Being a parent is nonstop hard work, making it challenging to stay on top of news that impacts families in Washington state. This Hits Home (formerly The Roundup) is your weekly hit of news, commentary, and, occasionally, opinion pieces. Here’s the update for the week of Jan. 5 to Jan. 11.
Chris Reykdal delivers “State of Education” and call for tax reform
Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal’s 2026 “State of Education” address last week landed with a familiar mix of urgency and warning:
Washington’s public schools are still carrying the weight of the pandemic, and the cracks are showing. He talked about students who need more mental health support than schools can currently provide, classrooms stretched thin by staffing shortages, and districts struggling to balance rising costs with limited resources. Reykdal framed these challenges not as temporary disruptions, but as signals that the system is being asked to do more — educate, stabilize, heal — without the funding to match.
At the heart of his message was money and how the state raises it. Reykdal argued that Washington’s tax structure, heavily dependent on sales and property taxes, is both regressive and inadequate for sustaining public education. Because the state lacks a graduated income tax, he said, middle-class families shoulder a disproportionate share of the burden while schools remain underfunded. He stopped short of proposing a specific income or wealth tax, but made it clear that avoiding the conversation has consequences.
Reykdal said the current tax system doesn’t serve the needs of families or schools.
“It’s broken. It’s time for Democrats to admit that. It’s time for Republicans to drop the rhetoric and say all taxes are bad,” Reykdal said. “We have vital services in the state that have to be paid for. The economy will continue to grow for the next 100 years, but the share of it going to public services will shrink if we do nothing.” Continuing to rely on the same revenue tools, he warned, leaves lawmakers choosing between cuts, short-term patches, or asking families to pay more without fixing the underlying problem. Read the full address synopsis on Seattleschild.com.
Take action: Click the image below to watch the “State of Education” address. Have an opinion about an income tax or wealth tax in Washington? Make your voice heard: Contact members of the Washington State House of Representatives and Washington State Senate.
The childhood vaccination schedule showdown
Let’s start by getting right to the point: Washington state belongs to the West Coast Health Alliance, which includes the California and Oregon state health departments and was created to counter the Trump administration’s threats to limit vaccine access. Find the alliance-recommended childhood vaccine schedule against 15 serious diseases on the West Coast Health Alliance website.
Why should you look there? Because local public health experts (and those across the country) are distressed by the unprecedented step taken last week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The agency announced it has dropped the number of recommended vaccines for childhood from 17 to just 11. According to a report by the Associated Press, most high-income countries recommend at least 15 vaccines between birth and age 18.
“We are deeply concerned about recent changes to the national immunization schedule, which removes some vaccines that were previously recommended for children,” Dr. Sandra J. Valenciano, Health Officer, Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSCK), posted on that agency’s social media on Monday. “These vaccines are critical protectors of our children and prevent serious disease.”
As a former birth and postpartum worker who’s helped care for more than 2,500 infants over 30 years—including upwards of 20 babies fighting respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in Seattle ICU’s—I have to wonder if U.S. Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has ever seen the devastating (and preventable) seens what severe RSV, COVID-19, Hepatitis B or Influenza infections can do to infants and toddlers. It is not pretty. These are serious diseases that can and do devastate children and their families every year. All four vaccines were removed from the CDC schedule. A preponderance of evidence shows these vaccines to be safe and effective.
Take action: As parents, we get to make the private decision whether to follow the new CDC recommendations, our local alliance vaccine schedule, or none at all. This is why I urge the new parents I work with and all parents to learn about the diseases and vaccines in both schedules to make an informed decision – in conversation with their pediatrician.
That said, now is definitely the time for flu shots
Not to beat a dead horse here, but one of the diseases against which the CDC no longer recommends vaccination—but Washington health officials do—is flu. According to the most recent Washington State Influenza Update, flu season is in high swing across Washington and will likely worsen over the next month. So far in the 2025-26 flu season, 22 people have died of flu, and flu symptoms have brought more than 2,000 children to hospitals. Check out the full story in The Seattle Times.
A Big Question: What will it take to achieve universally affordable child care in Seattle?
We like to tackle big questions at Seattle’s Child. And how to make child care afforable and available to all families who need it is a BIG one for city and state. In this month’s issue of Seattle’s Child magazine, we ask two questions: How close is seattle to this goal? What will it take to get there? We look for answers in many places, starting with New Mexico, which began guaranteeing no-fee child care to every family in that state last November. Today in Seattle the cost of child care for two kids under age five can run upwards of $50,000. Guaranteeing no-cost or affordable child care to every family is, then, and issue of economic justice at all levels. Pick up the lates issue or read it online here.
