Z-0372

AN ACT Relating to student educational performance; amending RCW 28A.215.100, 28A.150.210, 28A.150.220, 28A.150.230, 28A.150.240, 28A.195.010, 28A.150.290, 28A.230.090, and 28A.150.260; adding a new section to chapter 28A.230 RCW; creating new sections; repealing RCW 28A.230.240, 28A.230.010, 28A.230.020, 28A.230.030, 28A.230.040, 28A.230.050, 28A.230.060, 28A.230.100, 28A.230.110, 28A.230.130, 28A.230.190, 28A.230.200, 28A.230.210, 28A.230.220, 28A.230.230, 28A.230.250, 28A.230.260, and 28A.165.070; and providing an effective date.

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

PART I

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Sec. 101. RCW 28A.215.100 and 1985 c 418 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

To help ensure that all kids will learn, it is the intent of the legislature to establish a preschool state education and assistance program. This special assistance program is a voluntary enrichment program to help prepare ((~~some~~)) low-income children to enter the common school system ((~~and shall be offered only as funds are available~~)). It is the intent of the legislature to appropriate sufficient funds to allow all income-eligible four-year-olds to participate in either the federal head start program or the state early childhood education and assistance program beginning with the 1992-93 school year. This program is not a part of the basic program of education which must be fully funded by the legislature under Article IX, section 1 of the state Constitution.

PART II

BASIC EDUCATION

Sec. 201. RCW 28A.150.210 and 1977 ex.s. c 359 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

It is the belief of the legislature that all kids can learn, not only rote facts or basic skills but to reason and use their minds well, and that the purpose of education is to develop flexible, self-directed, and interactive learners. It is the intent of the legislature to set high goals and expectations for what students should know and be able to do and to hold schools accountable for the results. The goal of the Basic Education Act for the schools of the state of Washington set forth in this ((~~1977 amendatory act~~)) chapter shall be to provide all students with the opportunity to ((~~achieve those skills which are generally recognized as requisite to learning. Those skills shall include the ability:~~

~~(1) To distinguish, interpret and make use of words, numbers and other symbols, including sound, colors, shapes and textures;~~

~~(2) To organize words and other symbols into acceptable verbal and nonverbal forms of expression, and numbers into their appropriate functions;~~

~~(3) To perform intellectual functions such as problem solving, decision making, goal setting, selecting, planning, predicting, experimenting, ordering and evaluating; and~~

~~(4) To use various muscles necessary for coordinating physical and mental functions~~)) learn and ensure they will:

(1) Demonstrate mastery of the basic skills of reading, writing, speaking, computing, and thinking critically by the completion of elementary school; and

(2) Demonstrate mastery of the essential core competencies of English, math, science/technology, history, geography, and critical thinking and analysis by the completion of secondary school.

(3) It is the intent of the legislature that students be provided additional learning opportunities in an additional language, the fine, visual, or performing arts, and in health and physical education, and that secondary school students be provided additional learning opportunities designed to prepare them to enter the work force and that integrate work force skills with related essential core competencies.

Sec. 202. RCW 28A.150.220 and 1990 c 33 s 105 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) For the purposes of this section and RCW ((~~28A.150.250 and~~)) 28A.150.230 through 28A.150.260:

(a) ((The term "total program hour offering" shall mean those hours when students are provided the opportunity to engage in educational activity planned by and under the direction of school district staff, as directed by the administration and board of directors of the district, inclusive of intermissions for class changes, recess and teacher/parent‑guardian conferences which are planned and scheduled by the district for the purpose of discussing students' educational needs or progress, and exclusive of time actually spent for meals.

(b) "Instruction in work skills" shall include instruction in one or more of the following areas: Industrial arts, home and family life education, business and office education, distributive education, agricultural education, health occupations education, vocational education, trade and industrial education, technical education and career education)) "Basic skills" means reading, writing, speaking, computing, and thinking critically.

(b) "Essential core competencies" means English, mathematics, science/technology, history, geography, and critical thinking and analysis. Essential core competency subject areas may be provided to students as single subject area courses or through interdisciplinary courses that integrate more than one subject area and are for all students whether their focus is vocational, technical, or academic in nature.

(c) "Standards of achievement" means the specific level of student performance established by the commission for the assessment of student learning.

