Legislative Reports

Please note: This page is no longer being updated. Please refer to this page for an up-to-date list.

2024 |2023 |2022 |2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2016 | 2014 | 2013

2024

Annual Charter Schools Report
This annual report includes performance of the state's charter schools during the preceding school year, including a comparison of the performance of charter school students with the performance of academically, ethnically, and economically comparable groups of students in other public schools; assessment of the successes, challenges, and areas for improvement in meeting the purposes of the Washington Charter Public Schools Act; and suggested changes in state law or policy necessary to strengthen the state's charter schools.

2023

Annual Charter Schools Report
The academic performance of charter school students in comparison to typical public school students has been an interest to academicians, educators, policymakers, and the public for more than 30 years. Like traditional public school students, the academic achievement of charter school students varies considerably across the nation, from state to state, by school level, by presence and nature of a management organization, and results differ for specific student groups.

2022

Graduation Pathway Options Report with Foreword by the State 91ԭ��
In anticipation of potential barriers, the Legislature charged the State 91ԭ�� of Education with researching the first three years of pathways implementation to identify barriers and provide recommendations for changes to the existing pathways and additional pathways options. While implementation was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the research identified other challenges.

Graduation Requirements Alignment
As directed by SSB 5249 (Chapter 144, Laws of 2021), the state’s Mastery-based Learning (MBL) Work Group developed a 91ԭ�� Profile of a Graduate describing the cross disciplinary skills a student should have developed by the time they graduate high school. The Legislature charged the State 91ԭ�� of Education (SBE) with reviewing the Profile of a Graduate and submitting a report to the Legislature in December 2022 with findings and recommendations.

Overall, students attending Washington charter schools perform similar to or a little better than similar students attending traditional public schools. The key findings listed in this report are derived in total from the five years in which charter schools have been in operation in Washington and not just the most recent year.

Report on Graduation Requirements, Emergency Waiver Program
Engrossed House Bill 1121 of 2021, authorized the State 91ԭ�� of Education (SBE) to establish an emergency waiver program to allow school districts to waive certain high school graduation requirements on an individual student basis after the district makes a good faith effort to help the student meet the requirements. The bill requires the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to provide SBE with certain data to complete a report for the Education Committees of the Legislature addressing two main topics. First, the SBE is to report on the total number of emergency waivers requested and issued, by school district, including an indication of what requirement or requirements were waived. Second, SBE is to provide an analysis of any concerns regarding school district implementation, including any concerns related to school district demonstrations of good faith efforts identified by the SBE during its review of the data. Read the latest research brief (released March 2023).

Statewide Indicators of Educational System Health
In the 2022 report, we are making only one recommendation. Our reform recommendation centers on embracing the elements and indicators characterizing the conditions for learning in the Washington K-12 education system. We recommend aligning the SBE’s three currently siloed tasks of accountability, recognition, and educational system health under the single umbrella of educational system health and embracing the six key elements collectively describing the conditions for learning.

Joint Report with the Professional Educator Standards 91ԭ�� (PESB)
The Professional Educator Standards 91ԭ�� (PESB) and the State 91ԭ�� of Education (SBE) are pleased to report on the “the progress the boards have made and the obstacles they have encountered, individually and collectively, in the work of achieving the goals” of basic education in Washington state. The PESB and the SBE are committed to a thriving and productive partnership that builds on each organization's role and position in governance and oversight of our state's public education system.

2021

Graduation Pathway Options Report (Year II): Volume 1 | Volume 2
Strobel Consulting collected District Survey and focus group data during the second year of a three-year project. The data will inform SBE's understanding of district stakeholder perceptions regarding the new high school diploma pathways.

Mastery-based Learning Work Group (2021)
The Mastery-based Learning Work Group members believe that Washington has an imperative to shift the focus of our education system from an industrial model that sorts students to one that intentionally supports every student in developing the range of dynamic skills we want to see in each graduate of our public K-12 system. Read the report that outlines the group's recommendations including the adoption of a 91ԭ�� Profile of a Graduate which features skills all of our state's students should demonstrate before graduation. .

2020

Statewide Indicators of Education System Health
Every two years, the 91ԭ�� 91ԭ�� of Education (SBE) reports on the health of Washington’s educational system. Established in 2013 by the 91ԭ�� Legislature, the Indicators of Educational System Health create a common framework upon which to evaluate the overall health of the educational system. The 91ԭ�� has two important responsibilities in this report. First, to report on the state’s progress in meeting the goals established for each indicator and second, to recommend appropriate reforms to bolster the outcomes of the indicators not on track to achieving the goals. In each case, we engaged in this work collaboratively with our partner agencies, which helps ensure that all partners in the educational governance landscape are sharing common strategies and working toward common goals. Download 2020 system health supplemental tables and data referenced in this report.

