Text of WA SB 5179 (2026)

AN ACT Relating to establishing a complaint process to address 1 noncompliance with certain state education laws; amending RCW 2 43.06B.070, 28A.300.286, 28A.343.360, and 28A.710.185; adding new 3 sections to chapter 28A.300; adding a new section to chapter 28A.410 4 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.710 RCW; adding a new 5 section to chapter 28A.715 RCW; creating a new section; and providing 6 an effective date. 7 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON: 8 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature acknowledges and 9 supports the importance of local control for school district 10 governance. Local school boards and superintendents are in the best 11 position to effectively and quickly respond to the needs of their 12 communities. However, local control is not absolute and must also be 13 balanced against the need to ensure all students have access to a 14 healthy, safe learning environment that celebrates and protects their 15 diversity and civil rights. There are certain areas of state law 16 which are critically important to ensuring every student has equal 17 access to this type of supportive and responsive learning 18 environment. 19 (2) The legislature is aware that some school districts are 20 intentionally not complying with certain requirements in state law 21 S-0315.2 SENATE BILL 5179 State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session By Senators C. Wilson and Lovelett Prefiled 01/08/25. p. 1 SB 5179 and that this noncompliance is negatively impacting students. School 1 board members and superintendents are uniquely responsible for 2 ensuring that their school district is in compliance with those state 3 laws and members of the school district should have a mechanism to 4 hold those individuals accountable if state laws are not followed. 5 (3) The legislature therefore intends to establish a complaint 6 process for students, parents, and community members to address 7 noncompliance with certain state laws that are necessary for 8 protecting the health, safety, and civil rights of students in order 9 to ensure every student has access to a positive learning 10 environment. 11 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. Unless the context clearly requires 12 otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout sections 13 3 through 5 of this act. 14 (1) "Broad complaint" means a complaint that impacts an entire 15 student body, an entire subgroup of students within a student body, 16 an entire school, or an entire school district. 17 (2) "Limited complaint" means a complaint that impacts one or 18 more individual students. 19 (3) "Negligent" means the failure to exercise ordinary care by a 20 local school district superintendent, a local school district board 21 of directors, or a member of a board of directors and the actor knew 22 or reasonably should have known that the failure to exercise ordinary 23 care would result in noncompliance with state law as defined in this 24 section. 25 (4) "Noncompliance with state law" means action or inaction by a 26 local school district superintendent, a local school district board 27 of directors, or a member of a board of directors that results in 28 noncompliance with state laws concerning: 29 (a) Local, state, and federal civil rights and nondiscrimination 30 laws including discrimination as described in RCW 28A.640.010 and 31 28A.642.010 and "sexual harassment" as defined in RCW 28A.640.020; 32 (b) "Harassment, intimidation, or bullying" as defined in RCW 33 28A.600.477; 34 (c) Curriculum requirements as described in RCW 28A.150.230, 35 28A.300.475, and 28A.320.170; the policies and procedures related to 36 the selection or deletion of instructional materials required in RCW 37 28A.320.230; and the review and removal of supplemental instructional 38 materials required in RCW 28A.320.235; 39 p. 2 SB 5179 (d) The use of restraint or isolation on a student as described 1 in RCW 28A.600.485; or 2 (e) Student discipline as described in chapter 28A.600 RCW. 3 (5) "Willful" means nonaccidental action or inaction by a local 4 school district superintendent, a local school district board of 5 directors, or a member of a board of directors that the actor knew or 6 reasonably should have known would result in noncompliance with state 7 law. 8 NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) By July 1, 2026, the office of the 9 superintendent of public instruction must establish a process to 10 investigate and address two types of complaints alleging 11 noncompliance with state law: 12 (a) Limited complaints; and 13 (b) Broad complaints. 14 (2) The purpose of the complaint process is to secure equitable 15 resolutions to complaints relating to alleged noncompliance with the 16 state laws listed in section 2(4) of this act. 17 (3)(a)(i) Any student who is enrolled in the school district or 18 any parent or legal guardian who has a student enrolled in the school 19 district may file a limited or broad complaint with the office of the 20 superintendent of public instruction alleging noncompliance with a 21 state law listed in section 2(4) of this act. 22 (ii) Anyone residing within the boundaries of the school district 23 may file a broad complaint with the office of the superintendent of 24 public instruction alleging noncompliance with a state law listed in 25 section 2(4) of this act. 26 (b) Limited and broad complaints may be filed against a local 27 school district superintendent, a local school district board of 28 directors, or a member of a board of directors. 