(2) Satisfaction of the basic education goal identified in RCW 28A.150.210 shall be considered to be ((~~implemented~~)) met by ((~~the following program requirements:~~

(a) Each school district shall make available to students in kindergarten at least a total program offering of four hundred fifty hours. The program shall include reading, arithmetic, language skills and such other subjects and such activities as the school district shall determine to be appropriate for the education of the school district's students enrolled in such program;

(b) Each school district shall make available to students in grades one through three, at least a total program hour offering of two thousand seven hundred hours. A minimum of ninety‑five percent of the total program hour offerings shall be in the basic skills areas of reading/language arts (which may include foreign languages), mathematics, social studies, science, music, art, health and physical education. The remaining five percent of the total program hour offerings may include such subjects and activities as the school district shall determine to be appropriate for the education of the school district's students in such grades;

(c) Each school district shall make available to students in grades four through six at least a total program hour offering of two thousand nine hundred seventy hours. A minimum of ninety percent of the total program hour offerings shall be in the basic skills areas of reading/language arts (which may include foreign languages), mathematics, social studies, science, music, art, health and physical education. The remaining ten percent of the total program hour offerings may include such subjects and activities as the school district shall determine to be appropriate for the education of the school district's students in such grades;

(d) Each school district shall make available to students in grades seven through eight, at least a total program hour offering of one thousand nine hundred eighty hours. A minimum of eighty‑five percent of the total program hour offerings shall be in the basic skills areas of reading/language arts (which may include foreign languages), mathematics, social studies, science, music, art, health and physical education. A minimum of ten percent of the total program hour offerings shall be in the area of work skills. The remaining five percent of the total program hour offerings may include such subjects and activities as the school district shall determine to be appropriate for the education of the school district's students in such grades;

(e) Each school district shall make available to students in grades nine through twelve at least a total program hour offering of four thousand three hundred twenty hours. A minimum of sixty percent of the total program hour offerings shall be in the basic skills areas of language arts, foreign language, mathematics, social studies, science, music, art, health and physical education. A minimum of twenty percent of the total program hour offerings shall be in the area of work skills. The remaining twenty percent of the total program hour offerings may include traffic safety or such subjects and activities as the school district shall determine to be appropriate for the education of the school district's students in such grades, with not less than one‑half thereof in basic skills and/or work skills: PROVIDED, That each school district shall have the option of including grade nine within the program hour offering requirements of grades seven and eight so long as such requirements for grades seven through nine are increased to two thousand nine hundred seventy hours and such requirements for grades ten through twelve are decreased to three thousand two hundred forty hours.

(3) In order to provide flexibility to the local school districts in the setting of their curricula, and in order to maintain the intent of this legislation, which is to stress the instruction of basic skills and work skills, any local school district may establish minimum course mix percentages that deviate by up to five percentage points above or below those minimums required by subsection (2) of this section, so long as the total program hour requirement is still met))

(a) Providing a district-wide annual average of at least nine hundred instructional hours per school year in elementary and secondary schools, and a district-wide annual average of at least four hundred fifty instructional hours in kindergarten; and

(b) Evidence demonstrating that students have achieved mastery of the basic skills or the essential core competencies.

((~~(4)~~)) (3) Nothing ((~~contained~~)) in ((~~subsection (2) of~~)) this section shall be construed to require individual students to attend school for any particular number of hours per day or to take any particular courses. All students shall be encouraged to learn as much as they can, as fast as they can throughout their school careers, rather than be required to move through arbitrary and inflexible grade levels for the sake of organizational or administrative convenience. Class sizes and configurations shall be constructed to meet the individual needs of students as learners rather than the needs of schools to mass produce student learning opportunities.

((~~(5)~~)) (4) Each school district's kindergarten through ((~~twelfth grade~~)) secondary school basic educational program shall be accessible to all students who are five years of age, as provided by RCW 28A.225.160, and less than twenty‑one years of age ((~~and~~)). Each school district's elementary through secondary school shall consist of a minimum of one hundred eighty school days per school year in such ((~~grades~~)) elementary and secondary schools as are conducted by a school district, and one hundred eighty half‑days of ((~~instruction, or equivalent,~~)) school in kindergarten((: PROVIDED, That effective May 1, 1979, a school district may schedule the last five school days of the one hundred and eighty day school year for noninstructional purposes in the case of students who are graduating from high school, including, but not limited to, the observance of graduation and early release from school upon the request of a student, and all such students may be claimed as a full time equivalent student to the extent they could otherwise have been so claimed for the purposes of RCW 28A.150.250 and 28A.150.260)).

