Washington State House of Representatives Office of Program Research | BILL ANALYSIS |
General Government & Information Technology Committee |
HB 2947
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: Eliminating the office of the superintendent of public instruction and transferring its powers, duties, and functions to a new department of education.
Sponsors: Representatives Sullivan, Lytton, Blake and Rossetti.
Brief Summary of Bill |
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Hearing Date: 2/5/16
Staff: Jessica Harrell (786-7349)
Background:
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is the primary state agency charged with overseeing K-12 public education. The agency is led by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, who is a separately elected statewide official. The primary responsibilities of the OSPI include: Gathering and reporting school information to state and federal authorities; apportioning and distributing state and other moneys to local school districts and Educational Service Districts (ESDs); approving and monitoring school districts' expenditures and budgets; administering the state school construction assistance program and other grant programs; providing technical assistance in finance and curriculum matters to ESDs and school districts; and issuing certificates for teachers, support personnel, and administrators of the K-12 public school system.
State Board of Education.
The State Board of Education (Board) is a sixteen member board, the purpose of which is providing advocacy and strategic oversight of public education. The Board consists of five members elected by school district directors, one member elected at large by members of the board of directors of all private schools, the superintendent of public instruction, seven members appointed by the governor, and two students. Other duties of the Board include implementing a standards-based accountability framework that creates a unified system of increasing levels of support of schools in order to improve student academic achievement; providing leadership in the creation of a system that personalizes education for each student and respects diverse cultures, abilities and learning styles; and promoting achievement of the Basic Education Act goals.
Summary of Bill:
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the State Board of Education (SBE) are eliminated. A new department of state government, called the Department of Education, is created. All duties of the current OSPI and SBE are transferred to the new DOE. The Director of Education is added to the list of chief executive officers that are appointed by the Governor, with the consent of the Senate.
Prior to the completed transfer of duties, the governor must appoint a transition team to plan the technical and practical steps required to transition from the OSPI to the new DOE. The transition team's plan must be completed by January 1, 2018 and must be designed to phase-in the operation of the new DOE beginning July 1, 2018 with completion by July 1, 2019.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested.
Effective Date: Contingent on the approval and ratification of the proposed amendment to Article III, section 1, 3, 10, 22 and 24, the effective date is July 1, 2019.