SHB 2261 -
By Representative Anderson
WITHDRAWN 03/12/2009
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1
(2) The legislature also intends that the policies and allocation
formulas in this act fulfill the legislature's obligation under Article
IX to establish a general and uniform system of public schools. The
legislature finds that in some instances providing general and uniform
educational opportunity requires tailoring basic education allocations
to reflect certain needs and circumstances of each school district,
including district size, certain student characteristics, and regional
labor market differences. It is the intent of the legislature that
these allocation formulas address these differences in order to promote
equity and uniformity of educational opportunity.
(3) Public education in Washington State has evolved since the
enactment of the Washington basic education act of 1977. Student
demographics, educational technology, data, and standards-based
learning and assessment are only a few examples of factors affecting
education that have changed in the last thirty years. Decisions by the
courts have played a part in this evolution, as have studies and
research about education practices and education funding. The
legislature finds ample evidence of a need to redefine the program of
basic education that is funded by the state and delivered by school
districts to better align with the stated goals of a basic education
and to improve the transparency and accountability of how the state
meets its constitutional obligation under Article IX.
(4) For practical and educational reasons, wholesale change of the
program of basic education and the funding formulas to support it
cannot occur instantaneously. Financial experts must develop the
details of the funding formulas. New systems of educator
certification, evaluation, mentoring, and compensation must be
developed and implemented. Data and accountability systems must be
created. Significant increases in resources for staffing and class
size reduction will have detrimental impact on student learning if
school districts hire unprepared teachers and lack facilities to house
them. The legislature intends to adopt a schedule for implementation
of the redefined program of basic education and the resources necessary
to support it, beginning in the 2011-12 school year and phased in over
a six-year time period.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3
(a) Four members of the house of representatives, with two members
representing each of the major caucuses and appointed by the speaker of
the house of representatives;
(b) Four members of the senate, with two members representing each
of the major caucuses and appointed by the president of the senate; and
(c) One representative each from the office of the governor, office
of the superintendent of public instruction, state board of education,
professional educator standards board, and department of early
learning.
(2) The chair or cochairs of the steering committee shall be
selected by the members of the committee.
(3) The responsibility of the steering committee is to monitor and
oversee implementation of the new definition of basic education,
including the funding formulas, systems of educator compensation and
accountability, the program of early learning, and a supplemental
finance system from levies and local effort assistance. The steering
committee shall monitor and oversee the following technical working
groups:
(a) The funding formulas working group under section 114 of this
act that develops the financial model and funding formulas for the
basic education instructional allocation;
(b) The compensation working group under section 206 of this act
that develops options for a new statewide salary model and bonuses for
certificated instructional staff;
(c) The early learning working group under section 111 of this act
that develops a proposal for a basic education program of early
learning and examines options for preschool early learning for at-risk
children from birth to age three;
(d) The local funding working group under section 402 of this act
that develops options for a new system of supplemental school funding
through local school levies and local effort assistance; and
(e) The data working group under section 311 of this act designing
comprehensive accountability systems for financial, student, and
educator data.
(4) The steering committee may also request updates and progress
reports from the office of the superintendent of public instruction,
the state board of education, the professional educator standards
board, and the department of early learning on the implementation of
this act.
(5) The steering committee shall submit an initial report to the
governor and the legislature by January 1, 2010, detailing its
recommendations based on analysis of reports from the working groups
and state agencies, including recommendations for resolving issues or
decisions requiring legislative action during the 2010 legislative
session, and recommendations for any funding necessary to continue
development and implementation of this act.
(6) The steering committee shall submit subsequent reports to the
governor and the legislature by November 15, 2010, and annually
thereafter, ending November 15, 2016.
(7) Staff support for the basic education steering committee shall
be provided by the state agencies with representatives on the
committee, the senate committee services, and the office of program
research of the house of representatives. Legislative members of the
steering committee shall be reimbursed for travel expenses in
accordance with RCW 44.04.120.
(8) This section expires June 30, 2017.