((~~(6)~~)) (5) The state board of education shall adopt rules to implement and ensure ((~~compliance with the program~~)) accountability for the achievement of the requirements imposed by this section, RCW 28A.150.250 and 28A.150.260, and such standards of achievement of basic skills and essential core competencies as established by the board of commissioners of the center for the assessment of student learning under section 209 of this 1991 act and such related supplemental program approval requirements as the state board may establish: PROVIDED, That each school district board of directors shall establish the basis and means for determining and monitoring the district's compliance with the ((~~basic skills and work skills percentage and course requirements of this section~~)) requirement for a district-wide average of at least nine hundred instructional hours per school year in elementary and secondary school, a district-wide annual average of at least four hundred fifty instructional hours in kindergarten, and the level of student achievement of basic skills and essential core competencies. The certification of the board of directors and the superintendent of a school district that the district ((~~is in compliance with~~)) has met such ((~~basic skills and work skills requirements~~)) instructional hours and student achievement of basic skills and essential core competencies may be accepted by the superintendent of public instruction and the state board of education.

((~~(7)~~)) (6) Upon petition of a school district, the state board of education may modify or waive the student achievement standards for basic skills or essential core competencies for selected students enrolled in handicapped education programs((~~, vocational‑technical institute programs,~~)) or participating in state institution and state residential school programs((, all of which programs are conducted for the common school age, kindergarten through secondary school program students encompassed by this section, shall be exempt from the basic skills and work skills percentage and course requirements of this section)) in order that the unique needs, abilities or limitations of such students may be met.

(((8) Any school district may petition the state board of education for a reduction in the total program hour offering requirements for one or more of the grade level groupings specified in this section. The state board of education shall grant all such petitions that are accompanied by an assurance that the minimum total program hour offering requirements in one or more other grade level groupings will be exceeded concurrently by no less than the number of hours of the reduction.))

Sec. 203. RCW 28A.150.230 and 1990 c 33 s 106 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) It is the intent and purpose of this section to guarantee that each common school district board of directors, whether or not acting through its respective administrative staff, be held accountable for the proper operation of their district to the local community and its electorate. In accordance with the provisions of Title 28A RCW, as now or hereafter amended, each common school district board of directors shall be vested with the final responsibility for the setting of policies ensuring quality in the content and extent of its educational program and that such program provide students with the opportunity to learn and ensure they will achieve ((~~those skills which are generally recognized as requisite to learning~~)) mastery of basic skills and essential core competencies. The school district board of directors shall set such policies that delegate to the professional certificated staff at each school sufficient program and budget authority and accountability to allow it to effectively accomplish the goal of the Basic Education Act.

(2) In conformance with the provisions of Title 28A RCW, as now or hereafter amended, it shall be the responsibility of each common school district board of directors, ((~~acting through its respective administrative staff,~~)) to set such policies that will:

(a) Establish school and student performance ((~~criteria~~)) goals and an evaluation process for its ((~~certificated personnel, including administrative staff, and for all programs constituting a part of such district's curriculum~~)) staff;

(b) Determine the final assignment of staff((~~, certificated or classified, according to board enumerated classroom and program needs~~));

(c) Determine the amount of instructional hours necessary for ((~~any~~)) all students to ((~~acquire a quality education in such district, in not less than an amount otherwise~~)) achieve mastery of basic skills and of essential core competencies as required in RCW 28A.150.220, or rules and regulations of the state board of education;

(d) Determine the allocation of staff time((~~, whether certificated or classified~~));

(e) Establish ((~~final~~)) curriculum ((~~standards~~)) guidelines consistent with law and rules and regulations of the state board of education, relevant to the particular needs of district students or the unusual characteristics of the district, and ensuring a quality education for each student in the district; and

(f) Establish a process to evaluate teaching materials, including text books, teaching aids such as video or visual aids, handouts, or other printed material, in public hearing upon complaint by parents, guardians or custodians of students who consider dissemination of such material to students objectionable or inappropriate.

