Public school survey info.

AN ACT Relating to assessing and improving the public school 1
system through survey information provided voluntarily by parents and 2
guardians; amending RCW 28A.225.220; and adding a new section to 3
chapter 28A.310 RCW. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 28A.310 6
RCW to read as follows: 7
(1)(a) In order to assist school districts and public schools in 8
assessing and improving their education programs and services, the 9
Washington school information processing cooperative shall establish, 10
maintain, and promote to public schools a confidential online survey 11
for voluntary use by parents or guardians of children enrolled in 12
public schools that are: Transferring to a public or private school; 13
or withdrawing to receive home-based instruction in accordance with 14
chapter 28A.200 RCW. No parent or guardian may be required to 15
complete the survey. 16
(b) The survey must be operational by September 1, 2025, and use 17
the statewide student identifier for each student for which there is 18
a survey response. 19
(2) The purpose of the survey is to: 20
H-0310.1
HOUSE BILL 1289
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives McClintock, Santos, Schmidt, and Timmons
Read first time 01/14/25. Referred to Committee on Education.
p. 1 HB 1289
(a) Collect data for public school officials, policymakers, and 1
the public through voluntary responses from parents and guardians 2
about the purposes and reasons that they transfer or withdraw 3
students from public schools; and 4
(b) Identify, through the collected data, opportunities for 5
improving the public school system to better meet the needs of 6
students and their parents or guardians. 7
(3) Public schools are encouraged to notify parents or guardians 8
of the survey and provide a link to the applicable website upon 9
receiving a request from a parent or guardian to transfer or withdraw 10
their student from a public school. 11
(4)(a) Beginning December 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, the 12
Washington school information processing cooperative shall provide a 13
summary of the data received through the survey during the school 14
year preceding the issuance of the report to: 15
(i) The public schools and school districts from which the survey 16
responses from parents or guardians originated; and17
(ii) The education and fiscal committees of the legislature, in 18
compliance with RCW 43.01.036. 19
(b) The Washington school information processing cooperative 20
shall annually post and maintain on its website an aggregate 21
statewide summary of the data summaries required by (a) of this 22
subsection. 23
(5) The Washington school information processing cooperative 24
shall ensure that the implementation of this section occurs in 25
conformity with requirements governing the privacy of student 26
education records. 27
(6) For the purposes of this section: 28
(a) "Public schools" has the same meaning as in RCW 28A.150.010; 29
and 30
(b) "Statewide student identifier" has the same meaning as in RCW 31
28B.10.041. 32
Sec. 2. RCW 28A.225.220 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 18 s 510 are each 33
amended to read as follows: 34
(1) Any board of directors may make agreements with adults 35
choosing to attend school, and may charge the adults reasonable 36
tuition. 37
(2) A district is strongly encouraged to honor the request of a 38
parent or guardian for his or her child to attend a school in another 39
p. 2 HB 1289
district or the request of a parent or guardian for his or her child 1
to transfer as a student receiving home-based instruction.2
(3) A district shall release a student to a nonresident district 3
that agrees to accept the student if: 4
(a) A financial, educational, safety, or health condition 5
affecting the student would likely be reasonably improved as a result 6
of the transfer; or 7
(b) Attendance at the school in the nonresident district is more 8
accessible to the parent's place of work or to the location of child 9
care; or 10
(c) There is a special hardship or detrimental condition; or11
(d) The purpose of the transfer is for the student to enroll in 12
an online course or online school program offered by an online 13
provider approved under RCW 28A.250.020. 14
(4) A district may deny the request of a resident student to 15
transfer to a nonresident district if the release of the student 16
would adversely affect the district's existing desegregation plan.17
(5) For the purpose of helping a district assess the quality of 18
its education program, a resident school district may , in addition to 19
providing the parent or guardian with a link to the survey required 20
by section 1 of this act, request an optional exit interview or 21
questionnaire with the parents or guardians of a child transferring 22
to another district. No parent or guardian may be forced to attend 23
such an interview or complete the questionnaire. 24
(6) Beginning with the 1993-94 school year, school districts may 25
not charge transfer fees or tuition for nonresident students enrolled 26
under subsection (3) of this section and RCW 28A.225.225. 27
Reimbursement of a high school district for cost of educating high 28
school pupils of a nonhigh school district shall not be deemed a 29
transfer fee as affecting the apportionment of current state school 30
funds. 31
--- END ---
p. 3 HB 1289