Every school board member in Washington state is a member of WSSDA. Some board members are more active with WSSDA events and committee work than others, but all are entitled to the resources, materials, and opportunities that WSSDA provides.
Additionally, WSSDA has a staff of approximately 16 full-time employees that provide school board members research-based professional development opportunities, policy and legal services, and legislative advocacy supports based on the democratically determined priorities of school board members statewide.
See all of WSSDA's positions at wssda.org/positions.
See WSSDA's mission, vision, and goals at wssda.org/about-us.
Over time, through their work on school boards, WSSDA’s members develop an informed perspective on the needs, challenges, and opportunities in public schools. By virtue of that unique experience, school board members share their knowledge with legislators to help those elected officials make informed decisions when creating or modifying legislation.
WSSDA has a long-standing, democratic process by which any school board in the state can bring forth a proposed position. Those proposals are taken annually to the General Assembly, where all school boards in the state can vote to adopt or reject the proposal as a WSSDA position. Here is a step-by-step comparison of how a proposal becomes a position and how a bill becomes a law in the Legislature.
Hear the 2021 WSSDA Board of Directors describe how WSSDA helped them as school directors.