HOUSE BILL ANALYSIS

                  HB 1231

Title:  An act relating to providing additional educational opportunities for students.

Brief Description:  Providing educational opportunities for students.

Sponsors:  Representatives Sump, Johnson, Talcott, Hickel, Benson, McMorris, Honeyford, Buck, Mielke, Backlund and Thompson.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Meeting Date:  January 31, 1997.

Bill Analysis Prepared by:  Joe Hauth (786-7111).

Background:  School districts must provide instructional programs to a wide variety of children with very different learning needs.  School districts may have difficulty in providing services to this wide range of students, for instance, students who are academically at-risk or who have had discipline problems.  Alternative educational services are available, including alternative learning programs within school districts, education centers for drop-outs, vocational skill centers, and other public and private educational programs outside of a school district. 

Summary of Bill:  A school board may contract with nonsectarian schools and organizations to provide educational services for district students, including, but not limited to, students who have been suspended or expelled, who are academically at risk, or who have been subject to disciplinary actions due to behavioral problems.

The contract between the school district and the nonsectarian school or organization  must specify the specific learning standards that students are expected to achieve.

The school district must receive the same level of funding from the state as if the student were enrolled in the school district's educational program.  In establishing funding criteria, the Superintendent of Public Instruction must provide maximum flexibility to school districts for supporting the students who are enrolled in these programs.

Fiscal Note:  Requested on January 21, 1997.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.