The House Education Committee unanimously approved a bill requiring Washington to develop a voluntary, private online survey that parents must complete when they withdraw a child from one of the state’s public schools.
The bill is scheduled for a full vote in the Washington House and aims to shed light on the reasons why so many families have pulled their kids out of the public school system in Washington.
Rep. Stephanie McClintock, a Republican from Vancouver, is the sponsor of House Bill 1289, which would mandate that the Washington School Information Processing Cooperative, or WSIPC, develop a voluntary, private online survey for parents or guardians who withdraw or transfer students from public schools by September 1. Additionally, the cooperative would have to submit an annual summary of the survey results.
Members of the House committee were informed by McClintock that she had filed it for the second consecutive year due to the recent loss of roughly 46,000 kids from Washington’s public schools.
Our clients are parents and kids, and it’s clear that we’re not satisfying their demands, McClintock stated. Therefore, let’s identify those needs, take care of them, and improve our schools so that parents choose to send their children there.
Public school attendance in Washington has decreased by 4% since 2019, according to The Center Square, with many students now attending private, charter, or homeschool programs.
The Seattle Public School system in her district was awarded state funding for a districtwide survey of all families, according to Committee Chair Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, D-Seattle.
According to her, the goal of the poll was to determine how to make Seattle public schools better for its patrons, who are its kids and families.
She recommended a more comprehensive poll that includes all families enrolled in public schools, not simply those quitting.
Part of McClintock’s response was, “This was an exit survey.”
According to testimony by Washington Education Association lobbyist Nasue Nishida, the state teachers union is neither in support of nor against the plan.
We concur that it can be instructive to collect information from families that decide to switch to a different school district or leave the public education system entirely, she said. Additionally, we believe that the measure might be expanded to include additional input from parents who decide to keep their children in public schools.
The Washington Coalition for Gifted Education’s president, Dr. Austina De Bonte, supported the bill in her testimony.
“In order to understand how to improve our schools, we think it’s vitally important to find out why families are leaving or changing schools,” she said. Because we frequently hear from families who are forced to leave that they wish someone cared to find out why the schools were not meeting their kids’ needs, we believe that families would respond to such a survey if it were available.
She mentioned that identifying any patterns in the departure of very talented pupils from the public school system is of special concern to her group.
The gifted and talented program at Seattle Public Schools is being phased out in favor of a more fair, inclusive, and culturally sensitive curriculum, according to administrators. By the fall of 2027, it intends to terminate all of its so-called highly capable cohort programs.
The Center Square, a nonprofit journalism organization that focuses on state and local government and economic reporting using what it refers to as a taxpayer sensibility, and The Oregonian/OregonLive co-produced this article.
Betsy Hammond is in charge of covering local politics, including Portland City Hall, education, and state politics and government. Her contact information is [email protected].
