An Educational Service District, or ESD, is a regional education unit in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. Organizationally different from a

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, w ...

, a single ESD in Washington serves dozens of school districts. ESDs are established to allow school districts to work, plan, and buy equipment collectively. In Washington they also provide other intermediary services between the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and local school districts.

Legislative role

There are nine statutory regional service agencies in Washington. Created by the legislature more than 40 years ago, the expressed purpose of an ESD is to assure equal educational opportunities for quality education and lifelong learning for all. In addition to acting as a liaison between local districts and the State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to deliver programs mandated by the state, Washington's ESDs are public entities, which operate in a highly entrepreneurial fashion. In 1967 the ESD entities in Washington state cooperated to create the Washington School Information Processing Cooperative, also called

WSIPC The Washington School Information Processing Cooperative (WSIPC) is a public non-profit cooperative that provides K-12 public and private schools with various services. WSIPC services schools throughout the northwest in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, ...

Scope of service

ESDs was first created as a system of county school offices overseeing the establishment and operation of local school districts for the state. Eventually that system developed into large media distribution centers, also serving as financial advisers for schools. Now, ESDs are both regional service providers and brokers among schools, businesses and governments for a variety of school administrative functions and children's education, health and social services. An ESD's scope includes but is not limited to: curriculum, instructional support and assessment, business operations, transportation, youth employment, printing, public relations, data processing, payroll, fingerprinting, network support, statewide computer networks, traffic safety education, construction management, preschool programs, homeless transportation, para-educator training, and special education.

List of ESDs

Washington state has nine ESDs that oversee 295 school districts. * ESD 101 (Northeast ESD) in

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

* ESD 105 in

Yakima Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uni ...

* ESD 112 in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

* ESD 113 in

Tumwater Tumwater is a town in Thurston County, Washington, United States. The population was 25,350 at the 2020 census. It is situated near where the Deschutes River enters Budd Inlet, the southernmost point of Puget Sound; it also borders the state ...

* ESD 114 (Olympic ESD) in

Bremerton Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremer ...

* ESD 121 (Puget Sound ESD) in Renton * ESD 123 in Pasco * ESD 171 (North Central ESD) in

Wenatchee Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...

* ESD 189 (Northwest ESD) in

Anacortes Anacortes ( ) is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name "Anacortes" is an adaptation of the name of Anne Curtis Bowman, who was the wife of early Fidalgo Island settler Amos Bowman.List of school districts in Washington __NOTOC__ This is a complete list of school districts of in the U.S. state, state of Washington (state), Washington. A *Aberdeen School District (Washington), Aberdeen School District 5 *Adna School District 226 *Almira School Distric ...

Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, or OSPI, is the state education agency for the State of Washington. The agency is bound by the Washington State Legislature to implement state laws regarding education, includin ...

References

External links

Washington State ESDs

Overlay maps of ESDs, districts, and counties
{{WAEd Public education in Washington (state)

Special districts of Washington (state)