K12 Education (2025)

Overview:

During the 2025 session, Legislative Pages (students ages 14-16) had the opportunity to interview legislators from both the Majority party and the Minority party about issues of interest. In this lesson, students will learn about where the Majority Party, currently the Democrats, and the Minority Party, currently the Republicans, stand on three important policies addressed by the House Education Committee.

1. Dual Credit Programs (2025) House Page, Sahana Rattan, asks House Education Committee Members Lillian Ortiz-Self (D) 21st District, and Rob Chase (R) 4th District, “…I am enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program at a school within my district that is not my designated school. However, some districts don’t offer specific course options that others do. For example, the Everett School District has no schools that offer the IB program. Do you think the state should be implementing measures to promote these programs in all school districts and to ensure equitable access?
2. Emergency Response Systems (2025) House Page, Gideon Hoffman, asks House Education Committee Members Lillian Ortiz-Self (D) 21st District, and Rob Chase (R) 4th District, “…there have been multiple Senate bills, such as SB 5003 and SB 5004, regarding safety in public schools.
   What steps do you think should be taken to advance school safety legislation, which aims to enhance physical security and emergency response systems in our schools?
3. Student & Parental Rights (2025) House Page, Neil Shah, asks House Education Committee Members Lillian Ortiz-Self (D) 21st District, and Rob Chase (R) 4th District, “…I learned that HB 1296 would allow the State Superintendent to withhold funding for schools deemed noncompliant. How does the committee balance this potential funding restriction with the reality that our schools are severely underfunded and are already limiting student access to a range of academic opportunities?

Essential Questions:

• To what extent does the state government control what local school districts do?
• What are the different ideas presented to help students feel safe in school?
• To what extent are the Republican and Democratic parties similar in their approaches to the role of the government in the school system?

House Education Committee:

The House Education Committee considers issues relating to kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) education.