Being a parent is nonstop hard work, making it challenging to stay on top of news that impacts families in Washington state. This Hits Home is your weekly hit of news, commentary, and, occasionally, opinion. Want to have a say? Look for the ‘Take action’ prompts. Here’s the update for the week of Feb. 23-March 1.

From The Hope Festival’s 2025 gathering (Image: The Hope Festival)

First a big hit of hope

Last April at the Seattle Convention Center, 350 Bellevue teens came together to offer care and service to 1,575 people — including kids — experiencing poverty and homelessness.

The teens and their community partners provided tangible supplies such as clothing, hygiene packs, and toys, as well as personal services, including foot care, haircuts, health screenings, and more. Organizers of The Hope Festival made kids and families feel welcome by providing free face painting, games, music, and a raffle — winners walked away with a brand-new laptop, bicycle, or gift basket.

But the most important thing the festival offered visitors was a glimmer of hope during difficult times.

The festival will return for its 12th year on April 25, this time at Bellevue Highland Center, with hundreds of teen volunteers serving the community. The event is expected to draw more than 1,000 visitors (the festival refers to them as “guests”) in need of free groceries, clothing, hygiene items, toys, books, haircuts, dental care, vaccinations, health screenings, and other services.

The festival was launched in 2014 by Eastlake High School freshman Tyler Zangaglia and friends. Students at the school have spearheaded the festival ever since, and many say they get as much as they give.

“I have been a director with Hopefest since my freshman year, and I am now a senior,” says Grace Musser, Hopefest director. “While each year is filled with planning and logistics, it’s always the final hours of the event where I feel the true meaning of this work.”

“One woman stood out to me specifically from the first event,” Musser said. “She hadn’t had a haircut in years. I remember her face as she wiped away tears of joy after looking in the mirror and seeing herself in a new light — as someone ‘renewed.’ That moment reminded me that dignity can come from something simple, and that service is as much about emotional healing as it is about physical needs.”

TAKE ACTION: Have something to contribute to The Hope Festival? Reach out to directors on Facebook or via email at thehopefestival@outlook.com.

A single dose of the MMR vaccine. (Image: Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

WA moves to issue its own guidance for vaccines insurers must cover

Washington joined several Western states when they broke last fall from federal vaccine guidance following U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reshaping of the nation’s long-standing advisory panel on immunizations.

Now state lawmakers are moving to make that shift permanent.

On Thursday, the Washington Legislature approved a bill changing state law so that insurance coverage for vaccines will be tied to recommendations issued by Washington health officials — not to guidance from a federal advisory committee that has undergone significant changes under Kennedy’s leadership.

The newly passed legislation directs insurers operating in Washington to follow vaccine recommendations issued at the state level. Supporters say the move ensures stability and science-based continuity for families, particularly as national vaccine policy undergoes changes.

The move reflects a broader effort by Washington leaders to retain local control over public health decisions affecting children and families, rather than tying coverage mandates to shifting federal policies.

It now goes to Gov. Bob Ferguson’s desk for signature. Read the full Washington State Standard article.

TAKE ACTION: Should HB 2242 become state law? Make your voice heard by reaching out to Gov. Bob Ferguson’s office.

Gun found at an Eastside School last year. (Photo: Bellevue Police Department)

Governor Ferguson’s budget proposed would cut firearm safety and violence prevention funding in half

Last year, 24 children were shot in King County, according to the county’s 2025 Year-End Shots Fired Review. Between 2020  and 2024, data from the Washington Office of Firearm Safety and Violence Prevention (OFSVP) Injury Dashboard shows over 1,000 firearm-related injuries among children ages 0–17 across the state. OFSVP is the state’s arm for implementing evidence-based strategies to reduce gun violence across the state.

It’s also an office whose $8.6 million budget will be cut by more than half if lawmakers approve the 2025-27 supplemental biennial budget proposed by Gov. Bob Ferguson before the current legislative session ends March 12.

Such a reduction could have a devastating impact for Washington’s children, say the more than 26 organizations that signed on to a letter last week urging lawmakers to nix the proposed cut.

“Washington State’s Safe Storage and Suicide Prevention programs are poised to be entirely eliminated under this budget,” says Gregory Joseph, Alliance for Gun Responisibity communications director. “We know that states with strong storage practices report a 13% reduction in youth firearm suicide and a 17% decrease in firearm homicides committed by youth.” 

OFSVP also supports community-based intervention suicide prevention and violence prevention programs with grant funding, training, and gun violence data tracking. The office has partnered with Seattle Children’s Hospital and other organizations to distribute more than 5,600 safe storage devices across Washington.

“We demand our leaders in Washington protect all funding approaches that increase access to these life-saving devices,” Joseph said.

Cutting OFSVP funds to balance the budget will cost Washington families far more, in both personal pain and money, in the long-run. According to research by Everytown USA, gun violence costs $11.9 billion each year in Washington state—$171.7 million of it paid by taxpayers.

TAKE ACTION: Should lawmakers reduce the budget deficit by cutting the Office of Firearm Safety and Violence Prevention (OFSVP) budget? Make your voice heard by reaching out to your representatives in the state House and Senate. 

Kids prefer nstructured play (image: iStock.com)

As kids adapt to boredom, unstructured fun rises again

Here’s important information parents who spend a lot of time planning organized activities for their kids: 

At least 45% of children surveyed say they’d take unstructured time (like playing outside with friends or joining pick-up games) over organized or adult-led activities like team sports. The Harris Poll, which surveyed 500 U.S. children between the ages of 8 and 12, also found:

• Almost three-quarters (72%) of 8 to 12-year-olds say they would rather spend most of their time together doing things in person, without screens (rather than spend most of their time together on screens and devices).
• 30% said they would participate in an organized activity or class, like soccer, dance, or karate
• 25% said they would participate in an online activity with their friends, such as playing video games
• 61% want to play with friends in person without adults
• 87% wish they could spend more time with their friends in person outside of school

The bottom line? Kids want freedom to play and to connect live with their peers. 

But the survey is old news, released in 2025, what gives?

