BILL REQ. #:  S-4272.2 

READ FIRST TIME 02/07/14.   

     AN ACT Relating to grant programs for specialized STEM facilities and all-day kindergarten education facilities; amending 2013 2nd sp.s. c 19 s 5020 (uncodified); adding a new section to chapter 28A.188 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28.150 RCW; adding new sections to 2013 2nd sp.s. c 19 (uncodified); creating a new section; and making appropriations.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that efforts to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics literacy, and phase in state-funded all-day kindergarten are impeded by the lack of adequate school facilities. The legislature also finds that an unanticipated drop in requests for the school construction assistance grant program reduces the need for appropriations in the 2013-2015 capital budget by over fifty million dollars. The legislature intends to create grant programs to assist school districts with their need for such facilities and fund the initial round of grants for such facilities from the savings in the school construction assistance program.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28A.188 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The legislature recognizes that to achieve improvements in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics literacy specialized school plant facilities are required. Adequate STEM facilities are necessary to support interactive, project-based STEM curricula and are necessary to support STEM teachers who are attempting to deliver interactive, project-based STEM curricula. The legislature also recognizes that to achieve expected improvements in STEM literacy the development and modernization of specialized STEM facilities must occur at a faster pace than the typical thirty to fifty-year cycle of modernizing or replacing school plant facilities. The legislature intends to speed up the development and modernization of specialized STEM facilities through the competitive grant program described in this section.
     (2) The specialized STEM facility grant program must be administered by the superintendent of public instruction in consultation with the STEM education innovation alliance specified in RCW 28A.188.030 and the statewide STEM organization specified in RCW 28A.188.050. The superintendent of public instruction must develop grant application materials in consultation with the statewide STEM organization, must review applications for accuracy and financial reasonableness, and must administer awarded grants. With funds specifically appropriated for this purpose, the superintendent of public instruction must contract with the statewide STEM organization specified in RCW 28A.188.050 to evaluate applications against the criteria specified in subsection (4) of this section and recommend a single rank-ordered list of grant applications. The superintendent of public instruction may modify the rank-ordered list received by the statewide STEM organization for inclusion in the office's capital budget request, but must also submit to the governor and fiscal committees of the legislature the original ranking by the statewide STEM organization with explanations for any changes made to the ranking. The governor may use the original list prepared by the statewide STEM organization or may consider any changes recommended by the office of the superintendent of public instruction in preparing the governor's capital budget request.
     (3) One hundred percent of project costs are eligible for grants under this program for:
     (a) Facilities owned by public school districts or public charter schools used for grades nine through twelve;
     (b) Facilities built or modernized more than ten years prior to the grant application; and
     (c) Project costs for design, construction, project management, capitalized and noncapitalized equipment and fixtures, and necessary utility and information technology systems upgrades to support the specialized STEM facilities.
     (4) The criteria listed in this subsection must be used to rank grant requests. In applying these criteria, the statewide STEM organization should seek to recommend funding for projects that modernize the most inadequate facilities, to be used by the most qualified STEM teachers, expected to result in the greatest gains in STEM literacy for the greatest number of students for the aggregate amount of proposed grant funding, while improving specialized STEM facilities in rural, suburban, and urban districts in all parts of the state. The criteria are:
     (a) The extent that existing STEM facilities are inadequate including the lack of adequate STEM facilities to meet graduation requirements in RCW 28A.150.220;
     (b) A demonstration that existing STEM faculty are in place and are qualified to deliver an interactive, project-based STEM curriculum in the proposed specialized STEM facilities, or a plan and budget are in place to recruit or train such STEM faculty;
     (c) The expected gains in STEM literacy that are expected from the proposed specialized STEM facilities in comparison to the proposed project costs; and
     (d) A broad distribution of grants across the state benefiting rural, suburban, and urban districts.
     (5) For the first round of grant applications to be considered for inclusion in the governor's capital budget request for the 2015-2017 biennium, an expedited grant application and review process must be conducted by the superintendent of public instruction and the statewide STEM organization. The first rank-ordered list must consider, in addition to the criteria in subsection (4) of this section, projects that demonstrate innovative approaches to the design and construction of specialized STEM facilities, including facilities for smaller schools that are flexible and convertible to support education in a variety of STEM disciplines. The first rank-ordered list of proposed grants must be submitted to the office of financial management and the appropriate committees of the legislature by October 30, 2014. Following that first submission, the superintendent of public instruction must prepare a biennial grant application cycle for subsequent biennia.
     (6) Modernized spaces funded with this grant program in the prior ten years are not eligible to receive state funding for modernization through this grant program or the school construction assistance program for the space that has been modernized with this grant program. The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall write rules to ensure new space added with funding provided by this grant is included in the eligible inventory for the school construction assistance program.
     (7) The office of the superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with the STEM education innovation alliance, must prepare a plan for evaluating the student performance outcomes resulting from the STEM facility grant program. The evaluation plan and estimated cost must be submitted to the appropriate committees of the legislature by January 1, 2015. The evaluation plan must provide an initial evaluation report on student outcomes by January 1, 2019. The report must also consider options for expanding the grant program to improve specialized STEM facilities for middle and elementary schools.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 28A.150 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The legislature recognizes that insufficient classroom space has impeded the phase-in of state-funded all-day kindergarten specified in this section even though the school construction assistance program under chapter 28A.525 RCW has included all-day kindergarten in the calculation of necessary classroom space since 2001. The legislature intends to assist school districts in the phase-in of all-day kindergarten with the grant program described in this section.
     (2) The all-day kindergarten facility grant program must be administered by the superintendent of public instruction in consultation with an advisory committee. The advisory committee must include three school district facility managers, one each from an urban, suburban, and rural school district, selected by the superintendent of public instruction, and four community members selected by the governor representing parents and organizations concerned with early education and student academic performance. The superintendent of public instruction must develop grant application materials in consultation with the advisory committee, must review applications for accuracy and financial reasonableness, and must administer awarded grants. The advisory committee must review applications against the criteria specified in subsection (4) of this section and recommend a single rank-ordered list. The superintendent of public instruction may modify the rank-ordered list received by the advisory committee for inclusion in the agency's capital budget request, but must also submit to the governor and fiscal committees of the legislature the original ranking by the advisory committee with explanations for any changes made to the ranking. The governor may use the original list prepared by the advisory committee or may consider any changes recommended by the office of the superintendent of public instruction in preparing the governor's capital budget request.
     (3) One hundred percent of project costs necessary to provide additional classroom space at existing elementary schools are eligible for kindergarten classroom grants under this program for:
     (a) Facilities owned by public school districts or public charter schools;
     (b) Facilities built or modernized prior to 2003; and
     (c) Project costs for design, construction, purchase and installation of modular buildings, project management, capitalized equipment, and fixtures. Costs for purchase or lease of portables or other facilities not installed on permanent foundations are not eligible.
     (4) The criteria listed in this subsection must be used to rank grant requests. In applying these criteria, the advisory committee should seek to recommend funding for projects that provide necessary classroom space in districts furthest behind in implementing state-funded all-day kindergarten, with the highest enrollment percentages of students eligible for free and reduced-price school lunches, in districts least able to provide the necessary classroom space from local sources. The criteria are:
     (a) The extent that implementing state-funded all-day kindergarten is impeded by the lack of classroom space in the district as verified by site visits by the office of the superintendent of public instruction;
     (b) The kindergarten classroom space is needed in schools with the highest free and reduced-price school lunch enrollment percentages; and
     (c) Economic conditions within the district that limit the ability of the district to finance the necessary classroom space from local sources.
     (5) For the first round of grant applications to be considered for inclusion in the governor's capital budget request for the 2015-2017 biennium, an expedited grant application and review process must be conducted by the superintendent of public instruction and the advisory committee. The first rank-ordered list of proposed grants must be submitted to the office of financial management and the appropriate committees of the legislature by October 30, 2014. Following that first submission, the superintendent of public instruction must prepare a biennial grant application cycle for subsequent biennia.
     (6) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall write rules to ensure new space added with funding provided by this grant is included in the eligible inventory for the school construction assistance program. Grant funds provided under this section must not be counted as local match for the school construction assistance program. The all-day kindergarten program is not intended to replace the school construction assistance program for providing state assistance for the construction of new schools.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to 2013 2nd sp.s. c 19 (uncodified) to read as follows:
FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
     2013-2015 Specialized STEM Facility Grant Program (92000021)

