H-3929.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 2551
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 52nd Legislature 1992 Regular Session
By Representatives H. Sommers, Peery, Brough and Valle
Read first time 01/20/92. Referred to Committee on Education.
AN ACT Relating to special educational services demonstration projects; amending RCW 28A.630.820 and 28A.630.840; and providing an expiration date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 28A.630.820 and 1991 c 265 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
It is
the intent of the legislature to (1) encourage school districts, individually
and cooperatively, to develop innovative special services demonstration
projects that use resources efficiently and increase student learning; (2)
promote noncategorical approaches to special services program design, funding,
and administration; (3) develop efficient and cost-effective means for
identifying students as specific learning disabled, in order to increase the
proportion of resources devoted to classroom instruction; ((and)) (4) discourage
unnecessary labeling of students while still providing state funding for needed
services; and (5) provide a means to grant waivers from state rules.
Sec. 2. RCW 28A.630.840 and 1991 c 265 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Project funding may include state, federal, and local funds, as specified by the district in its approved project cost proposal. The superintendent of public instruction shall include all project funding for a participating district in a project contract and disburse the funds as contract payments.
(2) As a general guideline, subject to refinements in the district cost proposal and approval by the superintendent of public instruction, the portion of state handicapped funding included as project funding shall be determined as follows:
(a) If the district serves specific learning disabled students in the project, the portion of the handicapped allocation attributed to specific learning disabled students shall be included, with proportional adjustments if the project serves only part of the district's specific learning disabled population;
(b) If other handicapped students are served in the project, the portions of the handicapped allocation attributed to those students shall be included, with proportional adjustments if the project serves only part of the district's population in those categories of handicapped students.
(3) State handicapped allocations shall be calculated for project districts according to the handicapped funding formula in use for other districts, but with the following changes:
(a)
Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, funding ((in each school year))
for specific learning disabled ((and other handicapped)), health
impaired, mildly mentally retarded, and developmentally delayed students
served in a project shall be based for the duration of the project on
the average percentage of the kindergarten through twelfth grade enrollment in
the particular handicapped category during the ((prior three years)) 1990-91
school year.
(b) Project funding for school districts that had pilot projects approved under section 13, chapter 233, Laws of 1989, shall be based for the duration of a project under RCW 28A.630.820 through 28A.630.840 on four percent of the kindergarten through twelfth grade enrollment considered as specific learning disabled, without regard to the actual number of students so identified. The legislature recognizes the importance of continuing and developing the pilot projects.
(c) The funding percentages for demonstration projects specified in (a) and (b) of this subsection shall be used to adjust basic education allocations under RCW 28A.150.260 and learning assistance program allocations under RCW 28A.165.070.
(d) State handicapped allocations under subsection (2) of this section up to the level required by federal maintenance of effort rules shall be expended for services to handicapped students in the project. Allocations greater than the amount needed to comply with federal maintenance of effort rules shall be designated as noncategorical project funds and may be expended on services to any student served in the project.
(4) Federal handicapped allocations may be designated in whole or in part for project use, if the amounts are included in the district's approved cost proposal and the project contract.
(5) Learning assistance program allocations may be designated in whole or in part for project use, if the amounts are included in the district's approved cost proposal and the project contract. These allocations shall be calculated for project districts according to the funding formula in use for other districts, except that any increases in the district allocation above the fiscal year 1991 amount shall be designated as noncategorical project funds and may be expended on services to any student served in the project.
(6) Transitional bilingual program allocations may be designated in whole or in part for project use, if the amounts are included in the district's approved cost proposal and the project contract. These allocations shall be calculated for project districts according to the funding formula in use for other districts, except that any increases in the district allocation above the fiscal year 1991 amount shall be designated as noncategorical project funds and may be expended on services to any student served in the project.
(7) Funding under the federal remediation program allocations may be designated in whole or in part for project use, if the amounts are included in the district's approved cost proposal and the project contract.
(8) Funding from local sources may be designated for project use, if the amounts are included in the district's approved cost proposal and the project contract.
(9) Expenditures of noncategorical project funds under subsections (3)(d), (5), and (6) of this section shall be accounted for in new and discrete program or subprogram codes designated by the superintendent of public instruction. The codes shall take effect by September 1, 1991.