State Superintendent to fund Imagination Library of Washington amid budget cuts

OLYMPIA — Despite a $12 billion state budget shortfall that eliminated public funding for the Imagination Library of Washington, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal announced Wednesday that his agency will step in to keep the early literacy program operational for at least one more year.

The Imagination Library, founded by country music legend Dolly Parton in honor of her father who was unable to read and write, delivers a free, age-appropriate book each month to children from birth to age five. Since 2022, the program has been available statewide in Washington through a partnership involving the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), and the state Legislature.

Currently, the program serves 120,000 children across all 39 Washington counties. Each book costs $2.60 to distribute, with half funded by local partners and the other half traditionally covered by the state.

That state contribution was removed during the most recent legislative session, as lawmakers struggled with widespread cuts in the face of the budget shortfall. Programs supporting early learning—including Transition to Kindergarten and the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program—were also affected.

"Washington’s youngest children cannot afford to have their opportunities for early learning cut to this extent," Reykdal said. “While I plan to advocate for renewed funding in the supplemental session next year, the Imagination Library of Washington risks losing their effective, statewide infrastructure if funding generated from the statewide match is halted for even one year. Through limited discretionary funds, my agency will keep this program funded for one more year with the goal being to obtain permanent funding from the Legislature next session.”

Brooke Fisher-Clark, executive director of the Imagination Library of Washington, praised the move.

“We are grateful to Superintendent Reykdal and OSPI for their investment in and continued support for the Imagination Library,” Fisher-Clark said. “This program has the potential to be absolutely life changing for Washington students, and we already see through rising kindergarten readiness scores that our efforts, along with other early learning investments, are making a difference in our children's learning. As Dolly Parton often says, ‘you can never get enough books into the hands of enough children.’”

The program includes a bilingual option, allowing families to receive books in both English and Spanish. Families can sign up for the program at imaginationlibrarywashington.org.