"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1)(a)(i) The legislature finds that the federal individuals with disabilities education act, Title 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq., establishes duties for the state education agency, which is the office of the superintendent of public instruction in Washington, with respect to students with disabilities who are placed in a private school or facility by a school district or other public agency as a means of providing special education and related services.

(ii) Since 2006, the federal implementing regulations of the federal individuals with disabilities education act have required that the office of the superintendent of public instruction ensure that a student with a disability who is placed in a private school or facility by a school district or other public agency:

(A) Is provided special education and related services in conformance with an individualized education program that meets the requirements of federal law and at no cost to the student's parents;

(B) Is provided an education that meets the standards that apply to education provided by a school district or other public agency; and

(iii) Since 2006, the federal implementing regulations of the federal individuals with disabilities education act have required that the office of the superintendent of public instruction, in implementing the requirements described in (a)(ii) of this subsection:

(A) Monitor compliance through procedures such as written reports, on-site visits, and parent questionnaires;

(B) Disseminate copies of applicable standards to each private school and facility to which a school district or other public agency has placed a student with a disability; and

(C) Provide an opportunity for those private schools and facilities to participate in the development and revision of state standards that apply to them.

(iv) The federal implementing regulations of the federal individuals with disabilities education act require the state to monitor implementation of the individuals with disabilities education act to improve educational results and functional outcomes for all students with disabilities. The state must use indicators to measure school district performance, identify areas of noncompliance, and use appropriate enforcement mechanisms, such as technical assistance, corrective action, or withholding funds.

(b) The legislature acknowledges that it has not codified the requirements described in (a) of this subsection into state statute. Therefore, the legislature intends to codify the duty and authority of the superintendent of public instruction to establish standards for approving, monitoring, and investigating education centers, which are private schools and facilities, approved by the office of the superintendent of public instruction, that contract with school districts to provide special education and related services to students with disabilities placed in the education centers by school districts. The legislature also intends to codify the requirement that these standards must ensure that any students with disabilities placed in education centers by school districts have the same rights, protections, and access to special education and related services that they would have if served by school districts.

(2)(a)(i) The federal implementing regulations of the federal individuals with disabilities education act specify that, when a school district or other public agency has placed a student with disabilities in a private school or facility, responsibility for compliance with the federal individuals with disabilities education act remains with the school district or other public agency and with the office of the superintendent of public instruction.

(ii) State statute permits school districts to contract with private schools or facilities approved by the office of the superintendent of public instruction to operate special education programs for students with disabilities and specifies that the approval standards must conform substantially to those of special education programs in the school districts.

(iii) Rules of the office of the superintendent of public instruction specify the minimum elements of the written contract that must be made between a school district and the private school or facility. In addition, these rules specify that the school district remains responsible for ensuring that any student placed in the private school or facility is provided a free appropriate public education in conformance with the individualized education program developed by the school district.

(b) The legislature intends to codify the responsibilities of school districts placing students with disabilities in education centers, including specifying minimum contract and parent notification requirements.

(3) In addition, the legislature intends to ensure accountability is properly exercised and shared by directing the state auditor to conduct a performance audit of the system for overseeing education centers that provide special education services to students with disabilities, as well as requiring school districts contracting with education centers to report concerns about education overbilling to the office of the superintendent of public instruction and the office of the state auditor.

Sec. 2. RCW 28A.155.090 and 2007 c 115 s 11 are each amended to read as follows:

The superintendent of public instruction shall have the duty and authority, through the administrative section or unit for the education of children with ((disabling conditions))disabilities, to:

(1) Assist school districts in the formation of programs to meet the needs of children with disabilities;

(2) Develop interdistrict cooperation programs for children with disabilities as authorized in RCW 28A.225.250;

(3) Provide, upon request, to parents or guardians of children with disabilities, information as to the special education programs for students with disabilities offered within the state;

(4) Assist, upon request, the parent or guardian of any child with disabilities in the placement of any child with disabilities who is eligible for but not receiving special educational services for children with disabilities;

(5) Approve school district and agency programs as being eligible for special excess cost financial aid to students with disabilities;

(6) Establish standards for approving, monitoring, and investigating education centers, as defined in section 3 of this act, that contract with school districts under RCW 28A.155.060 to provide special education and related services to children with disabilities. The standards must ensure that any children with disabilities placed in education centers by school districts have the same rights, protections, and access to special education and related services that they would have if served by a school district;

(7) Consistent with the provisions of RCW 28A.150.390, 28A.160.030, and 28A.155.010 through 28A.155.160, and part B of the federal individuals with disabilities education improvement act, administer administrative hearings and other procedures to ensure procedural safeguards of children with disabilities; and