(3) In keeping with the accountability purpose expressed in this section and to ((~~insure~~)) ensure that the local community and electorate have access to information on the educational programs in the school districts, each school district's board of directors shall set policies to require each school to annually publish for the public a descriptive guide ((~~to the district's common schools. This guide shall be made available at each school in the district for examination by the public. The guide shall include, but not be limited to, the following:~~

~~(a) Criteria used for written evaluations of staff members pursuant to RCW 28A.405.100;~~

~~(b) A summary of program objectives pursuant to RCW 28A.320.210;~~

~~(c) Results of comparable testing for all schools within the district; and~~

~~(d) Budget information which will include the following:~~

~~(i) Student enrollment;~~

(ii) Number of full time equivalent personnel per school in the district itemized according to classroom teachers, instructional support, and building administration and support services, including itemization of such personnel by program;

(iii) Number of full time equivalent personnel assigned in the district to central administrative offices, itemized according to instructional support, building and central administration, and support services, including itemization of such personnel by program;

(iv) Total number of full time equivalent personnel itemized by classroom teachers, instructional support, building and central administration, and support services, including itemization of such personnel by program; and

~~(v) Special levy budget request presented by program and expenditure for purposes over and above those requirements identified in RCW 28A.150.220~~)) of its budget, programs, and its students' and schools' performance.

Sec. 204. RCW 28A.150.240 and 1979 ex.s. c 250 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) It is the intended purpose of this section to guarantee that the professional certificated ((~~teaching~~)) instructional and administrative staff in each common school in each school district be held accountable for the proper and efficient conduct of classroom teaching in their school which will provide all students with the opportunity to learn and ensure they will achieve ((~~those skills which are generally recognized as requisite to learning~~)) mastery of basic skills or the essential core competencies.

(2) In conformance with the other provisions of Title 28A RCW, it shall be the professional responsibility of the certificated ((~~teaching~~)) instructional and administrative staff in each common school to:

(a) Implement the district's prescribed curriculum and enforce, within their area of responsibility, the rules and regulations of the school district, the state superintendent of public instruction, and the state board of education, taking into due consideration individual and cultural differences among students, and maintain and render appropriate records and reports pertaining thereto.

(b) Maintain good order and discipline in their classrooms at all times.

(d) Require excuses from the parents, guardians, or custodians of minor students in all cases of absence, late arrival to school, or early dismissal.

(e) Give careful attention to the maintenance of a healthful atmosphere in the classroom.

(f) Give careful attention to the safety of the student in the classroom and report any doubtful or unsafe conditions to the building administrator.

(g) Evaluate each student's educational growth ((~~and development~~)) in the basic skills and essential core competencies and make periodic reports thereon to parents, guardians, or custodians and to school administrators.

Failure to carry out such professional requirements as set forth in subsection (2) (a) through (g) ((~~above~~)) of this section shall constitute sufficient cause for discharge of any member of such ((~~teaching~~)) certificated instructional or administrative staff.

Sec. 205. RCW 28A.195.010 and 1990 c 33 s 176 are each amended to read as follows:

The legislature hereby recognizes that private schools should be subject only to those minimum state controls necessary to ((~~insure~~)) ensure the health and safety of all the students in the state and to ((~~insure a sufficient basic education to meet usual graduation requirements~~)) ensure students have achieved mastery of basic skills and of the essential core competencies. The state, any agency or official thereof, shall not restrict or dictate any specific educational or other programs for private schools except as hereinafter in this section provided.

Principals of private schools or superintendents of private school districts shall file each year with the state superintendent of public instruction a statement certifying that the minimum requirements hereinafter set forth are being met, noting any deviations. After review of the statement, the state superintendent will notify schools or school districts of those deviations which must be corrected. In case of major deviations, the school or school district may request and the state board of education may grant provisional status for one year in order that the school or school district may take action to meet the requirements. Minimum requirements shall be as follows:

(1) The minimum school year for instructional purposes shall consist of no less than one hundred eighty school days ((~~or the equivalent in annual minimum program hour offerings as prescribed in RCW 28A.150.220~~)) with a district-wide or school-wide average of at least nine hundred instructional hours per year for elementary through secondary school and an average of at least four hundred fifty instructional hours per year for kindergarten.

(2) The school day shall be the same as that required in RCW 28A.150.030 and 28A.150.220((, except that the percentages of total program hour offerings as prescribed in RCW 28A.150.220 for basic skills, work skills, and optional subjects and activities shall not apply to private schools or private sectarian schools)).

(3) All classroom teachers shall hold appropriate Washington state certification except as follows:

(a) Teachers for religious courses or courses for which no counterpart exists in public schools shall not be required to obtain a state certificate to teach those courses.

