(1) The student achievement council is created.
(2) The council is composed of 10 voting members as provided in this subsection.
(a) Six citizen members shall be appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate. One of the citizen members shall be an undergraduate student and one shall be a graduate student. The citizen members shall be selected based on their knowledge of or experience in higher education. In making appointments to the council, the governor shall give consideration to citizens representing labor, business, women, and racial and ethnic minorities, as well as geographic representation, to ensure that the council's membership reflects the state's diverse population. The citizen members shall serve for four-year terms except for each of the student members, who shall serve for two years; however, the terms of the initial members and the undergraduate and graduate student members shall be staggered.
(b) A representative of an independent nonprofit higher education institution as defined in RCW
28B.07.020, selected by an association of independent nonprofit baccalaureate degree-granting institutions. The representative appointed under this subsection (2)(b) shall excuse himself or herself from voting on matters relating primarily to public institutions of higher education.
(c) Chosen for their recognized ability and innovative leadership experience in broad education policy and system design, a representative of each of the following shall be selected by the respective organizations, who shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing organizations:
(i) A representative of the four-year institutions of higher education as defined in RCW
28B.10.016, selected by the presidents of those institutions;
(ii) A representative of the state's community and technical college system, selected by the state board for community and technical colleges; and
(iii) A representative of the state's K-12 education system, selected by the superintendent of public instruction in consultation with the department of children, youth, and families and the state board of education. The representative appointed under this subsection (2)(c)(iii) shall excuse himself or herself from voting on matters relating primarily to institutions of higher education.
(3) The chair shall be selected by the council from among the citizen members appointed to the council. The chair shall serve a one-year term but may serve more than one term if selected to do so by the membership.
(4) The council may create advisory committees on an ad hoc basis for the purpose of obtaining input from students, faculty, and higher education experts and practitioners, citizens, business and industry, and labor, and for the purpose of informing their research, policy, and programmatic functions. Ad hoc advisory committees addressing secondary to postsecondary transitions and university and college admissions requirements must include K-12 sector representatives including teachers, school directors, principals, administrators, and others as the council may direct, in addition to higher education representatives. The council shall maintain a contact list of K-12 and higher education stakeholder organizations to provide notices to stakeholders regarding the purposes of ad hoc advisory committees, timelines for planned work, means for participation, and a statement of desired outcomes.
(5) Any vacancies on the council shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. Appointments to fill vacancies shall be only for such terms as remain unexpired. Any vacancies among council members appointed by the governor shall be filled by the governor subject to confirmation by the senate and shall have full authority to act before the time the senate acts on their confirmation.
