Paul Harris

Rep. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver, has received the Washington Business Alliance 2017 Career and Technical Education (CTE) Legislator of the Year Award for his leadership on behalf of CTE students statewide. Harris who co-chairs the Joint Select Committee on Article IX Litigation, also known as the McCleary committee, was recognized for his work on...

Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the Washington state House of Representatives are once again calling for immediate approval of HB 1046, which would delink high-stakes standardized tests as a requirement for students to earn a diploma. Nearly 16,000 current high school seniors have not passed the English Language Arts (ELA), math,...

We are down to the last month of the legislative session. We have passed a number of cutoff dates, including the house-of-origin cutoff date. Getting past this deadline is helpful in telling us which bills are likely dead and which bills may be deemed necessary to implement the budget or (NTIB). You...

Sen. Lynda Wilson, Rep. Paul Harris and Rep. Vicki Kraft, will co-host a telephone town hall meeting March 29. The community conversation, which is similar to a call-in radio format, will begin at 7 p.m. and last an hour. The lawmakers will take questions and provide their perspectives on the...

Rep. Paul Harris has received the YMCA Legislative Champion Award for 2017 in recognition of his leadership for children, families and healthy communities. The Washington State Alliance of YMCA’s presented Harris the award last week on Washington YMCA Advocacy Day in Olympia. “I am humbled and truly honored to be recognized by such a great...

George Packard, a student from Ridgeline Middle School recently served as a page in the state House of Representatives. He was sponsored by 17th District Rep. Paul Harris. “It was my pleasure to sponsor George as a page in the state House. It is great to see students engaged in...

Legislative Republicans, including Rep. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver, say the House Democrat education plan passed Wednesday has no mechanism to fund the big-ticket spending items and falls short of reforms.

Following a spirited debate on the floor of the Washington State House of Representatives, House Democrats passed their long-awaited education bill on a 50-47 party-line vote. House Republicans, who offered seven amendments as alternative solutions, criticized the legislation because it has no funding source, no meaningful reforms and no protections to prevent...

We are about a month into the 2017 legislative session and detailed plans to address the state Supreme Court McCleary order are emerging. The Senate Republicans released their One Washington Education Equality Act late last week. I believe the Senate plan is a good starting point that sets some goals and focuses on student...