Z-0673.3

SENATE BILL 6105

BySenators Hunt, Saldaña, and Wilson, C.; by request of Superintendent of Public Instruction

AN ACT Relating to efficient administration of state education agencies; and amending RCW 28A.305.011, 28C.18.020, 43.30.205, 43.59.030, 28A.310.030, 28A.305.021, 28A.310.050, 28A.310.060, 28A.310.080, 28A.310.090, 28A.310.100, and 28A.525.025.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 101. RCW 28A.305.011 and 2006 c 263 s 105 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The membership of the state board of education shall be composed of sixteen members who are residents of the state of Washington:

(a) Seven shall be members representing the educational system, as follows:

(i) Five members elected by school district directors. Three of the members elected by school district directors shall be residents of western Washington and two members shall be residents of eastern Washington;

(ii) One member elected at large by the members of the boards of directors of all private schools in the state meeting the requirements of RCW 28A.195.010; and

(iii) The superintendent of public instruction or the superintendent's designee;

(b) Seven members appointed by the governor; and

(c) Two students selected in a manner determined by the state board of education.

(2) Initial appointments shall be for terms from one to four years in length, with the terms expiring on the second Monday of January of the applicable year. As the terms of the first appointees expire or vacancies on the board occur, the governor shall appoint or reappoint members of the board to complete the initial terms or to four-year terms, as appropriate.

(a) Appointees of the governor must be individuals who have demonstrated interest in public schools and are supportive of educational improvement, have a positive record of service, and who will devote sufficient time to the responsibilities of the board.

(b) In appointing board members, the governor shall consider the diversity of the population of the state.

(c) All appointments to the board made by the governor are subject to confirmation by the senate.

(d) No person may serve as a member of the board, except the superintendent of public instruction, for more than two consecutive full four-year terms.

(3) The governor may remove an appointed member of the board for neglect of duty, misconduct, malfeasance, or misfeasance in office, or for incompetent or unprofessional conduct as defined in chapter 18.130 RCW. In such a case, the governor shall file with the secretary of state a statement of the causes for and the order of removal from office, and the secretary of state shall send a certified copy of the statement of causes and order of removal to the last known post office address of the member.

(4)(a) The chair of the board shall be elected by a majority vote of the members of the board. The chair of the board shall serve a term of two years, and may be reelected to an additional term. A member of the board may not serve as chair for more than two consecutive terms.

(b) Eight voting members of the board constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

(c) All members except the student members are voting members.

(5) Members of the board appointed by the governor who are not public employees shall be compensated in accordance with RCW 43.03.250 and shall be reimbursed for travel expenses incurred in carrying out the duties of the board in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

Sec. 102. RCW 28C.18.020 and 2010 c 128 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) There is hereby created the workforce training and education coordinating board as a state agency and as the successor agency to the state board for vocational education. Once the coordinating board has convened, all references to the state board for vocational education in the Revised Code of Washington shall be construed to mean the workforce training and education coordinating board, except that reference to the state board for vocational education in RCW 49.04.030 shall mean the state board for community and technical colleges.

(2)(a) The board shall consist of nine voting members appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate, as follows: Three representatives of business, three representatives of labor, and, serving as ex officio members, the superintendent of public instruction or the superintendent's designee, the executive director of the state board for community and technical colleges, and the commissioner of the employment security department. The chair of the board shall be a nonvoting member selected by the governor with the consent of the senate, and shall serve at the pleasure of the governor. In selecting the chair, the governor shall seek a person who understands the future economic needs of the state and nation and the role that the state's training system has in meeting those needs. Each voting member of the board may appoint a designee to function in his or her place with the right to vote. In making appointments to the board, the governor shall seek to ensure geographic, ethnic, and gender diversity and balance. The governor shall also seek to ensure diversity and balance by the appointment of persons with disabilities.

(b) The business representatives shall be selected from among nominations provided by a statewide business organization representing a cross-section of industries. However, the governor may request, and the organization shall provide, an additional list or lists from which the governor shall select the business representatives. The nominations and selections shall reflect the cultural diversity of the state, including women, people with disabilities, and racial and ethnic minorities, and diversity in sizes of businesses.

