AN ACT
Relating to education; amending RCW 28A.410.040, 28A.410.050, 28A.405.220,
28A.305.140, 28A.150.260, 28A.230.090, 28A.150.210, 28A.150.220, 28A.150.290,
28A.195.010, and 28A.150.260; adding new sections to chapter 28A.320 RCW;
adding a new section to chapter 28A.630 RCW; adding a new section to chapter
28A.230 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.150 RCW; creating new
sections; repealing RCW 28A.320.200 and 28A.230.110; providing effective dates;
and providing an expiration date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE
OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 1. The
legislature finds that the educational needs of students when they leave the
public school system has increased dramatically in the past two decades. If
young people are to prosper in our democracy and if our nation is to grow
economically, it is imperative that the overall level of learning achieved by
students be significantly increased.
To
achieve this higher level of learning, the legislature finds that the state of
Washington needs to develop a performance-based school system. Instead of
maintaining burdensome state accountability laws and rules that dictate
educational offerings, the state needs to hold schools accountable for their
performance based on what their students learn.
The
legislature further finds moving toward a performance-based accountability
system will require repealing state laws and rules that inhibit the freedom of
school boards and professional educators to carry out their work, and also will
require that significantly more decisions be made at the school district and
school building levels. In addition, it will be necessary to set high
expectations for students, to identify what is expected of all students, and to
develop a rigorous academic assessment system to determine if these
expectations have been achieved.
The
legislature further finds that the governor's council on education reform and
funding will, by December 1992, identify broad student learning goals. Subject
to decisions made by the 1993 legislature, the legislature finds that it is
critical that an organization be established to continue the council's work in
identifying necessary student skills and knowledge, to develop student
assessment and school accountability systems, and to take other steps necessary
to develop a performance-based education system.
The
legislature further finds that there is a need for high quality professional
development as the state implements a performance-based system. Professional development
must be available to schools and school districts to maintain quality control
and to assure access to proven research on effective teaching.
"PART
I
ENHANCING
THE TEACHING PROFESSION"
Sec.
101. RCW
28A.410.040 and 1990 c 33 s 406 are each amended to read as follows:
(((1)))
The state board of education shall adopt rules providing that, except as
provided in this section, all individuals qualifying for an initial-level
teaching certificate after August 31, 1992, shall possess a baccalaureate
degree in the arts, sciences, and/or humanities and have fulfilled the
requirements for teacher certification pursuant to RCW 28A.305.130 (1) and
(2). ((The state board of education shall develop and adopt rules
establishing baccalaureate degree equivalency standards for certification of
vocational instructors performing instructional duties and acquiring initial
level certification after August 31, 1992.)) However, candidates for
grades preschool through eight certificates shall have fulfilled the
requirements for a major as part of their baccalaureate degree. If the major
is in early childhood education, elementary education, or special education,
the candidate must have at least thirty quarter hours or twenty semester hours
in one academic field.
(((2)
The state board of education shall study the impact of eliminating the major in
education under subsection (1) of this section and submit a report to the
legislature by January 15, 1990. The report shall include a recommendation on
whether the major in education under subsection (1) of this section should be
eliminated.
(3)
The initial certificate shall be valid for two years.
(4)
Certificate holders may renew the certificate for a three-year period by providing
proof of acceptance and enrollment in an approved masters degree program. A
second renewal, for a period of two years, may be granted upon recommendation
of the degree-granting institution and if the certificate holder can
demonstrate substantial progress toward the completion of the masters degree
and that the degree will be completed within the two-year extension period.
Under no circumstances may an initial certificate be valid for a period of more
than seven years.))
Sec.
102. RCW
28A.410.050 and 1989 c 29 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
(((1)
The state board of education shall implement rules providing that all teachers
performing instructional duties and acquiring professional level certificate
status after August 31, 1992, shall possess, as a requirement of professional
status, a masters degree in teaching, or a masters degree in the arts,
sciences, and/or humanities.
(2))) The
state board of education shall develop and adopt rules establishing baccalaureate
and masters degree equivalency standards for vocational instructors
performing instructional duties and acquiring ((professional level))
certification after August 31, 1992.