(((7)))(8) Promulgate such rules as are necessary to implement part B of the federal individuals with disabilities education improvement act or other federal law providing for special education services for children with disabilities and the several provisions of RCW 28A.150.390, 28A.160.030, and 28A.155.010 through 28A.155.160 and to ensure appropriate access to and participation in the general education curriculum and participation in statewide assessments for all students with disabilities.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 28A.205 RCW to read as follows:

(1) "Education center" as used in this chapter means one of the following types of entities approved by the office of the superintendent of public instruction to contract with school districts to provide specific types of educational programs and related services to students whose needs are not being met by their resident school district:

(a) A private school in Washington approved by the state board of education under chapter 28A.195 RCW;

(b) An out-of-state public or private school; or

(2) An education center is not a common school as defined in RCW 28A.150.020.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 28A.205 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The office of the superintendent of public instruction may approve schools and facilities to operate as education centers for a period of up to three years. For schools and facilities with multiple locations, the office of the superintendent of public instruction must approve each location independently.

(2) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall establish a process for schools and facilities to apply for approval to operate specific types of educational programs and related services as education centers.

(3) To qualify for approval or reapproval, an applicant must, at a minimum, meet the following requirements:

(a) Offer a program of basic education that will provide:

(i) Opportunities for students to meet the goals of RCW 28A.150.210, in accordance with an individual assessment of student strengths and needs as determined by the placing school districts, and any other requirements established by contract; and

(ii) Opportunities for students in grades nine through 12 to either meet high school graduation requirements under RCW 28A.230.090 or to earn a high school equivalency certificate under RCW 28B.50.536 or laws of the state in which the applicant is located;

(b) Maintain applicable facility licenses and applicable agency approvals of the state in which the applicant is located;

(c) Employ or contract with teachers and related services staff who meet the licensing requirements of the state in which the applicant is located;

(d) Meet applicable fire codes of the local fire marshal or the fire marshal of the state in which the applicant is located;

(e) Meet applicable health and safety standards of the local jurisdiction and state in which the applicant is located;

(f) Demonstrate through audits that the applicant is financially stable and has accounting systems that allow for separation of school district funds, including financial safeguards in place to track revenues and expenditures associated with contracted placements to ensure that funds are used to provide education and related services to students placed in the school or facility by the school district;

(g) Demonstrate that the applicant has procedures in place that address staff employment and contracting, including checking personal and professional references, conducting state and federal criminal background checks, and conducting regular staff evaluations that address staff competencies;

(h) Provide assurance that the applicant will meet all requirements of this chapter appliable to education centers during the period of approval;

(i) Maintain a policy of nondiscrimination and provide procedural safeguards for students and their families; and

(j) Pass an on-site inspection conducted by the office of the superintendent of public instruction that confirms that the health and safety of the facilities, the staffing qualifications and levels, and the procedural safeguards are sufficient to provide a safe and appropriate learning environment for students.

(4) The office of the superintendent of public instruction must prohibit education centers from charging tuition or fees to students placed in the education center by a school district.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 28A.205 RCW to read as follows:

(1) On its webpage related to education centers, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall publish guidelines for individuals to report education centers for noncompliance with local, state, or federal laws or for violation of students rights. At a minimum, the guidelines must include instructions for submitting complaints to the resident school district and for using the special education community complaint processes, when applicable.

(2) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall monitor and investigate education centers and the school districts contracting with education centers for compliance with the requirements of this chapter using data and other information submitted by school districts and education centers, information gathered during on-site visits, complaints, and other information and data.

(3) The office of the superintendent of public instruction may suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew approval of an education center if the education center:

(a) Fails to maintain approval standards under section 4 of this act;

(b) Violates the rights of students placed in the education center by a school district;

(d) Fails to comply with contract requirements under section 6 of this act; or

(e) Refuses to implement any corrective actions ordered by the office of the superintendent of public instruction.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 28A.205 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Each school district that chooses to contract with an education center must enter into a written contract with the education center to establish the responsibilities of the school district and the education center and set forth the rights of students placed in the education center by the school district.

