March 7, 2018
IT’S OFFICIAL!!
March 6, 2018
Governor Inslee will be signing HB 1508 into law tomorrow at 1:30! Tune into TVW to watch live.
February 19, 2018
The House agreed with the Senate amendments today. Breakfast After the Bell is now heading to the governor’s desk for his signature!
January 31, 2018
Breakfast After the Bell was approved by the Senate by a vote of 43-5. The Senate amended the bill, which means it now comes back to the House for us to agree with the changes.
January 25, 2018
Breakfast After the Bell was approved by the Senate Ways & Means committee today. It now goes to the Senate Rules committee where it’ll wait until called up for a vote by the full Senate. The Senate version of the bill passed last week by a strong 40-8 vote, which means Breakfast After the Bell will very likely be on the governor’s desk soon for his signature. Stay tuned…
January 10, 2018
It’s a new day and a new legislative session in Olympia. And this time Democrats are in control of the state Senate, which means Breakfast After the Bell programs will soon be expanded to hundreds of more schools across the state.
I was thrilled when I learned my bill, HB 1508, would be the first bill to be approved by the House of Representatives in the 2018 session. Democrats are living up to our promise of putting people first!
You can watch my floor speech below and learn more about why it’s so important for students to be well-nourished before they start the school day.
April 4, 2017
HB 1508 was approved by the Senate Ways & Means Committee. It now goes to the full Senate for consideration.
April 3, 2017
HB 1508 was heard in the Senate Ways & Means committee. More strong support for student nutrition!
March 27, 2017
HB 1508 was approved by the the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education committee. It now goes to the Senate Ways & Means Committee for consideration.
March 21, 2017
HB 1508 was heard in the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education committee.
March 2, 2017
The bill was approved by a vote of 90-8 in the House of Representatives and will now go to the Senate for its consideration. You can watch my floor speech below:
February 23, 2017
HB 1508 was approved by the House Appropriations Committee. It now goes to the full House of Representatives for consideration.
February 22, 2017
Another public hearing and another strong showing in support of school nutrition!
February 9, 2017
HB 1508 was approved by the House Education committee. The committee adopted a handful of amendments including one that will incorporate the language of HB 1542 – a bill that would expand community-based agricultural partnerships designed to lower the high school dropout rate and keep at-risk students engaged in learning.
The bill now goes to the House Appropriations Committee for consideration.
February 2, 2017
HB 1508 was heard in the House Education committee. We has a strong showing of advocates testify in favor of the bill. You can watch the testimony below:
January 23, 2017
We know that kids cannot learn when they are hungry. We have high expectations for students in our classrooms. However, in order for them to be prepared for rigorous learning, they have to be ready to learn. Too many of our students struggle with homelessness, food insecurities, and other challenges.
Hungry students do not achieve the same level of academic success as those who eat healthy meals for breakfast. As poverty and homelessness among children has increased, so has the number of students who go without meals in the morning.
Nearly 300,000 kids in Washington state live in food–insecure homes and almost half of Washington’s 1.1 million public school students qualify for free and reduced price meals at school. Washington state has nearly 40,000 homeless students.
The Washington Kids Ready to Learn Act (HB 1508) gives school districts the opportunity to provide nutritious food to students and make sure they are ready to learn in the classroom. The measure will expand highly successful Breakfast After the Bell programs to more schools across the state.
Breakfast After the Bell offers nutritious meals to students without interrupting instructional time. Breakfast programs for low-income children are reimbursed in part or full by the federal government, and currently have low utilization rates.
Breakfast After the Bell is expected to increase participation in those existing programs. By moving breakfast after the bell, instead of before, students will receive a healthy meal without having to stand in line and miss instructional opportunities.