Mastery-based Learning Work Group Report
The Mastery-based Learning (MBL) Work Group has examined opportunities to increase student access to relevant and robust mastery-based academic pathways aligned to personal career goals and postsecondary education, and reviewed the role of the High School and Beyond Plan (HSBP) in supporting mastery-based learning. This report includes recommendations to the Legislature in regard to MBL in 91ԭ��. Download a summarized, graphic version of this report.

Graduation Pathway Options Report
SBE contracted with Strobel Consulting to collect feedback from stakeholders on graduation pathway options. Graduation pathway options are a high school graduation requirement that were implemented for the Class of 2020 (RCW 28A.655.250) and are now one of three broad requirements students must complete to earn a Washington state diploma. Students demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and readiness for next steps after high school through graduation pathway options, subject area requirements, and a High School and Beyond Plan.

Charter School Report
Within this report, find the performance of the state's charter schools during the preceding school year, including a comparison of the performance of charter school students with the performance of academically, ethnically, and economically comparable groups of students in traditional public schools. Find also, the State 91ԭ�� of Education’s assessment of the successes, challenges, and areas for improvement in meeting the purposes of the Washington Charter Public Schools Act (RCW 28A.710), including the 91ԭ��'s assessment of the sufficiency of funding for charter schools, the efficacy of the formula for authorizer funding, and suggested changes in state law or policy necessary to strengthen the state's charter schools.

Interim Pathways Report
In the interest of providing timely and actionable information to the Legislature, SBE submits this initial report to summarize what is known so far regarding graduation pathway option availability, and feedback and input from various interested parties concerning pathways and pathway implementation issues.

PESB/SBE Joint Report
In response to RCW 28A.305.035, the Professional Educator Standards 91ԭ�� (PESB) and the State 91ԭ�� of Education (SBE) are pleased to report on the “the progress the boards have made and the obstacles they have encountered, individually and collectively, in the work of achieving the goals” of basic education in Washington state. The PESB and the SBE are committed to a thriving and productive partnership that builds on each organization's role and position in governance and oversight of our state's public education system.

In the 2019 and 2020 legislative sessions, legislators enacted several policy changes that aligned with both 91ԭ��s’ priorities to improve equity in education and close the education opportunity and achievement gaps for students in the K-12 system and pathways to teacher certification.

2019

Mastery-based Learning Interim Report
The state of Washington, through Mastery-based Learning work group, is embarking on an exciting journey to reimagine our state's education system. This report outlines activities of this group throughout 2019 and plans moving forward into 2020. Definitions regarding Mastery-based (sometimes known as competency-based) education are established in this interim report.

2018

Annual Report on Charter Schools: 2017-2018
This annual report includes performance of the state's charter schools during the preceding school year, including a comparison of the performance of charter school students with the performance of academically, ethnically, and economically comparable groups of students in other public schools; assessment of the successes, challenges, and areas for improvement in meeting the purposes of the Washington Charter Public Schools Act; and suggested changes in state law or policy necessary to strengthen the state's charter schools.

SBE and PESB 7th Biennial Joint Report
The 91ԭ�� 91ԭ�� of Education (SBE) and the Professional Educator Standards 91ԭ�� (PESB) submitted this biennial joint report to the Governor, Legislative Education Committees, and Superintendent of Public Instruction. The report outlines the collaborative work of the 91ԭ��s, highlights accomplishments, and provides goals and strategies that will guide our future work.

Threshold Scores for Tenth Grade English Language Arts and Math State Assessments
This is a report on the student performance standard that a tenth grade student will need to achieve on the state assessments to be on track to be career and college ready at the end of the student’s high school experience. It was submitted to the Governor, and education policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature.

Report to the Legislature on Statewide Indicators of Educational System Health
This report provides an update on the state’s performance on specified Indicators of Educational System Health and recommends reforms to improve the health of the educational system.

2016

SBE and PESB 6th Biennial Joint Report
The 91ԭ�� 91ԭ�� of Education (SBE) and the Professional Educator Standards 91ԭ�� (PESB) submitted this biennial joint report to the Governor, Legislative Education Committees, and Superintendent of Public Instruction. The report outlines the collaborative work of the 91ԭ��s, highlights accomplishments, and provides goals and strategies that will guide our future work.

2014

SBE and PESB 5th Biennial Joint Report
The 91ԭ�� 91ԭ�� of Education (SBE) and the Professional Educator Standards 91ԭ�� (PESB) submitted this biennial joint report to the Governor, Legislative Education Committees, and Superintendent of Public Instruction. The report outlines the collaborative work of the 91ԭ��s, highlights accomplishments, and provides goals and strategies that will guide our future work.

2013

Examination of Economy & Efficiency Waivers
This examination is in response to the requirement of RCW 28A.305.141 that the State 91ԭ�� of Education (SBE) examine the basic education waivers for purposes of economy and efficiency that have been granted under this section and make a recommendation to the Legislature.

Report to the Legislature on ESSB5491
An overview of the Statewide Indicators of Educational System Health, their current state, goals/objectives, and recommendations for future enhancements.