(2) The contract must, at a minimum, include the following elements:

(a) The names of the parties involved and the name of the student placed in the education center by the school district;

(b) The locations and settings of the education and related services to be provided;

(c)(i) A description of the opportunities for the student to meet a program of basic education that meets the goals of RCW 28A.150.210, in accordance with an individual assessment of student strengths and needs initially performed by the placing school districts and updated by the education center; and

(ii) When applicable, a description of the opportunities for the student to either meet high school graduation requirements under RCW 28A.230.090 or to earn a high school equivalency certificate under RCW 28B.50.536 or laws of the state in which the education center is located;

(d) A schedule, of at least once per academic term, for the education center to provide to the school district student progress reports. The progress reports must describe how the student is meeting personalized learning outcomes;

(e) The total contract cost and applicable charge and reimbursement systems, including billing and payment procedures;

(f) Acknowledgment that the education center is responsible for full reimbursement to the school district of any overpayments determined to have been made by the school district;

(g) Acknowledgment that the education center has a list of staff members providing the education and related services and a copy of the license that qualifies each staff member to provide the services;

(h) Acknowledgment that staff of the education center are regularly trained on the following topics:

(i) The constitutional and civil rights of students in schools;

(ii) Child and adolescent development;

(iii) Trauma-informed approaches to working with children and youth;

(iv) Cultural competency, diversity, equity, and inclusion, including best practices for interacting with students from particular backgrounds, including English learner, LGBTQ, immigrant, female, and nonbinary students. For the purposes of this subsection, "cultural competency," "diversity," "equity," and "inclusion" have the same meanings as in RCW 28A.415.443;

(v) Student isolation and restraint requirements under RCW 28A.600.485; and

(vi) The federal family educational rights and privacy act (Title 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1232g) requirements including limits on access to and dissemination of student records for noneducational purposes;

(i) Acknowledgment that the school district and education center have clearly established their respective responsibilities and processes for student data collection and reporting;

(j) Acknowledgment that the education center will promptly submit to the school district any complaints it receives;

(k) Acknowledgment that the education center will submit other information required by the school district or the office of the superintendent of public instruction;

(l) Acknowledgment that the education center must comply with student isolation and restraint requirements under RCW 28A.600.485;

(m) Acknowledgment that the education center must provide notifications to the school district and the office of the superintendent of public instruction as required under section 8 of this act; and

(n) Acknowledgment that the school district must provide the office of the superintendent of public instruction with the opportunity to review the contract and related documentation upon request.

(3) Each school district contracting with an education center to provide special education and related services to students with disabilities placed in education centers by school districts must additionally include the elements described in RCW 28A.155.060 in the written contract.

(4) Each school district contracting with an education center shall report to the office of the superintendent of public instruction and the office of the Washington state auditor any concerns the school district has about overbilling by an education center.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. A new section is added to chapter 28A.205 RCW to read as follows:

Each school district contracting with an education center shall provide the following documents to the parents or guardians of each student placed in the education center by the school district:

(1) A summary of the school district and education center's responsibilities and processes for reporting incidents of student isolation and restraint under RCW 28A.600.485; and

(2) A copy of the school district's and the education center's complaint processes and, if applicable, instructions for accessing the office of the superintendent of public instruction's special education community complaint processes.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. A new section is added to chapter 28A.205 RCW to read as follows:

(1)(a) An education center shall notify the office of the superintendent of public instruction and every school district with which it contracts of any major program changes that occur during the approval period, including adding or eliminating services or changing the type of programs available to students.

(b) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall review these program changes with affected school districts to determine whether the education center remains able to provide the contracted services.

(2) An education center shall promptly notify the office of the superintendent of public instruction, every school district with which it contracts, and every parent or guardian of an affected student of any conditions that would affect the education center's ability to continue to provide the contracted services.

(3) An education center shall promptly notify the office of the superintendent of public instruction and every school district with which it contracts of any complaints it receives regarding services to students, as well as any law enforcement incident reports involving the education center and its enrolled students.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. A new section is added to chapter 28A.205 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall notify the state board of education if any education center that is also a private school approved by the state board of education under chapter 28A.195 RCW is investigated for noncompliance, is directed to complete corrective action, or fails to maintain approval under section 4 of this act.

(2) The state board of education shall notify the office of the superintendent of public instruction of any unresolved concerns, deficiencies, or deviations related to an education center that is also a private school approved by the state board of education under chapter 28A.195 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. A new section is added to chapter 28A.205 RCW to read as follows:

The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW for the implementation of this chapter.

Sec. 11. RCW 28A.155.060 and 2007 c 115 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of RCW 28A.155.020 through 28A.155.050, the board of directors of every school district shall be authorized to contract with ((agencies approved by the superintendent of public instruction for operating special education programs for students with disabilities. Approval standards for such agencies shall conform substantially with those of special education programs in the common schools))education centers approved under section 4 of this act to provide special education and related services to students with disabilities placed in education centers by school districts.

(2) A school district contracting with an education center under this section must enter into a written contract with the education center as required under section 6 of this act, and additionally include the following elements in the contract:

(a) An agreement by the education center to employ or contract with at least one licensed teacher with a special education endorsement;

(b) Acknowledgment that the staff of the education center are regularly trained on the following topics:

(i) Recognizing and responding to student mental health issues; and

(ii) Educational rights of students with disabilities, the relationship of disability to behavior, and best practices for interacting with students with disabilities; and

(c) Acknowledgment that the education center must comply with all relevant Washington state and federal laws that are applicable to the school district.

