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The State Board of Education met at the Chehalis Tribal Community Center in Oakville for its regularly scheduled meeting on June 24-26. Here’s a list of things the Board worked on during the meeting:
Find the complete agenda, supporting materials, and links to TVW’s video footage of the meeting on SBE’s
Student Board member Cástulo González was honored for his service to the Board on Tuesday, June 24 with a blanketing ceremony — a Native American tradition introduced to the Board by Chair Bill Kallappa II, a member of the Makah Tribe.
A blanket ceremony is used to show respect to someone who has made an important contribution to their community or to commemorate an important milestone in a person's life.
Cástulo was selected to join the Board in June 2023 and recently graduated from Capital High School (Olympia School District). During his tenure, Cástulo has been a steadfast advocate for students across the state and has brought a powerful voice to our work over the past two years. He played a key role in the Board’s legislative advocacy—presenting before the House Education Committee, testifying on priority bills, and meeting directly with legislators. He expressed appreciation for the opportunity to advocate on behalf of the Board on issues he cares deeply about including HB1228 (2024), which requires all public high schools to award the Seal of Biliteracy to qualifying graduates starting in the 2025-26 school year.
Next year, Cástulo will attend Central Washington University and plans to major in business administration and accounting.
Outgoing student representative Cástulo González stands with current and former Board members during a recognition ceremony on Tuesday, June 24. From left to right: Patty Wood, former Board member; Cástulo González, outgoing student representative; Dana Riley-Black and Mary Fertakis, current Board members.
Board members received an update from Board staff on the progress of its FutureReady initiative and reviewed the vision statement adopted by the FutureReady Task Force.
During the review, the Board met in small groups with community liaisons who serve on the Task Force and have been gathering input from communities across the state. The vision statement will provide a critical foundation for identifying gaps in current graduation requirements and determining where the task force members should focus their attention as they begin developing policy recommendations.
Board members received a presentation from Board staff on potential concepts to be developed into legislative proposals for the 2026 legislative session. Afterwards, the Board had conversations with community liaisons to begin identifying and discussing priority areas for possible inclusion in its 2026 legislative platform. These discussions served as an important starting point, with further input and collaboration with partners to follow before the platform is considered for adoption in October.
Members of the Board, staff, and the FutureReady Task Force work together to shape priorities for the Board’s 2026 legislative platform.
During this review, staff provided background on key provisions of SSB 5243, which directed the Board to prepare a report with recommendations to the Governor and Legislature on how the HSBP can be strengthened to better support student choice and flexibility in meeting graduation requirements. As part of this work, the Board has been engaging stakeholders, reviewing policy options, and analyzing how the HSBP can better align with students’ diverse needs and goals. Click here to learn more about the High School & Beyond Plan.
SBE’s recommendations are due August 2025. We anticipate additional recommendations to be developed through the Board’s ongoing FutureReady initiative for the 2027 legislative session.
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RCW 28A.195.010 requires the Board to annually approve private schools wishing to operate in Washington. This approval ensures that private schools meet minimum requirements to protect student health and safety, employ appropriately qualified staff, and offer a basic education program sufficient to meet standard graduation requirements. You can learn more about the approval process on SBE’s website.
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