GPSS to Senate: Childcare Bill Is Sound Fiscal Policy

So we made our case to Senate Ways & Means yesterday afternoon. I testified, along with Shiboney Dumo, UW's Student Parent Organization President.

The last day this bill can be voted out of committee is tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 25). I will be working hard to get the votes. I'll provide an update on whether this bill gets exec'd out.

Also, we need students to help, and time is of the essence! Here's how to help:
http://www.gpss.washington.edu/content/child-care-bill-needs-your-help

And here's what happened at the hearing:

GPSS testimony:


Testimony of Shiboney Dumo, UW's Student Parent Organization President:


Entire hearing on SB 5795:

These are our arguments:

No Impact to General Fund: Senate Bill 5795 creates a funding mechanism for an existing program that will enable student-parents to get their degrees. The funding source is the portion of unclaimed lottery winnings that goes to funding more lottery prizes. This bill does not impact the general fund, and Washington State Lottery has said the impact to them is “minimal.”

The question is simple: Would you rather pay for more lottery prizes, or enhancing educational outcomes for non-traditional students?

Produces Degrees: With much talk this session about funding on outcomes and not inputs (focusing on degree production rather than enrollment), SB 5795 will address Washington’s shortage in degree production and mitigate the third greatest barrier to degree completion, childcare.

Here is the perspective of UW graduate student Jessica Burg:

“I often feel as if I am failing in both my role as a student as more importantly failing in my role as a mother. These feelings are cemented when advisors ask me how I feel about ‘underperforming in grad school.’ These feelings are cemented when I have to choose between going to class and nursing my sick infant. These feelings are cemented when I struggle to find the time to write my degree project when my son is buzzing around me in all his two-year-old fury. The past two years have been a constant struggle, a constant feeling of failure, and the recurring relief of finding out I have just barely passed quantitative analysis or some other class.”

Moves Focus Away From Social Services: If you are a low-income parent with no degree, you have some choices. You can turn to social services. Or, you can pursue a degree, start a career, and enter the workforce. Give someone a fish, they eat for a day; teach them to fish, and they eat for a lifetime. SB 5795 incentivizes the path to self sufficiency.

Eligibility to All Public Schools: Everyone on this committee has at least one community college in your district. Some of you have four or five. We are proposing an amendment that would open up eligibility for these grants to community and technical colleges. This would make all public colleges and universities in this state eligible.

A Way to Support Students in Tough Fiscal Times: In a session where students are taking on a disproportionally greater burden in budget cuts that degrade quality and increase tuition, this would be a small way to give something to students, who are even seeing financial aid get cut. This is something that students are asking for, and that students have prioritized. Do not allow yet another financial aid program to be suspended.

5795 is sound policy that is basically cost-neutral, with a dedicated funding source, that will have a significant impact on student-parents. The Washington Student Association requests moving 5795 out of committee with a due-pass recommendation.