I bring it to you now after reading an article last week in The Seattle Times that explains the science behind and benefits of free play for kids, noting a January 2026 clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics that confirms unstructured play helps kids develop executive function skills. The article brings the “old news” poll story up to date: Turns out parents. communities and schools are all on board with kids having more unstructured time.  Read full story in The Seattle Times.

Measles blisters (Image: iStock.com)

Essay Review: “This is How a Child Dies of Measles”

What could happen when two unvaccinated children in one family are exposed to the measles virus? I say “could,” because the worst outcomes from this preventable disease will not befall every infected child. According to National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, about 1 to 3 out of every 1,000 children who get measles will die from it, even with medical care, because of severe complications like pneumonia and encephalitis. As a recnt essay in The Atlantic makes clear, if that child is your child, there is no number or percentage to measure the pain.  

The piece, written by Elizabeth Berg, is not about a specific parent or children. It is a heavily researched, fictionalized, hypothetical about a family experience based on extensive interviews with physicians who have cared directly for patients with measles. 

It left me gasping for breath. If you’ve followed this column, it’s likely not news that I personally believe in vaccination and in the recommendations by public health departments in King County and Washington that children get a first dose of the MMR vaccine between 12 and 15 months of age. 

But it doesn’t matter what I think. It matters what parents know and understand about the scientific evidence behind the vaccine and the disease. Hypothetical thought it may be, “This is How a Child Dies of Measles” offers a hard look at a parent’s worst nightmare: a child dying of a preventable disease.

If there were ever a must read for an actively spreading disease, this is it.’

The Great Listen: What happens when a school rumor ends in a teacher’s suicide?

Remember the first gripping story in the Peabody Award-winning investigative journalism podcast Seriel hosted by Sarah Koenig? It felt like everybody was tuned in. 

It’s got competition in a new series that launched on KUOW’s immersive audio documentary channel, Focus. Last week, the station introduced the first episode of “Adults in the Room,” a series about events, including the suicide of a beloved teacher, that  happened during the1999-2000 school year Seattle’s Garfield High School. KUOW’s managing editor Isolde Raftery reports the story, one in which she was a primary player. 

That year, Raftery and a fellow student heard a rumor about Hudson and when police didn’t respond, they decided to investigate it themselves. The story is a lesson in what happens when adults work to protect an educator and fellow students turn on their peers. In the podcast, Raftery returns to the investigation that was sidelined and vilified after the suicide. In the words of the podcast set up: “What really happened that year? Was a whole school community groomed by a charismatic predator? Or was [Raftery] part of a whisper campaign that cost the life of a great teacher?” If episode one is any indication, this series is likely to keep parents and teens riveted. Listen to KUOW’s “Adults in the Room.’

While your at KUOW.org….

Transgender pride flag (Image: Alxey Pnferov)

How will trans youth navigate a state with less gender-affirming medical care? 

The first inklings that Rebecca might be trans surfaced when she was in the sixth grade. They evolved to certainly for now 15-year-old who lives with her family in Tacoma, according to Eilís O’Neill’s report last week on KUOW.com. Over the next several years, with the support of her family and medical providers at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, Rebecca began taking puberty blockers and then estrogen injections . 

Then, last month, Mary Bridge closed its Gender Health Clinic. How is the Trump administration’s attack on gender-affirming medical care for tweens and teens impacting the kids who need it align their inside with their outside? O’Neill’s report puts a real face on the declining availability of such care in Puget Sound. Read it online at KUOW.

(Image: Thai Liang Lim)

New study finds majority of teens us AI for schoolwork

Some interesting numbers from recent surveys and research:

• A study of 3,000 responses by AI chatbots released in the fall by  the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the BBC found that about 45 % contained at least one significant error.
• Another even broader evaluation by Statisca found that around 48 % of responses were inaccurate with around 17 % containing significant errors. 
• Research conducted in India shows some specialized tasks show error rates 70 % or higher.

Despite those disturbing numbers, more than half  U.S. teens ages 13-17 surveyed for a new study out of the Pew Research Center said they use A.I. chatbots for schoolwork. One-in-ten teens admitted to using chatbot help on all or most of that work. The study included 1,458 teenagers and at least one parent per teen. 

Exactly how do they use bots?

• Approximately four-in-10 turn to a bot to summarize articles, books or videos or create or edit images or videos. 
• Approximately one-in-five say they AI to get news
• Approximately four-in-10 durig to AI for topic research or math help.
• 35% of teens surveyed used AI to help edit something they wrote. 
• 59% of participants believe cheating with AI in school happens regularly.
• Teens are slightly more likely to believe AI will have a positive impact on them than on society (36% vs. 31% thinking the impact will be negative).
• About 25% of teens feel  “extremely” or “very” confident about how they navigate AI. 

The findings are more evidence of  the need for  policymakers and technology companies to design, regulate, and oversee AI and social media to not only protect kids from addictive platforms and to provide accurate information.

Washington House Bill 1834, a proposal that would have barred social media companies from serving so-called “addictive feeds” to minors and  restricted platforms from sending push notifications to kids overnight or during school hours without a parent’s consent has failed in the current session..

Signs with information about climate change and Indigenous history removed from Acadia National Park (Image: Jay Elhard / NPS)

Why are we erasing history and science at our National Parks | Op-Ed

Here’s an important part of how history was made real to me as a child — and how I, along with my kids’ dad, helped it come alive for our children:

Whenever we traveled — especially in national parks and at roadside historic markers — we stopped and read the signs. We read about geological changes, the impact of American industry on nature, increasing scientific understanding of climate change, and — on many signs and displays — how the country’s roads, rails, parks, and other landmarks were shaped by devastating, racist treatment of Native Americans, enslaved Africans, Black Americans, immigrants, prisoners, and other marginalized communities.

When our family stopped, we moved around the signs, trying to feel their truth beneath our feet and imagine that history. Then we talked about it together. These signs and displays taught us — especially our children — a deeper respect for the land and for the backs upon which this country was industrialized. They sparked interest in science and empathy — both essential if we hope not to repeat the country’s worst moments.

And yet, nearly a year ago, President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” decrying what Trump called “the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology.” The order directs federal agencies overseeing museums, parks, monuments, and landmarks to ensure public spaces do not “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.”

