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.

WFIS Legislative and Policy Updates


 

The dismal grab back of EANS support

Political maneuvering resulted in the legislature reverting over $6.8M private school-designated EANS I and ARP/EANS II funds by June 30, 2023. Your legislative representative may or may not know of these actions. WFIS is working with national and legal advisors to...

The Nation’s Report Card

WFIS is asking that all schools invited by NAEP to participate in the national test please do so. The participation of private schools in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is essential for examining the picture of K-12 education in the United...

EANS I reimbursements due by June 30

Schools that received EANS I funding allocations need to spend the funding now. If not, the private schools will lose about $5m on June 30. EANS I is the Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools federal relief program approved by the Department of Education in...

On the horizon: Stronger Connections Grant

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act allows school districts to apply for the Stronger Connections Grant Program. The Stronger Connections Grant will only be available to private schools in Districts with a 40%+ poverty level IF the District applies for the grant....

Clean Buildings Standards next webinar

The team at the Department of Commerce will be hosting their next Clean Buildings Expansion webinar on May 18 Workshop (10 am-Noon) to focus on customer outreach, technical support, and energy benchmarking for Tier 2 (20,000+ sq ft building spaces). Facilities...

2023 legislative session, final summary

SB 5315 - There were months of collaboration between the private schools authorized as Non-Public Agencies and legislators. The bill was passed through both Houses and is on the Governor's desk after multiple iterations. Non-Public Agencies are often either private...

Clean Buildings expansion

April 13th was the first community engagement webinar for Tier 2 building owners (20,000 sq ft or more of covered space) and community advocates conveying the Clean Buildings Expansion Bill SB 5722 final rule-making steps. Below are links to the webinar recording,...

Security Personnel on Campus

Schools are curious about the rules concerning security personnel on campus. WFIS will continue to compile resources and share them in our newsletter. Here are the laws on who can be on your campus and act as security. There is a lot of information in the various...

About Our Work


 

WFIS is the only statewide forum for Washington’s nonpublic school community. We participate in all levels of collective educational dialogs to ensure our schools’ input and perspective are utilized in educational policy agenda while advocating for private school student access to all programs that enhance our state’s education quality.  In addition, we seek resolution in cases where local policy application may result in double standards or inequities.

 

FEDERAL
WFIS will work to seamlessly apply the new ESSA policies and programs, including strengthened provisions for private school student inclusion in all districts within the state. Our organization also supports legislative efforts nationwide 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, fostering collaboration amongst schools, students, and the greater community.