Z-0318.1
HOUSE BILL 1683
State of Washington | 69th Legislature | 2025 Regular Session |
ByRepresentative Ortiz-Self; by request of Superintendent of Public Instruction
Read first time 01/29/25.Referred to Committee on Education.
AN ACT Relating to school director districts; amending RCW
28A.343.300; adding a new section to chapter
28A.343 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that students and communities benefit from diverse school boards of directors that are representative of the communities and neighborhoods they serve. Furthermore, the legislature recognizes proportional representation encourages greater school board diversity, and more parents of school-aged children to seek office than at-large district elections. Therefore, the legislature intends to require school districts with enrollments greater than 3,000 students to elect school board directors from designated member districts.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter
28A.343 RCW to read as follows:
(1) By calendar year 2027, all elections of directors of any school district with a head count enrollment greater than 3,000 students shall elect school board directors from designated member districts accordingly:
(a) For districts with a head count enrollment greater than 5,000 students, no less than four school board directors shall be elected by designated member districts; and
(b) For districts with a head count enrollment of 3,001 to 5,000 students, no less than three school board directors shall be elected by designated member districts.
(2) School districts with 3,000 students or less are exempt from this section.
Sec. 3. RCW
28A.343.300 and 2009 c 107 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
The governing board of a school district shall be known as the board of directors of the district.
Unless otherwise specifically provided, as in RCW
29A.04.340 and section 2 of this act, each member of a board of directors shall be elected by ballot by the registered voters of the school district and shall hold office for a term of four years and until a successor is elected and qualified. Terms of school directors shall be staggered, and insofar as possible, not more than a majority of one shall be elected to full terms at any regular election. In case a member or members of a board of directors are to be elected to fill an unexpired term or terms, the ballot shall specify the term for which each such member is to be elected.
Except for a school district of the first class having within its boundaries a city with a population of ((four hundred thousand))400,000 people or more which shall have a board of directors of seven members, the board of directors of every school district of the first class or school district of the second class shall consist of five members.
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