Washington State Lawmakers Attempt to Strip Powers From State Board
One of the big hurdles to pushing for education change in states is that, oftentimes, it's not exactly clear who's in charge. This has become a big issue as states craft their accountability plans under the Every Student Succeeds Act. The law dictates who has to be consulted, but doesn't specify who has the final say and state constitutions aren't always clear.
Enter Washington state, where an ongoing legal battle over school funding and the pending ESSA plan has collided in a way that could lead to fundamental changes to the Evergreen State's power structure for the coming years.
Currently, local school board members, the state's superintendent of public instruction, and seven of the state's 12 school board members are elected (the other five are appointed by local school board members). Local school board members report to the state superintendent, who reports to the state school board. But who crafts and approves policy has been pretty murky—and it could soon get murkier.
The legislature's House of Representatives heard a bill Monday that essentially would gut the state board of most of its powers and hand those powers to the state's superintendent.
House Bill 1886 takes from the state's board of education and places in the hands of the state Washington State Lawmakers Attempt to Strip Powers From State Board - State EdWatch - Education Week:
