Seattle School Board Updates

Don’t have time to attend or watch an entire school board meeting? You can stay up to date with this SESEC information resource!

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Full Board Meeting Schedule Here
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February 11, 2026 – Regular Monthly Board Meeting

Agenda. Opening remarks & Student board member updates

  • Opening
    • Acknowledged recent tragedies, including the loss of two students and a respected leader.
    • The district needs to move forward while prioritizing care, support, and stability for students, families, and staff.
  • Student board member report (access and student experience)
    • Student representatives highlighted stronger communication with district leadership, including appreciation for the Superintendent’s time with students.
    • Ongoing work on a quarterly student letter.
    • Focus on translation services and language access.
    • School nutrition and food education remained a continuing student concern.

Board workload & Public testimony themes

  • Board workload and internal coordination
    • Frequent meetings (6 meetings in 5 weeks).
    • They described a productive board retreat focused on: future priorities & strengthening working relationships
    • Mentioned K–12 funding issues connected to the FEPP levy.
  • Public testimony: recurring themes
    • A parent advocated for Rainier View Elementary as a highly capable cohort pathway
  • A statement during testimony emphasized belonging and mental health support

Board actions: contracts, policy updates, and transition plan

  • Special education contract approved unanimously
    • The board unanimously approved a special education services contract.
    • Superintendent stressed the board should understand the “why” behind major contracts.
    • Suggested more future presentations on big-ticket areas like special education.
  • Policy updates on student board members
    • The board discussed and approved amendments to Board Policy 1250 to clarify student roles and participation.
  • Student Assignment Transition Plan
    • District leadership reported that most steps are already underway
      • Maintaining highly capable cohorts at current schools, adjusting open enrollment timelines, opening enrollment for two new highly capable cohort sites in the South End.

Approval threshold proposal core points

  • Policy changes on grants and procurement (Policies 6114 & 6220)
    • Proposal introduced to lower approval thresholds:
      • Contracts: $1M → $500K
      • Grants: $250K → $50K
  • Core points
    • Leadership direction: major message emphasized support, care, and steady governance after tragedy.
    • Community pressure: public testimony concentrated on equity gaps and safety/mental health, especially for Black communities most impacted.
    • Policy + resource signals: The board approved and introduced items that affect decision-making, including a special education contract, student board member policy updates, student assignment transition steps, and lower approval thresholds for board oversight.

July 30, 2025, Updates from SPS  special school board meeting

The special board meeting was dedicated to discussing the updates on the superintendent search process, the SPS strategic development process, and moving forward on the action items. Watch the video.

Updates on Superintendent Search Process

HYA, the organization coordinating the Superintendent search, presented updates on the process and timeline.

Tentative Timeline:

  • Community Survey open until August 4, 2025 (survey link)
  • September 1–15 (TBD): Share the Community Profile Report (CPR) with the SPS community, community list, and partners
  • September 15: Application deadline for candidates
  • September 17: HYA Board Update
  • September 26: Presentation
  • October 9–10: Interviews with final candidates
  • October 13: Board discusses interviews
  • October 15/22 (TBD): Special meeting to vote
  • Superintendent transition begins – TBD

Board-Approved Action Items

  1. 2025–2026 Collective Bargaining Agreement between Seattle Public Schools and IUOE Local 302, with minor revisions.
  2. Contract with Verra Mobility for stop paddle cameras and approval of two interlocal agreements with King County. Approval of this item will result in the installation of the cameras on all school buses.
  3. Instructional Site Relocation for Interagency Academy and the BRIDGES Program from the Roxhill Annex:
    • The Interagency Academy Southwest Campus is to be relocated to a suitable southwest location.
    • A new Interagency Academy site will be established at Alan T. Sugiyama High School.
    • The BRIDGES Program will be relocated to Chief Sealth International High School.

Comments: 

Board members requested more clarity and specificity to ensure a smooth transition. They emphasized the importance of accessible bathroom facilities and maintaining basic conditions for programs.

  1. Awarding Refuse Disposal & Mixed Waste Recycling Collection Services Contract to Republic Services for RFP052501.
  2. 2025–26 Compensation Bulletin for Non-Represented Staff.
  3. Authorization to Negotiate Employment Contract for Interim Superintendent: Approval of this item authorizes the Board President, with legal counsel, to negotiate an employment contract with Fred Podesta to serve as Interim Superintendent until either the appointment of the next District Superintendent or June 30, 2026, whichever comes first.

Comments:

  • Vice President Briggs will join the negotiation team at Director Sarju’s request.
  • Director Rankin emphasized the importance of the interim superintendent taking proactive steps to address key issues immediately, as onboarding a new superintendent will take time.

Update on the Seattle Public Schools Strategic Planning Process 

An update on the development of the 2025–2030 Strategic Plan was presented to the Board. The plan aims to provide clear direction, translate vision into action, and align resources with student-focused priorities. It outlines current progress, the planning structure, and community engagement efforts.

Planning Timeline & Phases:

  • Diagnostic Phase (Apr–Jul): Analysis of resources and student outcomes
  • Prioritizing Phase (May–Jul): Identification of key focus areas based on return on investment and equity
  • Draft Plan Building (Jul–Sep): Defining metrics, shaping strategies, and developing a theory of action

Emerging Findings from Diagnostic Phase:

  • Inequitable distribution of educators and resources
  • Racial disparities in access to and performance in advanced coursework
  • Unsustainable staffing and financial models
  • Lack of coherence in strategy implementation and leadership accountability

For the detailed presentation and supporting data, see the linked materials.

Informational Item

  • Director Rankin provided a memo to support board discussions regarding strategic planning, SPS vision development, and leadership transition. The memo is available at the provided link.
  • Director  Topp updated the information on the change of  the registration link for signing up for public hearing (New link is not available )

July 2, 2025 – Regular Monthly Board Meeting

Watch the video  

Progress updates 

  • SPS staff presented the  Progress Updates on Guardail 3 and 4 and emphasized that the majority of schools have integrated anti-racist and anti-bias approaches into their school development plans.
  • The percentage of African American male (AAM) students in grades 3–12 who reported experiencing fair discipline and culturally responsive practices showed only slight gains since 2019, with an increase of 3%. Although there were some improvements, overall perceptions of safety remained unchanged at 57% since 2019.
  • The Care Coordination Team will conduct a deeper analysis of this data to inform next steps and ensure future strategies are guided by best practices and insights.

What is next on the school safety policy?

  • Board discussed and approved the next steps on school safety policy, including discussions on potentially reinstalling SROs at Garfield High School.
  • The board clarified this is an approval to engage the community and explore solutions specific to Garfield High School — it does not lift the moratorium on SROs districtwide.
  • Two community engagement meetings were announced:
    • July 17: Community engagement session with students, school community, and NACCPS representatives.
    • August 19: Black Family Summit at Garfield Community Center.

SPS continuously searching for a Superintendent 

  • The SPS board stated the issues related to community engagement in the SPS Superintendent search process. 
  • HYA representatives shared that additional community engagement sessions will be held in mid-July, focusing on collaboration with community-based organizations.
  • All feedback received through community inboxes and surveys will be included in the superintendent search report.
  • Further details on the superintendent search process are available on the link.

Other approved items:

  • SPS board approved the License & subscription fees for PowerSchool products, while demanding additional information onthe student data use agreement with the company;
  • The Board also approved Collective Bargaining Agreements with Seattle-King County Building Trades Council and  Seattle Education Association (Certificated, Paraprofessionals, and Office Professionals).

March 12, 2025 – Regular Monthly Board Meeting

  • Staff presented data on the district’s College and Career Readiness strategic goal, showing small declines in the number of Black male students on track to graduate within 4 years
Source: Seattle Public Schools College and Career Readiness Goal
Progress Monitoring Memo
  • Staff presented proposed interim measurements for the 2025-2030 Strategic Plan goals set by the School Board
  • Staff presented an update on Highly Capable Services, maintaining a hybrid cohort-neighborhood system for the next 3 school years
    • Students will be identified through a universal screening process in
      grades 1-8, via a holistic evaluation of students’ existing and available
      data, information, & assessments.
    • Families of identified students in grades 2-5 choose between a cohort model or neighborhood school for services.
    • Services provided will include differentiated instruction, accelerated learning, enrichment opportunities, etc.
    • Hybrid model provides both centralized and neighborhood-based opportunities, addressing diverse student and family needs.
  • Staff presented an update on 2025-2030 Strategic Plan development
  • Link to the agenda here