Sec.
103. RCW
28A.405.220 and 1990 c 33 s 391 are each amended to read as follows:
Notwithstanding
the provisions of RCW 28A.405.210, every person employed by a school district
in a teaching or other nonsupervisory certificated position shall be subject to
nonrenewal of employment contract as provided in this section during the first two
years of employment by such district, unless the employee has
previously completed at least two years of certificated employment in another
school district in the state of Washington, in which case the employee shall be
subject to nonrenewal of employment contract pursuant to this section during
the first year of employment with the new district. Employees as defined
in this section shall hereinafter be referred to as "provisional
employees".
In the
event the superintendent of the school district determines that the employment
contract of any provisional employee should not be renewed by the district for
the next ensuing term such provisional employee shall be notified thereof in
writing on or before May 15th preceding the commencement of such school term,
which notification shall state the reason or reasons for such determination.
Such notice shall be served upon the provisional employee personally, or by
certified or registered mail, or by leaving a copy of the notice at the place
of his or her usual abode with some person of suitable age and discretion then
resident therein. The determination of the superintendent shall be subject to
the evaluation requirements of RCW 28A.405.100.
Every
such provisional employee so notified, at his or her request made in writing
and filed with the superintendent of the district within ten days after
receiving such notice, shall be given the opportunity to meet informally with
the superintendent for the purpose of requesting the superintendent to
reconsider his or her decision. Such meeting shall be held no later than ten
days following the receipt of such request, and the provisional employee shall
be given written notice of the date, time and place of meeting at least three
days prior thereto. At such meeting the provisional employee shall be given
the opportunity to refute any facts upon which the superintendent's
determination was based and to make any argument in support of his or her
request for reconsideration.
Within
ten days following the meeting with the provisional employee, the
superintendent shall either reinstate the provisional employee or shall submit
to the school district board of directors for consideration at its next regular
meeting a written report recommending that the employment contract of the
provisional employee be nonrenewed and stating the reason or reasons therefor.
A copy of such report shall be delivered to the provisional employee at least
three days prior to the scheduled meeting of the board of directors. In taking
action upon the recommendation of the superintendent, the board of directors
shall consider any written communication which the provisional employee may
file with the secretary of the board at any time prior to that meeting.
The
board of directors shall notify the provisional employee in writing of its
final decision within ten days following the meeting at which the
superintendent's recommendation was considered. The decision of the board of
directors to nonrenew the contract of a provisional employee shall be final and
not subject to appeal.
This
section applies to any person employed by a school district in a teaching or
other nonsupervisory certificated position after June 25, 1976. This section
provides the exclusive means for nonrenewing the employment contract of a
provisional employee and no other provision of law shall be applicable thereto,
including, without limitation, RCW 28A.405.210 and chapter 28A.645 RCW.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 104. The
state board of education, in conjunction with the governor's council on
education reform and funding, shall study the current requirements for the
certification of teachers and administrators, and shall prepare a report to the
legislature that includes options for improving the current certification
system. The report, at a minimum, shall analyze postinitial certification
requirements, including the continuing education, endorsement, and the
fifth-year requirements, and shall analyze the merits of requiring teachers and
administrators to develop personal education plans after they have obtained
their initial certificates. The report shall be submitted to the appropriate
committees of the house of representatives and senate by December 1, 1992.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 105. Section
103 of this act shall take effect July 1, 1992.
"PART
II
COMMISSION
ON STUDENT LEARNING"
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 201. A new
section is added to chapter 28A.630 RCW to read as follows:
Unless
the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply
throughout sections 201 and 202 of this act.
(1)
"Academic assessment system" or "assessment system" means a
series of academic examinations and performance-based assessments developed by
the commission on student learning to determine if students have mastered the
essential academic learning requirements.
(2)
"Essential academic learning requirements" means the academic and
technical knowledge and skills identified by the commission on student
learning, as reviewed and amended by the legislature and state board of
education, that students are expected to know and be able to do at specified
intervals in their schooling. The essential academic learning requirements, at
a minimum, shall include knowledge and skills in reading, writing, speaking,
science, history, geography, mathematics, and critical thinking.The text noted in bold italic indicates a partial veto to this section
by the Governor.