Critics argue that the order has led to the review, removal, or revision of interpretive signage and exhibits addressing slavery, Indigenous displacement, civil rights history, and climate change at national park sites across the country.

According to the democracy and civil liberties organization Democracy Forward, the National Park Service began flagging and removing interpretive signs in early 2025. Public reporting and legal filings state that signs referencing slavery, climate change, and Native American history have been removed from at least 17 national park sites nationwide, with additional exhibits flagged for review. There have been no confirmed reports, to date, of signage removals at Washington State national park sites.

Last week, several organizations filed a lawsuit seeking to halt further removals, arguing that the administration’s actions threaten the National Park Service’s mission to preserve and interpret the full history and scientific record of the United States.

In an article published by Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), Alan Spears, Senior Director of Cultural Resources for the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), summed up concerns about signage removal or censoring this way:

“National parks serve as living classrooms for our country, where science and history come to life for visitors. As Americans, we deserve national parks that tell stories of our country’s triumphs and heartbreaks alike. We can handle the truth.” The NPCA is among the litigants challenging the policy.

What more can I say than “HEAR, HEAR!” 

Not only can we and our children handle the truth, it is critical to our freedom and democracy that we — especially our children — do.

The recent lawsuit speaks to the right of all of us to learn about the many communities, people, histories, and scientific realities — good and bad — that brought us to today and help guide tomorrow.

TAKE ACTION: Do you have an opinion about censoring signage in national parks, museums, monuments and other sites? Reach out to your lawmakers in Congress at Congress.gov. Contact the Pacific West National Parks Service. Share your position by reaching out to the U.S. President.

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In the initial House and Senate budget plans, this paring of Working Connections Child Care totals more than a half-billion dollars over the coming years. The largest portion of proposed spending reductions for the program deal with how child care providers are reimbursed by the state and federal governments based on when children attend day care.

The aid is available to working Washington families earning below 60% of the state median income. As of last February, the program had an active caseload of over 33,000 families.

Currently, providers can receive a full month of subsidies even when a child who qualifies for the subsidies only attends one day that month. The budgets would make this policy more restrictive.

In total, the Senate calls for $168 million in reductions for the program in the current biennium that started last July, and $857 million over the next two budget cycles. The House proposes roughly $112 million in the current budget and $601 million over the next four years.

The competing plans would make changes to the two-year budget lawmakers passed last year.

Grappling with another shortfall, Democrats in both chambers of the Legislature are proposing a range of cuts to deal with rising caseloads in state-funded social services and mandatory spending due to federal changes to Medicaid and food stamps.

Lawmakers have two weeks to hatch compromises to pass a supplemental budget before the legislative session adjourns March 12. Overall spending in the plans they’ve proposed is around $79 billion over two years.

Under the Senate plan for Working Connections Child Care, providers would be able to claim reimbursement worth 15 days if a child attends at least one day per month, and further payments for each day beyond 15.

The House handles this a bit differently. Under its framework, families are eligible for a full-month subsidy if their child is absent up to 10 days, while 11 days or more of absences qualifies for half a month of reimbursement. Under the current practice, a month of attendance is 21-23 days, according to the Department of Children, Youth and Families.

“This is a cut to child care providers, because child care providers who have a child in a classroom for 10 days or fewer out of the month will get half of the payment they would have otherwise gotten,” said House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon, D-Seattle. “That’s a challenge for providers, because they’re not necessarily able to enroll more kids just because they know that some of them aren’t there every day.”

The Senate proposal is outlined in Senate Bill 6353, sponsored by lead budget writer Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett. The reimbursement changes would take effect Oct. 1 for child care centers, and July 1 for family home providers who care for up to a dozen children in their homes. The legislation also changes the scope of collective bargaining for family home providers with the state.

Budget writers are also assuming $45 million in savings in this budget from a federal rule axed by the Trump administration requiring states pay child care centers prospectively based on enrollment and not specifically how many days the child attended. There’s also $15 million in reductions in both budgets from eliminating longstanding enhanced subsidy rates in a few counties.

Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson also floated cutting from Working Connections to help balance the budget. He took a different approach, proposing to cap enrollment to save an estimated $217 million in this biennium.

Neither the House nor Senate budget frameworks use the governor’s idea.

“We heard from many people, people who use Working Connections Child Care, people who provide those services, advocates in the larger community, that that is a policy that many people believe really destabilizes the child care workforce,” Robinson said.

Robinson added that her proposal “should have less of an impact on families” than the governor’s plan.

“There’s certainly a conversation that we’ll have in the remaining days of session about the impact on providers and trying to mitigate that impact,” Robinson said. “We want to keep a robust provider network.”

Republicans could support the proposed attendance policy changes on their own, said state Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn. But alongside other cuts and without reforms to improve accountability with state child care spending, he said Republicans aren’t on board.

“We have to look at everything at once and how that affects our communities and the things that they’ve put together are devastating,” said Couture, the leading budget voice for House Republicans.

Robinson wasn’t sure why lawmakers hadn’t made the proposed changes sooner to the attendance policy. “The Legislature is slow to react sometimes,” she said.

This would be the second year in a row that state lawmakers have scaled back child care and early learning funding to make ends meet.

Last year, they delayed expansions to the 2021 Fair Start for Kids Act and Working Connections that would have opened programs to more families. Robinson’s legislation eliminates entirely expansions for Working Connections, set for 2029 and 2031.

This year, both the House and Senate are also proposing reductions to the Transition to Kindergarten program.

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The informational event is designed for families, and participants will be invited to share their thoughts on plans. DEEL will provide free dinner, interpretation services, and children’s activities during the gathering.

The event is free, however, space is limited, so registration is required.

The Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) is hosting the two community conversations on Feb. 24 and Feb. 26 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. to outline its plans to invest income from the recently re-approved Families, Education, Preschool & Promise Levy (FEPP) in childcare and education. The $1.3 billion property tax  was passed by voters last November and will provide:

• $658.2 million for the city’s early learning programs, doubling the city-funded childcare slots from 600 to 1,400 and adding 600 more slots to the nationally recognized Seattle Preschool Program, bringing the total seats to 3,100 annually.
• $235 million for K-12 health and safety efforts, including building five more School-based Health Centers, providing students with greater access to physical and mental health care in person and via telehealth. It would also fund violence prevention efforts and school safety services.
• $82.5 million to fund universal access to a free two-year college degree and expand pathways to the trades through the Seattle Promise scholarship program.

