Bellevue School District No. 405 (BSD) is a public school district in King County, headquartered in Bellevue. As of October 1, 2016, the district has an enrollment of 19,974 students. The Bellevue School District includes 28 schools: 15 elementary schools, 1 Spanish immersion elementary school, 1 Chinese immersion elementary school, 5 regular middle schools, 4 regular high schools, and two district-wide choice schools (grades 6-12). The district has a staff of about 2,900 employees, including about 1,500 teachers. In 2013, Newsweek magazine named Bellevue, Interlake, International, Newport and Sammamish to its list of "America's Best High Schools". In 2013, The Washington Post placed Bellevue, Interlake, International, Newport and Sammamish on its list of "America's Most Challenging High Schools". In 2013, U.S. News & World Report ranked Bellevue, Interlake, International and Newport among its "Best High Schools".

Boundary

It includes the majority of Bellevue. Additionally it includes Beaux Arts Village, Clyde Hill, Hunts Point, Medina, and Yarrow Point. It also has a portion of Redmond and a very small portion of Kirkland.

Demographics

As of October 2020, there were 19,545 students enrolled in the district. 100 languages are spoken in the district, with 42.5% of students speaking a first language other than English. 17.2% of students receive MLL (Multi-Language Learner) Services. 19.0% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. The racial demographics of the district are: 3.8% Black/African American, 43.9% Asian, 14.2% Hispanic, 10.1% Multi-Ethnic, 0.2% Native American/American Indian/Alaska Native, 0.3% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and 27.0% White. By February 2015 the district experienced an influx of highly educated immigrant families from East Asia and South Asia who selected the district due to its reputation for strong academics and testimonials from foreign sources. The district's number of Indian language-speaking students was 185 in 2004. As of 2015 the district had about 1,600 students who spoke Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, and/or Taiwanese Min-Nan; and the district also had over 800 speakers of Indian languages. The speakers of Chinese had increased by 91% in a ten-year span beginning around 2004, and speakers of Indian languages had increased around 400% during the same period.

Schools

Students attend elementary (primary) school from kindergarten to fifth grade, middle school from sixth to eighth grade, and high school from ninth to twelfth grade. Each of the school, except Choice schools, have a defined geographic attendance area. Students are assigned to a school based on the attendance area in which they reside. With three exceptions, these schools are located in the city of Bellevue. Clyde Hill Elementary and Chinook Middle School are located in the city of Clyde Hill.

High schools (Grades 9-12)

Middle schools (Grades 6- 8)

Elementary schools (Grades Pre-K to 5th grade)

Choice schools

Former schools

Over the years, the district closed several schools. In many cases, declining enrollment after the baby boomers graduated led to closure. The district leased some schools to private schools or non-profit organizations. Some properties were transferred to other local governments.

2008 strike

On June 10, 2008, Bellevue teachers voted almost unanimously to go on strike if a new contract could not be reached by the end of the summer. On the evening of September 1, the day before classes would have started, the Bellevue Education Association (BEA) announced the beginning of the strike. On September 14, BEA members agreed to the tentative agreement that school was to begin on September 15. The dispute between the BEA and BSD had three main issues: compensation; benefits; and use of the Curriculum Web, a strictly enforced curriculum for all teachers to follow.

2023 Consolidation Request

In 2023, the Bellevue School Board considered merging 3 schools; Ardmore, Wilburton and Eastgate into other schools following low fertility rates and lack of students. The request was to move students from Ardmore to Bennett, Cherry Crest and Sherwood Elementary, move students from Eastgate to Spiritridge and Somerset Elementary, and moving the Spiritridge AL program to Woodridge, and finally moving Wilburton students to Clyde Hill and Entai Elementary. The Board rejected the Ardmore request but finally accepted the Eastgate and Wilburton request. The move is scheduled for the 2023-2024 school year.

Honors

President Barack Obama visited Medina Elementary School on February 17, 2012. He spent 10 minutes at the school, greeting about 450 students with hand shakes and high fives.

Legal Issues

In March of 1967, the school district acquired 30 acres of private land through condemnation and eminent domain action. The land owners sued and lost. In 2008, the school district was involved in a truancy action in which the student had no representation at their initial hearing. The processes proceeded without representation which drew the attention of the ACLU and the Juvenile Law Center and went to the Supreme Court of Washington State. In 2024, Robert Scroggs, formerly a special-education teacher in the district, was arrested for multiple counts of child molestation. A student who was the victim of bullying at school in 2022 filed a lawsuit against the district for its failure to act against the bully, who was his ex-girlfriend.