29 (c) Before a person may file a complaint with the office of the 30 superintendent of public instruction, the person must exhaust 31 existing complaint procedures, if procedures exist, including 32 procedures established under state law including, but not limited to, 33 RCW 28A.320.124, 28A.320.230, 28A.410.090, 28A.600.477, 28A.640.020, 34 and 28A.642.030, and local policy and procedure. If there are not 35 existing complaint procedures, a person must provide notice of the 36 complaint to the school district superintendent before filing the 37 complaint with the office of the superintendent of public 38 instruction. 39 p. 3 SB 5179 (4)(a) The office of the superintendent of public instruction 1 must adopt rules that ensure due process regarding the complaint 2 process, timelines, compliance action plans, and consequences 3 established under this section and sections 4 and 5 of this act. 4 (b)(i) The office of the superintendent of public instruction 5 must consult with the state board of education to build a connection 6 between the rules adopted under this subsection and the state board 7 of education's rules on basic education compliance established under 8 RCW 28A.150.220 for complaints regarding noncompliance with 9 curriculum requirements as described in section 2(4)(c) of this act. 10 (ii) The office of the superintendent of public instruction must 11 consult with the office of the education ombuds to include the 12 complaint process established under this section into the simple and 13 uniform access point for the receipt of complaints created under RCW 14 43.06B.070. 15 (c) The office of the superintendent of public instruction may 16 adopt rules to allow for an expedited process when the complaint 17 relates to an immediate health or safety concern. 18 NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) Upon receipt of a complaint filed 19 under section 3 of this act, the office of the superintendent of 20 public instruction must conduct a prompt and thorough investigation 21 into the allegations in the complaint. 22 (2)(a) If the office of the superintendent of public instruction 23 finds noncompliance with state law, the school district 24 superintendent and school district board of directors must adopt and 25 submit a compliance action plan to the office of the superintendent 26 of public instruction. Unless otherwise required by subsection (4) of 27 this section, the plan must be submitted under a timeline as required 28 by the office of the superintendent of public instruction. 29 (b) A compliance action plan must be developed in collaboration 30 with the office of the superintendent of public instruction, 31 administrators, teachers, and other staff, parents, unions 32 representing any employees within the school district, students, 33 impacted communities, and other representatives of the local 34 community. 35 (c) The office of the superintendent of public instruction must 36 provide a school district with assistance in developing its plan and 37 must develop and publish guidelines for the development of compliance 38 action plans as needed. 39 p. 4 SB 5179 (d) Before adopting and submitting a compliance action plan to 1 the office of the superintendent of public instruction, the school 2 district board of directors must conduct a public hearing to allow 3 for public comment on the proposed compliance action plan. For 4 complaints in which individual students may be identified, the public 5 hearing and materials prepared for such hearing must adhere to 6 nondisclosure of personally identifiable information consistent with 7 state and federal student privacy laws. 8 (3) A compliance action plan must include the following: 9 (a) A description of the changes in the school district's or 10 school's existing policies, structures, agreements, processes, and 11 practices needed to come into compliance with state law; and 12 (b) The timeline for coming into compliance with state law. 13 (4) Compliance action plans must be developed in accordance with 14 chapters 41.56 and 41.59 RCW where applicable. 15 NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) If the office of the superintendent of 16 public instruction investigates a complaint under this act and finds 17 willful noncompliance with state law, the school district must 18 conduct at least two public hearings in addition to the public 19 hearing under section 4(2)(d) of this act. 20 (a) One public hearing must take public comment on the willful 21 noncompliance with state law and the actions the public thinks are 22 needed to come into compliance. 23 (b) One public hearing must present the progress on the 24 compliance action plan after it has been submitted to the office of 25 the superintendent of public instruction and take public comment on 26 this progress. 27 (c) Additional public hearings with public comment must be 28 conducted every six months until the office of the superintendent of 29 public instruction finds that the school district has come into 30 compliance with state law. 31 (2) For complaints in which individual students may be 32 identified, the public hearings and materials prepared for such 33 hearings must adhere to nondisclosure of personally identifiable 34 information consistent with state and federal student privacy laws. 35 (3) If the office of the superintendent of public instruction 36 finds willful noncompliance with state law, the office of the 37 superintendent of public instruction may impose any of the following 38 consequences: 39 p. 5 SB 5179 (a) Require the school district to adopt or readopt policies and 1 procedures to come into compliance with state law; 2 (b) Find that a school district superintendent committed an act 3 of unprofessional conduct under section 8 of this act and may be held 4 accountable for such conduct under rules established under section 8 5 of this act; and 6 (c) As a last resort, withhold and redirect up to 20 percent of 7 state funds allocated to the school district for basic education to 8 support the compliance action plan required in section 4 of this act 9 until the office of the superintendent of public instruction finds 10 that the school district has come into compliance with state law. The 11 office of the superintendent of public instruction must consider the 12 school district's overall financial health when determining the 13 amount of funds to withhold and redirect under this subsection. 