SENATE BILL REPORT

                           SSB 6447

              AS PASSED SENATE, FEBRUARY 11, 1994

Brief Description:  Adopting a formula for transmitting funds for transfer students.

SPONSORS: Senate Committee on Education (originally sponsored by Senator Prince)

SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Majority Report:  That Substitute Senate Bill No. 6447 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass. 

     Signed by Senators Pelz, Chairman; McAuliffe, Vice Chairman; Gaspard, Hochstatter, McDonald, Moyer, Nelson, M. Rasmussen and Winsley.

Staff:  Leslie Goldstein (786‑7424)

Hearing Dates: January 31, 1994; February 4, 1994

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

BACKGROUND:

In 1990, legislation was enacted to increase students' and parents' options in choosing what school district students attended.  Under this "choice program", procedures were established when resident school districts were required to release students, and nonresident school districts were required to adopt policies about accepting out-of-district students.  According to a December, 1993, report from the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1.5 percent of the student population, or 14,000 students, chose to attend schools in districts in which they did not live.

School districts could require nonresident students to pay transfer fees or tuition.   In 1993, legislation was enacted prohibiting the charge of transfer fees or tuition.

SUMMARY:

When a student is released under the choice program, the student's home school district shall send maintenance and operation levy dollars to the receiving school district.  The amount of dollars transferred shall be equal to the lesser of:  the amount of the maintenance and operation levy in the home district divided by the projected student enrollment or the amount of the maintenance and operation levy in the receiving district for the current year divided by the projected student enrollment.  Payments shall be made on the same schedule that maintenance and operation levy dollars are collected.

This requirement expires August 31, 1996.

Appropriation:  none

Revenue:  none

Fiscal Note:  none requested

TESTIMONY FOR:

In a small school district serving a number of students from a larger district, the inability to charge transfer fees hurts the program of students in the district.

This legislation helps remedy some parts of the unfairness of the levy system.

TESTIMONY AGAINST:

What happens in sending districts that do not have levies?  Will this legislation make it more difficult to pass levies?

TESTIFIED:  Senator Prince, prime sponsor; Harry Amend, Freeman School District (pro); Marcia Costello, WA Assn. of School Administrators (con); Dwayne Slate, WA State School Directors Assn. (con)

HOUSE AMENDMENT(S):

The requirement that some local levy dollars follow a student attending school in another district is deleted.

School districts accepting nonresident students may adopt policies to refuse admission to nonresident students if admitting the student would be a financial hardship to the district.

The House and Senate Education Committees are directed to study the transfer fee issue and report their findings to the Legislature by December 31, 1994.