SENATE BILL REPORT
SB 5789
As Reported By Senate Committee On:
Education, March 4, 1997
Title: An act relating to information on school instructional programs, operation, and maintenance.
Brief Description: Requiring information prepared or distributed by school districts regarding instructional programs, operation, and maintenance to be complete and accurate.
Sponsors: Senators Stevens and Oke.
Brief History:
Committee Activity: Education: 2/28/97, 3/4/97 [DP].
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Majority Report: Do pass.
Signed by Senators Hochstatter, Chair; Finkbeiner, Vice Chair; Johnson, Rasmussen and Zarelli.
Staff: Karen Carter (786-7424)
Background: School boards are responsible for distributing district maintenance, operation and instructional program information to the general public, and may spend district funds to accomplish that purpose. Special care must be taken by districts in the dissemination of such information, as current law prohibits school boards from publishing information in an attempt to influence the outcome of a school district election.
Summary of Bill: Language is added to clarify that maintenance, operation and instructional program information published and disseminated by school boards be a "complete and accurate" representation to the general public.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Not requested.
Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.
Testimony For: Experience shows that it can fall to parents of K-12 students to demonstrate that information provided to the general public about a school's maintenance and operation is not complete or accurate. The burden of proof should rest with the district, not the community. The bill clarifies a shared expectation that information published with taxpayers' money is credible.
Testimony Against: None.
Testified: PRO: Senator Stevens, prime sponsor; Debra Kolrud, parent; Jean Ameluxen, OSPI; Larry Swift, WSSDA; Joanne McCann CURE.