(3) A school district contracting with an education center under this section shall remain responsible for ensuring that the students with disabilities placed in the education center by the school district are:

(a) Provided a free appropriate public education in accordance with the federal individuals with disabilities education act, Title 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq. and this chapter;

(b) Provided with special education and related services at no cost to the student's parents and in conformance with an individualized education program as required by law, including evaluations and individualized education program team meetings that meet all applicable requirements; and

(4) For the purposes of this section, "education center" has the same meaning as in section 3 of this act.

Sec. 12. RCW 28A.155.210 and 2013 c 202 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

A ((school that is required to develop an))student's individualized education program ((as required by federal law)) must include ((within the plan)) procedures for notification of a parent or guardian regarding the use of restraint or isolation under RCW 28A.600.485. If a student is placed in an education center under RCW 28A.155.060, the student's individualized education program must also specify any additional procedures required to ensure the education center fully complies with RCW 28A.600.485.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. A new section is added to chapter 28A.155 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Beginning December 1, 2023, and in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall annually submit a report to the education committees of the legislature regarding student placements at education centers under RCW 28A.155.060. A summary of the report, including a link to the full report content, must also be posted on the office of the superintendent of public instruction's website. The report must include:

(a) The academic progress of students receiving special education services from education centers, using the results of the two most recent state assessments;

(b) The graduation rates of students who have received special education services from education centers;

(c) The rate at which students receiving special education services from education centers return to their resident school districts;

(d) Data on student restraint and isolation incidents, discipline, and attendance at education centers; and

(e) Any corrective action or change in an education center's approval status, as ordered by the office of the superintendent of public instruction.

(2) The data published under subsection (1) of this section must be disaggregated by education centers when it is possible to do so without disclosing, directly or indirectly, a student's personally identifiable information as protected under the federal family educational rights and privacy act (Title 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1232g).

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. (1) The state auditor shall conduct a performance audit of the approval, monitoring, and investigation of education centers as defined in section 3 of this act and school districts that contract with education centers under RCW 28A.155.060. As appropriate, the state auditor shall make recommendations for improving the system for overseeing education centers that provide special education and related services to students with disabilities placed in the education center by a school district. The state auditor may conduct the performance audit at a sample of school districts and education centers as needed.

(2) By November 30, 2026, and in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, the state auditor shall report the performance audit's findings and recommendations to the governor and the education committees of the legislature.

(3) This section expires August 1, 2027.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:

(1) RCW 28A.205.010 ("Education center," "basic academic skills," defined—Certification as education center and withdrawal of certification) and 2006 c 263 s 408, 2005 c 497 s 214, 1999 c 348 s 2, 1993 c 211 s 1, 1990 c 33 s 180, 1983 c 3 s 38, & 1977 ex.s. c 341 s 1;

(2) RCW 28A.205.020 (Common school dropouts—Reimbursement) and 1999 c 348 s 3, 1997 c 265 s 7, 1993 c 211 s 2, 1990 c 33 s 181, 1979 ex.s. c 174 s 1, & 1977 ex.s. c 341 s 2;

(3) RCW 28A.205.030 (Reentry of prior dropouts into common schools, rules—Eligibility for test to earn a high school equivalency certificate) and 2013 c 39 s 6;

(4) RCW 28A.205.040 (Fees—Rules—Priority for payment—Review of records) and 2013 c 39 s 7, 2006 c 263 s 412, 1999 c 348 s 4, 1990 c 33 s 183, 1979 ex.s. c 174 s 2, & 1977 ex.s. c 341 s 4;

(5) RCW 28A.205.050 (Rules) and 2005 c 497 s 215, 1995 c 335 s 201, 1993 c 211 s 4, 1990 c 33 s 184, & 1977 ex.s. c 341 s 5;

(6) RCW 28A.205.070 (Allocation of funds—Criteria—Duties of superintendent) and 2006 c 263 s 409, 1993 c 211 s 6, 1990 c 33 s 185, & 1985 c 434 s 3;

(7) RCW 28A.205.080 (Legislative findings—Distribution of funds—Cooperation with school districts) and 1997 c 265 s 8, 1993 c 211 s 7, 1990 c 33 s 186, & 1987 c 518 s 220; and

(8) RCW 28A.205.090 (Inclusion of education centers program in biennial budget request—Quarterly plans—Funds—Payment) and 1993 c 211 s 8, 1990 c 33 s 187, & 1985 c 434 s 4."