Being a parent is nonstop hard work, which makes following all the news happening in city, state, and U.S. decision-making circles challenging. Here are highlights of Washington political news from last week (February 24-March 2) and a hint at what’s up this week.
A shameful moment in American history
I don’t know about you, but I joined a whole lot of Americans of all political persuasions in being baffled and appalled by the ambush attack and lack of hospitality displayed by President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday in a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In 250 years, no other dignitary — friend or foe — has been treated thus. New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman summed up the moment best: “This is a total perversion of U.S. foreign policy practiced by every president since World War I.” His column on the alarming breach of conduct is well worth the read.
I am eager to hear how parents are explaining what’s happening under Trump administration to kids old enough to listen, so email me your thoughts at Cheryl@seattleschild.com
I <3 Judge Whitehead
Here in Seattle, we don’t treat people from war-torn countries that way. We welcome them. More than 30,000 refugees from more than 70 countries resettled in Washington in the past decade through the efforts of local agencies and the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
Hats off to Seattle-based U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead, who last week blocked Trump’s executive order freezing refugee admissions and resettlement funds. Trump has some power to halt refugee admissions, Whitehead said, but “that authority is not limitless.”
(Image: Cheryl Murfin)
Families turn out to protest
In response to the Trump/Vance verbal assault on Zelenskyy, Vance’s demand that Zelensky say “thank you” to America for the umpteenth time, and the administration’s halting of most support to Ukraine, refugees from and supporters of the beleaguered country marched in protest down the Seattle Waterfront on Saturday. With signs and chants, the peaceful protesters, including many children, gave thanks for U.S. support over the last three years of the war and called for continued aid to Ukraine. They also called out Trump for his pro-Russia stance on the war.
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Up next
What’s going on this week in Olympia? We reached out to Arik Korman, CEO of the League of Education Voters for updates on Washington political news. Lawmakers will be focused on the next cutoff — bills must be sent to the opposite house form where they originated by March 12. “On Monday morning, both the House and Senate will begin ten days of floor action,” said Korman. “This includes working on weekends and holidays. You can count on one or both chambers [attempting] to vote on as any bills as possible before the March 12 t cutoff. The focus will shift from committee hearing rooms to spending long hours on the chamber floors and caucus rooms in the domed Legislative Building.”
Care about issues that impact kids and families? Make your voice heard during 2025 legislature.
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Words of the week
If there were two hot words in the past week of Washington political news, they were doubt and dead.
As state lawmakers continued to grapple with federal funding threats on top of an estimated $12 billion state budget deficit, many of the Democratic majority’s wishful bills looked nervously toward Friday, the session’s second primary cutoff date before falling dead to the cutting room floor, no longer in the running to become laws.
Many bills, including measures that increase funding for schools, continue to move through the process but with increasing doubt that state programs will see any funding increases.
Meanwhile, Gov. Bob Ferguson rolled out a budget proposal for the 2025-27 biennium that includes $4 billion in cuts, including one unpaid furlough day each month for state employees for the next two years.
Doubt: Expansion of the state’s early learning program
Washington state lawmakers said “yes” to making state-funded early learning programs an entitlement for all qualifying low-income families more than a decade and a half ago, but funding constraints have stalled the expansion three times since then. It’s becoming increasingly apparent that any expansion will be pushed off again this year.
House Appropriations Committee Chair Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane, has floated a bill this year that would maintain current program funding, but delay extending entitlement for the program to any family with an income at or below 36 percent of the state median until the 2030-2031 school year, as lawmakers hoped to do this year. “It is a response to the fiscal reality that we are in,” Ormsby said at a public hearing on the bill.
According to advocates at statewide advocacy group Children’s Alliance, two bills (House Bill 1314 and Senate Bill 5297) aimed at increasing availability of early learning spaces by investing in the Early Learning Facilities Fund are are still alive to continue through the legislative process. Also still in the running is House Bill 1351, which would expand age requirements so that more children can access the state’s Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) and House Bill 1357 which would providing funding for early support for infants and toddlers in Washington.
Dead: Expansion of free school meals
The idea of all public school students having access to free school meals has been popular with most Democrats and the governor this year, as in previous years. Unfortunately, legislation that would have made free breakfast and lunch available to all public school students was left behind by Friday’s deadline. Nearly 70 percent of public school students are eligible for free meals in Washington this year. The $120 million price tag to get to 100 percent proved too much, especially in the face of other expensive K-12 education bills still alive and moving through the process.
Doubt: Maintaining current enrollment and funding for ECEAP
Lawmakers hinted that funding the state’s nationally recognized Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program at current levels would be a feat, given the state’s economic crisis and the Trump administration’s federal funding “slash and burn.” That sentiment deepened late last week when Gov. Ferguson rolled out his new budget proposal, which would cut about 1,500 kids currently enrolled in the program.
This senator is on a righteous rampage
Sen. Patty Murray came out swinging on behalf of children and families last week, slamming the Trump administration for gutting staff in early learning and child care programs.
“In a shock to no one, a billionaire like Donald Trump and his boss, Elon Musk — the literal richest man on the planet — have absolutely zero clue why child care is so important to families and to our economy,” Murray said during a news conference last week. “Despite the President’s grand campaign promises to lower families’ costs, Trump and Musk have done absolutely nothing to increase child care openings, nothing to lower child care costs, nothing whatsoever to address the child care crisis.”
Murray added: “They are gearing up to give themselves and other billionaires trillions in tax cuts — but when it comes to helping parents and kids, a big fat zero.”
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray speaks out against federal funding freezes on Head Start and child care programs during a news conference. (Image: Livestream screen capture)
According to news reports, about 20 percent of workers at the national Office of Head Start and about 25 percent of workers at the Office of Child Care have been fired. The 60-year-old Head Start program provides free early education and support services to nearly 13,000 Washington children. The cut positions are some of the thousands of federal layoffs rolling out of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, a department that has still not been ratified by Congress. Click here to listen to Murray’s comments and a broader discussion on program cuts, made during a virtual press conference with leaders of Head Start and child care programs in Washington political news.
Dead: Funding for an incredibly effective dropout prevention program
If there’s one state-funded program that has proven to positively impact state on-time graduation rates, it’s the Ninth Grade Success program. The program connects teams of teachers with academic mentors and coaches to engage in strategies that ensure that 9th graders have the skills they need in 10th grade to stay on track for an on-time high school graduation. Principals from King County and around the state are gushing at the difference the program has been making for their students — in some cases, increasing the number of on-track 9th graders from 50 percent to upwards of 80 percent. Bills continuing and expanding the program were not passed out of legislative funding committees by Friday’s cutoff, leaving the program’s future in jeopardy.
Dead: Paying parents to care for their disabled kids
In Washington, unrelated caregivers are paid to take care of disabled kids under 18, including dressing, bathing, and medical tasks. Parents and legal guardians are not eligible for reimbursement for the same care until the child becomes an adult if they remain primary caregivers. It’s a conundrum for many families who struggle to find caregivers in a tight market. Sadly, bills that would have asked the federal government for permission to use Washington’s Medicaid funding to pay parents of minors with developmental disabilities were killed by last Friday’s legislative cutoff.
Still moving forward: Funding for special education
Our final bit of Washington political news — The the Washington House made inroads toward more equitable access for kids receiving special education services before Friday’s cutoff (the last day for lawmakers to review and present their findings on the financial coast of bills. Without a finance committee report, bills cannot move forward). Substitute House Bill 1357 would increase the special education excess cost multiplier for kindergarten through age 21 and for early supports for infants and toddlers. The bill would also create grants to allow up to 25 schools to enhance inclusionary practices.