(b) In exceptional cases, people of unusual competence but without certification may teach students so long as a certified person exercises general supervision. Annual written statements shall be submitted to the office of the superintendent of public instruction reporting and explaining such circumstances.

(4) An approved private school may operate an extension program for parents, guardians, or persons having legal custody of a child to teach children in their custody. The extension program shall require at a minimum that:

(a) The parent, guardian, or custodian be under the supervision of an employee of the approved private school who is certified under chapter 28A.410 RCW;

(b) The planning by the certified person and the parent, guardian, or person having legal custody include objectives consistent with this subsection and subsections (1), (2), (5), (6), and (7) of this section;

(c) The certified person spend a minimum average each month of one contact hour per week with each student under his or her supervision who is enrolled in the approved private school extension program;

(d) Each student's progress be evaluated by the certified person; and

(e) The certified employee shall not supervise more than thirty students enrolled in the approved private school's extension program.

(5) Appropriate measures shall be taken to safeguard all permanent records against loss or damage.

(6) The physical facilities of the school or district shall be adequate to meet the program offered by the school or district: PROVIDED, That each school building shall meet reasonable health and fire safety requirements. A residential dwelling of the parent, guardian, or custodian shall be deemed to be an adequate physical facility when a parent, guardian, or person having legal custody is instructing his or her child under subsection (4) of this section.

(7) Private school curriculum shall include instruction ((of the basic skills of occupational education, science, mathematics, language, social studies, history, health, reading, writing, spelling, and the development of appreciation of art and music, all in sufficient units for meeting state board of education graduation requirements)) sufficient for students to demonstrate mastery of basic skills and core competencies as defined in RCW 28A.150.220.

(8) Each school or school district shall be required to maintain up‑to‑date policy statements related to the administration and operation of the school or school district.

All decisions of policy, philosophy, selection of books, teaching material, curriculum, except as in subsection (7) ((~~above provided~~)) of this section, school rules and administration, or other matters not specifically referred to in this section, shall be the responsibility of the administration and administrators of the particular private school involved.

Sec. 206. RCW 28A.150.290 and 1990 c 33 s 111 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The superintendent of public instruction shall have the power and duty to make such rules and regulations as are necessary for the proper administration of this chapter and RCW 28A.160.150 through 28A.160.220, 28A.300.170, and 28A.500.010 not inconsistent with the provisions thereof, and in addition to require such reports as may be necessary to carry out his or her duties under this chapter and RCW 28A.160.150 through 28A.160.220, 28A.300.170, and 28A.500.010.

(2) The superintendent of public instruction shall have the authority to make rules and regulations which establish the terms and conditions for allowing school districts to receive state basic education moneys as provided in RCW 28A.150.250 when said districts are unable to fulfill for one or more schools as officially scheduled the requirement of a full school year of one hundred eighty days ((~~or the total program hour offering, teacher contact hour, or course mix and percentage~~)) with a district-wide average of at least nine hundred instructional hours per year in elementary through secondary school and at least four hundred fifty instructional hours per year in kindergarten or the requirements imposed by RCW 28A.150.220 and 28A.150.260 due to one or more of the following conditions:

(a) An unforeseen natural event, including, but not necessarily limited to, a fire, flood, explosion, storm, earthquake, epidemic, or volcanic eruption that has the direct or indirect effect of rendering one or more school district facilities unsafe, unhealthy, inaccessible, or inoperable; and

(b) An unforeseen mechanical failure or an unforeseen action or inaction by one or more persons, including negligence and threats, that (i) is beyond the control of both a school district board of directors and its employees and (ii) has the direct or indirect effect of rendering one or more school district facilities unsafe, unhealthy, inaccessible, or inoperable. Such actions, inactions or mechanical failures may include, but are not necessarily limited to, arson, vandalism, riots, insurrections, bomb threats, bombings, delays in the scheduled completion of construction projects, and the discontinuance or disruption of utilities such as heating, lighting and water: PROVIDED, That an unforeseen action or inaction shall not include any labor dispute between a school district board of directors and any employee of the school district.

A condition is foreseeable for the purposes of this subsection to the extent a reasonably prudent person would have anticipated prior to August first of the preceding school year that the condition probably would occur during the ensuing school year because of the occurrence of an event or a circumstance which existed during such preceding school year or a prior school year. A board of directors of a school district is deemed for the purposes of this subsection to have knowledge of events and circumstances which are a matter of common knowledge within the school district and of those events and circumstances which can be discovered upon prudent inquiry or inspection.

