April 10, 2018 – State Board of Education Seeking Feedback to Inform New Strategic Plan

OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Board is in the process of updating their Strategic Plan.  We are seeking feedback from a broad range of stakeholders through our community forums and meetings to ensure the plan is responsive to the needs of our state and our communities as we seek to provide a high quality education system that prepares all students for college, career, and life.  Read more about how to provide feedback here.

March 21, 2018 – State Board of Education Welcomes New Member Harium Martin-Morris

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Governor Inslee has appointed Seattle resident Harium Martin-Morris to the State Board of Education. He brings to the Board a unique blend of experience in classroom teaching, education policy development, school district governance, and management expertise. Read more here.

March 15, 2018 – Washington Releases New School Improvement Framework

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Today, the State Board of Education (SBE) and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) released the Washington School Improvement Framework (WSIF) for 2018–19, identifying schools for supports under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

“The Board is pleased with the new School Improvement Framework, as it incorporates both academic and nonacademic school quality and student success measures to create a more holistic view of a school’s environment for students,” said SBE Chair Kevin Laverty.

Get more info here. Check out the new framework here.

March 9, 2018 – State Board of Education Statement on 2018 Legislative Session

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Today, Board Chair Kevin Laverty released the following statement regarding the conclusion of a productive legislative session and passage of a supplemental operating budget:

“The State Board of Education (SBE) is pleased with the significant additional investments the Legislature made for K-12 education this session. These include increasing special education funding and adding an additional $776 million to comply with the McCleary order by the date required by the Supreme Court."

Read the full statement here.

February 20, 2018 – State Board of Education Announces March 5 Community Forum in Lacey

OLYMPIA, Wash. – The State Board will be hosting a community forum in Lacey on March 5 from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. The Washington State Board has committed to using educational equity as a guiding principle in its policy decision-making. This forum will highlight high-quality science instruction as a way to reduce achievement gaps through teaching practices that connect science learning to students’ interests and experiences. The goal of the forum is to have participants collaborate to provide feedback to the Board to inform its future policy work around college and career readiness for all students. Please join us!

For more details and to register: click here.

January 16, 2018 – State Board of Education Announces Loss of Dr. Mona Bailey

OLYMPIA, Wash. – “We are saddened at the loss of our colleague and champion for children Mona Bailey,” said State Board Chair Kevin Laverty. “Her poise, reasoning and unwavering commitment to the needs of students of color and those programs that enabled them to excel academically and personally was second to none. We were fortunate to have her at our table for the brief period of time we did and she will be missed. In so many ways, we were all smarter with Mona in the room. She has left an indelible imprint on public education in our state.”

Bailey spent more than thirty years serving in public education in a variety of roles, including as a high school science teacher, principal, Deputy Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools, and as Assistant State Superintendent in the Washington State Office of Public Instruction. She has received many awards, including being recognized by the Johnson Publishing Company as one of the 100 influential Black Americans and is listed in Who's Who Among Women and Who's Who Among Black Americans, and the MESA (Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement) State Board established the annual Mona Bailey MESA Teacher Award in 2003.

Read more here.

December 29, 2017 – State Board of Education Selects New Executive Director

OLYMPIA, Wash. – At their special meeting today, the State Board of Education (SBE) selected Dr. Randy Spaulding as their new Executive Director. Dr. Spaulding will begin as SBE’s Executive Director on January 8, 2018.

Read more here.

November 14, 2017 – State Board of Education Adopts 2018 Legislative Priorities

OLYMPIA, Wash. –The State Board of Education (SBE) adopted its 2018 legislative priorities at its meeting last week. The Board’s top legislative priority is to bolster funding for students with special needs by increasing the per-student state funding for students with an Individualized Education Plan and by increasing safety net funding. Read more here.

September 28, 2017 – State Board of Education Appoints Interim Executive Director

OLYMPIA, Wash. –The State Board of Education (SBE) appointed Deb Merle as interim Executive Director at their special meeting on Tuesday. Former Executive Director Ben Rarick submitted his resignation on September 18.

Merle will begin as SBE’s interim Executive Director on October 1 for a period of 90 days while the Board begins a search process for a new executive director.

Read more here.

September 19, 2017 – State Board of Education Executive Director Resigns

OLYMPIA, Wash. –State Board of Education (SBE) Executive Director, Ben Rarick, has decided to resign in order to seek new opportunities, effective November 1. He submitted his resignation on September 18.

State Board Chair Kevin Laverty stated, “On the Board’s behalf, I want to acknowledge the valuable contribution that Ben has made to our organization and the K-12 education system in our state. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

Read more here.

September 14, 2017 – State Board of Education Elects New Executive Committee Members

The State Board of Education members conducted an Executive Committee election as part of their annual retreat today. We are thrilled to announce the following Executive Committee members:

Chair, two-year term: Kevin Laverty

Vice Chair, two-year term: Peter Maier

Member at-large, one-year term: Janis Avery

Member at-large, one-year term: MJ Bolt

Member at-large, one-year term: Patty Wood

Read more here.

September 14, 2017 – State Board of Education Adopts Resolution Encouraging Congress to Approve Legislation for Undocumented Students

The State Board of Education adopted a resolution today at its Board meeting in Winthrop encouraging the United States Congress to approve legislation to reinstate DACA, or another program, that not only would allow DACA recipients to live and work in the United States without fear of deportation, but also would provide a path for them to become United States citizens;

FURTHER, the Washington State Board of Education encourages all school districts to continue to serve undocumented students in good faith and without regard to legal status, in fulfillment of Washington State’s constitutional guarantee and consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Plyer decision.