Details on two upcoming Community Conversations

• Tuesday, Feb. 24 | Time: 5:30-7:30 p.m. | Where: Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, 104 17th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144
• Thursday, Feb. 26 | Time: 5:30–7:30 p.m. | Where: Magnuson Community Center, 7110 62nd Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115

Both events are free, however space is limited, so registration is required.

Learn more about Seattle’s child care struggle

The most recent issue of Seattle’s Child is dedicated to exploring Seattle’s child care crisis—too few slots to cover the need and too high costs for many families to afford. Check out these articles on Seatttleschild.com

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As a former first-grade teacher and a self-proclaimed bookworm, I knew that frequent reading would help my 7-year-old develop a solid foundation in literacy. 

What a surprise it was, then, to discover that my own son wouldn’t do his homework. It wasn’t that he couldn’t read; he refused to read. I tried every ploy in my (extensive) bag of make-a-reader tricks, but nothing stuck. 

A good listener

Enter Reading with Rover, a partnership between therapy dogs and public resources that brings highly-trained furry reading companions and young readers – kids like my son – together. The first time my son attended a Reading with Rover event, he was immediately drawn to the fluffy Golden Retriever lying in the corner of a local library meeting room. He sat on the floor and nestled into the dog’s soft fur. Then he pulled out his book and, miracle of miracles, he began to read.

His story is one of many about the powerful impact of Reading with Rover on young readers. ​​“I want to inspire children to discover the joy of reading and developing literacy while reading with dogs,” says Reading with Rover founder Becky Bishop. “I’m using my therapy dogs as a conduit to help people and kids so they can go into the world and do good things.”

Dogs trained for the program offer constant comfort and non-judgmental approval as they sit with kids. All “Rover” dogs and their handlers, go through a specialized 6-8 week training program to hone skills like impulse control, how to accept petting in crowded spaces, how to maneuver around medical and mobility equipment, and how to sit quietly on a rug. 

Training is critical

Most Rover trainees start their education at between age one and two. After about six weeks, they take a skills test with their handler. Today there are over 150 Rover graduates that regularly work with the program. While any dog can train to be a rover, the dogs best suited to the program have a natural tendency toward calmness, obedience, and good manners. 

After thorough training and testing, these special dogs graduate to become perfect listeners as youngsters sound out words and test their emerging reading skills. All their training is practiced in a Reading with Rover session:dog patience, impulse control, and obedience to their handler. Keeping their dogs well-trained also allows handlers to take these dogs on public outings outside of their Reading With Rover duties. In this way both children and the dogs in the program reap plentiful benefits while genuinely enjoying their time together.

A program expanded over nearly three decades

Since its inception in 1999, Reading with Rover has expanded from a summer program in a single library to a full-fledged nonprofit organization with dozens of events each year, typically held in libraries, schools, hospitals, military bases, and other public venues. 

Each event gives children like my son the chance to discover the joy of reading. With a gentle dog by their side, that lesson becomes more deeply ingrained. 

A significant part of the work Reading With Rover accomplishes today is in elementary schools, where the dogs often teach more than patience in reading. At one elementary school, a dog named Boomer was a regular visitor to the school’s special education resource room. Over time, students got to know Boomer and to open up to him, both in their reading and in their personal lives. 

More than help with reading

Late one spring, a shy student who read regularly with Boomer was able to bring the dog into his general education classroom. The boy introduced Boomer to his classmates and answered their excited questions about the dog. Boomer’s handler noticed that the classroom teacher was in tears. 

After nine months of school, it was the first time the student had spoken in class, his shyness evaporated by the warmth of his furry companion. With Boomer’s support the boy was given the priceless gift of confidence and a connection to his peers. Boomer was not only the student’s reading companion, but also a social skills bridge and an empathy-builder for an entire classroom.

“We’re building memories,” says Becky Bishop, the Rover maestro. 

To learn more about Reading With Rover, visit their website at Readingwithrover.org or email them at Info@readingwithrover.org 

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Gun violence

“I want to start by acknowledging one of the hardest things that’s happened this year in Seattle: the loss of the two Rainier Beach high school students late last month who were shot and killed while waiting for the bus after school. We have also recently seen deadly shootings in the Chinatown International District, and in Pioneer Square.

My team and I have spent time grieving with victims’ families, connecting with community members, and talking about the changes that we need to make as a city. How can students be expected to learn if you are worried, as one young woman told me, that if you leave school for lunch you might never come back? How can you be expected to concentrate in class if you’re living in a constant state of grief or fear? How can you be expected to thrive when you’ve seen so much tragedy and not nearly enough hope, opportunity, and joy? We have to do better for our kids.”

Wilson said her office will convene a panel of local and national experts to develop a strategy to address Seattle  gun violence that “is tailored to the needs of our neighborhoods and communities.”

Child care

“I myself have had trouble affording childcare … Right now there are so many gaps where so many children and so many families don’t have the support they need, and our whole society pays the price. Parents are stressed, kids struggle, and working families move out of the city because they can’t afford to build a life here.”

Wilson applauded the City’s Department of Education and Early Learning and its award-winning Seattle Preschool and Child Care Assistance programs: “We’ve already been doing a lot right in this area. That’s encouraging, but it’s also a little unnerving that we are seen as leading. Because any parent would tell you there’s so much more to be done. It just underscores how far the US lags behind many other countries in our support for families.,” Wilson said.

“We need to bring down the cost of childcare, expand our pre-K program and summer enrichment opportunities, and make sure the people who are doing this work are paid enough to raise a family themselves. We also need to make it easier to site, start, and run childcare  facilities in Seattle.

“It’s time we started treating childcare and early education as public goods, accessible and affordable to all — just like our parks, schools, and utilities. My administration will be pursuing this vision as we begin to implement the Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise levy voters passed last year, as well as identifying new resources and partnerships that can take us even further.”

