Election of board members — Restrictions.

RCW 28A.305.021

in effect

The election of state board of education members by school directors and private school board members shall be conducted by the Washington state school directors' association for the members of the state board who begin serving on January 1, 2006, and thereafter. (1) The Washington state school directors' association shall adopt procedures for the conduct of elections, which shall include, but need not be limited to: The definition of the eastern Washington and western Washington geographic regions of the state for the purpose of determining board member positions; the weighting of votes cast by the number of students in the school director's school district or board member's private school; election and dispute resolution procedures; the process for filling vacancies; and election timelines. The election timeline shall include calling for elections no later than the 25th of August, and notification of the election results no later than the 15th of December. (2) State board member positions one and two shall be filled by residents of the eastern Washington region and positions three, four, and five shall be filled by residents of the western Washington region. (3) A school director shall be eligible to vote only for a candidate for each position in the geographic region within which the school director resides. (4) Initial terms of the individuals elected by the school directors shall be for terms of two to four years in length as follows: Two members, one from eastern Washington and one from western Washington, shall be elected to two-year terms; two members, one from eastern Washington and one from western Washington, shall be elected to four-year terms; and one member from western Washington shall be elected to a three-year term. The term of the private school member shall be two years. All terms shall expire on the second Monday of January of the applicable year. (5) No person employed in any public or private school, college, university, or other educational institution or any educational service district superintendent's office or in the office of the superintendent of public instruction is eligible for membership on the state board of education. No member of a board of directors of a local school district or private school may continue to serve in that capacity after having been elected to the state board. The election of state board of education members by school directors and private school board members shall be conducted by the Washington state school directors' association for the members of the state board who begin serving on January 1, 2006, and thereafter. (1) The Washington state school directors' association shall adopt procedures for the conduct of elections, which shall include, but need not be limited to: The definition of the eastern Washington and western Washington geographic regions of the state for the purpose of determining board member positions; the weighting of votes cast by the number of students in the school director's school district or board member's private school; election and dispute resolution procedures; the process for filling vacancies; and election timelines. The election timeline shall include calling for elections no later than the 25th of August, and notification of the election results no later than the 15th of December. (2) State board member positions one and two shall be filled by residents of the eastern Washington region and positions three, four, and five shall be filled by residents of the western Washington region. (3) A school director shall be eligible to vote only for a candidate for each position in the geographic region within which the school director resides. (4) Initial terms of the individuals elected by the school directors shall be for terms of two to four years in length as follows: Two members, one from eastern Washington and one from western Washington, shall be elected to two-year terms; two members, one from eastern Washington and one from western Washington, shall be elected to four-year terms; and one member from western Washington shall be elected to a three-year term. The term of the private school member shall be two years. All terms shall expire on the second Monday of January of the applicable year. (5) No person employed in any public or private school, college, university, or other educational institution or any educational service district superintendent's office or in the office of the superintendent of public instruction is eligible for membership on the state board of education. No member of a board of directors of a local school district or private school may continue to serve in that capacity after having been elected to the state board.

Source: WA Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=28A.305&full=trueFetched: 6/29/2026