WASHINGTON STATE – Protecting existing programs and restoring funding cuts that were made to help balance the state budget will be the focus of the Washington State Board of Education in the 2026 legislative session.
“We’re looking at a framework that responds to the budget realities while also keeping student needs at the forefront,” Yazmin Carretero, the board’s government relations and policy analyst, told members in their August meeting.
The legislative platform communicates the board’s top priorities to the Legislature and will guide the legislative committee’s advocacy efforts during the 2026 legislative session.
State lawmakers grappled this past session with a projected budget shortfall of more than $12 billion over four years.
They largely preserved funding for K-12 education in the 2025-27 budget, even increasing funding for special education programs and removing the artificial cap on state funding for students with disabilities.
While that investment was a historic win for special education, there were reductions in other areas for elementary and secondary schools, and colleges.
The 2025-27 budget reduced funding for college financial aid, and pared support for numerous grant-funded offerings such the Outdoor Learning Grants program.
Lawmakers and Gov. Bob Ferguson will write a supplemental budget during the 60-day session that starts in January.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal said Wednesday that his biggest supplemental budget request will be for $110 million per year to address inflation impacts on schools.
“That’s a necessary thing,” Reykdal said, adding that he will wait to make his “big requests” in the 2027 long session when a new two-year budget is written.
Last year, Reykdal sought $350.7 million in the two-year budget to cover inflationary costs of materials and supplies. The request was partially granted, with the budget including a $213,832 inflation adjustment.
Meanwhile, the legislative platform of the Board of Education also avoids big asks and focuses instead on safeguarding what it considers essential elements for Washington public schools.
The platform, which will be finalized in October, will stress the importance of maintaining civil rights protections, student supports and oversight and accountability systems.
The board will advocate for the restoration of funding for alternative and nontraditional learning models, and for additional student supports like the High School and Beyond Plan.
“We’re moving away from really just asking for a lot of new things and instead focusing on protecting the gains that we’ve made and the progress that we’ve made … and just restoring a few things that we’ve lost,” Carretero told the board in August.
She said the legislative team is “taking a thoughtful approach in investing in what works” to meet the most urgent needs.
“These are decisions that are not to be made lightly or easily,” she said.
There will be some minimal budget requests: a new contract for small agency IT services and a new administrator to handle an increasing volume of public records requests.
“We are spending a lot of time and energy on this, and we don’t have dedicated staff,” Randy Spaulding, Board of Education executive director, told the board Thursday.
The board approved both budget requests.
Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: info@washingtonstatestandard.com.
