1690-S

AN ACT Relating to mandates on school districts; amending RCW 28A.150.220, 28A.150.220, 28A.150.290, 28A.150.290, 28B.10.025, 43.17.205, 43.17.210, 43.19.455, 74.09.5243, 43.09.260, and 70.24.290; creating a new section; repealing RCW 28A.335.210 and 28A.225.320; and providing a contingent effective date.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 28A.150.220 and 1993 c 371 s 1 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 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 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 languages other than English, including American Indian 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 languages other than English, including American Indian 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 languages other than English, including American Indian 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, languages other than English, which may be American Indian languages, 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.

(4) 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.

(5) 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) The state board of education shall adopt rules to implement ((~~and ensure compliance with~~)) the program requirements imposed by this section((,)) and 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)) program requirements in this section and in RCW 28A.150.250 and 28A.150.260.

(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. 2. RCW 28A.150.220 and 1993 c 371 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

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

(a) Each school district shall make available to students enrolled in kindergarten at least a total instructional offering of four hundred fifty hours. The program shall include instruction in the essential academic learning requirements under RCW 28A.630.885 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 twelve, at least a district-wide annual average total instructional hour offering of one thousand hours. 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 include the essential academic learning requirements under RCW 28A.630.885 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;

(c) If the essential academic learning requirements include a requirement of languages other than English, the requirement may be met by students receiving instruction in one or more American Indian languages.

(2) Nothing contained in subsection (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.

(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.

(4) The state board of education shall adopt rules to implement ((~~and ensure compliance with~~)) the program requirements imposed by this section((,)) and RCW 28A.150.250 and 28A.150.260((~~, and such related supplemental program approval requirements as the state board may establish~~)).

Sec. 3. 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.160.210, 28A.300.035, 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.160.210, 28A.300.035, 28A.300.170, and 28A.500.010. However, the superintendent shall not request that school districts annually report information on the sources of revenue for specific state categorical programs in school districts.

(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 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.160.210, 28A.300.035, 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. 4. RCW 28A.150.290 and 1992 c 141 s 504 are each amended to read as follows:

(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 instructional hour offering imposed by RCW 28A.150.220 and 28A.150.260 due to one or more of the following conditions:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall report to the legislature before December 1, 1995, on specific actions it has taken in calendar year 1995 to meet paperwork reduction and other requirements in RCW 28A.150.290(3).

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. RCW 28A.335.210 and 1983 c 204 s 7, 1982 c 191 s 2, & 1974 ex.s. c 176 s 5 are each repealed.

Sec. 7. RCW 28B.10.025 and 1990 c 33 s 557 are each amended to read as follows:

The Washington state arts commission shall, in consultation with the boards of regents of the University of Washington and Washington State University and with the boards of trustees of the regional universities, The Evergreen State College, and the community college districts, determine the amount to be made available for the purchases of art under RCW 28B.10.027, and payment therefor shall be made in accordance with law. The designation of projects and sites, the selection, contracting, purchase, commissioning, reviewing of design, execution and placement, acceptance, maintenance, and sale, exchange, or disposition of works of art shall be the responsibility of the Washington state arts commission in consultation with the board of regents or trustees. However, the costs to carry out the Washington state arts commission's responsibility for maintenance shall not be funded from the moneys referred to under this section, RCW 43.17.200, or 43.19.455, ((~~or 28A.335.210,~~)) but shall be contingent upon adequate appropriations being made for that purpose.

Sec. 8. RCW 43.17.205 and 1990 c 33 s 574 are each amended to read as follows:

The funds allocated under RCW 43.17.200((~~, 28A.335.210,~~)) and 28B.10.025 shall be subject to interagency reimbursement for expenditure by the visual arts program of the Washington state arts commission when the particular law providing for the appropriation becomes effective. For appropriations which are dependent upon the sale of bonds, the amount or proportionate amount of the moneys under RCW 43.17.200((~~, 28A.335.210,~~)) and 28B.10.025 shall be subject to interagency reimbursement for expenditure by the visual arts program of the Washington state arts commission thirty days after the sale of a bond or bonds.

Sec. 9. RCW 43.17.210 and 1990 c 33 s 575 are each amended to read as follows:

The Washington state arts commission shall determine the amount to be made available for the purchase of art in consultation with the agency, except where another person or agency is specified under RCW 43.19.455((~~, 28A.335.210,~~)) or 28B.10.025, and payments therefor shall be made in accordance with law. The designation of projects and sites, selection, contracting, purchase, commissioning, reviewing of design, execution and placement, acceptance, maintenance, and sale, exchange, or disposition of works of art shall be the responsibility of the Washington state arts commission in consultation with the directors of the state agencies. However, the costs to carry out the Washington state arts commission's responsibility for maintenance shall not be funded from the moneys referred to in RCW 43.17.200, 43.19.455, ((~~28A.335.210,~~)) or 28B.10.025, but shall be contingent upon adequate appropriations being made for that purpose.

