Public education in Washington

K-12 education in Washington

Education facts

State superintendent: Chris Reykdal

Number of students: 1,138,272

Number of teachers: 62,310

Teacher/pupil ratio: 1:18.2

Number of school districts: 306

Number of schools: 2,474

Graduation rate: 81%

Per-pupil spending: $14,556

See also

Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction • List of school districts in Washington • Washington • School boards portal

Public education in the United States Public education in Washington Glossary of education terms

Note: These statistics are mainly from government sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics. Figures given were the most recent as of October 2022.

The Washington public school system (prekindergarten through grade 12) operates within districts governed by locally elected school boards and superintendents. In 2022, Washington had 1,138,272 students enrolled in a total of 2,474 schools in 306 school districts. There were 62,310 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 18 students, compared to the national average of 1:16. In 2020, Washington spent on average $14,556 per pupil. The state's graduation rate was 81 percent in the 2018-2019 school year.

General information

See also: General comparison table for education statistics in the 50 states and Education spending per pupil in all 50 states

The following chart shows how Washington compares to the national level for the most recent years for which data is available.

Public education in Washington
State	Schools	Districts	Students	Teachers	Teacher to pupil ratio	Per pupil spending*
Washington	2,474	306	1,138,272	62,310	1:18.2	$14,556
United States	90,323	13,194	47,755,383	2,783,705	1:16	$13,494
*Per pupil spending data reflects information reported for fiscal year 2020. Sources: Education statistics in the United States U.S. Census Bureau, "U.S. School System Current Spending Per Pupil by Region: Fiscal Year 2020" National Center for Education Statistics, "Fast Facts: High school graduation rates"

Academic performance

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Education terms
For more information on education policy terms, see this article.
School board elections portal Glossary of education terms School choice on the ballot Education on the ballot

NAEP scores

See also: NAEP scores by state

The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The table below presents the percentage of fourth and eighth grade students that scored at or above proficient in reading and math during school year 2012-2013. Compared to three neighboring states (Idaho, Montana, and Oregon), Washington had the highest percentage of students score at or above proficient in all categories.

Percent of students scoring at or above proficient, 2012-2013
	Math - Grade 4	Math - Grade 8	Reading - Grade 4	Reading - Grade 8
Washington	48%	42%	40%	42%
Idaho	40%	36%	33%	38%
Montana	45%	40%	35%	40%
Oregon	40%	34%	33%	37%
United States	41%	34%	34%	34%
Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables"

Graduation, ACT and SAT scores

See also: Graduation rates by groups in state and ACT and SAT scores in the United States

The following table shows the graduation rates and average composite ACT and SAT scores for Washington and surrounding states during the 2012-2013 school year. All statements made in this section refer to that school year.

In the United States, public schools reported graduation rates that averaged to about 81.4 percent. About 54 percent of all students in the country took the ACT, while 50 percent reported taking the SAT. The average national composite scores for those tests were 20.9 out of a possible 36 for the ACT, and 1498 out of a possible 2400 for the SAT.

Washington schools reported a graduation rate of 76.4 percent during the 2012-2013 school year, second highest among its neighboring states.

In Washington, more students took the SAT than the ACT in 2013, earning an average SAT score of 1537.

Comparison table for graduation rates and test scores, 2012-2013
State	Graduation rate, 2013		Average ACT composite, 2013		Average SAT composite, 2013
	Percent	Quintile ranking**	Score	Participation rate	Score	Participation rate
Washington	76.4%	Fourth	22.8	21%	1537	60%
Idaho	N/A	N/A	22.1	49%	1364	99%
Montana	84.4%	Third	21.3	72%	1595	25%
Oregon	68.7%	Fifth	21.5	34%	1539	49%
United States	81.4%		20.9	54%	1498	50%
**Graduation rates for states in the first quintile ranked in the top 20 percent nationally. Similarly, graduation rates for states in the fifth quintile ranked in the bottom 20 percent nationally. Sources: United States Department of Education, "ED Data Express" ACT.org, "2013 ACT National and State Scores" The Commonwealth Foundation, "SAT scores by state, 2013"

Dropout rate

See also: Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states

The high school event dropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades nine through 12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both school year 2010–2011 and school year 2011–2012. The event dropout rate for Washington was higher than the national average at 4 percent in the 2010-2011 school year, and 3.8 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.

