FINAL BILL REPORT

ESSB 5874

C 197 L 19

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Funding rural satellite skill centers.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education (originally sponsored by Senators Warnick, Billig, Becker, Short, Fortunato, Rivers, Walsh, O'Ban, Bailey, Wilson, L., Holy, Wagoner and Wellman).

Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education

House Committee on Education

House Committee on Appropriations

Background: Skill centers are regional secondary schools serving high school students from multiple school districts. They provide instruction in preparatory career and technical education (CTE) programs that are either too expensive or too specialized for school districts to operate individually. Each skill center is operated by a host school district, and may serve as a core campus for satellite skill center programs in underserved rural areas. Under state rule, state apportionment funding based on monthly student enrollment is paid to satellite programs through the core campus host district.

Currently, there are 14 skill centers in Washington State: Cascadia Technical Academy, Vancouver; Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center, Moses Lake; New Market Skills Center, Tumwater; NEWTECH Skills Center, Spokane; Northwest Career and Technical Academy, La Conner; Pierce County Skills Center, Bethel; Puget Sound Skills Center, Burien; Seattle Public Schools Skills Center, Seattle; Sno-Isle Tech Skills Center, Everett; Tri-Tech Skills Center, Kennewick; WaNIC Skills Center, Kirkland; Wenatchee Valley Technical Skills Center, Wenatchee; West Sound Technical Skills Center, Bremerton; and Yakima Valley Technical Skills Center, Yakima.

Summary: A rural satellite skill center must report direct enrollment and receive direct funding if:

• the center is located at least 30 miles from a core campus or other satellite program and enrolls students from a minimum of two school districts;

• the center is solely responsible for hiring staff and covering all staffing costs;

• the center is solely responsible for providing facilities, equipment, materials, supplies, and training;

• the center has demonstrated the ability to build successful community and local business partnerships;

• the center has been operational and has secured agreements for at least one year with two or more rural school districts to accept and enroll students at the center, has completed the required feasibility study, and has secured commitments from local businesses or industries;

• the CTE Advisory Committee and local school district board of directors recommend and support the direct funding; and

• the center shares liability of all reviews for the purposes of auditing and the consolidated program review, including state and federal monitoring of CTE programs.

A core campus skill center may receive up to 7 percent of the rural satellite skill center funding for administrative purposes, and may charge an annual per-pupil facility fee related to the minor repair and maintenance capital account as negotiated in the interdistrict cooperative agreement.

Rural is defined as:

• a local education agency that serves only schools that have a National Center for Education Statistics school locale code of 41, 42, or 43;

• a local education agency that is located entirely within counties with a population density less than 100 persons per square mile; or

• a local education agency that is located entirely within counties smaller than 225 square miles.

Votes on Final Passage: