Washington § 28A.300.0711 - Willful noncompliance with state law — Definitions.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout RCW 28A.300.0712 through 28A.300.0714.

(1) "Broad complaint" means a complaint that impacts an entire student body, an entire subgroup of students within a student body, an entire school, or an entire school district.

(2) "Limited complaint" means a complaint that impacts one or more individual students.

(3) "Negligent" means the failure to exercise ordinary care by a local school district superintendent, a local school district board of directors, or an individual member or members of a board of directors, and the actor knew or reasonably should have known that the failure to exercise ordinary care would result in noncompliance with state law as defined in this section.

(4) "Noncompliance with state law" means action or inaction by a local school district superintendent, a local school district board of directors, or an individual member or members of a board of directors, that results in noncompliance with the following state laws, which are intended to ensure academic rights and protections for students in the educational environment:

(a) State civil rights and nondiscrimination, including the nondiscrimination and sexual equality laws and model policy and procedure requirements related to protecting students' rights as established in chapters 28A.640 and 28A.642 RCW;

(b) "Harassment, intimidation, or bullying" requirements as established in RCW 28A.600.477;

(c) Curriculum requirements as described in RCW 28A.150.230, 28A.300.475, and 28A.320.170; the policies and procedures related to the selection or deletion of instructional materials required in RCW 28A.320.230; and the review and removal of supplemental instructional materials required in RCW 28A.320.235;

(d) The use of restraint or isolation on a student as described in RCW 28A.600.485; or

(e) Student discipline as described in chapter 28A.600 RCW.

(5) "Willful" means nonaccidental action or inaction by a local school district superintendent, a local school district board of directors, or an individual member or members of a board of directors, that the actor knew or reasonably should have known would result in noncompliance with state law.

Rule-making authority—2025 c 369 ss 302-305, 312, and 313: "The office of the superintendent of public instruction may enact rules for implementation of sections 302 through 305, 312, and 313 of this act." [ 2025 c 369 s 306.]

Intent—2025 c 369 ss 301-315: "(1) The legislature acknowledges and supports the importance of local control for school district governance. Local school boards and superintendents are in the best position to effectively and quickly respond to the needs of their communities. However, local control is not absolute and must also be balanced against the need to ensure all students have access to a healthy, safe learning environment that celebrates and protects their diversity and civil rights. There are certain areas of state law that are critically important to ensuring every student has equal access to this type of supportive and responsive learning environment.

(2) The legislature is aware that some school districts are intentionally not complying with certain requirements in state law and that this noncompliance is negatively impacting students. School board members and superintendents are uniquely responsible for ensuring that their school district is in compliance with those state laws and members of the school district should have a mechanism to hold those individuals accountable if state laws are not followed.

(3) The legislature therefore intends to establish a complaint process for students, parents, and community members to address willful noncompliance with certain state laws that are necessary for protecting the health, safety, and civil rights of students in order to ensure every student has access to a positive learning environment." [ 2025 c 369 s 301.]

Effective date—2025 c 369: See note following RCW 28A.320.209.