SENATE BILL REPORT
ESHB 1476
As of March 22, 2021
Title: An act relating to enrollment stabilization funding to address enrollment declines due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brief Description: Enrollment stabilization funding to address enrollment declines due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sponsors: House Committee on Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives Dolan, Sullivan, Ortiz-Self, Callan, Santos, Ryu, Shewmake, Johnson, J., Valdez, Eslick, Rule, Lekanoff, Stonier, Ramel, Tharinger, Peterson and Pollet).
Brief History: Passed House: 3/8/21, 90-7.
Committee Activity: Ways & Means: 3/22/21.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Revises enrichment levy formulas in the 2022 and 2023 calendar years, requiring 2019-20 school year enrollments to be used in place of 2020-21 or 2021-22 for each year 2019-20 enrollment is greater if a school district is open for in-person instruction at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON WAYS & MEANS
Staff: Jeffrey Naas (786-7708)
Background:

Local enrichment levies can be approved by voters within a school district as a property tax for enrichment beyond the state's statutory program of basic education.  A district's maximum enrichment levy is the lesser of $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed value, or the maximum per pupil limit, which is $2,500 increased for inflation, per pupil for districts with fewer than 40,000 students and $3,000 per pupil increased for inflation, for districts with 40,000 or more students.  Per-pupil amounts in the enrichment levy formula are multiplied by enrollment in the prior school year.  For example, 2022 per-pupil amounts would be multiplied by enrollment in the 2020-21 school year.

 

The disruption caused by COVID-19 has contributed to enrollment declines in the 2020-21 school year compared to the 2019-20 school year.  For students in kindergarten through twelfth grades, full-time equivalent enrollment in January 2021 has declined nearly 4 percent from the previous year.  Prior to this year, common school enrollments have grown in each of the last eight school years, since 2011-12.
Summary of Bill:

Enrichment levy formulas in the 2022 and 2023 calendar years are revised, requiring 2019-20 enrollments to be used in place of 2020-21 or 2021-22 for each year 2019-20 enrollment is greater, if a school district is open for in-person instruction at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year, to calculate the maximum per-pupil limit used to calculate the maximum enrichment levy authority for school districts.


"Open for in-person instruction" is defined as all students in all grades have the option to participate in at least 40 hours of planned in-person instruction per month and the school follows state Department of Health guidance and recommendations for resuming in-person instruction to the greatest extent practicable.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available.  New fiscal note requested on February 23, 2021.
Creates Committee/Commission/Task Force that includes Legislative members: No.
Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.