Check out Wilson’s and former Mayor Bruce Harrell’s thoughts on increasing child care in “Think Out of the Box: Two mayors consider Seattle’s child care needs.”

Rising food costs

“The high inflation of the past few years hit us all hard. The rising cost of food, in particular, has been a challenge for families that are already struggling.

“When the Kroger Corporation decided to close the Lake City Fred Meyer last year, it further highlighted the importance of ensuring access to fresh, affordable food. The recent closure of the grocery store at 23rd & Jackson created a second new food desert in the Central District. Grocery stores are essential community assets—they support daily life, local jobs, access to healthy food, and neighborhood stability.

“We have to start treating food access as core community infrastructure.  One important step in that direction that long pre-dates my administration is the Fresh Bucks program, which helps low-income Seattle residents afford fruits and vegetables at participating farmers’ markets, independent grocers, and supermarkets. As of this year, we have increased monthly benefits and cleared the waitlist, and Fresh Bucks is now supporting more than 17,000 households.

“Our Office of Planning and Community Development, the Office of Economic Development, and the Office of Sustainability and Environment are exploring a variety of approaches around how the city can work with private partners and the grocery workers union to help protect good jobs and expand access to affordable food. We are also looking at new and alternative grocery models that better fit different community needs. That’s all a long-winded way of saying we’re looking at a public grocery store, and other ideas as well.

“Everyone deserves reliable, affordable access to fresh food in their own neighborhoods, and we’ll be working to make that vision a reality.”

Community centers

“This Saturday (Feb. 21), we’re reopening the Hiawatha Community Center in West Seattle after a 6-year closure. The new South Park Community Center will be opening this year, too, and there’s going to be a spray park there, which is pretty great, because my daughter and I always have fun at a spray park.

“Community centers are such an important part of our neighborhoods – they’re places where people can gather, families can enjoy themselves, and you can connect across generations and cultures, without having to spend any money if you don’t want to.”

On history and hope

“This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first declaration that February is a month to honor the history, experiences, and power of America’s Black and African American communities. Here in Seattle, Black communities built neighborhoods, institutions, businesses, and social movements that continue to define who we are. And Black History Month calls us not only to remember, and to celebrate – but to act.

“We are in a moment when our rights are under attack from so many directions. When it feels like, at a national level, we are moving backwards. When it can feel impossible to believe our country will ever emerge from the storm clouds.

:In these moments, it is so important to look to history and to recognize that we have stood at similar junctures many times before. And to remember how much has been achieved through social movements that emerged in the toughest times, brought people together, and won transformative change.

:This month also marks the beginning of Ramadan and Lent, which are both times of fasting, prayer, reflection, and charity. And today is Lunar New Year, which is a time for renewal, for family, and to welcome the spring.

“In this season of reflection and new beginnings, I am so hopeful about what we can accomplish together. But that doesn’t mean I look at the city through rose-colored glasses. The hope I feel comes from history. From looking at an institution like this one here, how it’s evolved over time and overcome challenges to become what it is today. And from recognizing how that history lets us better imagine what is possible.”

Read the full speech. 

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Senate Bill 5906 covers “nonpublic areas” of preschools, K-12 schools, health facilities, adult family homes, higher education institutions and election offices.

It also prohibits early learning providers and school district employees from collecting information about the immigration statuses of students and their families.

It’s basically an extension of the Keep Washington Working Act, the 2019 law setting limits for how police and others can cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

The state already has model policies for public schools to deal with immigration enforcement. The legislation seeks to enshrine them in law and expand them to more locations amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

The Keep Washington Working Act “did not cover day cares. It did not cover public or nonpublic hospitals. It didn’t cover nursing homes,” said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Drew Hansen, D-Bainbridge Island.

The measure passed on a party-line 30-19 vote with Democrats in support.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement often uses administrative warrants, which only require approval from an ICE official. This bill calls for a judicial warrant or court order before agents can enter these facilities.

Upon taking office, President Donald Trump rescinded guidance shielding churches, schools and hospitals from immigration enforcement.

Last month, several Seattle schools sheltered in place for a day due to unconfirmed reports of ICE activity in the area. The rumors turned out to be false.

Hansen recalled being able to take his mother to the hospital recently without having to worry about immigration enforcement.

“What happens if I’m Drew with a different last name, and I’m born in Guatemala and grew up in Washington state,” Hansen said. “It might be the case that you have someone in your family in trouble and you don’t quite know if you are going to be safe going into that ER from ICE enforcement activity. And we can’t have that.”

Sen. Jeff Holy, R-Cheney, said he wishes this enforcement wasn’t happening, but it’s the job of Congress, not the state Legislature, to address.

“Using a vehicle like this as a thinly veiled attempt to directly obstruct a federal investigation, execution of federal laws by federal law enforcement officers under color of statutory authority gives me pain,” Holy said, calling the legislation a “ruse.”

Hansen’s bill defines “nonpublic” as an “area in which authorized individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy.” These could be places that require a key to enter or that otherwise limit access to authorized people.

Under the legislation, colleges will need to designate areas as public or nonpublic. School boards would have to adopt or amend policies for limiting immigration enforcement in their schools. The attorney general’s office would be tasked with developing model policies for early learning providers.

As for auditors’ offices, Hansen’s proposal defines anywhere ballots are handled, processed, counted or tabulated as nonpublic. Republicans took issue with this. Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, called it “disturbing” because votes are counted publicly.

Hansen countered that election observers viewing vote counting are fine, but “the places where we tabulate ballots are generally not widely open to the public.”

If union employees at these types of facilities are subject to immigration enforcement, the employer has to contact their bargaining representative.

Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, recalled the immigration arrest of the Juanita High School theater manager last summer, noting “no one knew where he was.” When the news eventually got out, his union raised money for his legal fight.

Roughly a quarter of early childhood educators are immigrants, including those both with and without legal status, according to data from the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at the University of California, Berkeley.

The legislation is known as the Secure and Accountable Federal Enforcement, or SAFE, Act.

It now goes to the House. If passed and signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson, it would take effect immediately.

