[atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to opportunity schools; adding new sections to chapter 28A.630 RCW; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that Washington state is moving forward in implementing a bold education agenda: Teaching every student to achieve high academic standards. The legislature further finds that school districts and schools need to have the flexibility to meet this challenge in exchange for greater accountability. Thus, the legislature intends to authorize school districts to be pilot opportunity school districts. These pilots should evaluate how deregulation and increased flexibility assist in moving schools to a performance-based education system. Opportunity school districts should have the opportunity to advance an educational agenda that is centered on student performance and holds their schools accountable for that performance, without the restrictions of rules that divert attention to unnecessary paperwork and labeling of students. Opportunity school districts should afford their schools flexibility over instructional programming and how they achieve district and state educational goals, including control over their most important management tool, their budgets. Schools need to be supported as the place where the majority of teaching and learning takes place.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The opportunity schools program is established. The purpose of the program is to provide opportunities for innovative teaching strategies and proven educational practices, shared decision making, and increased parental and community involvement in public schools.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The definitions in this section apply throughout sections 2 through 7 of this act.

(1) "Actual schools budget" means the funding for individual schools. It is the remainder of the potential schools budget minus district determined functions.

(2) "Budgetary framework" is the district plan for delineating the total district budget, potential schools budget, and actual schools budget.

(3) "Core district functions" includes those functions in (a) through (j) of this subsection and may include those functions in (k) through (m) of this subsection relating to:

(a) The superintendent's office;

(b) The board of directors;

(d) Legal services;

(e) The business office, including financial, accounting, payroll services, insurance, and workers' compensation;

(f) An accountability/testing system;

(g) Monitoring state and federal categorical programs;

(h) Conducting individual education plans for special education students;

(i) Technology infrastructure;

(j) Transportation;

(k) Food services;

(l) School facilities; and

(m) Federal program services carried out by the district and not individual school buildings.

(4) "District determined functions" are centrally retained functions within the potential schools budget. They are limited to no more than twenty-five percent of the potential schools budget and may be used for district determined expenditures, including but not limited to extracurricular activities, community services, instructional support for curriculum development and supervision, and professional development for administrators and teachers.

(5) "Formula funding" is the district plan for allocating the actual schools budget to individual schools. The majority, at least seventy-five percent, of the formula should be weighted by student need, including grade level, special education, bilingual education, and additional learning needs. Formula funding is intended to ensure an equitable distribution of resources within the district based on objectively measured student needs. Thus, within any district, schools with similar students in characteristics and numbers should receive the same level of resources under district formula funding. Formula funding should result in lump-sum funding, rather than staffing units, for individual school buildings. Once funding is provided to the school, the school has full discretion on allocating resources, regardless of the specifics of the district formula.

(6) "Potential schools budget" means the potential amount available for school funding. The potential schools budget is the amount remaining in the school district's budget after subtracting funds for core district functions from the total district budget.

(7) "Total district budget" means the total budget for the school district, including all state, federal, and local operating revenues.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) By simple majority, a school board may vote to become an opportunity school district.

(2) Each school board that has voted to become an opportunity school district is provided greater flexibility for education policy to meet the needs of all its students. Opportunity school districts shall file a plan with the superintendent of public instruction. The plan shall contain the following elements:

(a) An accountability plan for schools in the district, including provisions for:

(i) Meeting state and district accountability goals; and

(ii) Serving struggling students and limited-English proficient students;

(b) A description of the role and composition of school-based councils, including, but not limited to:

(i) Representation by principals, parents, teachers, other school staff, and members of the community; and

(ii) The decision-making authority of the school-based councils, especially with regard to the instructional program and budget; and

(3) Each school must file with its district a comprehensive school improvement plan discussing how its budget is aligned with its school improvement plan. This plan replaces all other plans currently required by rule or law and must address at the least the following areas:

(a) The use of innovative strategies and proven methods of student learning, teaching, and school management based on reliable research, effective practices, and with evidence of replication across schools with diverse characteristics;

(b) A comprehensive design for school functioning including instruction, assessment, classroom management, professional development, parental involvement, and school management aligned with the school's curriculum, technology, and professional development into a school-wide reform plan designed to enable all students to meet challenging state standards and addresses needs identified through a school needs assessment;

(d) Measurable goals for student performance and benchmarks for meeting them, including the diverse learning needs of all students in the building;

(e) The involvement of parents and the local community in planning and implementing school improvement activities;

(f) A plan for evaluation of school reforms and student achievement; and

(g) Support by school faculty, administrators, staff, and the school site council on the school improvement plan.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) Opportunity school districts are automatically granted waivers from state laws and rules as specified in this title, except for those relating to:

(a) Health and safety;

(b) Civil rights;

(d) Collective bargaining; and

(e) The following education reform provisions:

(i) Education goals in RCW 28A.150.210;

(ii) Values and character traits in RCW 28A.150.211;

(iii) Student assessments in RCW 28A.300.320, 28A.230.190, 28A.230.220, 28A.230.230, and 28A.230.240;

(iv) Accountability provisions in RCW 28A.630.887 and 28A.630.885 and chapter . . ., Laws of 1999 (Z-0499/99);

(v) Reporting of school and district assessments of student learning in RCW 28A.630.889;

(vi) Curricular adjustments and parental notification of student achievement on tests in RCW 28A.230.195; and

(vii) Basic education program requirements and allocation in RCW 28A.150.220 and 28A.150.260.

(2) Opportunity school districts and schools are subject to generally accepted accounting principles. The office of the superintendent of public instruction, in cooperation with the office of financial management and the state auditor, shall establish performance and financial accountability requirements for opportunity school districts and schools that are consistent with moving to a performance-based education system.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. After three years of implementation, the institute for public policy shall study opportunity school districts to determine their effectiveness in improving student achievement.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The program in sections 2 through 6 of this act shall be available commencing with the 1999-2000 school year.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. Sections 1 through 7 of this act expire June 30, 2004.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. Sections 2 through 7 of this act are each added to chapter 28A.630 RCW.