Student test results make it clear: Schools need to change; WA ballooning lawsuit settlements, legal costs add to budget woes

EDITORIAL: Student test results make it clear: Schools need to change

The Seattle Times — Any way you slice it, Washington students are not doing well. For years, the Office of Public Instruction, headed by Superintendent Chris Reykdal, downplayed this increasingly grim picture, first claiming there was no such thing as learning loss from the pandemic; then rejiggering definitions of success. But last week, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (informally known as the Nation’s Report Card) ripped away any gauzy illusions: Reading scores for fourth graders here have fallen steadily since 2015, to the point where 39% cannot read a passage of text and put the events described in sequential order.

WA ballooning lawsuit settlements, legal costs add to budget woes

The Seattle Times — Over the past two fiscal years, Washington has shelled out more than $500 million to settle lawsuits and tort claims alleging negligence or misconduct by state agencies, according to a report by the state’s risk management office. The bulk of that — more than $370 million — is the result of lawsuits and claims against DCYF, which runs the state’s child welfare investigations and foster care system. Many of the settlements stem from alleged abuse at state-run youth facilities decades ago. Court decisions loosening the statute of limitations and expanding how long people can wait to file such cases have played a role. $

HOUSE & SENATE REPUBLICAN MEDIA AVAILABILITY

• Feb. 5, 2025

AGRICULTURE

• Onion growers support tariffs, potato growers not so much (Capital Press) $

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

• Washington lawmakers weigh new artificial intelligence regulations (Cascade PBS)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• China hits back as Trump pauses North American tariffs (Capital Press) $
• Record vacancies hit downtown Seattle (Axios – Seattle)
• EDITORIAL: Prospect of tariffs looms over state’s economy (The Columbian) $

CHILD CARE

• Two bills could ease child care costs for families and boost provider wages (The Everett Herald) $
• Some Washington Head Start programs still can’t access federal funds a week after short-lived freeze (KUOW Radio)

CONGRESS

• Maria Cantwell urges U.S. to embrace ‘capitalism in the digital age’ amid Trump’s tariff threats (The Spokesman-Review) $

CORRECTIONS & JAILS

• Washington lawmakers wrestle with juvenile correctional facility crisis (The Center Square)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• Federal judge to hear arguments in suit aiming to stop Trump’s birthright citizenship order (AP)

COURTS (STATE)

• WA lawmakers consider bill to enhance judicial accountability, bail requirements (FOX 13)

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Mysterious disappearances to cold-blooded killings. Tacoma’s 5 oldest unsolved cases (The News Tribune) $
• COLUMN: Is crime really out of control and Tri-Cities courts are turning loose criminals, as some suggest? (Rick Larson/Tri-City Herald) $

DAMS

• Boehnke files measure to protect lower Snake River dams (KLCK Radio/Gorge Country Media)
• Washington senator files legislation to protect dams (KHQ TV)

DATA CENTERS

• WA governor orders team to study data centers’ energy, tax, jobs impact (The Seattle Times) $
• Gov. Ferguson launches workgroup to assess data center impact in Olympia (KNDO/KNDU)

DRUG CRISIS

• Most overdose deaths in Spokane County among housed, employed adults, according to new report (KXLY TV)

EDUCATION

• Parental rights showdown: WA lawmakers accuse one another of lying about student privacy (MyNorthwest)
• All 1.1 million WA students would be eligible for free school lunches under proposed law (The News Tribune) $
• Washington lawmakers consider expanding free food for students (FOX 13)
• Tumwater district to lay off 27 non-teaching staff as cuts closer to classrooms loom (The Olympian) $
• OPINION: Is special education placement the only alternative? Maybe not (Eric Fisk, has two children who graduated from Seattle Public Schools and one in special education/The Seattle Times) $

ELECTIONS

• OPINION: Two different approaches to Ranked Choice Voting introduced (Jason Mercier, Mountain States Policy Center/The Center Square)

