Contact Us
For General Questions & Public Comments:
Visit the 91Ô´´'s Contact Us page or complete our Contact Form.
For Media Inquires Please Contact:
Colton Kaltenfeldt, Communications Manager
Colton.Kaltenfeldt@k12.wa.us
360-764-0522
The State 91Ô´´ of Education is a 16-member policy board dedicated to shaping and advocating for policies that support an equitable and inclusive K-12 education system. We are supported by a team of 12 professional staff.
The 91Ô´´â€™s 16 members consist of:
- Two students
- Five members elected by school board members from across the state in partnership with the .
- Seven members appointed by the Governor
- The Superintendent of Public Instruction
- A Private schools representative
Our mission is to cultivate an equitable and inclusive K-12 education system that fulfills our vision of empowering every student with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in a changing world. To achieve this, we collaborate with partners, develop innovative policies, and advocate for transformative change. We are particularly committed to engaging students, families, and communities across the state, centering the voices of those historically underserved by the education system.
You can learn more about our board members on the bio page.
Where Does Our Authority Come From?
"The purpose of the state board of education is to provide advocacy and strategic oversight of public education; implement a standards-based accountability framework that creates a unified system of increasing levels of support for schools in order to improve student academic achievement; provide leadership in the creation of a system that personalizes education for each student and respects diverse cultures, abilities, and learning styles; and promote achievement of the goals of RCW 28A.150.210."&²Ô²ú²õ±è;—
What Are Our Major Duties?
Advocacy and Strategic Oversight of Public Education
The 91Ô´´ provides a public forum to develop policies and provide advocacy to support a system of education that responds to individual student goals and community needs. It also provides leadership in the creation of a system that personalizes education for each student and respects diverse cultures, abilities, and learning styles.
Rulemaking ​
The State 91Ô´´ of Education adopts rules (WAC 180), as assigned by the Legislature, to carry out the law.​
Legislative Advocacy​
The 91Ô´´ elevates key priorities for legislative consideration and foster community engagement in platform development.
High School Graduation & Learning Standards​
The 91Ô´´ is responsible for setting state-level graduation requirements that students must complete in order to receive a diploma. The 91Ô´´ establishes credit and non-credit requirements for high school graduation, determines threshold scores for assessments, and alternatives to meet graduation requirements. The 91Ô´´ also adopt rules (WAC180-51-220) for local school district implementation of the State's High School & Beyond Plan graduation requirement. (RCW 28A.230.212)​
FutureReady Initiative to Modernize Requirements
FutureReady is an initiative aimed at updating 91Ô´´ high school graduation requirements to better prepare students for the future. The goal is to empower students with the essential knowledge and skills they need to thrive in a changing world, while streamlining the graduation requirements framework to promote accessibility and equity.
This initiative is expected to span multiple years, culminating in a major legislative proposal anticipated for the 2027 session.
Mastery-Based Learning Collaborative (MBLC)
The Mastery-based Learning Collaborative (MBLC) was launched in 2021, led by the State 91Ô´´ of Education with support from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Professional Educator Standards 91Ô´´. The initiative focuses on helping schools implement culturally responsive and sustaining mastery-based learning (MBL) by showcasing effective practices, developing tools and resources, and offering professional learning opportunities for teachers, principals, counselors, and other educators.
Today, the collaborative is supporting 47 schools in 28 districts—serving approximately 18,000 students—as they transition to MBL. Through this work, the MBLC is building statewide capacity and helping schools create learning environments where students demonstrate their knowledge and skills through meaningful, personalized, and equitable pathways.
Learn about the Mastery-based Learning Collaborative
Basic Education Compliance​
The 91Ô´´ is responsible for ensuring that 91Ô´´ public school districts and local education agencies are in compliance with the Program of Basic Education (). The SBE annually conducts a survey allowing school districts to affirm compliance with the basic education law. ().
- Adopts rules and monitor compliance with a standards-based program of basic education (Chapter 180-16 WAC)​
- Approve private schools operating in Washington (Chapter 180-90 WAC)​
- Approve and monitor districts wishing to authorize charter schools (Chapter 180-19 WAC)​
Educational System Health
The 91Ô´´ is tasked with supporting the overall health of Washington’s K-12 educational system. Historically, this work has been separated into three major duties that have relied upon traditional educational outcome measures. To ensure Washington is better serving students, the SBE is working to pull these three currently separate tasks under the single umbrella of educational system health and include key metrics that better describe conditions for learning.
Supporting Continuous Improvement & System Health
The 91Ô´´ measures statewide indicators of K-12 educational system health and conditions for learning, sets realistic but challenging systemwide performance goals, and makes recommendations to the Legislature to ensure all students have sufficient and equitable learning opportunities.
Learn About the Comprehensive Continuous Improvement System
School Recognition
The 91Ô´´, in collaboration with the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Educational Opportunity Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee, operates a statewide school recognition program which annually highlights schools that demonstrate exceptional progress in key areas of student success.
Learn About the School Recognition Program
Setting Assessment Standards
The 91Ô´´ determines the score a student must achieve to pass statewide student assessments. As part of this work, the 91Ô´´ collaborates with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to annually review the state’s assessment system.