wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > SB 5910 > Original Bill
The legislature finds that the public has a right to information about the instructional program, operation, maintenance, and outcomes of their local schools. To promote transparency in government, school districts must have the authority to inform the general public regarding all aspects of schools including, but not limited to, curriculum, student achievement, school safety, school budgets, facility condition and needs, and sources of funding, such as school district ballot propositions.
This responsibility to inform the public is more acute now than ever before given the loss of many local media outlets, the changes in the modes in which the public seeks and consumes information, the spread of misinformation, and the inability of many in our communities, particularly those most vulnerable or otherwise underserved, to access factual information about government.
In order to fulfill this responsibility to communicate with their communities and as part of their normal and regular conduct, school districts need the authority to employ multiple media tools, channels, and methods, including social media, to capture the public's attention.
This clarifying legislation reinforces the authority of school districts to inform the public and strengthen the vital connection between schools and the communities they serve.
Notwithstanding any other law or administrative rule to the contrary, the board of directors of any school district shall have authority to authorize the expenditure of funds for the purpose of preparing and distributing information to the general public without limitation as to content, tenor, format, frequency, or medium of communication, to:
Explain the instructional program, operation, and maintenance of the schools of the district;
Explain ballot propositions of the district; and
Inform the residents of the district about how to register to vote and cast a ballot.
Nothing contained in this section authorizes the preparation and distribution of information to the general public for the promotion of or opposition to any school district election.