Meanwhile, King County Executive Girmay Zahilay on Thursday signed an executive order looking to ban immigration enforcement agents from nonpublic county property.

TAKE ACTION: Do you have an opinion or stance on SB 5906? Make your voice heard by reaching out to your representatives in the state House and Senate.

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The once-busy 7,000-square-foot roadside menagerie in Monroe first announced its closure last October. Zoo owner Isaac Petersen said then that the attraction suffered during the pandemic and has since been burdened by rising costs. The October media coverage drew visitors to the zoo on Highway 2, leading to a brief comeback that ends this week.

Will there be another return? Very unlikely. There’s no turning back when you rehome the many (130 currently) reptiles that drew in tens of thousands of visitors over 30 years.

Did you know Crested Geckos use their tongues to clean their eyes? (Image courtesy The Reptile Zoo)

Off They Crawl

According to news reports, most of the zoo’s creatures have already been adopted and will head out to their new homes starting next Tuesday, February 17. Reptile rehoming to other zoos or places with the knowledge and equipment to care for them will continue through Feb. 28, said Isaac Peterson, zoo owner and son of zoo founder Scott Petersen, a zoologist, educator, and author.

As of Wednesday, February 11, a few reptiles were still in need of adoption, including an Amazon Tree Boa, several alligators and crocodiles, a host of venomous snakes, and others. See the list on The Reptile Zoo website. Isaac was clear last fall that all the animals in the zoo would be placed in vetted, appropriate care should the zoo close permanently:

“I’m not going to be dumping any animals,” he told Seattle’s Child. “If I don’t feel like you’re going to be able to house the animal or I don’t think you can do it in a safe way, I’m not going to sell or adopt an animal out if you’re going to get your arm bitten off.”

Scott Peterson, aka ‘The Reptile Man,” showing animals in a school (Image courtesy The Reptile Zoo)

The Reptile Man Plays On

The zoo’s closure does not mean the end of Scott Petersen’s popular reptile shows, however.

The family keeps several reptiles used in public educational performances separate from the zoo’s collection. Scott and his family will continue to offer mobile zoo shows in schools, libraries, and at other locations. In fact, the Reptile Man website touts the shows as “Washington’s #1 school assembly.”

They’ve certainly done enough of them: The Reptile Man has visited more than 800 schools and performed at events throughout the region. Scott Peterson was once featured on “Bill Nye the Science Guy.”  You can still book a show on The Reptile Man website.

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Introduced by state Rep. Skyler Rude, R-Walla Walla, HB 2661 concerns records requests that are “frivolous, retaliatory, or harassing” and that place a heavy burden on school district resources and personnel.

Rude’s original bill proposed a task force to look at how the issue affects public agencies generally. The group would have included representatives from organizations, such as media outlets and government watchdogs, that make records requests, and from agencies that respond to requests.

An amended version, which passed the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 4, directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee to form a work group to look only at how the issue impacts school districts. The task force invitees will now be asked to join the work group.

At the bill’s Tuesday, Feb. 3, hearing, Rude said that, as he considered how to alleviate burdens on school districts, the issue of PRA compliance — specifically when it comes to frivolous requests — rose to the top.

Rude, who serves as ranking minority member on the House Education Committee, said that when it comes to K-12 schools, he’s concerned about the increasing costs of “administrative burdens … that divert resources away from student instruction.”

He added that if the PRA allows someone “to submit dozens and dozens of the exact same requests just for the intent of being harassing, we need to make some updates.”

Fred Rundle, superintendent of Mercer Island School District, said at the hearing that his district has had to hire a half-time public records officer and has spent more than $85,000 in operating costs to handle requests.

Tamara Kimberley, the communications coordinator and public records officer for West Valley School District in Spokane Valley, said “transparency is a fundamental responsibility of public schools, and districts take that obligation seriously.”

“However,” she said, “the volume and nature of these requests places significant strain on limited district resources.”

Over three years, Kimberley said, the time she’s spent responding to public records requests has increased from about five to 10 hours per month to between 25 and 30 hours. In 2025, Kimberley said, her district received 77 requests.

Tyna Ek, general counsel for Washington Schools Risk Management Pool — a potential work group participant — said schools have a unique problem because the records requests they receive are often about children and litigation involving them. These requests raise privilege issues that demand lawyers, “and so it becomes particularly expensive,” Ek said.

Another potential work group participant is the nonprofit Washington Coalition for Open Government, which opposed the original bill.

Ellen Hiatt, a WashCOG board member and executive director of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association, said, “Responding to requests for information from the public is a basic part of open government infrastructure, just like sewage and roads.”

The Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington might also join the work group.

Speaking on behalf of the organization and the Washington State Association of Broadcasters, Rowland Thompson said that school districts and other public agencies find themselves in a “perfect storm.”

As governments create exponentially more records, the populace, which “doesn’t really trust the government,” is becoming more sophisticated about asking for them because they obtain many through the internet, Thompson said. State voters approved the Public Records Act in a 1972 initiative.

This article has been reposted with permission from the Washington State Standard, part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization and committed to shining “a light on policy and politics in all 50 states.” Click here to support nonprofit, freely distributed, independent local journalism. Read this article and others online at Washington State Standard.

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Ben Shuldiner, Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools. (Image: SPS)

A difficult moment met with a strong message

On Jan. 30, two Rainier Beach High School students were shot and killed at a bus stop near South Shore PreK-8 School and the high school. Seattle Public Schools’ (SPS) new Superintendent Ben Shuldiner was sworn into office Feb. 2, but he set the tone of his leadership even before taking his oath. In a heartfelt email to the SPS community on Feb. 1, he acknowledged and joined in the community’s grief and anger. Then he challenged the community to stand up:

“Tomorrow must be the day for us all to come together and act,” Shuldiner wrote. “Gun violence is a scourge on our community and our country. Youth homicide is a terrible action, but its occurrence is holistic in nature. It happens because we, collectively, have not stopped it. Thus, I ask that each and every one of us think critically about what we can do to address this issue. How can we make our streets safer and our children free from harm?”

Shuldiner noted the organizations and individuals working to stop gun violence: “I know there are already amazing and wonderful people working on this…I know the School Board is doing everything they can to help. But, as the superintendent, I am asking that we all — all 50,000 students, all the families, and all the denizens of Seattle — rally together.”