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• $156M solar power grant for Washington in limbo after Trump order (Washington State Standard)
• Bill proposed by Kennewick senator encourages local energy resilience investments (KHQ TV)

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• Federal workers face mounting pressure to decide on Trump resignation offer (The Washington Post/The Seattle Times) $
• Senate confirms Pam Bondi as U.S. attorney general, putting Trump ally at Justice Department’s helm (AP)
• Federal workers in Clark County are worried about their jobs, benefits and retirement plans (The Columbian) $
• Hiring for a city DEI role paused as Bremerton fears losing crucial federal funding (Kitsap Sun) $

HANFORD

• New energy secretary’s commitment to Hanford site cleanup questioned by Sen. Cantwell (Tri-City Herald) $

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• WA Lawmakers consider rural nursing education (Columbia Basin Herald) $
• MultiCare Yakima Memorial, other hospitals statewide helped by Medicaid payment boost (Yakima Herald-Republic) $

HOUSING

• OPINION: Tacoma’s Landlord Fairness Code: How is it related to evictions in Pierce County? (Tyron Moore, interim director of Tacoma For All/The News Tribune) $

IMMIGRATION

• ICE contractor flight to Seattle may signal WA detention center will fill up (The Seattle Times) $
• Seattle will continue limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities (The Center Square)
• Seattle businesses join nationwide ‘day without immigrants’ strike (KUOW Radio)
• Law enforcement in Kitsap adhering to state law on immigration enforcement (Kitsap Sun) $

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Patti Jackson appointed Tacoma’s interim police chief (KING TV)

LEGISLATURE

• WA Legislature weighs paying parents who care for children with disabilities (Washington State Standard)
• WA Senate Democrats propose stricter regulations for ballot measure initiatives (MyNorthwest)
• Tri-Cities lawmaker aims to lower property tax burden for disabled veterans (KHQ TV)
• Mendoza bill would allow off-duty police officers to receive honorarium when speaking at college classes (KLCK Radio/Gorge Country Media)
• Goehner champions organ donation with ‘Donate Life’ license plate (KONA Radio)
• Bill aims to remove medical debt from credit scores in Washington (KHQ TV)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Trump’s executive orders put $48M on the line for Spokane (The Center Square)
• Downtown crackdown: Spokane limits sale of booze, pipes without free naloxone (The Center Square)
• How might President Trump’s tariffs affect Thurston County? Here are 2 local examples (The Olympian) $
• Battle Ground the latest city in Southwest Washington to ban unlawful camping on public property (The Columbian) $

MENTAL HEALTH

• A new mental health crisis center in Lynnwood lacks operator, can’t open (The Seattle Times) $

OPERATING BUDGET

• Survey: Washingtonians pessimistic about state’s spending of taxpayer money (The Center Square)
• Washington voters blame budget shortfall on uncontrolled spending, oppose tax hikes (KOMO TV)

OTHER STATES

• Lawmakers float massive expansion of Oregon’s tuition-free community college program (The Oregonian) $
• DAs to lawmakers: Accused child rapist, killers, drug traffickers released from jail as cases stall with no public defenders (The Oregonian) $

PRIVACY

• Washington House committee holding hearing on bill to protect digital privacy (KOMO TV)

SPORTS

• Yakima lawmaker sponsors bill on gender participation in school sports (KAPP/KVEW)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Painful timeline of Everett boy’s killing outlined in state report (The Seattle Times) $

TRANSPORTATION

• Proposed legislation would pull the plug on Tesla’s EV sales advantage in WA (The Center Square)
• New bill may impact rideshare costs during World Cup, other major events in Seattle (KING TV)
• King County Metro unveils latest idea for keeping bus drivers safer (The Seattle Times) $
• Electrification, overhead loading planned for Clinton ferry terminal (Whidbey News-Times) $
• Bill to decrease Amtrak Cascades travel time introduced in Olympia (KGMI Radio/My Bellingham Now)

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