Yesterday, the state House passed Senate Bill 5496, a measure Sen. John Braun introduced that would give private schools the same ability as public schools to offer online school programs. The bill would help schools like Centralia Christian School and St. Joseph Catholic School, in the 20th Legislative District Braun represents.

Shortly after the bill passed the Washington Policy Center issued this statement: “SB 5496 enhances access to online learning to private school students. The bill is the result of the hard work of two far-sighted education reformers who care about improving the education of Washington’s children, Sen. John Braun (R-Centralia) and Rep. Mark Hargrove (R-Covington).” Continue reading →

Sen. John Braun expressed disappointment with the House Democrat budget proposal made public today, noting how eerily similar it is to Gov. Jay Inslee’s plan – to the point of raising tuition at Washington’s four-year colleges by the same 6 to 10 percent in the next two years.

“This proposal, like the governor’s, is not in the best interest of our state,” said Braun, R-Centralia. “Voters recently rejected a tax on bottled water, and here it is again in the House budget proposal.”

Braun highlighted the Senate’s Ten-Three-Fifty plan as representing a stark contrast to the approach taken by the House. The Senate provides the most money to higher education out of all three budgets introduced, and is the only budget that actually lowers tuition without raising taxes. Continue reading →