Subject of Possible Rule Making: The state board of education (SBOE) has proposed amendments to chapter 180-16 WAC to make changes as necessary to align rule to current policy or practice, correct references to law, implement recently passed legislation, improve readability of the rule, and make other changes identified during the review of the WAC chapter. SBOE is responding to emergent COVID-19 issues in the education system with this rule making on instructional hours, the school day, and basic education compliance reporting. The purpose of this rule making on [in] chapter 180-16 WAC is to enable local education agencies to deliver instructional hours and school days during state and local public health response that could limit the ability to hold in-person instruction during the 2020-21 school year. The subject of rule making is to allow modalities other than in-person delivery of instruction to count as instructional hours for the 2019-20 school year.

Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: RCW 28A.150.220(7) states that SBOE shall adopt rules to implement and ensure compliance with program requirements of basic education. To ensure that basic education can be delivered during the emergency state and local public health response to COVID-19, SBOE is engaging in rule making so districts can count modalities of delivering instruction other than in-person delivery as instructional hours for the 2020-21 school year.

Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication by contacting Parker Teed, 600 Washington Street S.E., Olympia, WA 98504, phone 360-725-6047, fax 360-753-6712, email parker.teed@k12.wa.us, website www.sbe.wa.gov.