H-5002.1  _______________________________________________

                    SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2378

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      55th Legislature     1998 Regular Session

By House Committee on Education (originally sponsored by Representatives Dunn, Carlson and D. Sommers)

Read first time 02/06/98.  Referred to Committee on .

Requiring school districts to pay an average per-student charge for state-supported precollege classes taken by recent high school graduates.

    AN ACT Relating to school district accountability for the academic preparation of recent high school graduates; amending RCW 28B.10.685 and 28B.15.910; adding a new section to chapter 28B.15 RCW; and adding a new chapter to Title 28D RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter, unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

    (1) "State-supported" means an activity that is supported in whole or in part by money from the state general fund or student operating fees.

    (2) "Precollege class or laboratory" means high school level classes or instruction intended to prepare postsecondary students for college level work.  The classes or laboratories may offer high school level instruction in mathematics, grammar, reading, spelling, writing, and English.  For the purposes of this chapter and section 3 of this act and RCW 28B.10.685, classes in English as a second language shall not be considered to be precollege classes.

    (3) "Baccalaureate institutions" means the state universities, regional universities, and state college under RCW 28B.10.016.

    (4) "Institution of higher education" means each of the baccalaureate institutions, the community colleges, and the technical colleges.

    (5) "Recent high school graduate" means a person who graduated from a Washington high school sometime during the three years immediately before the student enrolled in a state-supported precollege class or laboratory at an institution of higher education.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  (1) Beginning with the fall 1998 academic term, each institution of higher education shall assess a charge to each Washington school district that granted a diploma to a recent high school graduate enrolled in a state-supported precollege class or laboratory offered at the institution of higher education.  The governing boards of the baccalaureate institutions and the state board for community and technical colleges, in consultation with the office of the superintendent of public instruction, shall adopt rules to implement this subsection.  The rules shall include parameters for billing and reporting requirements.

    (2) No later than twenty days after receipt of the information contained in subsection (1) of this section, each school district shall transmit to the institution of higher education an amount per student credit hour that equals the amount per credit hour established for students in the program under RCW 28A.600.310, plus seven percent.  The school district shall use money from local levies to pay the charges.  If the district does not have any funds available from local levies, the district shall find other nonstate sources to pay the charges.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  A new section is added to chapter 28B.15 RCW to read as follows:

    Beginning with the fall 1998 academic term:

    (1) The governing boards of each of the colleges and universities shall waive tuition fees for recent high school graduates for high school level precollege courses; and

    (2) Enrollment information on such students in such courses shall be maintained separately from other enrollment information and shall not be included in official enrollment reports.  These students shall not be included in any enrollment statistics that would affect budgetary determinations.

    Sec. 4.  RCW 28B.10.685 and 1995 c 310 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Beginning in 1997, by September 30th of each year, each state university, regional university, state college, and, for community colleges and technical colleges, the state board for community and technical colleges shall provide a report to the office of the superintendent of public instruction, the state board of education, and the commission on student learning under RCW 28A.630.885.  The report shall contain the following information on students who, within three years of graduating from a Washington high school, enrolled the prior year in a state-supported precollege level class at the institution:  (((1))) (a) The number of such students enrolled in a precollege level class in mathematics, reading, grammar, spelling, writing, or English; (((2))) (b) the types of precollege classes in which each student was enrolled; and (((3))) (c) the name of the Washington high school from which each student graduated.

(2) For students who enrolled in a precollege class within three years of graduating from a Washington high school, each institution of higher education shall ((also)) report to the Washington high school from which ((the)) each student graduated.  The ((annual)) report shall include information on the number of students from that high school enrolled in precollege classes, and the types of classes taken by the students.

    Sec. 5.  RCW 28B.15.910 and 1997 c 433 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) Except for revenue waived under programs listed in subsection (3) of this section, and unless otherwise expressly provided in the omnibus state appropriations act, the total amount of operating fees revenue waived, exempted, or reduced by a state university, a regional university, The Evergreen State College, or the community colleges as a whole, shall not exceed the percentage of total gross authorized operating fees revenue set forth below.  As used in this section, "gross authorized operating fees revenue" means the estimated gross operating fees revenue as estimated under RCW 82.33.020 or as revised by the office of financial management, before granting any waivers.  This limitation applies to all tuition waiver programs established before or after July 1, 1992.

    (a) University of Washington                        21 percent

    (b) Washington State University                     20 percent

    (c) Eastern Washington University                   11 percent

    (d) Central Washington University                    8 percent

    (e) Western Washington University                   10 percent

    (f) The Evergreen State College                      6 percent

    (g) Community colleges as a whole                   35 percent

    (2) The limitations in subsection (1) of this section apply to waivers, exemptions, or reductions in operating fees contained in the following:

    (a) RCW 28B.10.265;

    (b) RCW 28B.15.014;

    (c) RCW 28B.15.100;

    (d) RCW 28B.15.225;

    (e) RCW 28B.15.380;

    (f) Ungraded courses under RCW ((28B.15.502(4))) 28B.15.069(6);

    (g) RCW 28B.15.520;

    (h) RCW 28B.15.526;

    (i) RCW 28B.15.527;

    (j) RCW 28B.15.543;

    (k) RCW 28B.15.545;

    (l) RCW 28B.15.555;

    (m) RCW 28B.15.556;

    (n) RCW 28B.15.615;

    (o) RCW 28B.15.620;

    (p) RCW 28B.15.628;

    (q) RCW 28B.15.730;

    (r) RCW 28B.15.740;

    (s) RCW 28B.15.750;

    (t) RCW 28B.15.756;

    (u) RCW 28B.50.259;

    (v) RCW 28B.70.050; and

    (w) RCW 28B.80.580.

    (3) The limitations in subsection (1) of this section do not apply to waivers, exemptions, or reductions in services and activities fees contained in the following:

    (a) RCW 28B.15.522;

    (b) RCW ((28B.15.535)) 28B.15.558;

    (c) RCW 28B.15.540; ((and))

    (d) RCW 28B.15.558; and

(e) Section 3 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6.  Sections 1 and 2 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 28D RCW.

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