Washington § 28A.300.0712 - Willful noncompliance with state law — Complaint process.

(1) By July 1, 2026, the office of the superintendent of public instruction must establish a process to investigate and secure equitable resolutions for two types of complaints alleging willful noncompliance with the state laws listed in RCW 28A.300.0711(4):

(a) Limited complaints; and

(b) Broad complaints.

(2)(a)(i) Any student who is enrolled in the school district or any parent or legal guardian who has a student enrolled in the school district may file a limited or broad complaint with the office of the superintendent of public instruction alleging willful noncompliance with a state law listed in RCW 28A.300.0711(4).

(ii) Anyone residing within the boundaries of the school district may file a broad complaint with the office of the superintendent of public instruction alleging willful noncompliance with a state law listed in RCW 28A.300.0711(4).

(b) Limited and broad complaints may be filed against a local school district superintendent, a local school district board of directors, or an individual member or members of a board of directors.

(c) Before a person may file a complaint with the office of the superintendent of public instruction, the person must exhaust available complaint procedures, if such procedures exist, including procedures established under state law including, but not limited to, RCW 28A.320.124, 28A.320.230, 28A.410.090, 28A.600.477, 28A.640.020, and 28A.642.030, and local policy and procedure. If there are no complaint procedures available, the person who intends to file the complaint must provide notice of the complaint to the local school district superintendent before filing the complaint with the office of the superintendent of public instruction.

(3)(a) The office of the superintendent of public instruction must adopt rules that ensure due process regarding the complaint process, timelines, compliance action plans, and consequences established under this section and RCW 28A.300.0713 and 28A.300.0714.

(b)(i) The office of the superintendent of public instruction must consult with the state board of education to build a connection between the rules adopted under this subsection and the state board of education's rules on basic education compliance established under RCW 28A.150.220 for complaints regarding willful noncompliance with curriculum requirements as described in RCW 28A.300.0711(4)(c).

(ii) The office of the superintendent of public instruction must consult with the office of the education ombuds about how to include the complaint process established under this section into the simple and uniform access point for the receipt of complaints created under RCW 43.06B.070.

(c) The office of the superintendent of public instruction may adopt rules to expedite the investigation of complaints related to an immediate health or safety concern.

(d) The office of the superintendent of public instruction may not take action against a school district or school district superintendent under the provisions established in RCW 28A.300.0714 unless there is evidence that the school district superintendent, school district board of directors, or individual member or members of a board of directors acted in a willful manner or the school district has received a second notice of continued noncompliance.

Rule-making authority—2025 c 369 ss 302-305, 312, and 313: See note following RCW 28A.300.0711.

Intent—2025 c 369 ss 302-315: See note following RCW 28A.300.0711.

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