February 12, 2025 – Regular Monthly Board Meeting

  • District staff presented information about their progress so far in implementing consistent curriculum-embedded assessments of student learning at every school.
  • The Board voted 4-2 (with 1 abstention) to extend the Superintendent’s contract for an additional year. The contract was originally set to end on June 30, 2026, and will now continue through June 30, 2027. 
  • The results of a Legislature-sponsored enrollment study of Seattle families with school-aged children were presented to the Board 
  • In a conversation around the district’s Advanced Learning program, Board members engaged district staff in conversation around the now 14-year delay in fully implementing a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) across all schools in SPS, originally required by Board Policy 2163 approved in 2011
  • Director Sarju (District 5) read excerpts from the book Linda Brown, You Are Not Alone to children from the audience in honor of Black History Month.
  • Meeting agenda linked here.

January 22, 2025 – Regular Monthly Board Meeting

  • Held a progress monitoring session on the extent to which the district is meeting the college and career readiness goals in the current (2019-2024) Strategic Plan, district staff found positive trends for meeting the goals
  • Held a work session to discuss how to incorporate additional community feedback it received in December and January into the proposed goals and guardrails for the 2025-2030 Strategic Plan currently under development. The Board voted to hold a special session on January 29, 2025 in order to finalize and vote on the 2025-2030 Strategic Plan
  • Heard from district staff on the development of the 2025-26 SPS budget, including scenarios in which the Legislature increases K-12 funding and in which it does not. 
  • Meeting agenda linked here

December 18, 2024- Regular Monthly Board Meeting

  • The board received reports from the Superintendent regarding the District’s progress on its goals for early literacy and middle school mathematics. 
  • Accepted an audit report from Moss Adams regarding ongoing barriers to the Board’s efforts since 2021 to implement a best-practice governance model (student outcomes-focused governance). Auditors provided specific recommendations for a successful transition to policy governance, which can be found in the report (linked in the meeting agenda). 
  • Director Liza Rankin’s one-year term as Board president came to a close, and Director Gina Topp (District 6) was elected Board President for 2025. Director Evan Briggs (District 3) takes on the Board vice president role for 2025 from Director Michele Sarju (District 5).
  • The Board passed a budget resolution directing the Superintendent to present a plan for balancing the District’s budget that is aligned with the Strategic Plan’s goals for student outcomes, and to create and work with a task force or advisory group to develop a multi-year budget forecast for the District. (Resolution is also linked in the meeting agenda.) 
  • The District’s HR director was required to read a Notice of Unfair Labor Practices into the minutes of the meeting (regarding adjudicated labor violations at Rainier View Elementary school). (The notice is also linked in the meeting agenda.)

December 11, 2024- Special Work Session Summary

  • The School Board held a special work session on December 11 to finalize goals for student outcomes in SPS for the next five years (2025-2030). 
  • The School Board undertook extensive community consultation earlier this year to identify the community’s vision for what graduates of SPS should know and be able to do.
  • That vision informed the two goals identified on 12/11 by the School Board: a strong start (early literacy), and a strong finish to ensure SPS graduates are prepared for the future of their choice (“life ready” high school pathways).
  • Each goal includes metrics identifying how SPS will improve in these two areas from a 2025 baseline to 2030. 
  • Now that the School Board has finalized these goals, the work moves to the Superintendent, who is responsible for drafting a Strategic Plan to identify how SPS will achieve the metrics and reach the goals. 
  • More information from the work session is available here. The session recording can be viewed here. 

December 3, 2024- Board Special Meeting Audit Committee

Two important audit reports were presented to the School Board Audit Committee on December 3. One assessed the school counseling function in SPS and found opportunities to improve student outcomes through better understanding and support of the school counselor role, especially in high schools.

Another report assessed the District’s implementation of the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) and found that there is a strong need for more consistent implementation of this critical structure for addressing students’ academic and social-emotional needs. Both are linked here.

District staff will be presenting progress reports to the Board on reading and math at the board meeting Wednesday. These reports update the board on progress toward the strategic plan goals for students in these areas, including why or why not the District is on track to meet the goals.