Advocates and providers gathered in Olympia on March 26 as Gov. Jay Inslee signed House Bill 1916, a bill primarily sponsored by Rep. Tana Senn (D) from the 41st Legislative District, comprising Mercer Island and portions of Bellevue, Issaquah, Sammamish and Renton.

The bill’s enactment will change current state law to recover funding for the Washington Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT) program, which helps children ages 3 and under with disabilities receive special education services through local providers.

In 2021, the Department of Children, Youth and Families — which oversees and manages grant funding to ESIT providers — made a technical billing change to align with the law. The change caused providers such as Kindering, the largest ESIT provider in the state, to lose significant funding.

“It was, it still is devastating,” Kindering CEO Dr. Lisa Greenwald told the Issaquah Reporter when discussing the billing in February. “We’ve been all reeling from that [change] ever since. Honestly, we are at the point where we can’t continue to absorb that cut.”

While the bill failed to advance during the previous legislative session, it had an easier passage in the short session. The bill received unanimous approval through the Appropriations Committee, House of Representatives and the Senate, making its way to the governor’s desk on March 26. The bill is scheduled to go into effect on June 6.

“We’re thrilled with the success of HB 1916. This will bring crucial funding back to providers who are literally transforming the abilities of kids and families every day,” said Rome Johnson, a parent whose child used the ESIT program. “Today, my daughter is thriving in preschool, and I know it’s in part due to the services she received in her first three years of life. We are helpful more families can experience what we did.”

From left to right: Kindering Communications Specialist Roshni Karthikeyan; Kindering Director of Public Affairs Kristina Brown; Julia Anderson, parent advocate; Alex Team and Morgan Taam with their child Juniper; and Kindering Autism Navigator Marcee Merriam. (Photo courtesy of Kindering)