CHA’s Internal Committees

State and Community Work Groups and Task Forces

The Commission has recommended or appointed individuals to serve on the following legislatively-Mandated or community-led statewide committees, task forces, and work groups.

Committees

ESB 5462 Inclusive Learning Standards and Instructional Materials - By Senate Bill 5462 (2024), OSPI is creating screening tools for biased content in our state’s K–12 learning standards and for school districts to use when building an inclusive instructional materials collection.

CHA Representative: Fernando Mejia, Cynthia Tamayo, Chief of Operations & Policy

Universal HSBP Platform Implementation– High School and Beyond Plans (HSBP) are a state graduation requirement designed to support students’ career and college exploration throughout their secondary education experience. Students must have a HSBP to guide their course choices and document their progress and achievement to prepare for postsecondary education or training and careers (RCW 28A.230.090). Students start their plan in seventh or eighth grade by taking a career interest and/or skill inventory and using those results to inform their eighth-grade course choices.

CHA Representative: ED María Sigüenza

Migrant State Advisory Committee (SAC) –Fifty-one percent of the members of the Washington State Migrant Education Advisory Committee (SAC) are migrant parents and students. Other members include a teacher, a principal, a grants manager, a superintendent, a school board director, a representative from the Commission on Hispanic Affairs (CHA), a paraeducator/home visitor or records clerk, and a secondary school counselor.

CHA Representative: ED María Sigüenza

Governor’s Interagency Workgroup on Youth Homelessness: Gov. Inslee established the Interagency Work Group on Youth Homelessness (IAWG) with directive 17-01, signed on Jan. 24, 2017. The workgroup convenes state agency partners to develop shared goals, outcomes, and action plans to prevent and design system response to youth homelessness in Washington.

CHA Representative: ED María Sigüenza; Lina A. Rios

Family Engagement Framework Work Group: The 2020 Legislature directed the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to convene a workgroup to identify a family engagement framework for early learning through high school. The work group must review family engagement policies and practices in Washington and in other states, with a focus on identifying best practices that can be adopted throughout Washington.

CHA Representative: Vacant

Keep Washington Working E2SSB 5497 creates a work group to address  statewide policy on supporting Washington’s economy and immigrants’ role in the workplace.

CHA Representative: Bernal Baca, Ph.D.

Legislative-Executive Work First Poverty Reduction Oversight Task Force: Known as the Economic Justice Alliance The primary goals of this taskforce are to reduce the overall percentage of people living below 200% the federal poverty level by 50% by the year 2025. the task force must work toward this goal in a manner that seeks to eliminate disparities including but not limited to disparities by race, ethnicity, sex, gender, zip code, immigration status, age, household type, and disability status and; prevent and address adverse childhood experiences and the trauma of children who are living in poverty through the provision of effective services.

CHA Representative: ED María Sigüenza

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Advisory Committee SSB 5082 authorizes the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to convene a committee to build upon the body of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) work of the Social Emotional Learning Workgroups, originally established under ESSB 6052 Sec 501 (34).

The information regarding the committee members and the mandated work may be found in Section 1 of SSB 5082.

CHA Representative: Chief of Operations & Policy

Digital Equity Forum, led by the Washington State Broadband Office and the Washington State Department of Equity, will be embarking on an ambitious project over the next year in convening a Forum to listen to stakeholders and better understand the needs of communities throughout Washington State regarding broadband internet access, devices, and digital literacy skills. This will be achieved through a series of facilitated meetings and listening sessions that will focus on various communities and interests throughout the state.

CHA Representative: Cynthia Tamayo, Chief of Operations & Policy

Ethnic Studies Curriculum Advisory Committee The task of this committee is to identify and make available ethnic studies materials and resources for use in grades seven through twelve and for use in elementary schools; and to develop a framework to support the teaching of ethnic studies in grades seven through twelve. The committee will operate until June 30, 2021.

CHA Representatives: María Isabel Carrera Zamanillo, Ph.D.

Early Learning Advisory Council (ELAC): ELAC representatives from around the state meet regularly to provide input and recommendations to the Department of Early Learning so strategies and actions are well informed and broadly supported by parents, childcare providers, health and safety experts and interested members of the public.

CHA Representative: Alexandra Martin-Truesdell, Community Partner

Educational Opportunity Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee (EOGOAC): The EOGOAC is a bicameral, bipartisan legislative and community workgroup committed to closing racial opportunity gaps in Washington’s K-12 public education system.