The new superintendent made it clear that community input will be a cornerstone of his stewardship of Seattle Public Schools:

“How can we help to address this issue?” Shuldiner wrote. “I am open to ideas. I am open to conversation. I am open to anything we can do to stop one more child from dying. Please feel free to email me. I know that together, we will be able to move forward.”

TAKE ACTION: Take SPS Superintendent Ben Shuldiner at his word. Email him directly with your thoughts and concerns about gun violence and any other school concerns at boshuldiner@seattleschools.org.

Black Lives Matter in Schools launched in 2016 (Image: iamaneducator.com)

Seattle-born Black Lives Matter in Schools celebrates a decade

When members of Equitable Educations in Seattle worked with staff at John Muir Elementary in South Seattle to organize the first districtwide Black Lives Matter at School Day in 2016, they had no idea how far the event would reach. That day, nearly 3,000 educators across Seattle wore specially-designed shirts to school celebrating black lives and, alongside parents, the NAACP, and community members, they taught lessons on the Black freedom struggle. 

Last week, the national Black Lives Matter in Schools movement that was born here celebrated its 10th year—and welcomed the city proclamation of Feb. 2, 2026 of Black Lives Matter at School Day.

Don’t miss Jesse Hagopian’s reflections on the importance of that day in 2016, and the movement it launched, in the South Seattle Emerald. Hagopian, a Seattle-based educator and author of “Teach Truth: The Struggle for Antiracist Education,” was there and serves on the national steering committee of Black Lives Matter at School. Read his comments at South Seattle Emerald.

Seattle’s Screentime Consultant testifies in Congress

Anti-Ed Tech advocate Emily Cherkin testifies in Washington D.C. Jan. 14, 2026.

Emily Cherkin, a Seattle mom, former teacher, and author who helps families and schools navigate the digital age under the moniker “The Screentime Consultant,” recently took her fight against overuse of technology in education (Ed Tech) to Congress.

During an impassioned presentation to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Cherkin described technology business models as fundamentally “at odds” with healthy child development.

“Nearly 90% of American public schools provide children with internet-connected devices [and] 26% percent of 13- to 17-year-olds use ChatGPT to do their schoolwork,” Cherkin pointed out, among other statistics regarding digital use by kids.

Cherkin was in Washington, D.C., to voice her support for the proposed Kids Off Social Media Act, which aims to protect children by banning social media accounts for those under 13. The proposal is co-sponsored by Washington Sen. Patty Murray (D-Bothell) and would, among other things, prohibit companies from using algorithms to push content to users under 17 and require schools to block social media on their networks in order to receive cost-discounted telecommunications, internet access, and internal network connections.

She then used an attention-getting analogy to make her point in her testimony: “The juxtaposition of childhood innocence and technology’s overreach can be seen in this anecdote: Middle schoolers, still losing their baby teeth, think it’s funny to imitate the sex noises they hear from watching online content.” Watch Cherkin’s testimony here.

TAKE ACTION: Have an opinion on the use of technology in the classroom or the Kids Off Social Media Act? Reach out to your members through congress.gov.

Lawmakers grapple with a child welfare system 

The numbers stopped lawmakers in their tracks last week. In 2025, 22 Washington children connected to the child welfare system died, and 35 more suffered near-fatal injuries, the highest total the state has recorded. About half involved opioids, and babies and toddlers under age 3 were the most vulnerable. All of the 57 deaths or injuries have been involved in previous child welfare cases, a detail that underscores how hard it can be to keep very young children safe even if concerns have already been flagged.

In response, lawmakers are narrowing their focus after a broad proposal to improve the Washington child welfare system stalled in the current legislative session. That sweeping legislation would have expanded access to legal counsel for at-risk mothers and embedded nurses in families with open Child Protective Services cases. Lawmakers will realize such actions through state budget negotiations.

Legislation still in play is more targeted, including House Bill 2660, which would give courts greater oversight in cases involving children under age 5 who stay at home rather than entering foster care. A separate proposal in the Senate, Senate Bill 6319, would keep some Washington Child Protective Services (CPS) investigations open longer when young children and high-potency opioids are involved.

For parents, this moment is about trade-offs—and trust. The state is grappling with how to protect its youngest children without crossing constitutional lines or overwhelming families already under scrutiny. Supporters say the measures could identify potential danger early, especially for infants and toddlers not yet in child care or school. Critics worry about maintaining a reasonable balance between expanded surveillance and family privacy. What’s clear is this: the current system is not preventing the most devastating outcomes. Read the full story by Washington State Standard.

TAKE ACTION: To make your voice heard on HB 2660 or SB 6319, reach out to your representatives in the state House and Senate.

The Good Read: Baby Giggle Brilliance

(Image: iStock.com)

If you have been the parent of a newborn, you know the unfettered joy of hearing your child’s first belly laugh — that uninhibited hiccuping chortle escaping through a drooly, wide-open mouth. It’s the sound of pure happiness. And possibly something else, as this wonderful story in the New York Times reports. This feel-good read (and listen) will bring you right back to that moment. Listen, laugh, and learn.

Not this year: Several kid-focused bills fail in 2026 Legislature

Washington lawmakers have come at protecting kids online from a number of directions during the current session of the state legislature, which ends March 12. But last week, some of those efforts were left on the cutting room floor:

House Bill 2400, a proposal meant to protect children whose lives are broadcast for profit online—often by their own families. The bill would have given young adults the right to request the removal of videos they appeared in as children and require platforms to set up trust accounts so kids could eventually share in the money earned from their likeness. It was a no-go for lawmakers who gave parents a familiar message: the risks are well documented, the solutions are complicated, and for now, the responsibility still sits squarely at home.

Same story with Senate Bill 6111, which would have required parental consent before minors under 17 could open social media accounts. The bill fizzled out after tech industry groups argued it crossed constitutional lines by restricting free speech. Lawmakers didn’t move it forward.

And a third miss: House Bill 2112 would have required websites to verify that a user is age 18 or older, if one-third of the site content is sexual material harmful to minors. I wrote in an op-ed here last week, failed to pass out of committee on time, even with bipartisan support and painful and moving testimony from parents.