Read more here.

June 26, 2017 – Reykdal Announces Elections for State Board of Education

Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal will conduct an election in October 2017 for two positions on the State Board of Education: Eastern Region Position 2 and Western Region Position 5. These positions are four-year terms beginning the second Monday in January 2018. Read the rest of the OSPI election notice announcement here.

Review forms here--but note that these forms should be submitted to OSPI:

Declaration of Candidacy-SBE

2017 Elections Timeline

May 11, 2017 – State Board of Education Urges Quick Action on Biology Graduation Requirement

The State Board of Education adopted a resolution today at its Board meeting in Walla Walla urging immediate action by the Legislature to eliminate the biology end-of-course test as a graduation requirement. The State Board of Education endorses removing the biology end-of-course graduation requirement effective immediately to include the high school graduating class of 2017. Read more here.

April 26, 2017 – Public Comment Period Now Open for New CTE Course Equivalencies 

The State Board of Education has officially opened the public comment period for two new CTE Course Equivalencies:

Agricultural Power and Technology

Viticulture

If you review the CTE Course Equivalencies and like them, please email us and let us know. On the other hand, if you do not like them, please also respond and let us know. The State Board will be voting on these two CTE Course Equivalencies at their next meeting: May 10-11 in Walla Walla.

Meeting information can be found here.

If you would like to provide in-person public comment (limited to three minutes per person) regarding the new CTE Course Equivalencies, you can do so on May 10th or May 11th from 11:45am-12:00pm during the Public Comment section of the State Board meeting.

April 24, 2017 – State Board of Education Welcomes New Student Board Member Joseph Hofman 

Joseph Hofman, a sophomore at Cascade High School in Everett, is the new western Washington student representative to the Washington State Board of Education. He begins his two-year term with the Board on May 12, and will be sworn in at the July 12-13 board meeting in Spokane. Read more here.

April 18, 2017 – State Board of Education Does Not Support A-F Grades for Schools 

The State Board of Education does not support organizations using the Washington State Achievement Index to issue a series of A – F- grades for schools. We believe that the Achievement Index provides valuable information about a school’s performance, but we believe it is only part of the story, and not sufficient to label an individual school a failure. Read more here.

April 17, 2017 – 280 Schools Win State's Highest Honor

A total of 280 schools earned Washington Achievement Awards for the 2016 academic school year. Award-winning schools were notified this week via email by State Superintendent Chris Reykdal and State Board of Education Acting Chair Kevin Laverty. This is the eighth year that the state has recognized outstanding achievement in Washington schools.

The awards use the Washington State Achievement Index and are based on statewide assessment data for the three previous years. Read more here.

March 23, 2017 – Dr. Alan Burke Appointed to Board of Education

Gov. Inslee has appointed Olympia resident Dr. Alan Burke to the State Board of Education. Burke served in public education for more than 40 years, including significant state-level education policy work over the past decade.

Burke’s appointed term begins on April 1. He fills the appointed Position 5 on the 16-member State Board of Education. Read more here.

March 13, 2017 – Ryan Brault Selected to fill Vacancy on Board of Education

Pasco resident Ryan Brault has been selected to fill the vacant position on the State Board of Education. He brings to the board a lifelong commitment to improving education for all students.

Brault was selected Wednesday to serve out the remainder of an existing term until January 2018, when he would be eligible to run for election to retain the seat. He fills the Eastern Region, Position 2 on the 16- member State Board of Education. Read more here.

Jan. 11, 2017 – Board of Education, Workforce Board take shared position on career readiness.

The Board met with peers from the Workforce Training and Education Coordination Board to discuss developing standards for career readiness in Washington, and adopted a joint resolution calling for action.

Students need to be able to identify the connections between what they learn in school and their career and life goals. A statewide understanding of career readiness will help ensure students achieve their goals, no matter which pathway they pursue.

You can read the resolution here, and the press release here.

Dec. 16, 2016 -- Ricardo Sanchez of Seattle appointed to Board by Gov. Jay Inslee
"Ricardo brings an important voice for education access for the underserved and minority communities across the state," Gov. Jay Inslee said. "His extensive experience ranges from helping low income students prepare for college to improving academic achievement of Latino students. Ricardo will be a great asset to the State Board of Education and his contributions will benefit all students in Washington." Read more here.

Dec. 7, 2016 -- Patty Wood of Kelso has been elected to the State Board of Education, according to a final vote tally by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (click here for results). You can read our press release on her election here.

Dec. 7, 2016 -- The State Board of Education is seeking applicants for a position on the School Facilities Citizen Advisory Panel, which is staffed by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. The school facilities panel provides citizen oversight on issues pertaining to school facilities and funding for school construction. Application information can be found here.

Dec. 2, 2016 -- 2016 report on Indicators of Educational System Health released

Nov. 17, 2016 -- New Resources on graduation page

August 3, 2016 > Washington’s Connie Fletcher Elected to NASBE Board of Directors

May 16, 2016 > Charter Authorizer Application

May 13, 2016 > Spokane School District Charter School Authorizer Contract

May 9, 2016 > New Student Member Lindsey Salinas will join the State Board of Education

April 1, 2016 > Legislative Bill Tracker Visual

March 14, 2016 > Interpretive Statement on Instructional Hours (PDF)

January 21, 2016 > Legislative Priorities: McCleary Implementation

December 14, 2015 > State Board of Education Statement Regarding Governor Inslee's Proposed Budget