Washington State PTA members know that schools are more than classrooms: they are community hubs, trusted environments, and spaces where children and youth can access nutrition and health care. The federal government has already cut and is proposing additional cuts to funding for programs that provide meals, access to health care, and critical education services that support student learning and success, including to students with disabilities and multilanguage learners.

We are urging members to contact their Washington State Legislators to tell them they must create a budget that temporarily maintains these critical wrap-around supports, programs and services.

This action only takes a few minutes, and numbers matter! Share this Alert with your networks, tell them why maintaining supports for these wrap-around services is important to you and encourage them to contact their legislators via this pre-drafted letter.

Click here to join us in urging our legislators to pass a state budget that maintains key programs previously funded by the federal government that support the whole child, including healthcare coverage, food insecurity assistance and other vital programs that support our state’s children, youth and families:

Want to up your impact?

Review our one-page policy brief and make this letter even more powerful by adding your own story!

Consider including:

• How proposed federal funding cuts would impact your local school district. Use this interactive map to find the impact in dollars per student in your district.

• Specific examples of services your student has received at school that are now at risk (see the Education funding section of our one-page policy brief)

• Federal supports your family is at risk of losing (access to Apple Health, reduction of SNAP benefits)

Thank you for your advocacy,
Kyle Hiatt, Whittier PTA Legislative Rep