     The appropriation in this section is subject to the following conditions and limitations:
     (1) $9,000,000 of the appropriation is for grants for the following list of STEM facility improvement projects:

     Franklin Pierce - Washington High School . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500,000
     University Place - Curtis High School . . . . . . . . . . . . $850,000
     Zillah School District - Expand Engineering Facility . . . . . . . . . . . . $450,000
     Enumclaw - Stem Computer Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . $200,000

     (2) $15,750,000 of the appropriation is for the top ranked projects under the process specified in section 2 of this act.

     (3) $250,000 of the appropriation is provided solely for the contract with the statewide STEM organization specified in section 2 of this act.

Appropriation:
     State Building Construction Account--State . . . . . . . . . . . . $25,000,000

     Prior Biennia (Expenditures) . . . . . . . . . . . . $0
     Future Biennia (Projected Costs) . . . . . . . . . . . . $200,000,000
          TOTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . $225,000,000

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to 2013 2nd sp.s. c 19 (uncodified) to read as follows:
FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
     2013-2015 State-Funded All-Day Kindergarten Grant Program (92000027)

     The appropriation in this section is subject to the following conditions and limitations:
     (1) $24,750,000 of the appropriation is provided solely for the top ranked projects under the process specified in section 2 of this act.
     (2) $250,000 of the appropriation is for administrative costs for implementing the grant program specified in section 3 of this act.

Appropriation:
     State Building Construction Account--State . . . . . . . . . . . . $25,000,000

     Prior Biennia (Expenditures) . . . . . . . . . . . . $0
     Future Biennia (Projected Costs) . . . . . . . . . . . . $200,000,000
          TOTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . $225,000,000

Sec. 6   2013 2nd sp.s. c 19 s 5020 (uncodified) is amended to read as follows:
FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
     2013-2015 School Construction Assistance Program - Maintenance (30000145)

     The appropriations in this section are subject to the following conditions and limitations:
     (1) $1,340,000 of the common school construction account--state appropriation is provided solely for study and survey grants and for completing inventory and building condition assessments for all public school districts once every six years.
     (2) $933,000 of the common school construction account--state appropriation is provided solely for mapping the design of new facilities and remapping the design of facilities to be remodeled, for school construction projects funded through the school construction assistance program.
     (3) The office of the superintendent of public instruction must improve web-based access by taxpayers to school capacity and actual enrollment in order to understand possible opportunities to increase efficiency through consolidation. The office of the superintendent of public instruction must post this capacity and enrollment information on its web site.
     (4) Funds from this appropriation may be used to match federal dollars provided by the office of economic adjustment for school replacement facilities located on military bases.
     (5) The office of the superintendent of public instruction must expedite allocation and distribution of any eligible funds under the school construction assistance grant program to the Evergreen (Clark County) School District to address the school construction emergency resulting from the fire that destroyed the Crestline School.
     (6) The space allocations for state funding assistance purposes for districts with senior or four-year high schools with fewer than four hundred students, as outlined in WAC 392-343-035, must be computed in accordance with the following formula: