Basic Education

Highlighted Information

2026-27 Basic Education Matrix 

2026-27 Minimum Basic Education Requirements Compliance Survey

Basic Education Compliance Report: 2025-26 School Year

Contact

Gail Wootan
Director of System Health & Compliance

The State Board of Education (SBE) is responsible for ensuring that Washington State public school districts and local education agencies are in compliance with the Program of Basic Education (RCW 28A.150). The SBE annually conducts a survey allowing school districts to affirm compliance with the basic education law. (WAC 180-16-195).

The Basic Education Matrix

Under the provisions of Chapters 28A.150, 28A.230, 28A.300, and 28A.320 RCW, the State Board of Education is tasked with developing a Basic Education Compliance Matrix.

The matrix includes criteria that guide recommendations for certificates of compliance or noncompliance with basic education laws. It identifies the foundational, required, and encouraged elements of basic education in Washington school districts.

View the 2026-2027 Basic Education Matrix 

Foundational Elements of Basic Education

The foundational elements of basic education are ones that must be present within the education program in every school district and LEA prior to a recommendation for certification of compliance.

  • Basic Education Program Accessible to All Students Aged 5 through 20 (through 22 for Students with Disabilities
  • Credit and Subject Area Graduation Requirements (including Stand-alone Civics Course and Study of Constitutions of United States and Washington
  • Graduation Pathway Options
  • High School and Beyond Plan (HSBP)
  • Minimum 180-Day School Year
  • Minimum College Entrance Requirements / Career & Work Opportunity Program
  • Minimum Instructional Hours

Required Offerings Explicitly Tied to Basic Education

The required offerings describe elements which have an explicit basic education or compulsory education reference in statute, and the presence (or not) of the element factors into compliance recommendation.

  • Arts Instruction
  • Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
  • Computer Science Elective
  • Conservation, Natural Resources, and the Environment Instruction
  • Disability History and Awareness Month
  • HIV/AIDS Prevention Education
  • Social-emotional Learning Standards
  • Veteran’s Day Observance

Additional Legislatively Required Offerings

The additional legislatively required offerings describe elements that are related to basic education, are required elsewhere in statute, but do not have an explicit basic education reference. These do not factor into the certification recommendation and would result in a notification to the district.

  • Comprehensive Sexual Health Education
  • Credit for Students in or Released from Institutional Education Facility
  • Financial Education Standards
  • John McCoy (lulilaš) Since Time Immemorial Curriculum and Tribal Collaboration
  • Reading and Early Literacy
  • Seal of Biliteracy
  • Sex Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Education

Legislatively Encouraged Offerings

The encouraged offerings describe elements that are legislatively encouraged or recommended in the statute, and these do not factor into the certification recommendation

  • Bone Marrow and Blood Donation Awareness Instruction
  • Chinese Descent History Month
  • Ethnic Studies
  • History of Civil Rights Program
  • Holocaust History Instruction

Documents & Links

Basic Education Compliance District Survey

The 2026-27 Minimum Basic Education Requirements Compliance Survey is now available. All Washington school districts and local education agencies are required by law to complete the survey to confirm compliance with the Minimum Instructional Program of Basic Education outlined in RCW 28A.150.220. All responses must be received no later than September 15, 2026. 

The survey includes questions regarding access to the Program of Basic Education that allow the state to ensure that students are offered the full breadth of educational opportunities spanning the program of basic education, specific required or encouraged offering, and the state learning standards.

New this year: School districts and other local education agencies (LEAs) will login to the survey using their LEA code found on OSPI's Education Directory. In addition, some answers are pre-filled based on previous surveys and other public information. Pre-filled answers can be changed if incorrect.

Complete the 2026-27 Minimum Basic Education Requirements Compliance Survey

Tips for Completing The Survey 

Before completing the survey, we recommend reviewing the sample surveys provided below and the 2026-27 Basic Education Compliance Matrix to gather all necessary information. It may also be helpful to review the district’s/LEA’s answers to the 2025-26 survey, which should be attached to last year’s confirmation email. 

Accreditation and Basic Education Certification

Basic education certification is a mandatory process and an integral part of work that the State Board is tasked to accomplish annually. This process is different from such procedures as accreditation or private schools approval. Accreditation is a process that a school district can follow voluntarily, whereas the process of approval is mandatory for private schools. Find more information on accreditation on our Accreditation page.