SEBB membership/second year

AN ACT Relating to eligibility for membership in the school 1
employees' benefits board programs during the second school year of 2
employment; and amending RCW 41.05.740. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 41.05.740 and 2025 c 396 s 2 are each amended to 5
read as follows: 6
(1) The school employees' benefits board is created within the 7
authority. The function of the school employees' benefits board is to 8
design and approve insurance benefit plans for school employees and 9
to establish eligibility criteria for participation in insurance 10
benefit plans. 11
(2) By September 30, 2017, the governor shall appoint the 12
following voting members to the school employees' benefits board as 13
follows: 14
(a) Two members from associations representing certificated 15
employees; 16
(b) Two members from associations representing classified 17
employees; 18
(c) Four members with expertise in employee health benefits 19
policy and administration, one of which is nominated by an 20
association representing school business officials; and21
S-3598.1
SENATE BILL 5883
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senators Riccelli, Alvarado, Bateman, Hasegawa, Liias, and Nobles
Prefiled 12/15/25. Read first time 01/12/26. Referred to Committee
on Ways & Means.
p. 1 SB 5883
(d) The director of the authority or his or her designee.1
(3) Initial members of the school employees' benefits board shall 2
serve staggered terms not to exceed four years. Members appointed 3
thereafter shall serve two-year terms. 4
(4) Compensation and reimbursement related to school employees' 5
benefits board member service are as follows: 6
(a) Members of the school employees' benefits board must be 7
compensated in accordance with RCW 43.03.250 and must be reimbursed 8
for their travel expenses while on official business in accordance 9
with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060. 10
(b) While school employees' benefits board members are carrying 11
out their powers and duties under this chapter, if the service of any 12
certificated or classified employee results in a need for a school 13
employees' benefits board organization to employ a substitute for 14
such certificated or classified employee during such service, payment 15
for such a substitute may be made by the authority from funds 16
appropriated by the legislature for the school employees' benefits 17
board program. If such substitute is paid by the authority, no 18
deduction shall be made from the salary of the certificated or 19
classified employee. In no event shall a school employees' benefits 20
board organization deduct from the salary of a certificated or 21
classified employee serving on the school employees' benefits board 22
more than the amount paid the substitute employed by the school 23
employees' benefits board organization. 24
(5) The director of the authority or his or her designee shall be 25
the chair and another member shall be selected by the school 26
employees' benefits board as vice chair. The chair shall conduct 27
meetings of the school employees' benefits board. The vice chair 28
shall preside over meetings in the absence of the chair. The school 29
employees' benefits board shall develop bylaws for the conduct of its 30
business. 31
(6) The school employees' benefits board shall:32
(a) Study all matters connected with the provision of health care 33
coverage, life insurance, liability insurance, accidental death and 34
dismemberment, and disability insurance, or any of, or combination 35
of, the enumerated types of insurance for eligible school employees 36
and their dependents on the best basis possible with relation both to 37
the welfare of the school employees and the state. However, liability 38
insurance should not be made available to dependents;39
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(b) Develop school employee benefit plans that include 1
comprehensive, evidence-based health care benefits for school 2
employees. In developing these plans, the school employees' benefits 3
board shall consider the following elements: 4
(i) Methods of maximizing cost containment while ensuring access 5
to quality health care; 6
(ii) Development of provider arrangements that encourage cost 7
containment and ensure access to quality care including, but not 8
limited to, prepaid delivery systems and prospective payment methods;9
(iii)(A) Wellness, preventive care, chronic disease management, 10
and other initiatives that focus on proven strategies.11
(B)(I) As of January 1, 2028, the school employees' benefits 12
board shall no longer offer the smart health program, which includes 13
the wellness incentive and the smart health online portal.14
(II) Employees who have met the eligibility requirements to 15
receive a wellness incentive by December 31, 2027, will still receive 16
the wellness incentive in plan year 2028. 17
(III) Employees are not eligible to earn a wellness incentive as 18
of January 1, 2028; 19
(iv) Utilization review procedures to support cost-effective 20
benefits delivery; 21
(v) Ways to leverage efficient purchasing by coordinating with 22
the public employees' benefits board; 23
(vi) Effective coordination of benefits; and 24
(vii) Minimum standards for insuring entities;25
(c) Authorize premium contributions for a school employee and the 26
employee's dependents in a manner that encourages the use of cost-27
efficient health care systems. For participating school employees, 28
the required school employee share of the cost for family coverage 29
premiums may not exceed three times the premiums for a school 30
employee purchasing single coverage for the same coverage plan;31
(d) Determine the terms and conditions of school employee and 32
dependent eligibility criteria, enrollment policies, and scope of 33
coverage. Employer groups obtaining benefits through contractual 34
agreement with the authority for school employees defined in RCW 35
41.05.011(6)(b)(iv) may contractually agree with the authority to 36
benefits eligibility criteria which differs from that determined by 37
the school employees' benefits board. At a minimum, the eligibility 38
criteria established by the school employees' benefits board shall 39
address the following: 40
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(i) The effective date of coverage following hire;1
(ii) The benefits eligibility criteria, but the school employees' 2
benefits board's criteria shall be no more restrictive than requiring 3
that a school employee be anticipated to work at least six hundred 4
thirty hours per school year to be benefits eligible; ((and))5
(iii) That benefits eligibility is presumed at the start of a 6
school year if the school employee worked at least 630 hours in the 7
prior school year and returns to the same type of position with any 8
employer; and9
(iv) Coverage for dependents, including criteria for legal 10
spouses; children up to age twenty-six; children of any age with 11
disabilities, mental illness, or intellectual or other developmental 12
disabilities; and state registered domestic partners, as defined in 13
RCW 26.60.020, and others authorized by the legislature;14
(e) Establish terms and conditions for a school employees' 15
benefits board organization to have the ability to locally negotiate 16
eligibility criteria for a school employee who is anticipated to work 17
less than six hundred thirty hours in a school year. A school 18
employees' benefits board organization that elects to use a lower 19
threshold of hours for benefits eligibility must use benefits 20
authorized by the school employees' benefits board and shall do so as 21
an enrichment to the state's definition of basic education;22
(f) Establish penalties to be imposed when a school employees' 23
benefits board organization fails to comply with established 24
participation criteria; and 25
(g) Participate with the authority in the preparation of 26
specifications and selection of carriers contracted for school 27
employee benefit plan coverage of eligible school employees in 28
accordance with the criteria set forth in rules. To the extent 29
possible, the school employees' benefits board shall leverage 30
efficient purchasing by coordinating with the public employees' 31
benefits board. 32
(7) School employees shall choose participation in one of the 33
health care benefit plans developed by the school employees' benefits 34
board. Individual school employees eligible for benefits under 35
subsection (6)(d) of this section may be permitted to waive coverage 36
under terms and conditions established by the school employees' 37
benefits board. 38
(8) By November 30, 2021, the authority shall review the benefit 39
plans provided through the school employees' benefits board, complete 40
p. 4 SB 5883
an analysis of the benefits provided and the administration of the 1
benefits plans, and determine whether provisions in chapter 13, Laws 2
of 2017 3rd sp. sess. have resulted in cost savings to the state. The 3
authority shall submit a report to the relevant legislative policy 4
and fiscal committees summarizing the results of the review and 5
analysis. 6
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