcome news for many in the school community, Hawkins – who serves as the ranking Republican member on the Senate’s Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee – believes it definitely justifies school employees (administrators, teachers, and support staff) gaining access to the vaccines now that front-line healthcare workers, first responders, and assisted living facility residents have already begun to receive vaccinations.

“School employees throughout Washington are delivering an essential service to help fulfill our state’s paramount duty,” said Hawkins. “They deserve to be prioritized with older Washingtonians, especially considering that they cannot self-isolate like many in our state. In fact, they will be doing the opposite, working indoors and in close proximity with students and staff. They absolutely should gain access to the vaccine.”

The letter, signed by the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate education committees, states: “As members of the Washington State Legislature and supporters of our educational system, we are writing to express our disappointment with the Department of Health’s recent guidance related to Washington’s COVID-19 Vaccine Phases. Based on your graphical representation of the phases and its timeline, it appears that many school district employees will not be eligible to receive their first dose of the COVID vaccine until at least April. If timelines slip and school employees are unable to receive their first dose until later in April, by the time they are fully vaccinated and gain full protection from the virus, school districts across Washington will be nearing the end of the school year. This is unacceptable.”

 The letter further states: “As you know, school employees, students and families have made tremendous sacrifices during this pandemic and, like us all, they deeply hope for circumstances to return to normal soon. However, nothing will even resemble normal until our schools are fully functioning, given that they are foundational in so many ways to all Washington communities.”

(Included are links to the letter from the legislative education committee leaders to the governor and DOH, and the vaccine distribution timeline.)

Hawkins sponsors bill to address learning loss

Following a challenging school year for students, parents, and schools and anticipating significant learning loss across Washington state, 12th District State Sen. Brad Hawkins has introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at reforming “outdated” school year calendars that leave students with nearly three months each year with no school instruction.

Hawkins, the ranking Republican member on the Senate’s Early Learning and K-12 Committee, is sponsoring Senate Bill 5147 to explore alternative school calendars. His lead co-sponsor is 41st District Sen. Lisa Wellman, who chairs the committee and works closely with Hawkins on education policy.

As proposed, the bill would create opportunities for up to 50 school districts (30 from western Washington and 20 from eastern Washington) to voluntarily participate in year-round school. In Hawkins’ bill, school districts selected to participate in implementing alternative school calendars would receive an additional 30 days of funding beyond the 180 days that the state currently provides. The bill also includes financial incentives for districts seeking to spread their existing 180 days over a 12-month school calendar. If this program works well, the Legislature could consider expansion to all schools in future years.

Hawkins says reforming the school calendar is long overdue. “The school calendar that most districts use is rooted in an agrarian economy where families needed children to take long breaks in the summer to assist with farming. That no longer makes sense, and a change is long overdue,” says Hawkins.

“Now is the time – following this pandemic – to think big about reforming the system and to get serious about addressing the learning loss of our students. Long summer breaks, requiring significant reteaching in the fall, is the last thing our kids need in the years ahead. I hope a program that encourages lawmakers and districts to consider transformational reforms will be thoughtfully discussed and debated,” says Hawkins. “Our students deserve that.”

“Through no fault of the educators, students, or parents, there has been learning loss this year and often during summer breaks for many students. This is the perfect time to explore options about how we can recover from learning loss. We need to keep all our options on the table to give our students all that they need,” says Wellman.

The bill will be referred to the Early Learning and K-12 Committee, where it is expected to receive a hearing early in the session. Hawkins and Wellman look forward to receiving testimony and public input. The 2021 legislative session began Jan. 11 and is scheduled to last 105 days.

(CAPTION: Ranking Republican member Brad Hawkins (12th District) and Chair Lisa Wellman (41st District) of the Senate’s Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee are teaming up to address student “learning loss” by exploring alternative school calendars in Senate Bill 5147.)

More than 2,200 respond to Hawkins’ COVID-19 vaccination survey

An online survey that was emailed to more than 36,000 recipients of 12th District Sen. Brad Hawkins’ e-newsletter revealed that a strong majority of respondents plan to receive a COVID-19 vaccination when it is available to them, but only a slight majority believed that vaccinations should be required for all public school students.

Hawkins sent the short, unscientific survey to constituents on Dec. 16. More than 2,200 people responded to the survey, which ended Dec. 28.

  • When asked if they planned to take a COVID-19 vaccination when it is available to them, 67 percent said “yes” while 33 percent answered “no.”
  • On the question of whether they believe vaccinations should be required for all public school students, 53 percent said “yes” while 47 percent responded “no.”

“Collecting feedback from the people I serve is very important to me, and I’m grateful to the 2,200 plus people who participated in my recent survey,” said Hawkins. “The COVID vaccine distribution appears to be going very well, and I’m excited for all of the medical workers, first responders, and others who are being vaccinated.

“I definitely look forward to getting vaccinated myself,” added Hawkins. “However, when it comes to developing state policy, I support individual choices. I do not believe the government should require employees to be vaccinated or force parents to vaccinate their children. The COVID vaccines are currently not approved for children yet anyway, but the policy discussions in Olympia about the COVID vaccines and other vaccines will no doubt continue into the upcoming legislative session. Between now and then, I’ll be reviewing the 86 pages of comments people provided me in response to my survey. I asked for their feedback and received a lot of it, so I’m grateful. Vaccine policy has been and will continue to be a big issue in Olympia and throughout the country.”

The 2021 legislative session begins Jan. 11 and is scheduled to last 105 days.