Legislative and Policy Advocacy
We work with legislators and policy makers to ensure that legislation in Olympia affecting schools and education is crafted with the particular needs of private and independent schools in mind.Legislation and Policy Updates
Signed in Law, School Safety Bill Includes Private Schools in Emergency Notification
Senate Bill 5514 was signed into law Friday by Gov. Jay Inslee, requiring schools to be notified when violent incidents occur nearby. For several years WFIS has strongly advocated for private schools' inclusion on this much needed policy and the state's private...
U.S. Depart of Ed. Finds ESEA Restriction on Religious Organizations Unconstitutional, Will No Longer Enforce
From the March 11 announcement by Office of Non-Public Education, the Liaison to the nonpublic school community for the U.S. Department of Education. U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced today at the Council for American Private Education (CAPE) State...
US Department of Ed Unveils “Education Freedom Scholarships” Proposal for School Choice
The EFSOA will authorize up to $5 billion per year for the tax credits, but would not, according to the bill’s supporters, establish a federal program. Rather, the proposal would leave participation up to the states, and participating states would set the rules for how their programs would operate.
Child care costs may skyrocket under new licensing standards
image Courtney Talak, The Daily NewsChild care providers in Southwest Washington are worried the cost for daycare will skyrocket under new state licensing standards focused on increasing staff qualifications. Under the new requirements, employees at...
First Legislative Update of 2019 for WA Private Schools
The Legislative Session is in the second week and the feeling in Olympia is different than last year, which was a short and very focused session. There is more time for productive discussion around priorities, the budget and how to best support education and early...
New York State Authorizes Public Education Officials to Inspect All Private Schools
The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has issued guidelines under which public school officials would inspect private schools to determine whether the education being provided is satisfactory. This stunning announcement has generated massive pushback from...
The future of Early Learning in WA State
Early Learning Programs report many issues of concern. Many private schools that take children on Working Connections Subsidies are finding it impossible to continue to enroll low-income students due to the low subsidy rate offered by the State - often less than half...
Legal Seminar recap
WFIS reached out to the school law team at Karr Tuttle Campbell firm to host the first Private School Legal Seminar for schools in WA state in almost 10 years. Schools from the various constituency groups, members and non-members of WFIS, gathered…
Frontlines of Early Learning in Washington State
WFIS is on the complex and often redrawn front lines of early learning. This front line includes but is not limited to: the Early Learning Advisory Committee (ELAC) which is the official 'catch all' advisory committee established through legislation to advise the...
New Lawsuits Seek to Build Off of Trinity Lutheran Ruling
The Institute for Justice, a libertarian advocacy group that defends school choice programs in court, brought two new federal lawsuits aimed at unlocking public funding for religious schools — and building off momentum from the Supreme Court's 2017 ruling in Trinity...
About Our Work
WFIS brings together uniquely varied educational institutions to strengthen educational quality in Washington, while serving as the advocate and voice of independent schools. The private, independently funded school community of Washington State is comprised of over 500 approved schools serving a richly diverse population of more than 85,000 students. This diversity is reflected in the full spectrum of economic, cultural, familial, educational and religious traits of our enrolled families; families whose collective dual sacrifice as responsible tax payers and tuition contributor’s saves WA state over $800,000,000 annually.
WFIS is the only statewide forum for Washington’s non-public school community. We participate in all levels of collective educational dialogs to assure our schools’ input and perspective are utilized in educational policy agenda, while advocating for private school student access to all programs designed to enhance the quality of education in our state. In addition, we seek resolution in cases where local policy application may result in double standards or inequities.
FEDERAL -WFIS will work for seamless application of the new ESSA policies and programs which include strengthened provisions for private school student inclusion in all districts within the state. Our organization also supports legislative efforts around the country to provide school choice to all children.STATE – WFIS ensures that private schools are included in state educational programs that benefit students while guarding against the infringement of government mandated policy.LOCAL – WFIS hosts and participates in events and community engagement opportunities at the local level which foster collaboration amongst schools, students and the greater community.