WSSDA Urges Legislature to Relieve District Pressures and Keep Students First

By Sean Duke October 27, 2026

On October 16, the board of directors for the Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA) adopted the association’s 2027 legislative priorities.

The board’s action is the conclusion of a months-long process which began in April with a proposal window. Every school district board of directors is eligible to propose an addition, amendment, or retirement of WSSDA positions. Then, in September, all boards get to vote on the proposals at WSSDA’s General Assembly.

“WSSDA’s 2027 legislative priorities aim to center the needs of students while seeking some relief for school districts,” said Marisa Peloquin, WSSDA Legislative Committee chair from University Place School District. “I think what they communicate to legislators is that, while we desperately need funding to address student needs, we also understand the landscape of limited resources legislators face while trying to address the needs of all citizens.”

The priorities ask legislators to:

student backpack

Support Every Student with Effective Programs for Learning

  • Restore access to Transition to Kindergarten (TTK), highly capable services, and school-based mental and behavioral health to ensure early intervention.
  • Modernize learning systems that establish clear, student-centered AI and data privacy safeguards to ensure schools can innovate safely.
  • Fully fund any new graduation requirements.
108 unfunded mandates

Relieve Unfunded Mandates So Resources Reach Students

  • Prevent any new reductions to PK-12 funding and update public records rules, liability laws, and green-building requirements so districts can redirect time and resources to students.
  • Protect and maintain Local Effort Assistance (LEA) by codifying funding into permanent law, ensuring students have equitable opportunities regardless of where they live.
  • Match state-imposed costs for school employee benefits.
  • Reduce the 60% supermajority requirement for school bonds to ensure communities can build and maintain healthy, safe, and contemporary facilities.
  • Rebase the regionalization funding formula to reflect the needs of every unique community.
graph showing rising costs and decreasing funding

Address Basic Ed’s True Costs Amply, Equitably and Sustainably

  • Fulfill the state’s responsibility to fund the true cost of basic education and core operating costs that districts cannot control, including insurance, utilities, transportation, special education, and substitute teachers.
  • Modernize, stabilize, and tier Washington’s school-funding framework to equitably update funding formulas and distributions to match the real needs of all students – and expand the Learning Assistance Program (LAP).
School board compensation unchanged since 1987

Strengthen Local Governance with Investment and Flexibility

  • Strengthen locally-driven governance by preserving school board decision-making authority.
  • Fund all required training and expand access to high-quality professional development.
  • Provide state-funded compensation for school directors that reduce barriers to service.
  • Enhance district funding flexibility to meet local student needs.

 

“Our priorities strike a balance of being bold in asking for what districts need while recognizing the revenue challenges facing the Legislature,” said WSSDA Director of Strategic Advocacy Logan Noel-Endres. “WSSDA is proposing student-centered, cost-effective approaches that would immediately support school districts.”

How School Boards Can Use the Priorities

Like each of WSSDA’s resources, school boards are encouraged to use and refer to WSSDA’s priorities as much as it makes sense for their district, especially when meeting with legislators. WSSDA staff will focus on them in conversations with legislators while also referencing other member-adopted positions as needed.

More Resources

When the legislative session opens, WSSDA staff will provide a weekly legislative update email called InSession. Anyone may subscribe to InSession legislative update.

Throughout the year, staff also hold monthly webinars are aimed at equipping school board members with tips and practices to enhance their own advocacy efforts. All board members can sign up for Advocacy Action Network.

Download the Legislative Priorities as a PDF

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