CHA Representative: Dr. Randy Nuñez, Michael Peña

Governor’s Interagency Council on Health Disparities was established by the Legislature in 2006 to create a state action plan for eliminating health disparities by race/ethnicity and gender in Washington State.

CHA Representative: Jessica Hernandez, Alternate: ED María Sigüenza

School Safety and Student Well-Being Advisory Committee CHA is required to participate as part of this committee to advise the superintendent, the office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction’s School Safety Center, the Regional Safety Centers, school districts, and public and private schools on all matters related to comprehensive school safety and student well-being.

CHA Representative: Cynthia Tamayo, Chief of Operations & Policy

Recently Completed Task Forces

Remote Learning for Washington State’s K-12 Students: This groups serves two roles, first, as a type of “first responder” to help our schools where appropriate address the immediate remote learning issues and challenges they are currently facing, ranging from a lack of learning devices to a lack of connectivity. Second, to make longer-term, state-wide recommendations to the Governor, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Legislature and our fellow citizens by early 2021 that are aimed at ensuring successful, equitable remote learning in the future as it is needed.

CHA Representative: Alternate: ED María Sigüenza

Pandemic After Action Review Task Force was established in Senate Bill 5092, which passed during the 2021 legislative session. Section 144 (9) of the bill requires the Military Department to facilitate a task force to conduct a comprehensive after-action review of the statewide pandemic response and recovery. Even though the pandemic continues in the state and across the world, it is imperative to begin collecting information, lessons learned, and key recommendations to improve response and recovery efforts in the current and future events. The task force membership, which is identified in the bill, will be composed of a diverse group representing Tribes, certain industries, state agencies, associations and people representing communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

CHA Representative: Angie Hinojos

Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction 2020-21 School Year Reopening Schools Work Group is a group of practitioners, legislators, education leaders, and community members to help plan and provide information about reopening Washington state schools for the 2020–21 school year by reviewing, epidemiology information; identifying and refining possible reopening strategies and models; and informing OSPI recommendations to the Governor, collaboration with the Washington State DOH, and guidance to school districts.

CHA Representative: Nancy Rocha Aguilar, Communications and External Relations Manager

Governor’s Poverty Reduction Work Group The work group is tasked with developing a strategic plan to reduce poverty, improve communities and make needed progress related to housing, health integration, employment and education.

CHA Representative: Executive Directors Lisa van der Lugt (02/2018-07/2018) and María Sigüenza

Disaster Resiliency Work Group SSB 5106 requires CHA to participate as part of a work group reviewing disaster resiliency activities and providing a recommendation to the Legislature and the Governor if Washington should create an ongoing disaster resilience program, which activities it should engage in, where it should be housed, and how it is funded.

CHA Representative: ED Maria Sigüenza

Public School Language Access Work Group: Improve access for public school students and their family members who have language access barriers.

CHA Representative: Anita Ahumada

Marijuana Social Equity Task Force: E2SHB 2870 created a legislative task force with two purposes: to assist the LCB by providing guidance on how the program should be structured; and to make any recommendations the Task Force wants to offer for consideration by the Legislature and the Governor by way of further development or even future expansion of the program.

CHA Representative: Carmen Rivera MSc., Community Partner

Governor’s Task Force on Independent Investigations of Police Use of Force The task force will provide recommendations for legislation on independent investigations involving police use of force. The governor’s task force is a part of a coordinated effort with legislators to provide a comprehensive set of reforms. Task force members will provide insight and feedback, review I-940 structure and investigative protocol, other independent investigation models, and provide input that will help inform legislation for the upcoming legislative session.

Taskforce Member: Vice Chair Brian Moreno

Advisory Member: ED María Sigüenza

Race and Criminal Justice System Task Force 2.0: This task force takes up the work of the previous Task Force on the Criminal Justice System, which came together as a collective response to a statement made by a then-sitting justice who explained away black disproportionality in Washington’s prisons by saying that blacks commit more crimes. Reported in the Seattle Times, news of this statement caused a crisis that endangered public confidence in the judiciary. Judicial officers, academics, prosecutors, defenders, law enforcement, and community leaders met and formed working groups to examine race disproportionality in the criminal justice system in order to present findings and recommendations.

CHA Representative: Commissioner Candice Garza