Sec. 10. RCW 43.19.455 and 1990 c 33 s 576 are each amended to read as follows:

Except as provided under RCW 43.17.210, the Washington state arts commission shall determine the amount to be made available for the purchase of art under RCW 43.17.200 in consultation with the director of general administration, and payments therefor shall be made in accordance with law. The designation of projects and sites, selection, contracting, purchase, commissioning, reviewing of design, execution and placement, acceptance, maintenance, and sale, exchange, or disposition of works of art shall be the responsibility of the Washington state arts commission in consultation with the director of general administration. However, the costs to carry out the Washington state arts commission's responsibility for maintenance shall not be funded from the moneys referred to under this section, RCW 43.17.200, ((~~28A.335.210,~~)) or 28B.10.025, but shall be contingent upon adequate appropriations being made for that purpose.

Sec. 11. RCW 74.09.5243 and 1994 c 180 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the following definitions apply throughout RCW 74.09.5241 through 74.09.5253 and 74.09.5254 through 74.09.5256.

(1) "District" means a first class school district as defined in RCW 28A.315.230, educational service district, or educational cooperatives offering special education services under chapter 28A.155 RCW.

(2) "Medical assistance" and "medicaid" means federal and state-funded programs under which medical services are provided under Title XIX of the federal social security act.

(3) "Medical services" means district services that qualify for medicaid funding.

Sec. 12. RCW 43.09.260 and 1991 sp.s. c 30 s 26 are each amended to read as follows:

The state auditor, the chief examiner, and every state examiner shall have power by himself or herself or by any person legally appointed to perform the service, to examine into all financial affairs of every public office and officer.

The examination of the financial affairs of all taxing districts shall be made at such reasonable, periodic intervals as the state auditor shall determine. However, an examination of the financial affairs of all taxing districts shall be made at least once in every three years, and an examination of individual local government health and welfare benefit plans and local government self-insurance programs shall be made at least once every two years. Examinations of school districts shall be made every three years, unless a more frequent audit is required as a condition of a grant received, or a contract entered into, by a school district, or the state auditor has evidence that a more frequent audit of an individual school district is needed. The term "taxing districts" for purposes of RCW 43.09.190 through 43.09.285 includes but is not limited to all counties, cities, and other political subdivisions, municipal corporations, and quasi-municipal corporations, however denominated.

The state auditor shall establish a schedule to govern the auditing of taxing districts which shall include: A designation of the various classifications of taxing districts; a designation of the frequency for auditing each type of taxing district; and a description of events which cause a more frequent audit to be conducted.

On every such examination, inquiry shall be made as to the financial condition and resources of the taxing district; whether the Constitution and laws of the state, the ordinances and orders of the taxing district, and the requirements of the division of municipal corporations have been properly complied with; and into the methods and accuracy of the accounts and reports.

The state auditor, his or her deputies, every state examiner and every person legally appointed to perform such service, may issue subpoenas and compulsory process and direct the service thereof by any constable or sheriff, compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books and papers before him or her at any designated time and place, and may administer oaths.

When any person summoned to appear and give testimony neglects or refuses so to do, or neglects or refuses to answer any question that may be put to him or her touching any matter under examination, or to produce any books or papers required, the person making such examination shall apply to a superior court judge of the proper county to issue a subpoena for the appearance of such person before him or her; and the judge shall order the issuance of a subpoena for the appearance of such person forthwith before him to give testimony; and if any person so summoned fails to appear, or appearing, refuses to testify, or to produce any books or papers required, he or she shall be subject to like proceedings and penalties for contempt as witnesses in the superior court. Willful false swearing in any such examination shall be perjury and punishable as such.

A report of such examination shall be made in triplicate, one copy to be filed in the office of the state auditor, one in the auditing department of the taxing district reported upon, and one in the office of the attorney general. If any such report discloses malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance in office on the part of any public officer or employee, within thirty days from the receipt of his copy of the report, the attorney general shall institute, in the proper county, such legal action as is proper in the premises by civil process and prosecute the same to final determination to carry into effect the findings of the examination.

It shall be unlawful for the county commissioners or any board or officer to make a settlement or compromise of any claim arising out of such malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance, or any action commenced therefor, or for any court to enter upon any compromise or settlement of such action, without the written approval and consent of the attorney general and the state auditor.

Sec. 13. RCW 70.24.290 and 1988 c 206 s 606 are each amended to read as follows:

The superintendent of public instruction shall ((~~adopt rules that require appropriate education and training, to be included as part of their present continuing education requirements,~~)) make available to school districts information and training material developed for public school employees on the prevention, transmission, and treatment of AIDS. Neither the superintendent nor the department of health may require that school employees receive training in AIDS. The superintendent of public instruction shall work with the office on AIDS under RCW 70.24.250 to develop the educational and training material necessary for school employees.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. RCW 28A.225.320 and 1990 1st ex.s. c 9 s 210 are each repealed.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. Sections 2 and 4 of this act shall take effect September 1, 2000. However, sections 2 and 4 of this act shall not take effect if, by September 1, 2000, a law is enacted stating that a school accountability and academic assessment system is not in place.