Educational choice options

See also: School choice in Washington

As of June 2015, school choice options in Washington included charter schools, homeschooling, online learning, private schools and two mandatory public school open enrollment policies.

Developments

Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (2020)

Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue
Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue
Media coverage and commentary
U.S. Supreme Court 2019-2020 term
Blaine Amendment (U.S. Constitution)
Blaine amendments in state constitutions
School choice on the ballot
Education on the ballot

See also: Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue

On June 30, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, which concerned whether the government can exclude religious institutions from student-aid programs. The case related to Article X, Section 6 of the Montana Constitution, also known as Montana’s Blaine Amendment.

In its 5-4 opinion, the court held that the application of Article X, Section 6 violated the free exercise clause of the U.S. Constitution. The majority held Article X, Section 6 barred religious schools and parents who wished to send their children to those schools from receiving public benefits because of the religious character of the school.

The case addressed the tension between the free exercise and Establishment clauses of the U.S. Constitution—where one guarantees the right of individuals' free exercise of religion and the other guarantees that the state won't establish a religion—and the intersections of state constitutions with state law and with the U.S. Constitution.

Washington is one of the states with a Blaine Amendment.

Education funding and expenditures

See also: Washington state budget and finances

Breakdown of expenditures by function in fiscal year 2013
Source: National Association of State Budget Officers

According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), states spent an average of 19.8 percent of their total budgets on elementary and secondary education during fiscal year 2013. In addition, the United States Census Bureau found that approximately 45.6 percent of the country's school system revenue came from state sources, while about 45.3 percent came from local sources. The remaining portion of school system revenue came from federal sources.

Washington spent approximately 23.4 percent of its budget on elementary and secondary education during fiscal year 2013. School system revenue came primarily from state funds. Washington spent the second highest percentage of its total budget on public education, when compared to its neighboring states.

Comparison of financial figures for school systems, fiscal year 2013
State	Percentage of budget	Per pupil spending	Revenue sources
			Percent federal funds	Percent state funds	Percent local funds
Washington	23.4%	$9,672	8.6%	58.9%	32.5%
Idaho	24.2%	$6,791	11.8%	63.4%	24.7%
Montana	15.5%	$10,625	12.8%	47.7%	39.5%
Oregon	14.3%	$9,543	7.8%	50.5%	41.7%
United States	19.8%	$10,700	9.1%	45.6%	45.3%
Sources: NASBO, "State Expenditure Report" (Table 8). U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2013, Economic Reimbursable Surveys Division Reports" (Table 5 and Table 8).

Revenue breakdowns

See also: Public school system revenues in the U.S. to compare all states.

According to the United States Census Bureau, public school system revenues totaled approximately $598 billion in fiscal year 2013.

In Washington, the primary source of school system revenue was local funding during fiscal year 2013, at about $7.2 billion. Washington reported the highest total public education revenue when compared to its neighboring states during that same year.

Revenues by source, fiscal year 2013 (amounts in thousands)
State	Federal revenue	State revenue	Local revenue	Total revenue
Washington	$1,042,200	$7,160,395	$3,947,651	$12,150,246
Idaho	$238,656	$1,278,155	$498,783	$2,015,594
Montana	$210,593	$788,329	$652,713	$1,651,635
Oregon	$471,682	$3,041,825	$2,508,173	$6,021,680
United States	$54,367,305	$272,916,892	$270,645,402	$597,929,599
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2013, Economic Reimbursable Surveys Division Reports" (Table 1)

Expenditure breakdowns

See also: Public school system expenditures in the United States

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system expenditures totaled approximately $602 billion in fiscal year 2012.

Public education expenditures in Washington totaled approximately $12.1 billion in fiscal year 2012. Washington reported the highest total public education expenditures when compared to its neighboring states.

