Email 17: Important Message from the Washington Coalition for Gifted Education/WCGE

[Seattle Public Schools Highly Capable Services Advisory Committee]

From WCGE: We Need Your Help - Stat

The deadline for bills to be passed out of the Appropriations Committee in the House is April 9th. So far SSB 5354 has ***not*** been scheduled for a public hearing. The committee plans sessions on April 5, 6 and 8. There is still time!

Please contact committee chairman Rep. Timm Ormsby, even if you have already done so, and urge him to schedule a public hearing and executive session on SSB 5354 before the April 9th deadline. Add a few words about why this bill is important as an equity measure [talking points below].

timm....@leg.wa.gov

Please also send an email to your own House Representatives and ask them to urge Rep. Ormsby to schedule this bill. If you don’t know who they are: https://app.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/

[Have friends and family across Washington do this as well.]

If this bill does not get out of Appropriations, it is ***dead*** for this session and we have to start all over again next year.

Suggested talking points (use your own words, but keep your message short):
* This is an important bill to improve equity in state highly capable programs
* The bill asks for important data disaggregation for better evidence-based decision-making about highly capable programs
* It calls on OSPI to provide equity-promoting guidelines when diversity goals aren't met
* It calls for highly capable professional development for principals, counselors, and student teachers – OSPI already has free professional development materials available online
* OSPI needs more than its current one half-time employee to serve the ENTIRE state with technical support and guidance and to provide data so that legislators and school districts can make evidence-based decisions
* It requires districts to acknowledge highly capable status from other districts for families that move a lot (military, migrant, etc.).
* It provides for transportation to highly capable schools, which is an issue especially in rural districts

Thank you,

HCS AC