Reports & Articles
This report provides a series of data snapshots that illustrate our state’s progress toward embedding the values of fairness, care, and opportunity into the foundations of our economy.
Lawmakers can easily close this big tech loophole next legislative session and greatly expand supports for Washingtonians seeking higher education.
This fall we have a choice: hand the ultra-rich a tax break they don’t need or preserve funding for Washington’s youth. We think it’s a no-brainer.
If the world of higher education feels complicated and vast, that’s because it is. Trade school, grad school, masters degrees, Running Start, four-year, two-year, land-grant colleges, private, public, for-profit, online, hybrid; expanding cultural horizons, learning basic skills, pursuing advanced degrees, training in technical fields – “higher ed” includes many kinds of schooling. And paying for […]
On August 24, 2022, the Biden Administration announced they will be canceling student loan debt for millions of borrowers across the country. Up to $10,000 (i.e., whatever the remaining balance is up to $10,000) will be forgiven for those student loan borrowers with loans held by the Department of Education and up to $20,000 for […]
It has been a little over two years since COVID changed the world. It has been an emotional roller coaster for all, especially the child care workforce. Before the pandemic, the child care sector was like a rickety old rollercoaster, functioning but in constant need of tweaks in the form of financial assistance from government […]
Since March 2020, when the pandemic began shutting down workplaces, schools, and social gatherings, child care providers and their staff have been going 110%. They’ve risked their health and faced extra costs, with resources dwindling every day. For them, anxiety and worry continue to grow as we head into year three of this seemingly never-ending […]
We’re a major step closer to a stronger and more equitable recovery from COVID with the passage of Build Back Better through the House in Congress. Build Back Better makes important investments in America’s people and families that will build up health and economic security both for those who have been most devastated by the […]
Higher education can be a pathway toward racial, gender and economic justice. However, the austerity mentality has become entrenched in our public institutions of higher education after decades of underinvestment. This shows up in high levels of college debt that fall disproportionately on first generation, low income, and BIPOC students, and the heavy reliance on […]
As many as 33,000 child care workers in Washington will soon be eligible to enroll in a premium-free health insurance program through the Health Benefit Exchange. Recognizing the urgent need to help child care workers access affordable health insurance during the pandemic, the Washington State Legislature created a new program in the 2021 legislative session […]
The U.S. Congress is working out the details of a Human and Care Infrastructure package that will make major investments in childcare and pre-K access, long-term care, paid family and medical leave, health care, college affordability, and other essential family economic security needs, all paid for with increased taxes on the wealthiest individuals and corporations. These […]
This week the Seattle City Council unanimously passed Seattle’s Rescue Plan. For the first time ever, the compensation of child care workers will be augmented with $3 million of public funding. This significant step forward for child care workers in Seattle was only made possible through the catalytic and thoughtful organizing of the Seattle Child […]
Child care expenses are so high in Washington, many jobs don’t pay enough for families with younger children to make ends meet, even with two adults working full time. We looked at median wages (where half of all workers are paid more, and half are paid less) for hundreds of occupations in Washington* and compared […]
New and continuing college students did not anticipate the drastic changes to their college careers caused by COVID-19. While continuing to adjust to a largely virtual learning environment and dealing with the mental health impacts of social isolation, they are also facing a bleak job market. Our students, community colleges, and universities need help. When […]
Introduction The COVID-19 global pandemic has altered most aspects of life and will continue to impact our economy – and tax revenues – long after the virus itself is contained. Washington state revenue forecasters are projecting the state will receive nearly $4 billion less over the next three years than budget writers were counting on. […]
Washington State’s legislators face enormous challenges in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, systemic racism and economic recession. They also have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rebuild our economy so that it better promotes shared prosperity, healthy communities, and opportunity for all Washingtonians. This toolkit will help us rebuild our state so that we come out of […]
For a PDF, click here. “Our program is closed as of tomorrow. We didn’t have any reserves left. I am heartbroken. We are in the fight for our lives. But … we are needed now more than ever. However, the state can no longer leverage our passion; now they have to pony up the money […]
