Tribes/K-12 instruction

AN ACT Relating to supporting public school instruction in tribal 1
sovereignty and federally recognized Indian tribes; amending RCW 2
28A.300.105 and 28A.320.170; adding a new section to chapter 28A.305 3
RCW; creating a new section; and providing expiration dates.4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
Sec. 1. RCW 28A.300.105 and 2011 c 270 s 2 are each amended to 6
read as follows: 7
(1) To the extent funds are available, an Indian education 8
division, to be known as the office of Native education, is created 9
within the office of the superintendent of public instruction. The 10
superintendent shall appoint an individual to be responsible for the 11
office of Native education. 12
(2) To the extent state funds are available, with additional 13
support of federal and local funds where authorized by law, the 14
office of Native education shall: 15
(a) Provide assistance to school districts in meeting the 16
educational needs of American Indian and Alaska Native students;17
(b) Facilitate the development and implementation of curricula 18
and instructional materials in native languages, culture and history, 19
and the concept of tribal sovereignty pursuant to RCW 28A.320.170;20
H-0993.1
HOUSE BILL 1894
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Lekanoff, Stearns, Doglio, Parshley, Santos,
Ramel, Hill, and Pollet
Read first time 02/07/25. Referred to Committee on Education.
p. 1 HB 1894
(c) Provide assistance to districts in the acquisition of funding 1
to develop curricula and instructional materials in conjunction with 2
native language practitioners and tribal elders; 3
(d) Coordinate technical assistance for public schools that serve 4
American Indian and Alaska Native students; 5
(e) Seek funds to develop, in conjunction with the Washington 6
state native American education advisory committee, and implement the 7
following support services for the purposes of both increasing the 8
number of American Indian and Alaska Native teachers and principals 9
and providing continued professional development for educational 10
assistants, teachers, and principals serving American Indian and 11
Alaska Native students: 12
(i) Recruitment and retention; 13
(ii) Academic transition programs; 14
(iii) Academic financial support; 15
(iv) Teacher preparation; 16
(v) Teacher induction; and 17
(vi) Professional development; 18
(f) Facilitate the inclusion of native language programs in 19
school districts' curricula; 20
(g) Work with all relevant agencies and committees to highlight 21
the need for accurate, useful data that is appropriately 22
disaggregated to provide a more accurate picture regarding American 23
Indian and Alaska Native students; and 24
(h) Report to the governor, the legislature, and the governor's 25
office of Indian affairs on an annual basis ((, beginning in December 26
2012,)) regarding the state of Indian education and the 27
implementation of all state laws regarding Indian education, 28
specifically noting system successes and accomplishments, 29
deficiencies, and needs. The reports issued in 2026 through 2029, 30
must also include: Information about consultations and collaborations 31
between school districts and federally recognized Indian tribes under 32
RCW 28A.320.170, including tribal perspectives on the implementation 33
of the required curriculum; and recommendations for promoting tribal 34
consultation efforts with school districts.35
Sec. 2. RCW 28A.320.170 and 2024 c 200 s 2 are each amended to 36
read as follows: 37
(1)(a) Beginning July 24, 2015, when a school district board of 38
directors reviews or adopts its social studies curriculum, it shall 39
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incorporate curricula about the history, culture, and government of 1
the nearest federally recognized Indian tribe or tribes, so that 2
students learn about the unique heritage and experience of their 3
closest neighbors. School districts must incorporate the curricular 4
requirements of this section no later than September 1, 2026.5
(b) School districts shall meet the requirements of this section 6
by using the John McCoy (lulilaš) since time immemorial curriculum 7
developed and made available free of charge by the office of the 8
superintendent of public instruction and may modify that curriculum 9
in order to incorporate elements that have a regionally specific 10
focus or to incorporate the curriculum into existing curricular 11
materials. 12
(2) As ((they)) school districts conduct regularly scheduled 13
reviews and revisions of their social studies and history curricula, 14
((school districts )) they shall consult and collaborate with any 15
federally recognized Indian tribe within their district, and with 16
neighboring Indian tribes, including federally recognized Indian 17
tribes whose traditional lands and territories included parts of 18
Washington, but that now reside in Oregon, Idaho, and British 19
Columbia, to incorporate expanded and improved curricular materials 20
about Indian tribes, and to create programs of classroom and 21
community cultural exchanges. 22
(3)(a) School districts shall collaborate with the office of 23
Native education created in RCW 28A.300.105 within the office of the 24
superintendent of public instruction and the office of the 25
superintendent of public instruction on curricular areas regarding 26
tribal government and history that are statewide in nature, such as 27
the concept of tribal sovereignty and the history of federal policy 28
towards federally recognized Indian tribes. ((The program of Indian 29
education within the office of the superintendent of public 30
instruction shall help local school districts identify federally 31
recognized Indian tribes whose reservations are in whole or in part 32
within the boundaries of the district and/or those that are nearest 33
to the school district))34
(b) The office of the superintendent of public instruction, 35
through the office of Native education, shall:36
(i) Assist local school districts to identify federally 37
recognized Indian tribes whose reservations are in whole or in part 38
within the boundaries of the district and those that are nearest to 39
the school district, including federally recognized Indian tribes 40
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whose traditional lands and territories included parts of Washington, 1
but that now reside in Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia; and2
(ii) Collaborate with tribes that may have unique consultation 3
challenges under this section, such as consulting with a large number 4
of school districts or with school districts that have large student 5
enrollments. 6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 28A.305 7
RCW to read as follows: 8
Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, the state board of 9
education, in coordination with the office of Native education 10
created in RCW 28A.300.105 within the office of the superintendent of 11
public instruction, shall implement a system of annual monitoring and 12
evaluations of school district compliance with RCW 28A.320.170. The 13
monitoring and evaluations, which may be conducted concurrently with 14
other oversight and monitoring conducted by the state board of 15
education, must include collected information for each school 16
district about: 17
(1) Collaborations with federally recognized Indian tribes;18
(2) The grade levels in which the curriculum is taught;19
(3) The courses for which credit may be awarded and the number of 20
students enrolled in, and having received credit for, those courses 21
during the preceding school year; 22
(4) Summaries of the curriculum implementation process; and23
(5) The availability and implementation of applicable 24
professional development. 25
(6) Beginning in 2027 and concluding in 2029, the state board of 26
education, in accordance with RCW 43.01.036, shall annually report to 27
the education committees of the legislature that summarizes school 28
district compliance with RCW 28A.320.170. The reports required by 29
this subsection may be incorporated within other oversight and 30
monitoring reports produced by the state board of education.31
(7) This section expires September 1, 2029. 32
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) By September 1, 2026, the office of 33
the superintendent of public instruction, in conjunction with the 34
office of Native education created in RCW 28A.300.105 within the 35
office of the superintendent of public instruction, shall report to 36
the education committees of the legislature concerning 37
recommendations for:38
p. 4 HB 1894
(a) Compensating federally recognized Indian tribes, including 1
federally recognized Indian tribes whose traditional lands and 2
territories included parts of Washington, but that now reside in 3
Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia, who provide expertise, 4
consultation, or collaboration pursuant to RCW 28A.320.170;5
(b) Retroactively compensating federally recognized Indian 6
tribes, including federally recognized Indian tribes whose 7
traditional lands and territories included parts of Washington, but 8
that now reside in Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia, who have 9
previously provided expertise, consultation, or collaboration 10
pursuant to RCW 28A.320.170; and 11
(c) Evaluation and accountability metrics for the implementation 12
of the curriculum and government-to-government consultation described 13
in RCW 28A.320.170. 14
(2) This section expires August 1, 2027. 15
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