14 Written notice of the intent to withhold and redirect state funds, 15 with reasons stated for this action, must be made to the school 16 district by the office of the superintendent of public instruction 17 before any portion of the state allocation is withheld and 18 redirected. 19 (4) Willful or negligent noncompliance with state law constitutes 20 a violation of the oath of office under RCW 29A.56.110, and a member 21 of a board of directors may be subject to recall and discharge under 22 chapter 29A.56 RCW. 23 (5) Sections 3 and 4 of this act and this section do not restrict 24 any existing authority the office of the superintendent of public 25 instruction has to enforce compliance with state law, including 26 health and safety requirements. 27 (6) Any party to a complaint may file a notice of appeal with the 28 office of the superintendent of public instruction within 30 days of 29 the final decision. An administrative law judge of the office of 30 administrative hearings will hear and determine the appeal. Appeal 31 proceedings must be conducted pursuant to chapter 34.05 RCW. An 32 appeal of the administrative law judge's determination or order shall 33 be to the superior court. The superior court's decision is subject 34 only to discretionary review under the rules of appellate procedure. 35 Sec. 6. RCW 43.06B.070 and 2024 c 219 s 1 are each amended to 36 read as follows: 37 (1) By July 1, 2025, and in compliance with this section, the 38 office of the education ombuds shall create a simple and uniform 39 p. 6 SB 5179 access point for the receipt of complaints involving the elementary 1 and secondary education system. The purpose of the access point is to 2 provide a single point of entry for complaints to be reported and 3 then referred to the most appropriate individual or entity for 4 dispute resolution at the lowest level of intercession. 5 (2) Any individual who has firsthand knowledge of a violation of 6 federal, state, or local laws, policies or procedures, or of improper 7 or illegal actions related to elementary or secondary education and 8 performed by an employee, contractor, student, parent or legal 9 guardian of a student, or member of the public may submit a complaint 10 to the office of the education ombuds. 11 (3)(a) The office shall delineate a complaint resolution and 12 referral process for reports received through the access point. The 13 process must: 14 (i) Require that the office of the education ombuds assign a 15 unique identifier to a complaint upon receipt before referring the 16 complaint to the appropriate individual or entity for dispute 17 resolution at the lowest level of intercession; 18 (ii) Link to all existing relevant complaint and investigative 19 processes, such as the special education community complaint process, 20 the discrimination complaint process, the process for reporting 21 complaints related to harassment, intimidation, and bullying, the 22 complaint procedures established under section 3 of this act, and the 23 complaint and investigation provisions under RCW 28A.410.090 and 24 28A.410.095; and 25 (iii) Discourage frivolous complaints and complaints made in bad 26 faith. 27 (b) The establishment of a process as required in this section 28 does not confer additional authority to the office of the education 29 ombuds to mitigate or oversee disputes. 30 (4) The office of the education ombuds, in collaboration with the 31 office of the superintendent of public instruction, must develop 32 protocols for the receipt, resolution, and referral of complaints and 33 must design a communications plan to inform individuals who report 34 complaints through the access point about the steps in the complaint 35 resolution and referral process, including when to expect a response 36 from the individual or entity charged with resolving the complaint. 37 (5) For the purposes of this section, "employee" or "contractor" 38 means employees and contractors of the state educational agencies, 39 educational service districts, public schools as defined in RCW 40 p. 7 SB 5179 28A.150.010, the state school for the blind, and the center for deaf 1 and hard of hearing youth. 