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

  • Changes the membership of the State Board of Education (SBE) to include 12 members appointed by various education groups, three members appointed by the Governor, one elected by private schools, and two nonvoting students.

  • Requires that the SBE prepare a fiscal analysis of any changes in rules or policies regarding performance improvement goals, and submit this information to the Legislative Education Committees for review and comment, including a public hearing.

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:

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.