(3) The superintendent of public instruction shall make every effort to reduce the amount of paperwork required in administration of this chapter and RCW 28A.160.150 through 28A.160.220, 28A.300.170, and 28A.500.010; to simplify the application, monitoring and evaluation processes used; to eliminate all duplicative requests for information from local school districts; and to make every effort to integrate and standardize information requests for other state education acts and federal aid to education acts administered by the superintendent of public instruction so as to reduce paperwork requirements and duplicative information requests.

Sec. 207. RCW 28A.230.090 and 1990 1st ex.s. c 9 s 301 are each amended to read as follows:

(((1) The state board of education shall establish high school graduation requirements or equivalencies for students who commence the ninth grade subsequent to July 1, 1985, that meet or exceed the following:

~~SUBJECT CREDITS~~

~~English 3~~

~~Mathematics 2~~

~~Social Studies~~

~~United States history~~

~~and government 1~~

~~Washington state~~

~~history and government 1/2~~

~~Contemporary world~~

~~history, geography,~~

~~and problems 1~~

~~Science (1 credit~~

~~must be in~~

~~laboratory science) 2~~

~~Occupational Education 1~~

~~Physical Education 2~~

~~Electives 5 1/2~~

~~Total 18~~

~~(2) For the purposes of this section one credit is equivalent to one year of study.~~

(3) The Washington state history and government requirement may be fulfilled by students in grades seven or eight or both. Students who have completed the Washington state history and government requirement in grades seven or eight or both shall be considered to have fulfilled the Washington state history and government requirement.

(4) A candidate for graduation must have in addition earned a minimum of 18 credits including all required courses. These credits shall consist of the state requirements listed above and such additional requirements and electives as shall be established by each district.

(5) In recognition of the statutory authority of the state board of education to establish and enforce minimum high school graduation requirements, the state board shall periodically reevaluate the graduation requirements and shall report such findings to the legislature in a timely manner as determined by the state board.

~~(6)~~)) Pursuant to any foreign language requirement established by the state board of education or a local school district, or both, for purposes of ((~~high~~)) secondary school graduation, students who receive instruction in sign language shall be considered to have satisfied the state or local school district foreign language graduation requirement.

(((7) If requested by the student and his or her family, a student who has completed high school courses while in seventh and eighth grade shall be given high school credit which shall be applied to fulfilling high school graduation requirements if:

(a) The course was taken with high school students and the student has successfully passed by completing the same course requirements and examinations as the high school students enrolled in the class; or

(b) The course would qualify for high school credit, because the course is similar or equivalent to a course offered at a high school in the district as determined by the school district board of directors.

(8) Students who have taken and successfully completed high school courses under the circumstances in subsection (7) of this section shall not be required to take an additional competency examination or perform any other additional assignment to receive credit. Subsection (7) of this section shall also apply to students enrolled in high school on April 11, 1990, who took the courses while they were in seventh and eighth grade.))

Sec. 208. RCW 28A.150.260 and 1990 c 33 s 108 are each amended to read as follows:

The basic education allocation for each annual average full time equivalent student shall be determined in accordance with the following procedures:

(1) The governor shall and the superintendent of public instruction may recommend to the legislature a formula based on a ratio of students to staff for the distribution of a basic education allocation for each annual average full time equivalent student enrolled in a common school. The distribution formula shall have the primary objective of equalizing educational opportunities and shall provide appropriate recognition of the following costs among the various districts within the state:

(a) Certificated instructional staff and their related costs;

(b) Certificated administrative staff and their related costs;

(d) Nonsalary costs;

(e) Extraordinary costs of remote and necessary schools and small high schools, including costs of additional certificated and classified staff; and

(f) The attendance of students pursuant to RCW 28A.335.160 and 28A.225.250 who do not reside within the servicing school district.

(2)(a) This formula for distribution of basic education funds shall be reviewed biennially by the superintendent and governor. The recommended formula shall be subject to approval, amendment or rejection by the legislature. The formula shall be for allocation purposes only. While the legislature intends that the allocations for additional instructional staff be used to increase the ratio of such staff to students, nothing in this section shall require districts to reduce the number of administrative staff below existing levels.

