This substitute bill (SSB 5861, S-4568.1) amends RCW 28A.343.030 and RCW 28A.343.050 and creates a new section to require that all first-class school districts with enrollments of 2,000 students or more be divided into designated director districts and that boards adopt redistricting plans by January 1, 2027, following the procedures in RCW 29A.76.010. The bill sets enrollment-based minimums: districts with head count enrollment of 2,000–5,000 must have no fewer than three director districts and may have up to two at-large positions; districts with more than 5,000 must have no fewer than four director districts and may have up to one at-large position. The enrollment-based requirements exclude any first-class district that contains a city with population 400,000 or more. The bill changes election and governance procedures. Director districts become effective at the next regular school election after plan approval, at which time a new five-member board of directors shall be elected. One director must reside in each director district but all directors from director districts are elected by electors of the entire school district; at-large directors must be residents of the district and are also elected by the entire electorate. Terms must be staggered (generally two directors for two years and three for four years unless the district elects six-year terms, in which case a different staggered pattern applies). The bill also amends procedures for dissolving and reapportioning director districts: upon receipt of a board resolution or a petition signed by at least 20 percent of registered voters in a district previously divided, the educational service district superintendent must form the question, notify the county auditor, and call a special election; if a majority approves, successors to incumbent directors are elected as approved when incumbent terms expire. No first-class district may dissolve existing director districts to create fewer districts than required under section 2(2) of the act. The extract contains some gaps that affect interpretation: the text alternately references “first-class” and “second-class” districts in places and the extract does not provide statutory definitions for those terms, the specific year for the September enrollment reporting date is not stated, the detailed procedures in RCW 29A.76.010 are incorporated by reference but not included here, and the new section number and placement are not shown.

If enacted, most Washington school districts with 2,000 or more students will have to draw new director-area boundaries and change how trustees are elected, creating extra work and likely one-time costs for planning, public outreach, and elections before the next regular school election. Candidates will have to live in the smaller director districts, but all voters in the whole school district will keep voting for every seat, which could change who runs and who wins without expanding voters’ voting responsibilities. Boards will face new scheduling for staggered terms and limits on how many at-large seats they can keep, and they cannot shrink the number of director districts below the new minimums, which reduces districts’ flexibility. Educational service district superintendents and county auditors will handle petition-driven special elections and the administrative steps to implement redistricting, creating a likely increase in election-related workload and costs; voters in those districts gain a formal process to seek dissolution and reapportionment but must gather signatures from 20 percent of registered voters to trigger it. The bill text leaves some practical details unclear — for example which districts exactly qualify as “first-class” under these rules, the specific September enrollment year used for thresholds, and how this interacts with existing state redistricting procedures — and the act does not specify dedicated funding to cover these new administrative and election expenses.