Lisa In The News

The Legislature will consider a bill this year that would lower the compulsory school age for children from 8 to 5. Under current state law, parents must send their children to school – whether it be public, private or home-based instruction – starting at the age of 8. While most families opt to send their children to school before then, they ...

Washington’s last-in-the-nation minimum age for compulsory education is antithetical to the state’s values of educating its youngest residents. Lowering the age of compulsory education to age 5 — from age 8 — should be a no-brainer. Most states require school enrollment by age 5 or 6. Washington offers free public education for all children aged 5 and older, but doesn’t require ...

Despite Washington’s status as a technology hub, more than 40% of the state’s public K-12 school districts didn’t offer a single class in computer science, according to recent data. That’s abysmal. Not every young Washingtonian will want to grow up to work in computer-related industries, but each student should have the opportunity to explore these in-demand and lucrative careers. Click here ...

The Evergreen State takes the top spot again in the U.S. News Best States ranking on the strength of its tech sector and other industries. SEATTLE—BUOYED BY ITS rapidly expanding economy, Washington state is on a winning streak. For the second time, Washington has been named No. 1 in the U.S. News Best States ranking and is the first state to earn ...

Even as teachers in neighboring Idaho and Oregon are being vaccinated, in Washington most educators currently will have to wait weeks or even months before they'll become eligible. At the moment, only seniors and healthcare workers qualify to get the shot. Teachers, and several leading lawmakers, have been pushing for that to change. The first push from lawmakers came in mid-January, with ...

If you’ve been in Seattle for any length of time recently, you’ve probably seen a land acknowledgement on a building, at an event, or in artwork created here: “We are on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People past and present, and honor with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe.” Nice words to say! ...

Republican and Democratic leaders of education committees in the Washington Legislature are urging Gov. Jay Inslee and the state Department of Health to change state vaccination guidance so that all school employees are prioritized to receive a coronavirus vaccine in February, instead of putting school employees over age 50 ahead of other school staff. The letter was signed by Democratic Sen. ...

Sen. Lisa Wellman (D-Mercer Island) spoke with the News Tribune about legislation that would allow school bonds to pass with a simple majority. The article focuses on Bethel High School and the myriad capital updates needed in the aging building.

“There are districts that haven’t been able to get bonds passed to do anything ...

YAKIMA, Wash. - Washington Senator Lisa Wellman is speaking with local educators about ways to improve school safety. Wellman said she wants to find out what's working, what isn't and what else needs to be done. "It is about guns and physical safety but it is also about the fact that we have 30,000 kids in the United States committing suicide," she ...

The Mercer Island Reporter today published an op-ed in which I discuss lessons I have learned during my first legislative session in Olympia. You can read the op-ed here.