(b) ((The formula adopted by the legislature for the 1987‑88 school year shall reflect the following ratios at a minimum: (i) Forty‑eight certificated instructional staff to one thousand annual average full time equivalent students enrolled in grades kindergarten through three; (ii) forty‑six certificated instructional staff to one thousand annual average full time equivalent students enrolled in grades four through twelve; (iii) four certificated administrative staff to one thousand annual average full time equivalent students enrolled in grades kindergarten through twelve; and (iv) sixteen and sixty‑seven one‑hundredths classified personnel to one thousand annual average full time equivalent students enrolled in grades kindergarten through twelve.

~~(c) Commencing with the 1988‑89 school year,~~)) The formula adopted by the legislature shall reflect the following ratios at a minimum: (i) Forty‑nine certificated instructional staff to one thousand annual average full time equivalent students enrolled in grades kindergarten through three; (ii) forty‑six certificated instructional staff to one thousand annual average full time equivalent students in grades four through twelve; (iii) four certificated administrative staff to one thousand annual average full time equivalent students in grades kindergarten through twelve; and (iv) sixteen and sixty‑seven one‑hundredths classified personnel to one thousand annual average full time equivalent students enrolled in grades kindergarten through twelve.

((~~(d)~~)) (c) In the event the legislature rejects the distribution formula recommended by the governor, without adopting a new distribution formula, the distribution formula for the previous school year shall remain in effect: PROVIDED, That the distribution formula developed pursuant to this section shall be for state apportionment and equalization purposes only and shall not be construed as mandating specific operational functions of local school districts other than those program requirements identified in RCW 28A.150.220 and 28A.150.100. The enrollment of any district shall be the annual average number of full time equivalent students and part time students as provided in RCW 28A.150.350, enrolled on the first school day of each month and shall exclude full time equivalent handicapped students recognized for the purposes of allocation of state funds for programs under RCW 28A.155.010 through 28A.155.100. The definition of full time equivalent student shall be determined by rules and regulations of the superintendent of public instruction: PROVIDED, That the definition shall be included as part of the superintendent's biennial budget request: PROVIDED, FURTHER, That any revision of the present definition shall not take effect until approved by the house appropriations committee and the senate ways and means committee: PROVIDED, FURTHER, That the office of financial management shall make a monthly review of the superintendent's reported full time equivalent students in the common schools in conjunction with RCW 43.62.050.

(3)(a) Certificated instructional staff shall include those persons employed by a school district who are nonsupervisory employees within the meaning of RCW 41.59.020(8): PROVIDED, That in exceptional cases, people of unusual competence but without certification may teach students so long as a certificated person exercises general supervision: PROVIDED, FURTHER, That the hiring of such noncertificated people shall not occur during a labor dispute and such noncertificated people shall not be hired to replace certificated employees during a labor dispute.

(b) Certificated administrative staff shall include all those persons who are chief executive officers, chief administrative officers, confidential employees, supervisors, principals, or assistant principals within the meaning of RCW 41.59.020(4).

(((4) Each annual average full time equivalent certificated classroom teacher's direct classroom contact hours shall average at least twenty‑five hours per week. Direct classroom contact hours shall be exclusive of time required to be spent for preparation, conferences, or any other nonclassroom instruction duties. Up to two hundred minutes per week may be deducted from the twenty‑five contact hour requirement, at the discretion of the school district board of directors, to accommodate authorized teacher/parent‑guardian conferences, recess, passing time between classes, and informal instructional activity. Implementing rules to be adopted by the state board of education pursuant to RCW 28A.150.220(6) shall provide that compliance with the direct contact hour requirement shall be based upon teachers' normally assigned weekly instructional schedules, as assigned by the district administration. Additional record‑ keeping by classroom teachers as a means of accounting for contact hours shall not be required. However, upon request from the board of directors of any school district, the provisions relating to direct classroom contact hours for individual teachers in that district may be waived by the state board of education if the waiver is necessary to implement a locally approved plan for educational excellence and the waiver is limited to those individual teachers approved in the local plan for educational excellence. The state board of education shall develop criteria to evaluate the need for the waiver. Granting of the waiver shall depend upon verification that: (a) The students' classroom instructional time will not be reduced; and (b) the teacher's expertise is critical to the success of the local plan for excellence.))

