Opinion: SB 5882 would cut the ratio of teachers in public schools

Lawmakers are considering SB 5882, a bill to cut the ratio of certified teachers in public schools by increasing the number of non-teaching employees.

Sponsors say they introduced this bill because additional staff are needed to ‘better meet student needs’

Liv Finne
Washington Policy Center

Lawmakers are considering SB 5882, a bill to cut the ratio of certified teachers in public schools by increasing the number of non-teaching employees. The bill is sponsored by Senators Stanford (D-Shoreline), Wellman (D-Mercer Island), Hunt (D-Olympia), Pedersen (D-Seattle) and C. Wilson (D-Federal Way). Sponsors say they introduced this bill because additional staff are needed to “better meet student needs.”

Washington state has an education emergency which SB 5882 ignores.

Spring of 2023 test scores show that 61 percent of Washington’s students failed the state Smarter Balance test in mathematics, and 49 percent failed the English text.

SB 5882 would increase non-teaching staff in the public schools, and cut the ratio of teachers, i.e., the proportion of teachers to all staff, potentially leading to larger class sizes and reduced student access to learning.

In an emergency every available dollar should be spent on increasing the number of teachers focused on helping students recover from the learning losses they suffered due to the extended COVID school shutdowns. SB 5882 would shift resources out of the classroom and away from addressing the education emergency.

Washington state’s teacher ratio is already low. Of the 125,000 full time employees in the public schools, only 50.5 percent are classroom teachers. See Table 7 All School Personnel by Duty, 2022-23 Statewide Personnel Assignment Summary Profiles, at https://ospi.k12.wa.us/policy-funding/school-apportionment/school-publications/personnel-summary-reports.

SB 5882 would make the ratio of teachers to total staff even lower. It would also add nearly $1 Billion to the state budget within three years. See Fiscal Note to SB 5882, here: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5882&Initiative=false&Year=2023

For additional information see our Legislative Memo on this bill.

Liv Finne is the director of the Center for Education at the Washington Policy Center.