AN ACT Relating to early childhood education; amending RCW 28A.41.130; adding new sections to chapter 28A.03 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.70 RCW; and making appropriations.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 28A.03 RCW to read as follows:

Proper placement and school readiness are essential to a child's success in school. Teachers need appropriate measures to assess students' readiness and communicate this information to parents. To accomplish these goals:

(1) Every school district shall evaluate students before the students enter kindergarten with assessment measures designed or selected by the local school districts. The assessment shall be designed to measure the student's social, emotional, physical, and academic readiness to begin kindergarten and any other factors deemed necessary by the school district. The assessment results shall be used only for the proper placement of students and advice to parents and shall not be used to deny entrance to a school or school program for any child five years of age or older.

(2) The assessment shall be made in the spring of each year of students planning on entering kindergarten in the fall, but assessments may be made during the summer or fall of students who were not able to be assessed in the spring. An assessment shall be made of every student before the child is enrolled in kindergarten or begins school for the first time.

(3) The school districts shall seek the assistance of volunteers and community groups in developing and conducting the assessment.

(4) The superintendent of public instruction shall work with school districts to develop programs to provide appropriate educational opportunities for kindergarten students of different levels. The superintendent of public instruction shall maintain a list of the assessment programs throughout the state and distribute the list to school districts without programs.

Sec. 2. Section 2, chapter 46, Laws of 1973 as last amended by section 30, chapter 3, Laws of 1983 and RCW 28A.41.130 are each amended to read as follows:

From those funds made available by the legislature for the current use of the common schools, the superintendent of public instruction shall distribute annually as provided in RCW 28A.48.010 to each school district of the state operating a program approved by the state board of education an amount which, when combined with an appropriate portion of such locally available revenues, other than receipts from federal forest revenues distributed to school districts pursuant to RCW 28A.02.300 and 28A.02.310, as the superintendent of public instruction may deem appropriate for consideration in computing state equalization support, excluding excess property tax levies, will constitute a basic education allocation in dollars for each annual average full time equivalent student enrolled, based upon one full school year of one hundred eighty days, except that for kindergartens one full school year shall be one hundred eighty half days of instruction, or the equivalent as provided in RCW 28A.58.754, as now or hereafter amended.

Basic education shall be considered to be fully funded by those amounts of dollars appropriated by the legislature pursuant to RCW 28A.41.130 and 28A.41.140 to fund those program requirements identified in RCW 28A.58.754 in accordance with the formula and ratios provided in RCW 28A.41.140.

Operation of a program approved by the state board of education, for the purposes of this section, shall include a finding that the ratio of students per classroom teacher in grades kindergarten through three is not greater than the ratio of students per classroom teacher in grades four and above for such district: PROVIDED, That for the purposes of this section, "classroom teacher" shall be defined as an instructional employee possessing at least a provisional certificate, but not necessarily employed as a certificated employee, whose primary duty is the daily educational instruction of students: PROVIDED FURTHER, That the state board of education shall adopt rules and regulations to insure compliance with the student/teacher ratio provisions of this section, and such rules and regulations shall allow for exemptions for those special programs and/or school districts which may be deemed unable to practicably meet the student/teacher ratio requirements of this section by virtue of a small number of students: PROVIDED, FURTHER, That these rules and regulations shall provide that any ((~~district~~)) classroom that has a ratio of no greater than ((~~twenty-five~~)) twenty students per classroom teacher in grades kindergarten through three shall be in conformance with this section but the state board may modify this requirement if other than certificated persons are used in addition to a certificated person in the classroom consistent with rules adopted by the board.

If a school district's basic education program fails to meet the basic education requirements enumerated in RCW 28A.41.130, 28A.41.140 and 28A.58.754, the state board of education shall require the superintendent of public instruction to withhold state funds in whole or in part for the basic education allocation until program compliance is assured: PROVIDED, That the state board of education may waive this requirement in the event of substantial lack of classroom space.

This section shall be effective September 1, 1982.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 28A.03 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The office of early childhood education is established in the office of the superintendent of public instruction. The superintendent of public instruction shall select a director possessing appropriate qualifications.

(2) The office of early childhood education shall:

(a) Collect information on both public and private early childhood education programs in the state;

(b) Publish documents and handbooks about early childhood education for distribution to parents and teachers;

(d) Establish a formal communication structure between the office of the superintendent of public instruction and the department of social and health services about monitoring education programs for three and four year olds and child care provided by private persons and agencies; and

(e) Perform other duties as deemed necessary by the superintendent of public instruction or the state board of education.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 28A.70 RCW to read as follows:

The state board of education shall establish, publish, and enforce rules for an early childhood endorsement on the certificates of persons teaching in grades kindergarten through three and in the state-approved preschool programs. The rules shall include criteria for earning the endorsement and maintaining the endorsement. After July 1, 1987, only certificated persons meeting the criteria for the endorsement and holding endorsed certificates shall teach grades kindergarten through three.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The sum of one hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1987, from the general fund to the superintendent of public instruction to establish the office of early childhood education under section 3 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The sum of forty million dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1987, from the general fund to the superintendent of public instruction for the reduced pupil-teacher ratio in grades one through three under RCW 28A.41.130.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The sum of six hundred thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1987, from the general fund to the superintendent of public instruction for the purposes of section 1 of this act.