WFIS News
Updates on our Legislative, Policy and Committee work
Inslee signs bill allowing COVID-19-related waivers of some graduation requirements
The new law allows for individual students to waive credit or testing requirements if their ability to complete them was disrupted by the pandemic. Schools are still expected to help students meet requirements as normal before falling back on the emergency waiver as a last resort.
Biden announces teachers are essential workers, urges all states to vaccinate educators ASAP
President Biden wants K-12 back open for in-person learning as a vaccinated workforce. He wants State’s to treat in-person learning like the essential service that it is, including child care. Today he is directing every state to prioritize vaccination of educational workforce.
Senate Confirms Miguel Cardona as Education Secretary
Education Week March 1, 2021 The U.S. Senate confirmed Miguel Cardona to serve as U.S. Secretary of Education, placing him in the role as the nation’s education system faces an unprecedented crisis. Cardona, a former elementary school teacher, principal, and district...
OSPI-Kaiser plan still on track for educators to be vaccinated as a group
WFIS supports schools that wish to reach out locally to establish an employee vaccination relationship. As the advocate for private schools, WFIS will continue to engage & advise leaders of the OSPI-Kaiser plan to develop systems that work for schools, to ensure all staff in a school receive the vaccination equitably and efficiently.
WFIS Advocate February 2021: private school news in WA State
Read our latest WFIS Advocate newsletter, launched today Tuesday February 23rd 2021. Private Schools month WFIS' working with State agencies 2021 Legislative Session snapshot Private schools staying connected and informed
C.D.C. Draws Up a Blueprint for Reopening Schools
The document embraces the often-repeated mantra that schools should be the last settings to close in a community and the first to reopen. But that has been followed nowhere in the country, and these guidelines have no power to force communities where transmission remains high….
WIAA Update on school sports
Rick Skeen is the Private Schools Representative on the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) as well as the Athletic Director at Kings Schools. The following details from Rick are the result of consistent WIAA efforts to return students to sports safely.
House Bill 1139 Lead Screening in Public and Private Schools
HB 1139 is scheduled for an executive session in the House Education Committee on Friday, February 12 at 10:00am. WFIS is seeking to strike private schools from this bill.
Private schools care about the health and safety of students. However, this bill mandates the same expectation for private schools as public schools without access to the infrastructure or funding to support the requirements.
AESD Bulk PPE, 2nd Round deliveries update
Private schools who elected to participate in the Bulk PPE Purchasing through their regional ESD should have been notified of the delays in some items being delivered already. Here are the latest details from ESD112 which is the coordinator for all 9 regional ESDs.
Emergency Assistance for NON-public Schools (EANS)
The Emergency Assistance for Non-Public Schools application was submitted by the Governor on Friday, February 5. The Federal Government has 20 days to release the funding. In the meantime, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction is crafting an...