Expenditures by type, fiscal year 2012 (amounts in thousands)
State	General expenditures	Capital outlay	Other	Total expenditures
Washington	$10,054,077	$1,545,989	$452,833	$12,052,898
Idaho	$1,854,556	$135,343	$62,396	$2,052,295
Montana	$1,504,531	$120,771	$29,324	$1,654,625
Oregon	$5,389,273	$448,212	$341,375	$6,178,860
United States	$527,096,473	$48,773,386	$25,897,123	$601,766,981
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, "Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2011–12 (Fiscal Year 2012)" (Table 5)

Personnel salaries

See also: Public school teacher salaries in the United States

Note: Salaries given are averages for the state. Salaries may vary between a state's urban, suburban, and rural districts and should be adjusted for cost of living. For example, a MacIver Institute study of average teacher salaries in 60 metropolitan areas found that salaries in New York City were the third-highest in absolute figures but 59th-highest when adjusted for the cost of living.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average national salary for classroom teachers in public elementary and secondary schools declined by 1.3 percent from the 1999-2000 school year to the 2012-2013 school year. During the same period in Washington, the average salary decreased by 4.5 percent.

Estimated average salaries for teachers (in constant dollars**)
	1999-2000	2009-2010	2011-2012	2012-2013	Percent difference
Washington	$56,089	$56,578	$53,101	$53,571	-4.5%
Idaho	$48,578	$49,404	$49,359	$49,734	2.4%
Montana	$43,896	$48,845	$49,354	$49,999	13.9%
Oregon	$57,856	$58,948	$58,302	$58,758	1.6%
United States	$57,133	$58,925	$56,340	$56,383	-1.3%
**"Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to a school-year basis. The CPI does not account for differences in inflation rates from state to state."

Organizations

State agencies

See also: Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

The Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction oversees K-12 public education in the state. The office is led by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Randy Dorn was first elected to the position in 2008 and re-elected in 2012.

The Washington State Board of Education has 16 statutory members. Five members are elected by school board members, two from eastern Washington and three from western Washington, and seven members are appointed by the governor. There is one private school representative on the Board of Education who is elected by members of state-approved private schools. The Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction also serves on the State Board of Education and is elected to the position by all voters of the state. All these positions have full voting rights on all matters brought to the Board of Education. The last two members, two high school students, one from western Washington and one from eastern Washington, are nonvoting members. They are selected to serve by the Washington Association of Student Councils.

The mission statement of the Washington State Board of Education reads:

“

The mission of the State Board of Education is to lead the development of state policy, provide system oversight, and advocate for student success.

”

Unions

In 2012, the Fordham Institute and Education Reform Now assessed the power and influence of state teacher unions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Their rankings were based on 37 different variables in five broad areas: resources and membership, involvement in politics, scope of bargaining, state policies and perceived influence. Washington ranked 10th overall for union power and influence, or "strongest," which was in the first tier of five.

The main union related to the Washington school system is the Washington Education Association (WEA), an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA). WEA is the largest education association in the state. The second largest union is AFT Washington, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers.

List of local Washington school unions:

• Washington Education Association
• AFT Washington
• Seattle Education Association
• Everett Education Association
• Tacoma Education Association
• Spokane Education Association
• Issaquah Education Association
• Washington Education Association Riverside
• Marysville Education Association
• Bellevue Education Association

Government sector lobbying

See also: Washington government sector lobbying

The main education government sector lobbying organization is the Washington State School Directors' Association. Another government sector lobbying organization is the Washington Association of School Personnel Administrators.

Transparency

The Washington State Fiscal Information site is available here. It was created in 2008 after Senate Bill 6818 was passed, mandating that such a website be implemented by January 1, 2009.

Studies and reports

Quality Counts 2014

See also: Education Week survey

Education Week, a publication that reports on many education issues throughout the country, began using an evaluation system in 1997 to grade each state on various elements of education performance. This system, called Quality Counts, uses official data on performance from each state to generate report cards for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The report card in 2014 uses six different categories:

1. Chance for success
2. K-12 achievement
3. Standards, assessments and accountability
4. The teaching profession
5. School finance
6. Transitions and alignment

Each of these six categories had a number of other elements that received individual scores. Those scores were then averaged and used to determine the final score in each category. Every state received two types of scores for each of the six major categories: A numerical score out of 100 and a letter grade based on that score. Education Week used the score for the first category, "chance for success," as the value for ranking each state and the District of Columbia. The average grade received in the entire country was 77.3, or a C+ average. The country's highest average score was in the category of "standards, assessments and accountability" at 85.3, or a B average. The lowest average score was in "K-12 achievement", at 70.2, or a C- average.