*
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 202. A new
section is added to chapter 28A.630 RCW to read as follows:
(1)
The governor's council on education reform and funding shall submit its
proposed student learning goals to the appropriate committees of the
legislature by December 1, 1992. If both houses of the legislature do not
adopt a joint memorial or legislation ratifying, or ratifying with amendment,
the student learning goals by July 1, 1993, section 202 and sections 501
through 507 of this act shall be null and void.
(2)
The Washington commission on student learning is hereby established. The
primary purposes of the commission are to identify what all students need to
know and be able to do based on the student learning goals of the governor's
council on education reform and funding, to develop student assessment and
school accountability systems, and to take other steps necessary to develop a
performance-based education system. The commission shall include three members
of the state board of education, three members appointed by the governor before
July 1, 1992, and three members appointed no later than February 1, 1993, by
the governor elected in the November 1992 election. In making the
appointments, educators, business leaders, and parents shall be represented,
and nominations from state-wide education, business, and parent organizations
shall be requested. Efforts shall be made to ensure that the commission
reflects the cultural diversity of the state's K-12 student population and that
the major geographic regions in the state are represented. Appointees shall be
qualified individuals who are supportive of educational restructuring, who have
a positive record of service, and who will devote sufficient time to the
responsibilities of the commission to ensure that the objectives of the
commission are achieved.
(3)
The commission shall begin its substantive work subject to subsection (1) of
this section.
(4)
The commission shall establish technical advisory committees. Membership of
the technical advisory committees shall include, but not necessarily be limited
to, professionals from the office of the superintendent of public instruction
and the state board of education, and other state and local educational
practitioners and student assessment specialists.
(5)
The commission, with the assistance of the technical advisory committees,
shall:
(a)
Identify what all elementary and secondary students need to know and be able to
do. At a minimum, these essential academic learning requirements shall include
reading, writing, speaking, science, history, geography, mathematics, and
critical thinking. In developing these essential academic learning
requirements, the commission shall incorporate the student learning goals
identified by the council on education reform and funding;
(b) By
December 1, 1995, present to the state board of education and superintendent of
public instruction a state-wide academic assessment system for use in the
elementary grades designed to determine if each student has mastered the
essential academic learning requirements identified in (a) of this subsection.
The academic assessment system shall include a variety of methodologies,
including performance-based measures. The assessment system shall be designed
so that the results under the assessment system are used by educators as tools
to evaluate instructional practices, and to initiate appropriate educational
support for students who do not master the essential academic learning
requirements. Mastery of each component of the essential academic learning
requirements shall be required before students progress in subsequent
components of the essential academic learning requirements. The state board of
education and superintendent of public instruction shall implement the
elementary academic assessment system beginning in the 1996-97 school year,
unless the legislature takes action to delay or prevent implementation of the
assessment system and essential academic learning requirements. The state
board of education and superintendent of public instruction may modify the
academic assessment system, as needed, in subsequent school years;
(c) By
December 1, 1996, present to the state board of education and superintendent of
public instruction a state-wide academic assessment system for use in the
secondary grades designed to determine if each student has mastered the
essential academic learning requirements identified for secondary students in
(a) of this subsection. The academic assessment system shall use a variety of
methodologies, including performance-based measures, to determine if students
have mastered the essential academic learning requirements, and shall lead to a
certificate of mastery. The certificate of mastery shall be required for
graduation. The assessment system shall be designed so that the results are
used by educators to evaluate instructional practices, and to initiate
appropriate educational support for students who do not master the essential
academic learning requirements. The commission shall recommend to the state
board of education whether the certificate of mastery should take the place of
the graduation requirements or be required for graduation in addition to
graduation requirements. The state board of education and superintendent of
public instruction shall implement the secondary academic assessment system
beginning in the 1997-98 school year, unless the legislature takes action to
delay or prevent implementation of the assessment system and essential academic
learning requirements. The state board of education and superintendent of
public instruction may modify the assessment system, as needed, in subsequent
school years;
(d)
Consider methods to address the unique needs of special education students when