Early Learning is critical to child development, family wellbeing, and community economic prosperity. Washington State has invested in building a supervisory and incentive structure for early learning through Early Achievers, including the Quality Rating and Improvement System.[1] However, wages for early learning teachers and caregivers hover near or in poverty. The failure to remedy wage […]
For a PDF, click here. Executive Summary Washington’s booming industries have led to a job market that requires a highly educated and trained workforce. However, Washingtonian high-school graduates from a variety of backgrounds have faced barriers in accessing higher education, and thus have experienced little of the benefits of our economic growth. This brief demonstrates […]
For a PDF, click here. Executive Summary Students throughout the United States are facing immense barriers to higher education. The increasing costs of attending college coupled with decades of decreasing public support have pushed students to take on large loans to finance higher education. Student loan debt is now the second highest consumer debt category, […]
In 1980, a student could earn enough working just one summer (seven weeks) at minimum wage to cover tuition at any of the state’s 4-year colleges or universities — and just three weeks to pay for community or technical college — because state funding for higher education kept costs affordable. Today, it would take six […]
My name is John Burbank. I am the Executive Director of the Economic Opportunity Institute and a member of the Compensation Task Force on Early Learning that the Legislature established two years ago. I would like to thank the House sponsors of HB 1344 for their foresight in addressing the foundations for high quality and […]
For a PDF of detailed methodology and survey results, click here. Ensuring that every child in Washington State has access to in high-quality early childhood education is critical to providing educational opportunity for all children, building family economic security, and promoting a vibrant economy. But early-education professionals in Washington State are earning barely more than […]
For a PDF of this report, click here. Executive Summary This report is part of a research project focusing on the challenges facing child care providers and the barriers to increasing and maintaining the quality of early learning programs in Washington State. It contains the findings from case studies of fifteen childcare providers located in […]
For a PDF of this report, click here. The Washington State Constitution states: “It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste, or sex.” [1] In 2014, the State Supreme Court found […]
For a PDF of this report, click here. Washington has taken commendable steps toward building a high quality early childhood education system. Substantive public investment in early learning – primarily through the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) and Early Achievers Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) – is expanding access, albeit to a […]
Policymakers and educators alike agree: high-quality early learning depends on the competency, education, and compensation of a child’s teacher/caregiver.[1] While Washington has made strides on the first two factors, it has failed to ensure early childhood teachers are adequately compensated, even with an available remedy in state law. As a result, wages for early childhood […]
For a PDF of the full report, click here. Summary Higher education is an avenue for individual achievement, an engine of economic growth, and a cornerstone of American democracy. In the not-too-distant past, state investment in public higher education ensured tuition was reasonably affordable (and college therefore accessible) to broad swaths of students from middle-income […]
Early childhood caregiving and education is plagued by underfunding. As a result, private “tuition” is often higher than that of higher education, while caregivers and teachers work themselves into poverty. For example, the average annual cost of child care in a child care center in 2014 in Washington State was $13,488. The median wage of […]
For a PDF of this report, click here. Founded as a nation of immigrants, the United States has remained so throughout its expansion and development, and today, immigration continues to shape and reshape the country and its states. The U.S.’s history as an immigrant nation has created the rich racial and ethnic diversity that strengthens […]
Testimony of Kelli Smith before the Washington State House Higher Education Committee on HB 1344 – “Pay It Forward for Washington Nurse Educators”, January 29, 2015. Chair Hansen and Members of the Committee: Washington is facing an increasing need and a simultaneous shortage of health care providers. Across the country and in our state, it has become evident that the shortage of […]
The need for health professionals has increased dramatically in recent years, putting the nursing profession at a crossroads. Washington is no exception, facing a looming shortage not only nurses – which is expected to grow in the coming years – but also nurse educators. To meet the burgeoning need for nurses, Washington state nursing programs need […]