Changemakers: The power of youth to impact food insecurity
In Seattle’s Sound End, food insecurity is an issue that community organizations are working to address—and turning to area youth to help address. Check out South Seattle Emerald’s recent article about three such groups—Young Women Empowered (Y-WE), Nurturing Roots, and Dope Culture LLC. From working the land to working the kitchen, it highlights the power of young people to be part of the solution of a critical community issue.
Speaking of food, what’s with the new, more-red-meat food pyramid?
I believe in giving credit where credit is due. So, hats off to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for pushing Americans to limit added sugar and ultra-processed food and eat plenty of “real foods” like fruits and veggies as the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services this week, suggests. There’s a lot of good, evidence-based research about the benefits of all those things.
But from there, the guidelines turn the federal food pyramid on its head. Literally. The old government-approved graphic of a pyramid of food, with grains, fruits and veggies at the foundation (as in eat more of these) and meat and low-fat dairy in the middle of the 5-tier image (as eat in moderation), is now an upside down pyramid, suggesting increased meat (including red meat) and whole-fat dairy and reduced grains and carbs. Nutrition experts are concerned, calling the new graphics and guidelines “confusing and contradictory.”
From Dietary Guidles for Americans (Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
“The ‘Dietary Guidelines for Americans’ have always emphasized healthy, whole-food dietary patterns across the lifespan,” said Judy Simon, MS, RDN, CD, CHES, FAND, a clinical dietitian, nutritionist, and clinical instructor at UW Medical Center. “However, the current guidelines raise serious concerns by favoring red meat and dairy and effectively doubling protein recommendations, with a strong emphasis on animal-based sources. Extensive scientific evidence links high intakes of red meat, saturated fat, and excessive animal protein to increased risk of chronic disease.”
Simon added that although the new guidelines say saturated fat should remain below 10% of total daily calorie intake, they also promote foods and cooking practices that make it difficult to reach that target. The result: “guidance that encourages a high-saturated fat, high-protein dietary pattern not supported by the evidence,” Simon said.
“It relegates health-promoting whole grains, such as oats, to the lowest tier despite strong evidence supporting their role in cardiometabolic health,” said Simon, who is concerned about a growing vilification of carbohydrate-rich foods and the minimization of whole grains.
“Whole grains are essential sources of energy—particularly for children and active individuals—and provide critical fiber, vitamins, and minerals,” she said. “Nutrition guidance should reflect the totality of evidence and clearly support balanced, plant-forward dietary patterns that promote long-term public health.”
Instead, Kennedy, who is not a dietician or nutritionist, asserted last week that meat and healthy fats were “wrongly discouraged” in prior dietary guidelines.
“We are ending the war on saturated fats,” Kennedy said.
I’m not a dietitian either. But I do follow the science about red meat consumption and the beef industry’s impact on the environment (not good). I’m also a vegetarian, so there’s that.
My kid, however, is not. He loves meat in all forms. I see him doing the happy dance. Still, I’m going to continue to put science first and advise him to eat beef and other meats sparingly. If meat consumption is an issue you care about for your kids, you may want to keep an eye on school lunch menus. School nutrition programs are required to be built around the federal dietary guidelines.
League of Education Voters join heads focuses on meeting basic needs 2026
Across Washington, school districts continue to struggle with significant financial shortfalls. At the same time, Washington state still faces budget deficits after significant cuts in 2025, and the Trump administration continues to threaten or cut funding for programs that help students thrive. All that is a recipe for a whole lot of advocacy during the 2026 session of the Washington State Legislature, which begins tomorrow. Seattle-based League of Education Voters (LEV) will be on the ground in Olympia, pushing for legislation on several fronts, including:
- Meeting kids’ basic nutrition and mental health needs so they are ready to learn
- Increasing mental health supports for kids, as well as creating more school-based health centers and ending harmful practices like isolation and restraint on students
- Finding and passing a new progressive state revenue stream to ensure adequate state funding for the education continuum from early learning through K-12 to postsecondary education
- Redesigning the state’s education funding system “around clear, shared goals and values.”
The latter goal is spelled out in LEV’s 2026 legislative priorities: “Today’s funding structures are inconsistent, confusing, and disconnected from what students actually need to succeed. And even when we generate more revenue, our current formulas and structures are not designed to allocate resources effectively, equitably, or sustainably. We envision a coherent, aligned system that ensures every learner is fully supported and that the state’s investments truly match its ambitions for students.”
Take action: Consider following the organization’s Bill Tracker and Youth Advocacy Hub throughout the 2026 session. To understand how school funding works and what’s at stake, check out: Education Funding Cheat Sheet (PDF); How We Fund K-12 Schools in Washington (PDF); and Regionalization Factor FAQ (PDF).
