МОЛОДЕЖНЫЙ ЦЕНТР ЗАЩИТЫ
Senate Bill 5187
This bill would update how we fund student transportation.
This bill is progressing.
BACKGROUND:
Washington has developed a student transportation funding formula that generates funding for school districts to address the cost of transporting students to and from school. The formula uses several data points including district transportation spending, the number of students transported, and other district characteristics to determine how much funding a district gets to transport students.
School districts consistently spend more money to transport students than they receive through the state student transportation funding formula to transport students. This is especially true for three groups of students:
Students experiencing homelessness
Foster youth
Students who have transportation needs identified in their individualized education program (IEP)
The federal McKinney-Vento law requires districts to provide transportation to and from school for foster youth and students experiencing homelessness, but the state transportation funding formula doesn't accurately account for the additional costs of transporting these students.
There is currently no state funding formula that provides districts with additional resources to specifically address the additional needs of students experiencing homelessness.
SUMMARY:
This bill would require the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to conduct an analysis of actual school district transportation costs and use the findings to develop an updated transportation formula.
The analysis and findings are especially important to identify costs associated with transporting foster youth, students experiencing homelessness, and students who need transportation as part of their IEP.
The bill would also create a new funding formula that would provide $400 for every student experiencing homelessness to districts to help meet the transportation requirements in the federal McKinney-Vento law.
POINTS TO CONSIDER ABOUT THIS BILL:
The additional costs of transporting foster youth, students experiencing homelessness, and students who need transportation as part of their IEP can cost districts hundreds of thousands of dollars above what is accounted for in the state student transportation funding formula.
Establishing this funding program to support the needs of students experiencing homelessness would be one of the few in the entire country that would guarantee additional funding for all students experiencing homelessness statewide to help districts better meet their needs.
Ways to Get Involved
Steps to Get Started
Learn where the bill is in the legislative process.
If there is an upcoming hearing, decide how you would like to get your voice heard and take action.
If there is not an upcoming hearing, or if you want to supplement your advocacy, call or write your legislators.
Spread the word and get other people on board.
Participating in a Hearing
Sign in Pro, Con, or Other
This is when individuals, advocates, and organizations make their position on a particular bill known for the record. This is particularly powerful in large numbers. Many organizations will send out Action Alerts asking people to sign in Pro or Con on a bill.
Submit Written Testimony
Submitting written testimony is a great way not only to make your position known, to legislators but also to explain why in more detail. This is a good option if you don't want to speak in front of others. People also like to offer more nuance to their position by writing.
Testify Virtually
Since COVID, many legislators are allowing remote/virtual testimony for bill hearings, as it greatly expands access to the legislative process across the state. For this, individuals usually have between 1-2 minutes to state their opinion on a bill in front of the legislative committee on Zoom.
Testify In Person
To testify on a bill in person, you must travel to Olympia and join the real-time committee hearing on the Capitol campus. You will also get between 1-2 minutes to state your opinion. This is often a powerful way to make an impression on legislators in the room.