Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Education Committee

HB 2381

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

Requires that a complete set of all instructional materials used in each classroom in a school district be made available to the public in a single location, such as a school library.
Requires the names and publishers of all instructional materials, as well as the location and hours of availability of the collection, to be posted on the district website.

Background:

Under current law, school district boards of directors are required to adopt a policy regarding the selection or deletion of instructional materials. Under the policy, the school district must:

state the district's goals and principles relative to instructional materials;
delegate responsibility for teachers' reading lists and specify the process that will be followed in selecting all instructional materials, including textbooks;
establish an instructional materials committee that must include district staff and may include parents as long as parents make up less than one-half of the membership;
provide for a system to consider and act on complaints regarding instructional materials;
provide free instructional materials to students if the board determines it is in the best interests of the district; and
provide that the instructional materials committee makes recommendations, but approval or disapproval is by the school board.

Beyond the inclusion of textbooks, the term "instructional materials" is not further defined.

Summary of Bill:

A school district board of directors must make available to the public in a single location such as a school library, a complete set of the textbooks, pamphlets, workbooks, and other instructional materials, including online materials, that are used for instruction in each classroom in the district. The names and publishers of textbooks and other materials must be listed on the district website, along with the hours of availability and location of the instructional materials collection. The Legislature intends that a copy of all instructional materials be available for public viewing during regular school hours, so materials may be restricted to on-site inspection only.