Tag Archives: schools

Hawkins prepares Senate amendment to “inclusive” curriculum bill

As the Legislature readies itself for multiple weeks of upcoming floor debate on hundreds of bills, Sen. Brad Hawkins is troubled by the mandates in Senate Bill 5462, which would require all school districts in the state to adopt an “inclusive” curriculum.

“The big issue I have with this proposal is the forced adoption of more Olympia-based curriculum by all school districts in the state,” said Hawkins. “This reminds me very much of the highly controversial ‘comprehensive’ sex education bill that was mandated upon every district just a few years ago.”

In 2020, Senate Bill 5395 was approved in the Legislature after much debate on nearly 200 House and Senate floor amendments. The bill, which Hawkins voted against, was eventually approved and was signed into law. After the governor signed it, citizens gathered enough signatures to create a referendum, which failed on a statewide vote in November 2020. During the intense floor debate in 2020, Hawkins’ amendment allowing families to opt out their children was one of the only amendments approved and signed into law.

For Senate Bill 5462, Hawkins will propose an amendment that “allows rather than requires” school districts to adopt the state-developed policies directing inclusive curriculum. It also removes requirements in the bill that apply to public charter schools. While Hawkins had success with his floor amendment in 2020, he is not as optimistic with this year’s Senate Bill 5462 amendment, saying, “The votes are not likely there to significantly change the statewide mandates this bill proposes, but I’m going to try.”

Hawkins added, “Lawmakers in Olympia need to allow our locally elected school boards to make more decisions for their communities, especially related to curriculum. Our whole school governance system was once predicated on local control and now it seems that the Washington State Legislature wants to become the ‘Washington State School Board.’”

Republican education leader urges school districts to consider swapping this year’s spring and summer breaks due to COVID

It has been a difficult year for students, parents, and school officials. With a limited percentage of Washington school districts offering in-person instruction and very few districts, if any, back to their usual operations, 12th District state Sen. Brad Hawkins is urging districts to think differently about how to maximize their 180 state-funded school days for the remainder of the school year.

“I am a big proponent of reimagining the school calendar in the long term, especially as our state prepares to pull out of this pandemic, but this year is unique and also presents an opportunity for us to think differently,” said Hawkins, a former school board member, father of two public school students, and the ranking Republican member on the Senate’s Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee.

Hawkins is urging the state’s 295 school districts to consider swapping their normal one-week spring break with their usual 10-12-week summer break and then resuming the remainder of their 180 school days throughout the summer, in-person, to prepare for the 2021-22 school year. By doing this, Hawkins says, school staff will be vaccinated, COVID rates will likely be down, and all districts could offer full in-person instruction. Also, the districts will have had plenty of time to prepare for the summer instruction, with the extended spring break.

Hawkins added, “The state provides districts full flexibility on how they spread their 180 instructional days. Most school districts would agree that in-person instruction is ideal. With the state taking so long for school employee vaccinations and few districts seemingly eager to resume their full operations, it makes sense to me to cut those losses, swap those breaks, and move ahead.”

Hawkins acknowledges that a mid-year school calendar change is not without its challenges, including gaining support from unions and local bargaining groups. The Legislature just approved House Bill 1368, which allocates $2.2 million in COVID relief, including over $700 million for K-12 education assistance.

“Districts can utilize some of those dollars or savings from other areas of their operations during the pandemic to negotiate a one-time fix for the summer schedule,” said Hawkins.

“We definitely can’t have the teachers’ union or some districts resisting the reopening of schools because they are so fundamental to our communities and families. We all need to work together to make sure all students receive the education they deserve. I’m proposing another option to help do this,” added Hawkins.

Hawkins concluded, “We need to figure out something. Our students and families deserve it.”

Education committee approves Hawkins’ school calendar bill

Following a challenging school year for students, parents, and schools, and anticipating significant learning loss across Washington state, the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee has taken a step forward to address “learning loss” throughout the state.

The committee today approved 12^th District state Sen. Brad Hawkins’ bipartisan legislation, Senate Bill 5147, aimed at addressing learning loss by exploring alternatives to current school calendars that leave students with nearly three months each year with no school instruction.

Hawkins, the ranking Republican member on the Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee, is sponsoring the bill to explore alternative school calendars. His lead co-sponsor is 41^st District Sen. Lisa Wellman, who chairs the committee and works closely with Hawkins on education policy. Other prominent Senate co-sponsors include Majority Leader Andy Billig, Ways and Means Committee Vice Chair David Frockt, Democratic Caucus Chair Bob Hasegawa, and Republican Caucus Chair Ann Rivers.

As passed by the committee, the bill would create opportunities for up to 30 school districts (15 from western Washington and 15 from eastern Washington) to voluntarily participate in year-round school. The bill includes a financial incentive in the school funding formula for districts seeking to spread their existing state-funded 180 days over a full calendar year. The bill would require instructional days in at least 11 months of the school year and breaks of no longer than four weeks.

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction would select applicant districts based on the bill’s criteria to implement the program beginning in the 2022-23 school year and concluding after the 2025-26 school year and then report back to the Legislature regarding its findings. If this program works well, the Legislature could consider expansion to all schools in future years.

Hawkins, who served for 10 years on the Eastmont School Board and North Central Educational Service District Board before being elected to the Legislature, says now is the time for the state to encourage willing school districts to reform their school calendars.

“Now is the time – as we’ll pull out of this pandemic – to think big about reforming the system and to get serious about addressing student learning loss,” said Hawkins. “Long summer breaks, requiring significant reteaching in the fall, are the last thing our kids need in the years ahead. I hope for a program that encourages lawmakers and districts to consider transformational reforms to meet students’ academic needs. They deserve that,” says Hawkins.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal has listed reforms to the school calendar as one of his agency’s 10 “strategic changes.” In a Jan. 8, 2021, letter to Gov. Jay Inslee and members of the Legislature, Reykdal cited “Substantially shrink summer learning loss in the long term, and learning loss due to the pandemic in the short term, by balancing the school calendar” as a policy step for increasing learning for students in an effort “to become the highest performing public education system in the nation.”

Reykdal appreciates the bipartisan effort and positive dialogue around SB 5147, saying, “I am grateful for Senator Hawkins’ deep dive into this critical work. We have known for a very long time that our agrarian school calendars contribute to summer learning loss and a lack of supports for students who need us the most. By rebalancing calendars, we can improve student achievement and student supports, and we can sustain the teaching profession for our educators who are cramming 1,700+ work hours into a compressed calendar.”

The Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee has referred the bill to the Senate Ways and Means Committee for further consideration.

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, 12^th 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 41^st 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 (12^th District) and Chair Lisa Wellman (41^st 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 12^th 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.