Washington received a score of 79.5, or a B- average in the "chance for success" category. This was above the national average. Aside from the "chance for success" category, the state's highest score was in "standards, assessments and accountability" at 79.1, or a C+ average. The lowest score was in both "the teaching profession and transitions and alignment" at 71.4, or a C- average. Washington had the highest score for the "K-12 achievement" category when compared to neighboring states. The chart below displays the scores of Washington and its surrounding states.

Note: Click on a column heading to sort the data.

Public education report cards, 2014
State	Chance for success	K-12 achievement	Standards, assessments and accountability	The teaching profession	School finance	Transitions and alignment
Washington	79.5 (B-)	74.9 (C)	79.1 (C+)	71.4 (C-)	71.6 (C-)	71.4 (C-)
Idaho	4.2 (C)	69.8 (C-)	86.6 (B+)	60.5 (D-)	60.0 (D-)	71.4 (C-)
Montana	76.3 (C)	69.7 (C-)	76.3 (C)	69.4 (D+)	73.0 (C)	60.7 (D-)
Oregon	74.6 (C)	64.8 (D)	80.1 (B-)	63.5 (D)	71.0 (C-)	85.7 (B)
United States averages	77.3 (C+)	70.2 (C-)	85.3 (B)	72.5 (C)	75.5 (C)	81.1 (B-)
Source: Education Week, "Quality Counts 2014" A full discussion of how these numbers were generated can be found here.

State Budget Solutions education study

See also: State spending on education v. academic performance (2012)

State Budget Solutions examined national trends in education from 2009 to 2011, including state-by-state analysis of education spending, graduation rates and average ACT scores. The study showed that the states that spent the most did not have the highest average ACT test scores, nor did they have the highest average graduation rates. A summary of the study is available here. The full report can be accessed here.

School districts

See also: School board elections portal

District types

School districts in Washington typically serve students in a single city or set of neighboring cities. Rural school districts are typically single-building districts serving communities with less than 1,000 residents.

School board composition

Washington school board members are generally elected by residents of the school district, although some school board members are appointed to fill vacancies until the next election for the seat is held. Washington school board elections typically follow one of these two methods:

• At-large: All voters residing in the school district may vote for any candidates running, regardless of geographic location.
• Director area at-large: All voters residing in the school district may vote for any candidates running, but candidates must reside in specific geographic areas within the school district.

School boards consist of five members except Seattle Public Schools, which has a seven-member board. Board members serve four-year terms on a staggered basis, with an election held every two years.

Term limits

Washington does not impose statewide term limits on school board members. However, terms limits on school board members can still be imposed on the local level.

Elections

See also: Washington school board elections, 2025

The table below contains links to all school board elections covered by Ballotpedia in 2025 in this state. This list may not include all school districts with elections in 2025. Ballotpedia's coverage includes all school districts in the 100 largest cities by population and the 200 largest school districts by student enrollment.

Editor's note: Some school districts choose to cancel the primary election, or both the primary and general election, if the number of candidates who filed does not meet a certain threshold. The table below does not reflect which primary or general elections were canceled. Please click through to each school district's page for more information.

2025 Washington School Board Elections
District	Primary	General Election	General Runoff Election	Regular term length	Seats up for election	Total board seats	2022-2023 enrollment
Cheney School District	8/5/2025	11/4/2025	N/A	4	2	5	5,540
Lake Washington School District	8/5/2025	11/4/2025	N/A	4	2	5	30,991
Seattle Public Schools	8/5/2025	11/4/2025	N/A	4	4	7	51,238
Spokane Public Schools	8/5/2025	11/4/2025	N/A	6	2	5	28,714

Path to the ballot

To qualify for the ballot as a school board candidate in Washington, a person must be:

• 18 years of age or older
• A registered voter in the school district
• A resident and registered voter in the desired board district if board seats are not elected at large
• A citizen of the United States
• A resident of Washington

State law also prohibits school board members from having direct or indirect financial interests in contracts held by the district exceeding $1,500 per month.

