State Legislature Approves Education Budget

Dear Digital Public School Family,
 
Earlier this summer, the Washington State House and Senate passed a $43.7 billion state budget. The new funding plan pumps $7.3 billion into education over the next four years.
 
So what does this new budget plan mean for digital public school students?
 
The Good News: Per pupil funding for digital public school students will steadily increase over the next several years.
 
The Bad News: Digital public school students will receive much lower per pupil funding than their traditional brick and mortar public school counterparts.
 
Requirements of the Plan: The plan requires the state to show per pupil funding on a regular basis. This will allow us to compare funding for a digital public school student to that of a brick and mortar public school student and see the differences statewide. Yes, we will be getting more money, but it will be visible just how much less digital public school students will receive compared to traditional public school students.
 
Next steps: We are looking at how existing law can be modified to improve per pupil funding for digital public school students.
 
What can parents do: Email your legislators, you can click here to find out who represents you, and urge them to support equal funding for every student’s basic education whether they are enrolled in a traditional public school or an innovative digital public school.
 
You can cut and paste the following text into an email and send it to your legislators. Don't forget to add your name and city to your email:
 
BEGIN
 
Dear Legislator,
 
Thank you for working with your colleagues to approve an education budget that fully funds K-12 education. While this budget is a step in the right direction, more needs to be done to provide equal funding for the thousands of digital public students in our state. As a parent of a digital public school student, I hope you will continue to look for opportunities to improve per pupil funding for digital public school students. Our schools are state-approved, high-quality public schools. We have state-certified teachers, world-class curriculum, and strong accountability measures for student achievement. We are part of the public school system and our students deserve to be funded like their brick and mortar counterparts. 
 
Thank you,
Name
City
 
END
 
What to do if your legislators respond: If you receive an email response from your legislators, please send us a quick note, info@digitalpublicschools.org, so we know what information they share with you.
 
As a parent, your voice makes a significant difference in the debate surrounding funding for digital public education. Please make sure your voice is heard by contacting your legislator today!
 
Sincerely,

 
Sally Karr
President, Digital Public Schools Alliance - WA