developing the assessments in (b) and (c) of this subsection;
(e)
Develop strategies that will assist educators in helping students master the
essential academic learning requirements;
(f)
Establish a center the primary role of which is to plan, implement, and
evaluate a high quality professional development process. The quality schools
center shall: Have an advisory council composed of educators, parents, and
community and business leaders; use best practices research regarding
instruction, management, curriculum development, and assessment; coordinate its
activities with the office of the superintendent of public instruction and the
state board of education; employ and contract with individuals who have a
commitment to quality reform; prepare a six-year plan to be updated every two
years; and be able to accept resources and funding from private and public
sources;
(g)
Develop recommendations for the repeal or amendment of federal, state, and
local laws, rules, budgetary language, regulations, and other factors that
inhibit schools from adopting strategies designed to help students achieve the
essential academic learning requirements;
(h)
Develop recommendations on the time, support, and resources, including
technical assistance, needed by schools and school districts to help students
achieve the essential academic learning requirements. These recommendations
shall include an estimate for the legislature, superintendent of public
instruction, and governor on the expected cost of implementing the elementary
and secondary academic assessment systems during the 1995-97 biennium and
beyond;
(i)
Develop recommendations for consideration by the higher education coordinating
board for adopting college and university entrance requirements that would
assist schools in adopting strategies designed to help students achieve the
essential academic learning requirements;
(j) By
December 1, 1996, recommend to the legislature, state board of education, and
superintendent of public instruction a state-wide accountability system to
evaluate accurately and fairly the level of learning occurring in individual
schools and school districts. The commission also shall recommend to the
legislature steps that should be taken to assist school districts and schools
in which learning is significantly below expected levels of performance as
measured by the academic assessment systems established under this section;
(k)
Report annually by December 1st to the legislature and the state board of
education on the progress, findings, and recommendations of the commission; and
(l)
Complete other tasks, as appropriate.
(6)
The commission shall coordinate its activities with the state board of
education and the office of the superintendent of public instruction.
(7)
The commission shall seek advice broadly from the public and all interested
educational organizations in the conduct of its work, including holding
periodic regional public hearings.
(8)
The commission shall select an entity to provide staff support and the office
of financial management shall contract with that entity. The commission may
direct the office of financial management to enter into subcontracts with
school districts, teachers, higher education faculty, state agencies, business
organizations, and other individuals and organizations to assist the commission
in its deliberations.
(9)
Members of the commission shall be reimbursed for travel expenses as provided
in RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.
*Sec.
202 was partially vetoed, see message at end of chapter.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 203. Section
202 of this act shall expire September 1, 1998.
"PART
III
SCHOOL
BOARD POWERS"
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 301. A new
section is added to chapter 28A.320 RCW to read as follows:
(1)
The board of directors of each school district may exercise the following:
(a)
The broad discretionary power to determine and adopt written policies not in
conflict with other law that provide for the development and implementation of
programs, activities, services, or practices that the board determines will:
(i)
Promote the education of kindergarten through twelfth grade students in the
public schools; or
(ii)
Promote the effective, efficient, or safe management and operation of the
school district;
(b)
Such powers as are expressly authorized by law; and
(c)
Such powers as are necessarily or fairly implied in the powers expressly
authorized by law.
(2)
Before adopting a policy under subsection (1)(a) of this section, the school
district board of directors shall comply with the notice requirements of the
open public meetings act, chapter 42.30 RCW, and shall in addition include in
that notice a statement that sets forth or reasonably describes the proposed
policy. The board of directors shall provide a reasonable opportunity for
public written and oral comment and consideration of the comment by the board of
directors.
Sec.
302. RCW
28A.305.140 and 1990 c 33 s 267 are each amended
to read as
follows:
((The
state board of education may grant waivers to school districts from the
provisions of)) (1) The self-study process requirements under RCW
28A.320.200, the teacher classroom contact requirements under RCW
28A.150.260(4), and the program hour offerings requirements under RCW
28A.150.200 through 28A.150.220 ((on the basis that such waiver or waivers
are necessary to implement successfully a local plan to provide for all
students in the district an effective education system that is designed to
enhance the educational program for each student. The local plan may include
alternative ways to provide effective educational programs for students who
experience difficulty with the regular education program.