(c) The labor representatives shall be selected from among nominations provided by statewide labor organizations. However, the governor may request, and the organizations shall provide, an additional list or lists from which the governor shall select the labor representatives. The nominations and selections shall reflect the cultural diversity of the state, including women, people with disabilities, and racial and ethnic minorities.

(d) Each business member may cast a proxy vote or votes for any business member who is not present and who authorizes in writing the present member to cast such vote.

(e) Each labor member may cast a proxy vote for any labor member who is not present and who authorizes in writing the present member to cast such vote.

(f) The chair shall appoint to the board one nonvoting member to represent racial and ethnic minorities, women, and people with disabilities. The nonvoting member appointed by the chair shall serve for a term of four years with the term expiring on June 30th of the fourth year of the term.

(g) The business members of the board shall serve for terms of four years, the terms expiring on June 30th of the fourth year of the term except that in the case of initial members, one shall be appointed to a two-year term and one appointed to a three-year term.

(h) The labor members of the board shall serve for terms of four years, the terms expiring on June 30th of the fourth year of the term except that in the case of initial members, one shall be appointed to a two-year term and one appointed to a three-year term.

(i) Any vacancies among board members representing business or labor shall be filled by the governor with nominations provided by statewide organizations representing business or labor, respectively.

(j) The board shall adopt bylaws and shall meet at least bimonthly and at such other times as determined by the chair who shall give reasonable prior notice to the members or at the request of a majority of the voting members.

(k) Members of the board shall be compensated in accordance with RCW 43.03.040 and shall receive travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

(l) The board shall be formed and ready to assume its responsibilities under this chapter by October 1, 1991.

(m) The director of the board shall be appointed by the governor from a list of three names submitted by a committee made up of the business and labor members of the board. However, the governor may request, and the committee shall provide, an additional list or lists from which the governor shall select the director. The governor may dismiss the director only with the approval of a majority vote of the board. The board, by a majority vote, may dismiss the director with the approval of the governor.

(3) The state board for vocational education is hereby abolished and its powers, duties, and functions are hereby transferred to the workforce training and education coordinating board. All references to the director or the state board for vocational education in the Revised Code of Washington shall be construed to mean the director or the workforce training and education coordinating board.

Sec. 103. RCW 43.30.205 and 2010 c 189 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The board shall consist of six members:

(a) The governor or the governor's designee;

(b) The superintendent of public instruction or the superintendent's designee;

(c) The commissioner;

(d) The director of the University of Washington school of forest resources;

(e) The dean of the Washington State University college of agricultural, human, and natural resource sciences; and

(f) A representative of those counties that contain state forestlands acquired or transferred under RCW 79.22.010, 79.22.040, and 79.22.020.

(2)(a) The county representative on the board shall be selected by the legislative authorities of those counties that contain state forestlands acquired or transferred under RCW 79.22.010, 79.22.040, and 79.22.020. In the selection of the county representative, each participating county shall have one vote. The Washington state association of counties shall convene a meeting for the purpose of making the selection and shall notify the board of the selection.

(b) The county representative must be a duly elected member of a county legislative authority who shall serve a term of four years unless the representative should leave office for any reason. The initial term shall begin on July 1, 1986.

Sec. 104. RCW 43.59.030 and 2018 c 201 s 8010 are each amended to read as follows:

The governor shall be assisted in his or her duties and responsibilities by the Washington state traffic safety commission. The Washington traffic safety commission shall be composed of the governor as chair, the superintendent of public instruction or the superintendent's designee, the director of licensing, the secretary of transportation, the chief of the state patrol, the secretary of health, the director of the health care authority, a representative of the association of Washington cities to be appointed by the governor, a member of the association of counties to be appointed by the governor, and a representative of the judiciary to be appointed by the governor. Appointments to any vacancies among appointee members shall be as in the case of original appointment.

The governor may designate an employee of the governor's office familiar with the traffic safety commission to act on behalf of the governor during the absence of the governor at one or more of the meetings of the commission. The vote of the designee shall have the same effect as if cast by the governor if the designation is in writing and is presented to the person presiding at the meetings included within the designation.

The governor may designate a member, other than the governor's designee, to preside during the governor's absence.