TAKE ACTION: How do you feel about lawmakers’ decision (or lack of decision) on bills that seek to protect kids from online harm? Whatever your position, reach out to your representatives in the state House and Senate.

The Art of Reflection

Kent-Meridian High School memorial mural. (Image: Kent School District)

Most adults can look back and remember a peer who died—for too many of us, it was a fellow student who passed away during our time in high school. For me, it was a boy named Paul who died in a car crash near Governor John R. Rogers High School way back in the 80s.

Like so many kids who experience the death of a peer, I didn’t know what to do with my grief, which may be why I still get teary when I think about Paul. I’m sure that memory is why I was moved by the recently unveiled mural created by students at Kent-Meridian High School.  Response to the mural speaks to what kids need to navigate grief and confusion: a place to pause, reflect, and grapple with the uncomfortable truth that death often comes unexpectedly and too soon.  Check out their story in The Seattle Times.

Doulas Helping Moms Who’ve Struggled with Addiction

(Image: C. Murfin)

A story last week in the Washington State Standard offers hope to pregnant parents with histories of addiction. The article told the stories of women determined to beat addiction and the birth and postpartum doulas committed to helping them avoid pain relief drugs during labor and delivery.

Many of those doulas, former addicts themselves, personally understand what the laboring moms are going through. They understand that exposure to pain medication, especially opiates, in labor can mean the difference between remaining a drug-free parent and a painful return to drug abuse. The story is a great read and a good resource for expectant parents.

It should be noted that the number of infants born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS)—a condition indicating withdrawal from drug exposure—has been rising in Washington state, according to a report published by Washington State University Health Sciences. In 2022, the rate in Washington was 11.2 per 1,000 babies born or 1.2% of babies: “The Washington rate increased year-over-year from 2019 to 2022 while the national rate of NAS has remained stable,” the report said.

As of January 2025, Washington’s Medicaid program covers doula services, offering one of the nation’s highest reimbursement rates at $3,500 for certified doulas. Billing is handled through the Washington Health Care Authority.

Gun found at Phantom Lake Elementary (Image: Bellevue Police Department)

Too-slow reveal of gun found at Bellevue elementary school

Over winter break, when Phantom Lake Elementary was quiet and classrooms sat empty, a janitor discovered something that doesn’t belong in any school building: a loaded Glock pistol left behind in a boys’ bathroom. The gun, discovered Dec. 21, 2025, was linked to a Sunday church service that’s been held in the building for years, according to a report on KUOW.

The fact that a firearm sat unnoticed in the Bellevue elementary school and that parents, staff, and police were not notified until a month after the discovery has rattled the school community. The owner of the weapon told Bellevue Police he forgot it while using the restroom. He’s now been barred from Phantom Lake Elementary School property. But parents still have questions: how a weapon ended up in an elementary school, why law enforcement wasn’t contacted immediately, and what safeguards are in place to make sure it never happens again.

Seattle student ICE Out protest (Seattle Gay News TikTok)

Just before mid-morning Monday, hundreds of high school students stepped out of class and into the rain, turning school hallways into a staging ground for protest. At Highline High School in Burien, the front doors swung open and roughly 500 students — more than a third of the campus — walked out together, calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement they say is tearing families apart. The demonstration, organized under the banner “ICE Out,” echoed across the Highline and Renton districts, with students from Evergreen, Mount Rainier, Raisbeck Aviation, Lindbergh, and Big Picture high schools joining in.

The walkouts weren’t isolated occurrences. Students in West Seattle, Auburn, and other communities had done the same just days earlier as part of a nationally coordinated day of action. And then on Thursday, hundreds more students gathered at Seattle City Hall to continue the student protest over U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s aggressive and deadly tactics across the country.

For many of these teens, the issue isn’t abstract or political — it’s personal, tied to classmates, neighbors, and family members living with very real uncertainty and fear of detainment. By walking out of their classrooms and their right to a day of education, they have been offering us all a different kind of lesson: That civic action is a right of each of us, that it sometimes is a necessity when your voice needs to be heard, and that it is a responsibility young people take seriously. Even when the rain is cold, and the consequences are unclear. Check out The Seattle Times’ coverage of the walkout. 

TAKE ACTION: If you, your teens, or your family are interested in peaceful gatherings to protest U.S. Customs and Immigration tactics in cities across the country, the grassroots organization Seattle Indivisible offers a calendar of protest dates, times, and locations. Several are planned for Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14. Event organizers stress: “This is a peaceful protest movement. We oppose violence, vandalism, and destruction of property.”

Governor rejects first attempt at income tax, child advocates say yes

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said he wanted lawmakers to give him a “millionaire’s tax” to equitize the state’s tax income. Last week, he told them their first attempt to do just that, Senate Bill 6346, wasn’t good enough to receive his signature.

That’s not stopping Children’s Alliance, the statewide child advocacy organization, from pushing for its passage. In an email last week, the Alliance asked supporters to flood the Senate Committee on Ways & Means with PRO positions when the proposal was heard on Feb. 6. The committee is scheduled to take action on the bill in executive session on Feb. 9.

“Senate Bill 6346 would enact a 9.9% tax on earnings above $1 million, ensuring that the wealthiest Washingtonians pay what they owe to support programs and services that benefit us all,” the nonprofit wrote. “In a state as prosperous as ours, working families should be able to build a future without being weighed down by an inequitable tax system.

“Washington,” the group added, “has the second most regressive state and local tax system in the country, relying heavily on sales and property taxes that hit households with low and middle incomes the hardest. This bill represents an opportunity to rebalance our upside-down tax code.” Read the story on Gov. Bob Ferguson’s stance at Washington State Standard. Follow coverage of the opening legislative debate on the tax on the Standard’s website. 

Also check out this recent article: Washington schools superintendent pitch: Spend income tax on education.

TAKE ACTION: The idea of a wealth tax has been controversial in Washington. Where do you stand? Whatever your position, speak out to representatives in the state House and Senate.

The post This Hits Home: News that impacts Washington families appeared first on Seattle's Child.