The
state board shall adopt criteria to evaluate the need for the waiver or waivers)) shall
be waived for school districts or individual schools within a district if the
school district submits to the state board of education a plan for
restructuring its educational program, or the educational program of individual
schools within the district that includes:
(a)
Specific standards for increased student learning that the district expects to
achieve;
(b)
How the district plans to achieve the higher standards, including timelines for
implementation;
(c)
How the district plans to determine if the higher standards are met;
(d)
Evidence that the board of directors, teachers, administrators, and classified
employees are committed to working cooperatively in implementing the plan;
(e)
Evidence that opportunities were provided for parents and citizens to be
involved in the development of the plan; and
(f)
Identification of the state requirements that will be waived.
(2)
Waivers granted by the state board of education under this section shall be
renewed every three years upon the state board of education receiving a renewal
request from the school district board of directors. Before filing the
request, the school district shall conduct at least one public meeting to
evaluate the educational programs that were implemented as a result of the
waivers. The request to the state board of education shall include information
regarding the activities and programs implemented as a result of the waivers,
whether the higher standards for students are being achieved, and a summary of
the comments received at the public meeting or meetings.
(3)
If a school district intends to waive the program hour offerings under RCW
28A.150.220, it shall make available to students enrolled in kindergarten at
least a total instructional offering of four hundred fifty hours. Each school
district also shall make available to students enrolled in grades one through
twelve at least a district-wide annual average total instructional hour
offering of one thousand hours. A school district may schedule the last thirty
instructional hours of any 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 full-time equivalent
students to the extent they could otherwise have been so claimed for the
purposes of RCW 28A.150.250 and 28A.150.260. The state board of education may
define alternatives to classroom instructional time for students in grades nine
through twelve enrolled in alternative learning experiences. The state board
of education shall establish rules to determine annual average instructional
hours for districts having fewer than twelve grades. The program shall include
instruction in the essential academic learning requirements under section 202
of this act and other subjects and activities the school district determines to
be appropriate.
(4)
"Instructional hours" means those hours 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 that 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.
Sec.
303. RCW
28A.150.260 and 1991 c 116 s 10 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;
(c)
Classified 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) ((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.
(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))) (4) 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.)) Waivers from contact hours may be requested under RCW
28A.305.140.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 304. RCW
28A.320.210 and 1990 c 33 s 334, 1988 c 256 s 1, 1987 c 505 s 9, 1986 c 137 s
1, 1984 c 278 s 3, 1977 ex.s. c 305 s 1, & 1975-'76 2nd ex.s. c 90 s 1 are
each repealed.
"PART IV
STUDENT ASSESSMENT AND LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES"
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 401. A new
section is added to chapter 28A.230 RCW to read as follows:
(1) If
students' scores on the test or assessments under RCW 28A.230.190, 28A.230.230,
and 28A.230.240 indicate that students need help in identified areas, the
school district shall adjust the curriculum in the identified areas.
(2)
Each school district shall notify the parents of each student of their child's
performance on the test and assessments conducted under this chapter.
Sec.
402. 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)))
(2) 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)))
(3) Pursuant to any foreign language requirement established by the
state board of education or a local school district, or both, for purposes of
high 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)))
(4) If requested by the student and his or her family, a student who has
completed high school courses ((while in seventh and eighth grade)) before
attending high school 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, if the academic level of the
course exceeds the requirements for seventh and eighth grade classes, 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
academic level of the course exceeds the requirements for seventh and eighth
grade classes and 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)))
(5) Students who have taken and successfully completed high school
courses under the circumstances in subsection (((7))) (4) of this
section shall not be required to take an additional competency examination or
perform any other additional assignment to receive credit. Subsection (((7)))
(4) 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)) before attending high school.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 403. RCW
28A.230.110 and 1990 c 33 s 240 & 1985 c 384 s 4 are each repealed.
