Rantz: Dem bill cuts English reading and writing requirement for public safety jobs

If you think the Washington government bureaucracy is inefficient now, wait until you experience life under Senate Bill 5274.

Democrats are close to passing a bill that strikes a requirement that some civil service employees can read and write in English. SB 5274 ditches the English language requirement for city firefighter, police, or sheriff’s office positions. The same is true for fish and wildlife officer positions. The bill also extends these jobs to allow lawful permanent residents to apply.

This latest left-wing equity push neither makes sense nor serves the public. While Democrats pretend you don’t need to understand the English language, it’s a necessary requirement for these positions. These jobs primarily function around the English language.

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This is the equity agenda at play

Its primary sponsor, State Senator Javier Valdez (D-Seattle), argued this bill would help expand the candidate pool for law enforcement agencies suffering from low staffing. But to what end? If they cannot read English as a police officer, how will they be able to understand written policies or read information from the Mobile Data Computer inside police vehicles? How do they prepare required reports if they cannot write in English?

“These are folks who are forced to deliver services to our citizens around the state. Certainly, if they’re bilingual, that’s actually valuable. Oftentimes, they’re paid more … but to think that you can somehow function and deliver services in our society without being able to read or write English, I think is, again, wrongheaded,” Senate minority leader John Braun (R-Centralia) told The Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.

This is a transparent attempt to social engineer a more diverse workforce. Ironically, Democrat lawmakers who support this bill don’t employ staff who cannot write or read English.

This will push unqualified candidates into roles for diversity’s sake (and yes, you’re unqualified for these jobs if you don’t possess these basic skills). It puts our safety at risk. These are public safety jobs. One misunderstood policy or incorrectly completed form can harm people or lead to a criminal’s release. Is that inevitability truly worth this ridiculous attempt to force diversity?

Listen to the Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast. Follow @JasonRantz on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Check back frequently for more news and analysis.

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