Please, Seattle City Council, let it happen here: Leaf blower ban in Portland
Is it just me, or does it feel like there is no end to the noise in Seattle—from cars, airplanes, festivals, rain, smartphones, and dogs? Add to that the roar of leafblowers in the fall. On one November Sunday last year, our neighborhood sounded like a wind tunnel on steroids.
This is not good for little ears (or old ones like mine).
So I’m pitching to you, Seattle City Council. Look at Portland for inspiration. Effective Jan. 1, that city has started a gradual ban on ear-splitting, gas-powered leaf blowers. Over the next two years, the new law will completely eliminate those horrible sounds and the machines that make them.
Environmental noise isn’t just an irritant — it has measurable effects on children’s health and development, from stressed sleep to impaired learning. A major scientific review of multiple studies published in the journal NeuroSci in 2025 found that environmental noise exposure significantly harms cognitive function in children and adolescents, including memory, attention, and other brain-based outcomes, underscoring real risks for developing minds in noisy urban neighborhoods.
By the way, according to the World Health Organization, sound levels of 70 dBA or lower over a 24-hour period are safest for preventing long-term hearing loss. The average leaf blower? 110 dB, almost the same noise level as a rock concert.
Read about Portland’s decision on OregonLive.
Take action: Contact your Seattle City Councilmember, your King County Councilmember, or the Port of Seattle Commission to make your voice heard on reducing noise pollution in Seattle.
The Good Read: Edmonds student sues because she graduated from high school
It’s a really interesting argument: Lawyers for a former student are suing Edmonds School District in part for passing her out of high school without merit—in other words, handing her a “meaningless” high school diploma. According to an article in The Seattle Times last week, the student, who has an intellectual disability, graduated with a high grade-point average, even though lawyers say her writing, reading, and math skills remain at an elementary grade level. The article raises an important question for not only special education programs, but all schools: Should you pass a child who has not met the standard? Worth the read and the pondering.
Claude talk: How to explain government takeovers and other difficult things to kids | Op-Ed
(Graphic: Sonmez Karakurt)
Trust me, I’m not a big fan of artificial intelligence counseling. Or, AI anything for that matter. It’s gunning for my job. Also, I think people should communicate with people, especially parents of kids.
That understood, after news of the U.S.’s oil-covered storm into Venezuela, followed by the Trump administration’s repeated threats to take over a sovereign Greenland from Denmark, and an alarming interview with the New York Times in which President Donald Trump states he is allowed to break laws, American and International, it feels like a good time to sit down with kids and talk.
America’s aggression toward other countries can feel a little scary to a child—not to mention parents and adults of all kinds. And then there’s Trump’s flagrant disregard for rules and law. I can absolutely see why a child might ponder “Then why do I need to follow rules?” I’m no child development expert, so I asked my AI companion, Claude, how it would talk to its kids about this situation.
Claude, it turns out, has no kids but it has been trained on a whole world of child psychology journals and research. Here’s what Claude suggested:
Start by framing the facts clearly and age-appropriately: for example, the United States government, led by elected officials, sometimes uses its military and diplomatic tools abroad when it believes U.S. security or global stability is at stake. Last week, U.S. military members forced the president of Venezuela out of his country. Many world leaders and international law experts are concerned about whether that violated the laws that countries around the world agree to, which protect each country’s freedom.
Separate rhetoric from reality in discussions: for example, in discussing Greenland, you might explain that you may have heard on the news comments from U.S. officials about the possibility of purchasing or strengthening ties with Greenland. Greenland leaders are not interested in selling their country to us. They have sovereignty, and that means they have the right to decide their own future. European governments have also said ‘NO’ to the U.S. Use it as a teachable moment: Sometimes you can say you want something, but understand you can’t or shouldn’t have it.
Talk points for kids:
- “Countries sometimes disagree and compete, and leaders make speeches that can sound scary — but that doesn’t always mean those actions are certain to happen.”
- “International law sets rules about how countries treat each other, and most nations, including the U.S., say they try to follow those rules even when they disagree.”
- “It’s okay to have questions and feel worried — talking about why these things matter can help us understand how leaders make decisions that affect the world.”
Keep your tone neutral and reassuring: emphasize that government decisions are complicated and involve many people. Talking about values like peace, respect for others, and conflict resolution can help kids process unsettling news without feeling personally threatened.
Simple and pretty darn good advice for a bot. Important advice for parents trying to help their kids make sense of our leaders’ dealings with other countries and the POTUS assertion unchecked power: “My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”
