Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Education Committee

SB 5120

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Brief Summary of Bill

Changes the trigger for dissolution of a school district due to low enrollment from an average of five K-8 students in the preceding school year to an average of five K-8 students in the preceding three consecutive school years.

Background:

School districts are political subdivisions of the state, and the organization of school districts, including their powers, duties, and boundaries, are established by state laws. There are currently 295 school districts in Washington.

There are also nine regional educational service districts (ESDs) in the state. Each is governed by a board consisting of seven to nine members elected by the school directors of the ESD. The ESD responsibilities include:

providing cooperative, administrative, and informational services to and on behalf of local school districts; and
assisting the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education in the performance of their duties.

Each ESD has a regional committee on school district organization composed of registered voters in the ESD. There are statutory public processes that a regional committee must follow to transfer territory, consolidate one or more districts, or dissolve a school district and annex the territory to another district. If a school district's K-8 average enrollment is fewer than five during the preceding school year, the ESD superintendent is required to report that fact to the regional committee. The regional committee, in turn, must dissolve the school district and annex the territory to some other district or districts.

Summary of Bill:

The provision regarding dissolution is triggered if a school district has an average enrollment of fewer than five K-8 students during the preceding three consecutive school years, rather than just the one preceding school year.