NEW SECTION. Sec. 209. A new section is added to chapter 28A.230 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The commission for the assessment of student learning is established. The commission shall be located in the Washington state institute for public policy at The Evergreen State College. The commission shall establish the performance standards of achievement expected of all students in the basic skills by the end of elementary school and of all students in the essential core competencies for secondary school graduation, and to establish a state examination system to assess student mastery of the performance standards.

(2) The governor shall appoint seven persons to the commission and shall appoint a chair from the commissioners. In addition, the commission shall include the superintendent of public instruction, the president of the state board of education, the chair of the higher education coordinating board, the chair of the state board for community college education, and the chair of the state board for vocational education and/or its successor agency as ex officio members.

(3) The commission shall adopt specific student performance standards of achievement for what a student should know and be able to do in the basic skills and in the essential core competencies.

(4) The commission shall adopt a state-wide performance-based assessment system using a variety of methodologies such as projects, portfolios, and examinations to measure student achievement in the basic skills and in the essential core competencies. The assessment system shall include a secondary school competency examination, which should include a year-long interdisciplinary project, that leads to the awarding of a certificate of initial mastery.

(5) The commission shall employ a director and such other staff as may be necessary and may enter into contracts and supplemental contracts with master teachers, higher education faculty, and state or national educational research institutes or organizations such as the Washington education renewal institute and the national alliance for restructuring education to assist in the development of the assessment system. The commission shall seek advice broadly from the public and all interested educational organizations in the conduct of its work.

(6) Student performance standards of achievement adopted by the commission shall be in effect in the 1992-93 school year for the basic skills, and in the 1993-94 school year for the essential core competencies.

(7) A state-wide assessment system shall be in effect in the 1993-94 school year for the basic skills and in the 1994-95 school year for the essential core competencies. Financing for the assessment system shall be recommended by the commission to the governor, the superintendent of public instruction, and the legislature for inclusion in the 1993-95 biennial budget.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 210. RCW 28A.230.240 and 1990 c 101 s 3 are each repealed.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 211. The following acts or parts of acts as now existing or hereafter amended are each repealed, effective June 30, 1993:

(1) RCW 28A.230.010 and 1990 c 33 s 237 & 1984 c 278 s 2;

(2) RCW 28A.230.020 and 1988 c 206 s 403, 1987 c 232 s 1, 1986 c 149 s 4, 1969 c 71 s 3, & 1969 ex.s. c 223 s 28A.05.010;

(3) RCW 28A.230.030 and 1969 c 71 s 4;

(4) RCW 28A.230.040 and 1984 c 52 s 1 & 1969 ex.s. c 223 s 28A.05.030;

(5) RCW 28A.230.050 and 1985 c 384 s 3, 1984 c 52 s 2, & 1969 ex.s. c 223 s 28A.05.040;

(6) RCW 28A.230.060 and 1969 ex.s. c 57 s 2 & 1969 ex.s. c 223 s 28A.05.050;

(7) RCW 28A.230.100 and 1990 c 33 s 239 & 1985 c 384 s 1;

(8) RCW 28A.230.110 and 1990 c 33 s 240 & 1985 c 384 s 4;

(9) RCW 28A.230.130 and 1988 c 172 s 2 & 1984 c 278 s 16;

(10) RCW 28A.230.190 and 1990 c 101 s 6, 1985 c 403 s 1, 1984 c 278 s 8, & 1975‑'76 2nd ex.s. c 98 s 1;

(11) RCW 28A.230.200 and 1984 c 278 s 10;

(12) RCW 28A.230.210 and 1984 c 278 s 11;

(13) RCW 28A.230.220 and 1990 c 101 s 1;

(14) RCW 28A.230.230 and 1990 c 101 s 2;

(15) RCW 28A.230.250 and 1990 c 101 s 4;

(16) RCW 28A.230.260 and 1990 c 101 s 5; and

(17) RCW 28A.165.070 and 1990 c 33 s 150 & 1987 c 478 s 7.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 212. The superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with the legislative budget committee and the office of financial management, shall evaluate distribution formulas for allocating learning assistance program funds to school districts and report and make recommendations on such formulas to the legislature December 15, 1991.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 213. School districts ready to begin restructuring their schools to increase substantially student performance are not required to wait until all the changes in the basic education act take effect on June 30, 1993. During the intervening period, under RCW 28A.630.180, the state board of education or the superintendent of public instruction may waive laws and rules for any school district involved in such restructuring process upon request.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 214. Section 207 of this act shall take effect June 30, 1993.