Tell the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to prevent student wellness funds from being used to support the presence of school resource officers (SROs) in schools and to provide flexibility in how districts can use these funds to support student wellness needs when they encounter staffing challenges.

Earlier this year, Washington state passed House Bill 1664, which dedicated additional funding to meet the physical, social, and emotional needs of students and address the mental health crisis affecting young people across the state. The legislature directed that this funding be spent on hiring additional school psychologists, social workers, counselors, nurses, and support personnel in order to meet student needs in school.

Right now the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is in the process of creating administrative rules to help districts understand how the new funding stream will work and how they are allowed to spend the money intended to hire psychologists, counselors, social workers, nurses, and related support staff.

The additional funding provided by HB 1664 is a much-needed improvement in resourcing the social, emotional, and physical health needs of students, but two areas of concern have come to light in the proposed rules OSPI has developed.

Expansion of the school-to-prison pipeline:

Although these new funds are intended to support student wellness, OSPI is proposing that districts can use this money to fund the support and expansion of school security personnel, also known as school resource officers (SROs). Not only is this expansion counter to the intent of the bill, but the presence of SROs in schools is associated with higher rates of discipline, harm, and perpetuation of the school-to-prison pipeline, especially for Black students and students with disabilities.

At a time when students are struggling with their mental health, we need to take steps to create safe and supportive environments that build more welcoming school climates, not take steps that can push more students out of school and into our criminal legal system.

Flexibility for districts facing staffing challenges:

As Washington’s 295 school districts navigate continued staffing challenges, many districts will struggle to hire candidates for physical, social, and emotional support staff. Moreover, there are plenty of other mental health and wellness support options that would greatly benefit students. Students have been asking for more investments in culturally relevant practices, which would directly support their social-emotional learning and improve school climate.

Schools could also choose to use these funds to help implement holistic student supports to improve student mental health and student well-being or support educators by providing professional learning and technical assistance opportunities to implement new programs or supports that improve student wellness. Limiting these funds to only be used only on staffing costs, without exception, limits the benefit they can provide to students.

We need to build flexibility into how districts can use these funds when they encounter challenges in finding a qualified candidate to fill open physical, social, and emotional support staff positions. We must ensure that all of these options are made valuable and available to districts as they work to meet the diversity of student wellness needs.

Make your voice heard by urging OSPI to make these critical changes to the proposed rules. Our limited resources should be dedicated to supporting the social, emotional, and physical well-being of students in ways that affirmatively support student well-being and center what works best for each child, especially those who are historically and systemically marginalized within our current system.

Use this form to contact OSPI about better supporting the physical, social, and emotional needs of students!

The deadline to submit public comments is Thursday, September 29, 2022.

For more information, watch our LEVinar on the 2022 Legislative Session Recap: What Washington Students Got.