The bill aims to enhance the public school system in Washington by implementing a voluntary online survey for parents and guardians to assess their satisfaction with public education. A new section is added to chapter 28A.310 RCW, mandating educational service districts to collaboratively develop and promote this survey, which will collect feedback on family experiences, reasons for student enrollment and disenrollment, and suggestions for improvement. The survey will require the statewide student identifier for at least one enrolled student and must be maintained on educational service district websites starting September 1, 2025. Additionally, the survey responses will be anonymized before being shared with school districts, and a publicly available summary of the results will be published annually.

The bill also amends existing laws, including RCW 28A.600.510 and RCW 28A.225.220, to incorporate the new survey requirements. Specifically, it mandates that school districts share a link to the survey with parents and guardians of enrolled and recently disenrolled students starting August 1, 2026. Furthermore, it allows school districts to request optional exit interviews or questionnaires from parents or guardians of transferring students to help assess educational quality, while ensuring participation is not mandatory. The bill emphasizes compliance with privacy laws regarding student education records and aims to improve the overall educational experience based on the feedback collected.

Statutes affected:
Original Bill: 28B.10.041
Substitute Bill: 28A.320.175, 28A.150.010