Washington State House of Representatives Office of Program Research | BILL ANALYSIS |
Education Committee |
HB 2493
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 Description: Making the membership of the state board of education more representative of public education.
Sponsors: Representatives Hunt, Hope, McCoy, Appleton, Santos and Roberts.
Brief Summary of Bill |
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Hearing Date: 1/26/12
Staff: Barbara McLain (786-7383).
Background:
Membership. The State Board of Education (SBE) was first established by the Territorial Legislature in 1877. The SBE consists of 16 members: five elected by school board members, one elected by boards of approved private schools, seven appointed by the Governor, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and two nonvoting students. Three of the five school board-elected members must be residents of Western Washington and two must be residents of Eastern Washington. The last reconfiguration of the membership was in 2006.
Responsibilities. The SBE is responsible for setting performance standards for statewide assessments and the accountability system, setting high school graduation requirements, monitoring compliance with Basic Education requirements, and approving private schools. The SBE adopts improvement goals for schools and school districts regarding student performance on state assessments, high school graduation rates, and dropout reduction. These goals must be adopted by the SBE by rule, and must be presented to the Legislative Education Committees for review and comment.
Summary of Bill:
Membership. The membership of the SBE is changed to comprise 16 voting and two nonvoting members as follows:
four members appointed by the Washington State School Directors' Association, with one each from Eastern and Western Washington and one representing a school with 2,000 or fewer students;
three members appointed by the Washington Education Association, with one each from Eastern and Western Washington and one representing a school with 2,000 or fewer students;
two members appointed by the Washington Association of School Administrators, with one each from Eastern and Western Washington;
one member appointed by the Association of Washington School Principals;
one member appointed by the Washington Association for Career and Technical Education;
one member appointed by unions representing classified school employees;
three members appointed by the Governor;
one member elected by boards of approved private schools; and
two nonvoting students.
The appointing authorities must consider the geographic, gender, and ethnic diversity of the state. Effective immediately, appointing authorities must identify appointees so that the SBE may be reconfigured and convene at the earliest opportunity.
Responsibilities. Before implementing any changes to goals or policies related to performance standards for statewide assessments, high school graduation rates, or dropout reduction, the SBE must complete a fiscal analysis on the impact of the rule or policy change on the state and school districts. The SBE must solicit fiscal impact data from a representative sample of school districts and share this information with the Legislative Education Committees when the goal or policy change is presented for review and comment, including a public hearing.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested on January 19, 2012.
Effective Date: This bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed, except for section 5 relating to appointing authorities identifying appointees for the reconfigured SBE, which takes effect immediately.