BP BHEAD INT S

AN ACT Relating to community involvement in education; adding new sections to chapter 28A.240 RCW; creating new sections; repealing RCW 28A.240.010, 28A.240.020, and 28A.240.030; and making appropriations.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that in order to achieve the goal of reforming the public schools, each citizen of the state must accept the commitment of developing our most important resource, our children. The legislature further finds that part of building this commitment includes having persons enrolled in school and persons working in the field of education form partnerships with other persons in the community. To build a learning community, and develop this commitment, the legislature intends:

(1) To encourage the creation of school site-based councils, where parents, staff, community members, and age-appropriate students will join to make decisions for our schools;

(2) To give school districts and schools broad discretion in establishing their site-based councils;

(3) To enable parents, staff, community members, and age-appropriate students to have the time to participate in school and community governance; and

(4) To encourage the creation of community schools, by coordinating a wide array of services at the local community level.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) To be eligible for grants under section 3 of this act, a school district board of directors shall adopt a policy authorizing school site-based councils.

(2) The policy adopted by a school district board of directors shall include but is not limited to:

(a) Procedures for forming a school site-based council and official recognition of the council by the district;

(b) Membership of the school site-based council including parents, staff, community members, and age-appropriate students. Existing organizations may be used to form the school site-based council;

(c) Designation of activities with which school site-based councils may become involved, including management, budget, personnel, and program decisions affecting instruction at the school level;

(d) Delegation of authority to school site-based councils to adopt their own bylaws and charters; and

(e) Provisions for educating members of school site-based councils to help all members to become knowledgeable about school funding, educational programs, and options for change.

(3) Each school district board of directors that adopts a policy authorizing school site-based councils shall provide, by resolution, plans for attendance policies that are consistent with the requirements of any desegregation plan in order to promote stability for schools with school site-based councils.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) Schools with school site-based councils may receive funds to provide resources for restructuring their educational programs. The superintendent of public instruction shall allocate funds, as may be appropriated for this purpose, to school districts to distribute to the schools with school site-based councils.

(2) School districts shall submit reports about the plans and use of funds to the superintendent of public instruction. The superintendent of public instruction may transmit information to other schools and school districts through the state clearinghouse for educational information and assistance.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Each school site-based council shall adopt a plan for student community service.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) Subject to available funds, the superintendent of public instruction, upon request from a school or school district, shall provide or contract to provide the following:

(a) Technical assistance to assist schools in implementing school site-based councils under section 3 of this act; and

(b) Technical assistance in the development of community involvement in education, including strategies for pooling federal, state, and local resources and resources for programs and facilities, and resources from within and outside government;

(2) The superintendent of public instruction shall provide for the sharing of information between schools adopting school site-based councils and schools and districts not adopting school site-based councils.

(3) To the extent possible, the superintendent shall ensure that agency staff work collaboratively with parents, staff, community members, and age-appropriate students, local schools and districts, federal, state, and local government, business and labor, and community agencies to promote local educational awareness and restructuring. The state clearinghouse for educational information and assistance should be used as a focus within the agency to provide training and information to agency staff teams for the purposes of this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The legislature finds that the demands of the workplace and of local school governance need to be balanced to promote community participation in schools. Changes in workplace leave policies are desirable to accommodate changes in local school governance and to allow businesses to contribute to local schools in an effective manner. The legislature declares it to be in the public interest to provide reasonable employee leave to promote participation in school site-based councils.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout sections 8 and 9 of this act.

(1) "Employee" has the definition in RCW 49.78.020(3).

(2) "Employer" means any person, firm, corporation, partnership, business trust, legal representative, or other business entity that engages in any business, industry, profession, or activity in this state and includes any unit of state or local government including, but not limited to, a county, city, town, municipal corporation, quasi-municipal corporation, or political subdivision.

(3) "Local school governance leave" means paid leave from employment, as provided in section 8 of this act, to participate as an elected or appointed officer in local school governance organizations, including but not limited to, school site-based councils as established in section 3 of this act, school boards of directors, and parent-teacher organizations.

(4) "Reduced leave schedule" means leave scheduled for fewer than an employee's usual number of hours or days per work week.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. (1) An employee is entitled to thirty-two hours of paid local school governance leave during any twenty-four month period. This leave shall be in addition to any vacation or sick leave to which the employee might otherwise be entitled.

(2) Local school governance leave may be taken on a reduced leave schedule subject to the approval of the employer.

(3) The leave required in this section is in addition to family leave provided under RCW 49.78.030.

(4) An employer may require verification of participation in local school governance activities.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. (1) An employee planning to take local school governance leave under section 8 of this act shall provide the employer with written notice at least thirty days in advance of the anticipated date or dates of local school governance activities, stating the dates during which the employee intends to take local school governance leave.

(2) If the employee fails to give the notice required by this section, the employer may deny that request for local school governance leave.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:

(1) RCW 28A.240.010 and 1990 c 33 s 248 & 1985 c 422 s 2;

(2) RCW 28A.240.020 and 1985 c 422 s 1; and

(3) RCW 28A.240.030 and 1990 c 33 s 249 & 1985 c 422 s 3.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. Sections 2 through 5 and 7 through 9 of this act are each added to chapter 28A.240 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. The sum of forty-nine thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1995, from the general fund to the superintendent of public instruction for the purposes of section 3 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. The sum of forty-nine thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1995, from the general fund to the superintendent of public instruction for the purposes of section 5 of this act.