"PART V
BASIC
EDUCATION AMENDMENTS--EFFECTIVE 1998"
Sec.
501. RCW
28A.150.210 and 1977 ex.s. c 359 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
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
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)) master
the essential academic learning requirements necessary for their roles as
citizens and potential participants in the economic marketplace and in the
marketplace of ideas identified by the commission established in section 202 of
this act.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 502. A new
section is added to chapter 28A.150 RCW to read as follows:
Unless
the context clearly requires otherwise, the definition in this section applies
throughout RCW 28A.150.200 through 28A.150.295.
"Instructional
hours" means those hours 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 that 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.
Sec.
503. 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.150.260:
(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.
(2)))
Satisfaction of the basic education ((goal)) program requirements
identified in RCW 28A.150.210 shall be considered to be implemented by the
following program ((requirements)):
(a)
Each school district shall make available to students enrolled in
kindergarten at least a total ((program)) instructional offering
of four hundred fifty hours. The program shall include ((reading,
arithmetic, language skills)) instruction in the essential academic
learning requirements under section 202 of this act 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 enrolled in grades
one through ((three)) twelve, at least a district-wide annual
average total ((program)) instructional hour offering of ((two
thousand seven hundred)) one thousand hours. ((A minimum of
ninety‑five percent of the total program hour offerings)) The
state board of education may define alternatives to classroom instructional
time for students in grades nine through twelve enrolled in alternative
learning experiences. The state board of education shall establish rules to
determine annual average instructional hours for districts including fewer than
twelve grades. The program 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)) include
the essential academic learning requirements under section 202 of this act 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 group.
(((4)))
(2) Nothing contained in subsection (((2))) (1) 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.
(((5)))
(3) Each school district's kindergarten through twelfth grade 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 shall consist of a minimum of one hundred eighty school days per school
year in such grades as are conducted by a school district, and one hundred
eighty half‑days of instruction, or equivalent, 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)))
(4) The state board of education shall adopt rules to implement and
ensure compliance with the program requirements imposed by this section, RCW
28A.150.250 and 28A.150.260, 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. The certification of the
board of directors and the superintendent of a school district that the
district is in compliance with such basic skills and work skills requirements
may be accepted by the superintendent of public instruction and the state board
of education.
(7)
Handicapped education programs, vocational‑technical institute programs,
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.
504. 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 annual average total ((program)) instructional
hour offering((, teacher contact hour, or course mix and percentage
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.
505. 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)) ensure
a sufficient basic education to meet usual graduation requirements. 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))
instructional hour offerings as prescribed in RCW 28A.150.220.
(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)))
(3) 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))) (4), (5), and (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)))
(4) Appropriate measures shall be taken to safeguard all permanent
records against loss or damage.
(((6)))
(5) 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))) (3)
of this section.
(((7)))
(6) Private school curriculum shall include, but not be limited to,
instruction ((of)) in 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)) so that students are able to master
the essential academic learning requirements under section 202 of this act and
meet state board of education graduation requirements.
(((8)))
(7) 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 provided in subsection (((7) above provided))
(6) 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.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 506. RCW
28A.320.200 and 1990 c 33 s 333, 1989 c 83 s 1, 1988 c 256 s 2, & 1985 c
349 s 2 are each repealed.
Sec.
507. RCW
28A.150.260 and 1992 c ... s 303 (section 303 of this act) 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;
(c)
Classified 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 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.
(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(4) 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. Waivers from contact hours may be requested under RCW 28A.305.140.))
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 508. Section
302 of this act shall expire September 1, 1998. However, this section shall
not take effect if, by September 1, 1998, a law is enacted stating that a
school accountability and academic assessment system is not in place.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 509. Sections
501 through 507 of this act shall take effect September 1, 1998. However,
these sections shall not take effect if, by September 1, 1998, a law is enacted
stating that a school accountability and academic assessment system is not in
place.
"PART
VI
MISCELLANEOUS"
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 601. Part
headings as used in this act constitute no part of the law.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 602. If any
provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held
invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other
persons or circumstances is not affected.
