Basic education in Washington state: A primer

In this first installment of a two-part series, Dick Rylander and Larry Rose provide a basic background of information from the State Constitution and legislative actions

Dick Rylander & Larry Roe 
for Clark County Today

The detailed information is shared from online sources.

Original article link: Opinion: Part 1 – Basic education in Washington state; A primer – ClarkCountyToday.com

This is a two-part article. In this first installment we provide basic background information from the State Constitution and legislative actions.

We all know that our state has committed to providing an education to all K-12 students.  We are also funding part of our local school districts, and many other local services, with residential property taxes.  The levies that authorize these property taxes impact the affordability of housing for many in our community.  It is good budgeting to look at the priorities of the programs that we fund.

Our public schools were chartered in 1890 through the Washington State Constitution (Washington State Constitution), incorporating requirements from the 50th U.S. Congress for admission to statehood.  The text of the constitution concerning K-12 public schools is:

Article IX, section 1:  It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste, or sex.

Article IX, section 2:  The legislature shall provide for a general and uniform system of public schools. The public school system shall include common schools, and such high schools, normal schools, and technical schools as may hereafter be established. But the entire revenue derived from the common school fund and the state tax for common schools shall be exclusively applied to the support of the common schools.

Article IX, section 3: Funds for Support (defines multiple sources of money for the school fund).

Article IX, section 4:  All schools maintained or supported wholly or in part by the public funds shall be forever free from sectarian control or influence.

Article IX, section 5:  All losses to the permanent common school or any other state educational fund, which shall be occasioned by defalcation, mismanagement or fraud of the agents or officers controlling or managing the same, shall be audited by the proper authorities of the state. The amount so audited shall be a permanent funded debt against the state in favor of the particular fund sustaining such loss, upon which not less than six per cent annual interest shall be paid. The amount of liability so created shall not be counted as a part of the indebtedness authorized and limited elsewhere in this Constitution.

Article XVI, section 5: The permanent common school fund of this state may be invested as authorized by law.

The text of the constitution concerning K-12 public schools has only been amended twice.  First in 1894 to restrict the investment of the school fund to government issued bonds (Article XVI-5).  The final time was in 1966 to remove the restriction on fund investment and allow investment as the legislature authorized (Article XVI-5) and to define new sources for money for the school fund (Article IX-3).  

Our legislature has enacted many laws defining what expectations and programs are taught in our schools (RCW 28A).  The legislature provided a legal expectation for all parents that their children have rights to an education that can be defined by the courts.  When a Seattle levy failed twice in 1975 the courts became involved in the details of public education.  They ruled that the lack of funding exposed by the levy failure was unconstitutional.  This set the legislature down a long path to define education and the program of basic education that the state would  fund.

Basic education — Goals of school districts

A basic education is an evolving program of instruction that is intended to provide students with the opportunity to become responsible and respectful global citizens, to contribute to their economic well-being and that of their families and communities, to explore and understand different perspectives, and to enjoy productive and satisfying lives. Additionally, the state of Washington intends to provide for a public school system that is able to evolve and adapt in order to better focus on strengthening the educational achievement of all students, which includes high expectations for all students and gives all students the opportunity to achieve personal and academic success. To these ends, the goals of each school district, with the involvement of parents and community members, shall be to provide opportunities for every student to develop the knowledge and skills essential to:

(1) Read with comprehension, write effectively, and communicate successfully in a variety of ways and settings and with a variety of audiences;

(2) Know and apply the core concepts and principles of mathematics; social, physical, and life sciences; civics and history, including different cultures and participation in representative government; geography; arts; and health and fitness;

(3) Think analytically, logically, and creatively, and to integrate technology literacy and fluency as well as different experiences and knowledge to form reasoned judgments and solve problems; and

(4) Understand the importance of work and finance and how performance, effort, and decisions directly affect future career and educational opportunities.

In Part 2 we’ll explore the state’s “paramount duty.”

Part 2: Washington’s paramount duty to public education: Part 2