The Washington State Legislative session ended in March and the legislature put additional funding into the State Need Grant program that will allow an additional 4,600 students to receive the grant. The legislature also put forward a plan to fully fund the State Need Grant over the next four years.
This is great news, but it’s not a fully baked deal—and your vital voices are still very much needed to stay in front of and educate key decision makers throughout the year! I want to thank you for taking the time to talk with legislators at Student Engagement Day. As you can see, your voice really does make a difference! More importantly, your voice is making important gains for equity in Washington. Whether you receive State Need Grant or not, your choice to share your story in Olympia showed legislators that you care about everyone having fair access to an education. Now, 4,600 students will be given an opportunity in part because of your work! A lot of you may be wondering what this means for WA-SEN. We still plan to educate legislators on the importance of fully funding the State Need Grant right up until we see that gap officially closed. The fact that the legislature has a written plan to close the gap is huge, but WA-SEN must be there talking to legislators every step of the way to ensure that the gap does indeed close. As Nelson Mandela said, “After climbing a great hill, one only find that there are many more hills to climb.
Thank you for being a vital part in climbing our first great hill as WA-SEN. Now on to conquer the next hills for equity in education!
Best, Darcy Posselli
Director
Washington Student Engagement Networks