A Declaration of Candidacy is filed with the county auditor during the first week of June in an odd-numbered year.

Campaign finance

School board candidates and board members are required to file financial disclosure reports with the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission. The reporting process begins with pre-election reports and continues as long as a board member remains in office.

Education ballot measures

See also: Education on the ballot and List of Washington ballot measures

Ballotpedia has tracked the following statewide ballot measures relating to education.

1. Washington Initiative 173, School Vouchers Program Measure (1996)
2. Washington Initiative 728, School Class Sizes Measure (2000)
3. Washington HJR 4208, Four-Year School District Tax Levies Amendment (1997)
4. Washington Referendum 1, Teachers' Retirement Fund Measure (1914)
5. Washington Referendum 13, Physical Examination and Vaccination Requirements Measure (1922)
6. Washington Investment of Permanent School Fund in School District Bonds Amendment (1894)
7. Washington Initiative 350, Restriction on Student Busing Measure (1978)
8. Washington Initiative 314, Corporate Excise Tax to Reduce School Levies Measure (1975)
9. Washington Initiative 126, Non-Partisan Elections for School Superintendents Measure (1938)
10. Washington Initiative 49, Compulsory Public School Attendance Measure (1924)
11. Washington Initiative 46, School Fund Allocation and Distribution Measure (1922)
12. Washington SJR 137, Two-Year Excess School Taxes Amendment (1976)
13. Washington HJR 22, Voter Approval of Excess School Tax Levies Amendment (1985)
14. Washington HJR 4220, Property Tax Levy for School Construction Amendment (1987)
15. Washington Initiative 732, Cost-of-Living Salary Adjustments for Teachers Measure (2000)
16. Washington HJR 55, Excess Tax Levies for School Districts Amendment (1986)
17. Washington Referendum 31, Community Colleges Bond Measure (1972)
18. Washington Referendum 14, Bonds for Public School Facilities Measure (1966)
19. Washington Referendum 12, Public School Facilities Bond Measure (1964)
20. Washington Referendum 10, Bonds for State Institutions Measure (1958)
21. Washington Referendum 7, Bonds for School Construction Measure (1950)
22. Washington Referendum 9, Bonds for Public University Construction Measure (1950)
23. Washington Initiative 884, Sales Tax Increase for Education Trust Fund Measure (2004)
24. Washington HJR 4204, Simple Majority for Excess School Tax Levies Amendment (2007)
25. Washington SJR 8223, Authorization of Public University Investments Amendment (2012)
26. Washington Substitute HJR 4, Tax Levy Periods for Schools Amendment (1958)
27. Washington Initiative 69, Graduated Income Tax for School Funding Measure (1932)
28. Washington Class Size Reduction Measure, Initiative 1351 (2014)
29. Washington Advisory Vote 18, State Property Tax for Schools Bill (2017)
30. Washington Advisory Vote 24, Nonbinding Question on Business Activities Tax to Fund Higher Education Programs (2019)
31. Washington Initiative 102, Child and Family Services Tax Measure (1989)
32. Washington HJR 19, State Financial Assistance for Students of Public, Private, and Religious Schools Amendment (1975)

Recent legislation

The following is a list of recent education bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Washington state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.

Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.

In the news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Washington education policy. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Public education in Washington - Google News

See also

• Historical public education information in Washington
• Washington state budget and finances
• Washington Department of Education
• List of school districts in Washington
• School choice in Washington
• Charter schools in Washington
• Washington
• Education Policy in the U.S.

External links

• Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
• Washington State Board of Education
• Washington Districts and Schools*
• State Graduation Requirements
• Washington State Testing
• Washington Charter School Resource Center
• Washington Public School Ratings by PSK12
• Washington Public School Ratings by Great Schools

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