The 2019 legislative session ended on April 28 with a lot accomplished for the state and final operating, capital, and transportation budgets. Among those were some great wins for youth and expanded learning providers. We also made great strides on some hard fought battles and will press on in session 2020 – only nine short months away!
Big thanks to the Washington Expanded Learning Opportunities Network, our partners, and everyone that sent emails and made calls to legislators.
It’s this simple: quality expanded learning cuts the opportunity gap.
Research clearly shows thathigh-quality expanded learningafter school and in the summer improve attendance, behavior, and grades while building the social-emotional and 21st century workforce skills needed to succeed in school and in life.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed a change to the Public Charge rule in relation to immigration. The new proposed rule expands the criteria significantly in a way that will “make it harder for many immigrants to obtain legal permanent residency (green cards)” (PIF-WA FactSheet, 2018). Between October 10th and December 10th, ANYONE can comment on the proposed rule in the Federal Register. The Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition of Washington has set up an easy comment portalfor people to choose a template comment to personalize and submit directly to the Federal Register.
Happy Lights On Afterschool Day! Thank you to Washington State Governor Jay Inslee for declaring October 25, 2018 Light On Afterschool Day in Washington State. Governor Inslee, along with many other community leaders, afterschool providers, families, and young people are acknowledging and celebrating the importance of afterschool programs today in keeping kids safe, inspiring them to learn, and helping working families.
One of hundreds of celebrations across the country, we saw firsthand the positive impact of high-quality summer learning in engaging youth in building new skills, discovering passions, and connecting with caring adults.
