This bill (S-0848.1 / Senate Bill 5564, 69th Legislature, 2025 Regular Session) amends existing Washington education law (RCW 28A.150.210, 28A.300.112, and 28A.655.300). It changes statutory language about what constitutes "basic education" and specifies district goals for student competencies, and it imposes procedural duties on the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) related to ethnic studies materials and learning standards. The bill amends RCW 28A.150.210 to define "basic education" as a program of instruction intended to give students opportunity to gain knowledge and skills to become globally competitive citizens and to strengthen achievement for all students. It also adds or clarifies district goals, with parent and community involvement, to provide opportunities for every student to develop four named core competencies (reading/writing/communication; mathematics and a range of academic subject areas including civics and history with an emphasis on the constitutional republic; analytical and technology-integrated thinking and problem solving; and understanding work and finance). The bill amends RCW 28A.300.112 to require OSPI to identify and make available ethnic studies materials and resources for grades K–12 and to post those materials on OSPI’s website. It encourages (but does not require) public schools serving grades 7–12 to offer an ethnic studies course using the identified materials and encourages K–6 schools to incorporate the materials. The bill also amends RCW 28A.655.300 to require OSPI to identify existing state learning standards that address appreciation of differing cultures and to periodically update those standards to incorporate best practices in ethnic studies. A prior deadline language ("By September 1, 2021") has been removed. These are modifications to existing law that create procedural requirements for OSPI and statutory expectations for districts and schools; they do not create new criminal penalties or change punitive law. Important context is missing from the extracted text: there is no effective date, no implementation or funding details, and the bill does not define "ethnic studies materials and resources" or "best practices in ethnic studies." It is also not clear from this text whether other related amendments appear elsewhere.

If enacted, the state education agency (OSPI) will need to assemble and publish ethnic studies materials for all grades and routinely review and tweak state learning standards to include practices that teach students to appreciate different cultures, while districts will be asked to set goals with parents and the community to ensure students gain the four listed core skills. Many middle and high schools will likely begin offering an ethnic studies course and elementary schools may start using those materials in class, which will lead to real work for curriculum planners and teachers to select or build lessons and to schedule and advertise new course options. OSPI bears the clearest new workload and likely costs because it must identify resources and update standards on an ongoing basis, but the bill does not provide funding, a deadline, or detailed definitions of “ethnic studies materials” or “best practices,” so districts retain discretion and adoption will probably be uneven depending on local priorities and resources; parents and community members may have a stronger role in district goal-setting, while schools face potential but optional extra costs for course development, materials, and training.