H-1558.1
HOUSE BILL 2117
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State of Washington | 64th Legislature | 2015 Regular Session |
By Representatives Pollet, Ortiz-Self, S. Hunt, Santos, Taylor, Scott, Griffey, and Shea
Read first time 02/13/15. Referred to Committee on Education.
AN ACT Relating to reevaluating the duties of the state board of education; and creating new sections.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that it is the primary policy setting body for the state of Washington, publicly elected and accountable and entrusted with the education of public schools. The legislature further recognizes that it does have the authority to delegate policy-setting duties to other entities, but that when such authority is not in alignment with legislative authority it can result in conflicting agendas. The legislature further finds that it has delegated a great deal of policy-making authority to the state board of education despite the fact that the state board is not a publicly elected board, is not specifically an executive arm of the legislature, and is not directly accountable to the people of the state of Washington.
In addition, the legislature also finds that the specific tasks and purposes for the establishment of the state board of education in 2006 have been successfully completed, thereby providing the legislature the opportunity to reevaluate what legislative policy-setting authority it does or does not want to delegate to the state board of education and how much of what the state board of education does in the way of implementation and rule making should be delegated to the office of the superintendent of public instruction, which is a body overseen by a publicly elected official with executive duties to operationalize the policies set by the legislature.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The legislature intends to reevaluate the duties of the state board of education, through a process to be determined by the education chairs of the house of representatives and senate, divesting the state board of education of inappropriate policy authority that resides in the purview of the legislature and transferring appropriate duties to the office of the superintendent of public instruction by December 1, 2015.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The superintendent of public instruction shall provide recommended statutory and rule changes to the legislature to implement the transfer of duties from the state board of education to the office of the superintendent of public instruction concurrent with submission of its 2016 supplemental budget proposal.
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