What Olympia Democrats do and don't do
This 2024 session is much like last year's.
What is in the mind of the Democrats in Olympia? Why do they decide to vote one way or the other? During this session, the Democratic Caucus voted against teaching children the history of the American flag in public schools. Why would they vote against something that should not offend anyone who lives in the United States? What is their reasoning for voting no? One thing is for sure: they do not think that it is an important subject. At the same time, they voted in a law that doesn't allow anyone but a parent of a child in school to question a book or complain about any book that could be potentially dangerous to the mental and physical health of a child.
Bill 2131 has passed both houses and will be signed at the governor's desk. This new law means that a parent can only bring attention to a book once every three years. Why? Because at this point in Washington State, the Democrats are in complete control and will dictate what children will be taught and how. Parents and taxpayers no longer have any rights to their children’s education.
Below is a portion of the law and an article about stopping the teaching the Pledge of Allegiance. The sponsors of bill 2131 are named below if you want to email them.
Supplemental Instructional Materials Policies and Procedures. By the beginning of the 2025-26 school year, school boards, charter schools, and state-tribal education compact schools must adopt or revise as necessary policies and procedures governing requested reviews and removals of supplemental instructional materials. The policies and procedures must:
• include a summary of the requirements governing supplemental instructional materials;
• require that requests for the review and potential removal of supplemental instructional materials be in writing from a parent and submitted to the applicable certificated teacher or teacher-librarian and school principal;
• seek to resolve requests at the school building level through a meeting if requested by the parent or guardian;
• require, if a resolution cannot be agreed upon, the principal, in consultation with a teacher-librarian if available, to provide a written decision on whether to remove the materials within 30 days of the meeting or within 60 days if no meeting; and
• provide a process for appealing these decisions to the school district superintendent or designee.
School district superintendents' decisions are not subject to appeal. Final decisions at any point in the process may not be reconsidered for a minimum of three years unless there is a substantive change of circumstances as determined by the superintendent.
Decisions must be in conformity with the new requirements, and decisions may be limited in application to only the student or students of the parent who submitted the complaint.
Supplemental instructional materials means materials in school libraries and educational materials that are not expressly required by the school or district and are instead selected at the discretion of a certificated teacher or teacher-librarian for materials in school libraries.
Parent means a parent or legal guardian of a student who is enrolled in the school or school district.
Instructional Materials Policies and Procedures. The system for receiving, considering, and acting upon written complaints regarding instructional materials must include similar requirements as the policies and procedures regarding supplemental instructional materials.
Complaints must be submitted to the principal, and the Instructional Materials Committee must provide a written decision on the matter within 60 days of a meeting with a parent or guardian or within 90 days after the complaint was received, whichever is later.
School district policies to evaluate teaching materials must be in accordance with these new requirements.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available. New fiscal note requested on February 13, 2024.
Creates Committee/Commission/Task Force that includes Legislative members: No.
Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.
Staff Summary of Public Testimony on Engrossed Substitute House Bill:
The committee recommended a different version of the bill than what was heard. No public hearing was held.
Sponsors
Stonier, Macri, Davis, Pollet, Reed, and Ramel
Companion Bill-6208
Sponsors
Nobles, Trudeau, Cleveland, Dhingra, Frame, Hasegawa,
Hunt, Keiser, Liias, Lovelett, Randall, Saldaña, Valdez, and C.
Wilson