2 Sec. 7. RCW 28A.300.286 and 2023 c 242 s 1 are each amended to 3 read as follows: 4 (1) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall 5 develop, and periodically update, model student handbook language 6 that includes information about ((policies)): 7 (a) Policies and complaint procedures related to discrimination, 8 including sexual harassment and addressing transgender students, and 9 information about policies and complaint procedures related to 10 harassment, intimidation, and bullying, as well as the overlap 11 between the policies and complaint procedures((. The model student 12 handbook language must also include a)); 13 (b) A description of the services available through the office of 14 the education ombuds and the contact information for the office of 15 the education ombuds; and 16 (c) The complaint procedures established under section 3 of this 17 act. 18 (2) The model student handbook language must be aligned with 19 existing requirements in state law including chapters 28A.640 and 20 28A.642 RCW and RCW 28A.600.477 and 28A.600.510. The model student 21 handbook language must be jointly developed with the Washington state 22 school directors' association, and in consultation with the office of 23 the education ombuds. The model student handbook language must be 24 posted publicly on the office of the superintendent of public 25 instruction's website beginning July 1, 2024. 26 (((2))) (3) Beginning with the 2024-25 school year, each school 27 district must include the model student handbook language developed 28 under subsection (1) of this section in any student, parent, 29 employee, and volunteer handbook that it or one of its schools 30 publishes and on the school district's website, and any school's 31 website, if a school or the school district maintains a website. If a 32 school district neither publishes a handbook nor maintains a website, 33 it must provide the model student handbook language developed under 34 subsection (1) of this section to each student, parent, employee, and 35 volunteer at least annually. 36 NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. A new section is added to chapter 28A.410 37 RCW to read as follows: 38 p. 8 SB 5179 (1) The professional educator standards board must adopt rules 1 that make a school district superintendent's willful noncompliance 2 with state law an act of unprofessional conduct and provide that a 3 superintendent, whether certificated or not, may be held accountable 4 for such conduct under rules established under this section. It is a 5 defense if the superintendent can show that they were actively 6 attempting to bring the school district into compliance with state 7 law. 8 (2) For the purposes of this section, "willful" and 9 "noncompliance with state law" have the same meaning as in section 2 10 of this act. 11 Sec. 9. RCW 28A.343.360 and 1990 c 33 s 314 are each amended to 12 read as follows: 13 Every person elected or appointed to the office of school 14 director, before entering upon the discharge of the duties thereof, 15 shall take an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the 16 United States and the state of Washington and the laws of the state 17 of Washington and to faithfully discharge the duties of the office 18 according to the best of his or her ability. In case any official has 19 a written appointment or commission, the official's oath or 20 affirmation shall be endorsed thereon and sworn to before any officer 21 authorized to administer oaths. School officials are hereby 22 authorized to administer all oaths or affirmations pertaining to 23 their respective offices without charge or fee. All oaths of office, 24 when properly made, shall be filed with the county auditor. Every 25 person elected to the office of school director shall begin his or 26 her term of office at the first official meeting of the board of 27 directors following certification of the election results. 28 Sec. 10. RCW 28A.710.185 and 2023 c 356 s 11 are each amended to 29 read as follows: 30 (1)(a) By November 1, 2023, the commission shall establish and 31 maintain on its website an online system for students who attend 32 charter schools, and the parents of those students, to submit 33 complaints about the operation and administration of one or more 34 charter schools, including complaints about the provision of 35 education services and complaints alleging noncompliance with the 36 requirements of this chapter or other provisions governing charter 37 schools. 38 p. 9 SB 5179 (b)(i) The commission shall acknowledge the receipt of each 1 received complaint within 10 business days and shall, in a timely 2 manner, perform any inquiries or other actions it deems necessary and 3 appropriate to respond to each received complaint, unless the 4 complaint is alleging noncompliance with state law as defined in 5 section 2 of this act. 6 (ii) After determining that a person has exhausted any existing 7 complaint procedures in accordance with section 3(3)(c) of this act, 8 the commission shall forward any complaints alleging noncompliance 9 with state law as defined in section 2 of this act to the office of 10 the superintendent of public instruction and these complaints must 11 follow the process established under sections 3 through 5 of this 12 act. 13 (2) The commission shall adopt and revise as necessary rules to 14 implement this section. 15 NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. A new section is added to chapter 28A.710 16 RCW to read as follows: 17 Sections 2 through 5 of this act govern school operation and 18 management under RCW 28A.710.040 and apply to charter schools 19 established under this chapter. 20 NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. A new section is added to chapter 28A.715 21 RCW to read as follows: 22 Sections 2 through 5 of this act govern school operation and 23 management under RCW 28A.715.020 and apply to state-tribal education 24 compact schools subject to this chapter. 25 NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. Sections 2 through 5 of this act are each 26 added to chapter 28A.300 RCW. 27 NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. Section 7 of this act takes effect August 28 1, 2025. 29 --- END --- p. 10 SB 5179