Sec. 105. RCW 28A.310.030 and 2006 c 263 s 603 are each amended to read as follows:

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, in each educational service district there shall be an educational service district board consisting of seven members elected by the school directors of the educational service district, one from each of seven educational service district board-member districts. Board-member districts in districts reorganized under RCW 28A.310.020, or as provided for in RCW 28A.310.120 and under this section, shall be initially determined by the state board of education. If a reorganization pursuant to RCW 28A.310.020 places the residence of a board member into another or newly created educational service district, such member shall serve on the board of the educational service district of residence and at the next election called by the ((superintendent of public instruction))executive director of the Washington state school directors' association pursuant to RCW 28A.310.080 a new seven member board shall be elected. If the redrawing of board-member district boundaries pursuant to this chapter shall cause the resident board-member district of two or more board members to coincide, such board members shall continue to serve on the board and at the next election called by the ((superintendent of public instruction))executive director of the Washington state school directors' association a new board shall be elected. The board-member districts shall be arranged so far as practicable on a basis of equal population, with consideration being given existing board members of existing educational service district boards. Each educational service district board member shall be elected by the school directors of each school district within the educational service district. Beginning in 1971 and every ten years thereafter, educational service district boards shall review and, if necessary, shall change the boundaries of board-member districts so as to provide so far as practicable equal representation according to population of such board-member districts and to conform to school district boundary changes: PROVIDED, That all board-member district boundaries, to the extent necessary to conform with this chapter, shall be immediately redrawn for the purposes of the next election called by the ((superintendent of public instruction))executive director of the Washington state school directors' association following any reorganization pursuant to this chapter. Such district board, if failing to make the necessary changes prior to June 1st of the appropriate year, shall refer for settlement questions on board-member district boundaries to the office of the superintendent of public instruction, which, after a public hearing, shall decide such questions.

Sec. 201. RCW 28A.305.021 and 2005 c 497 s 102 are each amended to read as follows:

The election of state board of education members by school directors and private school board members shall be conducted by the ((office of the superintendent of public instruction))Washington state school directors' association for the members of the state board who begin serving on January 1, 2006, and thereafter.

(1) The ((superintendent))school directors' association shall adopt rules for the conduct of elections, which shall include, but need not be limited to: The definition of the eastern Washington and western Washington geographic regions of the state for the purpose of determining board member positions; the weighting of votes cast by the number of students in the school director's school district or board member's private school; election and dispute resolution procedures; the process for filling vacancies; and election timelines. The election timeline shall include calling for elections no later than the twenty-fifth of August, and notification of the election results no later than the fifteenth of December.

(2) State board member positions one and two shall be filled by residents of the eastern Washington region and positions three, four, and five shall be filled by residents of the western Washington region.

(3) A school director shall be eligible to vote only for a candidate for each position in the geographic region within which the school director resides.

(4) Initial terms of the individuals elected by the school directors shall be for terms of two to four years in length as follows: Two members, one from eastern Washington and one from western Washington, shall be elected to two-year terms; two members, one from eastern Washington and one from western Washington, shall be elected to four-year terms; and one member from western Washington shall be elected to a three-year term. The term of the private school member shall be two years. All terms shall expire on the second Monday of January of the applicable year.

(5) No person employed in any public or private school, college, university, or other educational institution or any educational service district superintendent's office or in the office of the superintendent of public instruction is eligible for membership on the state board of education. No member of a board of directors of a local school district or private school may continue to serve in that capacity after having been elected to the state board.

Sec. 202. RCW 28A.310.050 and 2006 c 263 s 604 are each amended to read as follows:

Any educational service district board may elect by resolution of the board to increase the board member size to nine board members. In such case positions number eight and nine shall be filled at the next election called by the ((superintendent of public instruction))executive director of the Washington state school directors' association, position numbered eight to be for a term of two years, position numbered nine to be for a term of four years. Thereafter the terms for such positions shall be for four years.

