(The Center Square) – A bill designed to investigate why so many families have pulled their children out of Washington state’s public school system received a public hearing in Olympia on Thursday.
House Bill 1289 would require the Washington School Information Processing Cooperative, or WSIPC, to create a voluntary, confidential online survey – to be operational by Sept. 1 – for parents or guardians who transfer or withdraw students from public schools. It also requires the WSIPC to report an annual summary of the survey data to specified recipients.
Rep. Stephanie McClintock, R-Vancouver, is the bill’s sponsor. She told members of the House Education Committee that she filed it for the second year in a row because Washington’s public schools have lost about 46,000 students in recent years.
“Parents’ children are our customers, and it is apparent we are not meeting our customers’ needs,” McClintock said. “So, let’s find out what those needs are; let’s address them and make our schools a better place to be and a place where parents choose to put their kids in.”
As previously reported by The Center Square, enrollment in Washington public schools is down 4% since 2019, with many students now enrolled in private schools, charter schools, or home school programs.
“We pay about $18,000 per student, so this will get some finances back into our schools,” McClintock continued.
Committee Chair Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, D-Seattle, noted that the Seattle Public School system in her district received state funding for a districtwide survey of all families.
“The purpose of that survey was to find out how to improve Seattle public schools for its customers; its customers being its students and families,” she explained.
She suggested a broader survey of all families in public schools, not just those who are leaving.
“Would you be amenable to seeing an amendment like that?” Tomiko-Santos asked
McClintock responded with a question of her own.
“Are you wanting to expand the survey to families that are not leaving the public school system, and just everyone in general?” she queried. “The point of this was an exit survey.”
During public testimony, Nasue Nishida, a lobbyist for the Washington Education Association told lawmakers WEA signed in “other” on the bill.
“We agree that gathering data from families who choose to transfer to another district or withdraw from the public school system altogether can be informative,” she said. “We also think the bill can go further and gather more feedback from families who choose to keep their students in public schools.”
Dr. Austina De Bonte, president of the Washington Coalition for Gifted Education, testified in support of the bill.
“We think it’s vitally important to find out why families are leaving or changing schools in order to understand how to improve our schools,” she said. “We think families would answer such a survey if offered as we often 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.”
She noted her organization is particularly interested in spotting any trends in highly capable students leaving the public school system.
Seattle Public Schools continues phasing out its gifted and talented program in favor of what administrators say is a more inclusive, equitable and culturally sensitive program. SPS plans to close all highly capable cohort programs by the 2027-2028 school year.
HB 1289 is scheduled for executive session before the House Education Committee at 8 a.m. on Jan. 30. The committee can recommend that the bill pass, not pass, or be amended.