Sec. 203. RCW 28A.310.060 and 2006 c 263 s 605 are each amended to read as follows:

The term of every educational service district board member shall begin on the second Monday in January next following the election at which he or she was elected: PROVIDED, That a person elected to less than a full term pursuant to this section shall take office as soon as the election returns have been certified and he or she has qualified. In the event of a vacancy in the board from any cause, such vacancy shall be filled by appointment of a person from the same board-member district by the educational service district board. In the event that there are more than three vacancies in a seven-member board or four vacancies in a nine-member board, the superintendent of public instruction shall fill by appointment sufficient vacancies so that there shall be a quorum of the board serving. Each appointed board member shall serve until his or her successor has been elected at the next election called by the ((superintendent of public instruction))executive director of the Washington state school directors' association and has qualified.

Sec. 204. RCW 28A.310.080 and 2007 c 460 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

Not later than the twenty-fifth day of August of every odd-numbered year, the ((superintendent of public instruction))executive director of the Washington state school directors' association shall call an election to be held in each educational service district within which resides a member of the board of the educational service district whose term of office expires on the second Monday of January next following, and shall give written notice thereof to each member of the board of directors of each school district in such educational service district. Such notice shall include instructions and rules established by the ((superintendent of public instruction))Washington state school directors' association for the conduct of the election.

Sec. 205. RCW 28A.310.090 and 2006 c 263 s 606 are each amended to read as follows:

Candidates for membership on an educational service district board shall file declarations of candidacy with the ((superintendent of public instruction))Washington state school directors' association on forms prepared by the ((superintendent))association. Declarations of candidacy may be filed by person or by mail not earlier than the first day of September, nor later than the sixteenth day of September. The ((superintendent))association may not accept any declaration of candidacy that is not on file in his or her office or is not postmarked before the seventeenth day of September.

Sec. 206. RCW 28A.310.100 and 2006 c 263 s 607 are each amended to read as follows:

Each member of an educational service district board shall be elected by a majority of the votes cast at the election for all candidates for the position. All votes shall be cast by mail addressed to the ((superintendent of public instruction))Washington state school directors' association and no votes shall be accepted for counting if postmarked after the sixteenth day of October or if not postmarked or the postmark is not legible, if received by mail after the twenty-first day of October following the call of the election. ((The superintendent of public instruction and))An election board comprised of three persons appointed by the ((superintendent))executive director of the Washington state school directors' association shall count and tally the votes not later than the twenty-fifth day of October in the following manner: Each vote cast by a school director shall be accorded as one vote. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, then, not later than the first day of November, the ((superintendent of public instruction))executive director of the Washington state school directors' association shall call a second election to be conducted in the same manner and at which the candidates shall be the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes cast. No vote cast at such second election shall be received for counting if postmarked after the sixteenth day of November or if not postmarked or the postmark is not legible, if received by mail after the twenty-first day of November and the votes shall be counted as hereinabove provided on the twenty-fifth day of November. The candidate receiving a majority of votes at any such second election shall be declared elected. In the event of a tie in such second election, the candidate elected shall be determined by a chance drawing of a nature established by the ((superintendent of public instruction))executive director of the Washington state school directors' association. Within ten days following the count of votes in an election at which a member of an educational service district board is elected, the ((superintendent of public instruction))executive director of the Washington state school directors' association shall certify to the county auditor of the headquarters county of the educational service district the name or names of the persons elected to be members of the educational service district board.

Sec. 301. RCW 28A.525.025 and 2006 c 263 s 308 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) ((To maintain citizen oversight on issues pertaining to school facilities and funding for school construction, a school facilities citizen advisory panel shall be created by the state board of education. The panel shall advise and make recommendations to the superintendent of public instruction regarding school facilities, funding for school construction, joint planning and financing of educational facilities, facility plans and programs for nonhigh school districts, and determinations of remote and necessary schools.

(4) In addition to the school facilities citizen advisory panel,))To advise the superintendent of public instruction on issues pertaining to school facilities and funding for school construction, the superintendent of public instruction may convene a technical advisory group ((including)), which must include citizen members and representatives from school business officers, building and construction contracting and trade organizations, architecture and engineering organizations, and other organizations with expertise in school facilities. The group may advise and make recommendations to the superintendent of public instruction regarding school facilities, funding for school construction, joint planning and financing of educational facilities, facility plans and programs for nonhigh school districts, and determinations of remote and necessary schools.

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