Sec. 101 RCW 28A.150.200 and 1990 c 33 s 104 are each amended to
read as follows:This 1977 amendatory act shall be known
and may be cited as "The Washington Basic Education Act of 1977." The
program evolving from the Basic Education Act shall include (1) the
goal of the school system as defined in RCW 28A.150.210, (2) those
program requirements enumerated in RCW 28A.150.220, and (3) the
determination and distribution of state resources as defined in RCW
28A.150.250 and 28A.150.260.)) (1) The program
of basic education established under this chapter is deemed by the
legislature to comply with the requirements of Article IX, section 1 of
the state Constitution, which states that "It is the paramount duty of
the state to make ample provision for the education of all children
residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on
account of race, color, caste, or sex," and ((
The requirements of the Basic Education Act areare)) is adopted pursuant
to Article IX, section 2 of the state Constitution, which states that
"The legislature shall provide for a general and uniform system of
public schools."
(2) The legislature defines the program of basic education under
this chapter as:
(a) The instructional program of basic education the minimum
components of which are described in section 104 of this act;
(b) The program of early learning for at-risk children under
section 110 of this act;
(c) The program of education provided by chapter 28A.190 RCW for
students in residential schools as defined by RCW 28A.190.020 and for
juveniles in detention facilities as identified by RCW 28A.190.010;
(d) The program of education provided by chapter 28A.193 RCW for
individuals under the age of eighteen who are incarcerated in adult
correctional facilities; and
(e) Transportation and transportation services to and from school
for eligible students as provided under RCW 28A.160.150 through
28A.160.180.
(3) Therefore, basic education shall be considered to be fully
funded by those amounts of dollars appropriated by the legislature for
the following purposes:
(a) Amounts appropriated pursuant to sections 106 through 108 of
this act to fund the instructional program requirements identified in
section 104 of this act;
(b) Amounts appropriated to fund the salary requirements of
sections 204, 207, and 209 of this act;
(c) Amounts appropriated to support the program of early learning
for at-risk children under section 110 of this act;
(d) Amounts appropriated to support the programs of education
provided by chapters 28A.190 and 28A.193 RCW; and
(e) Amounts appropriated for pupil transportation as provided under
RCW 28A.160.150 through 28A.160.180.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 102
(1) "Basic education core instructional allocation" means the
funding allocation to school districts under section 106 (3), (4), and
(7) of this act to support school staffing; maintenance, supplies, and
operating costs; and central office administration.
(2) "Basic education goal" means the student learning goals and the
student knowledge and skills described under section 103 of this act.
(3) "Certificated administrative staff" means all those persons who
are chief executive officers, chief administrative officers,
confidential employees, supervisors, principals, or assistant
principals within the meaning of RCW 41.59.020(4).
(4) "Certificated employee" as used in this chapter and RCW
28A.195.010, 28A.405.100, 28A.405.210, 28A.405.240, 28A.405.250,
28A.405.300 through 28A.405.380, and chapter 41.59 RCW, means those
persons who hold certificates as authorized by rule of the Washington
professional educator standards board.
(5) "Certificated instructional staff" means those persons employed
by a school district who are nonsupervisory certificated employees
within the meaning of RCW 41.59.020(8).
(6) "Class size" means an instructional grouping of students where,
on average, the ratio of students to teacher is the number specified.
(7) "Classroom teacher" means a certificated instructional staff
person whose primary duty is the daily educational instruction of
students. In exceptional cases, people of unusual competence but
without certification may teach students so long as a certificated
person exercises general supervision, but the hiring of such classified
people shall not occur during a labor dispute, and such classified
people shall not be hired to replace certificated employees during a
labor dispute.
(8) "Instructional hours" means those hours students are provided
the opportunity to engage in academic and career and technical
instruction planned by and under the direction of school district
staff, as directed by the administration and board of directors of the
district, inclusive of teacher/parent-guardian conferences that 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, intermissions for class changes, or recess.
(9) "Instructional program of basic education" means the minimum
program required to be provided by school districts and includes
instructional hour requirements and other components under section 104
of this act.
(10) "Program of basic education" means the overall program deemed
by the legislature to comply with the requirements of Article IX,
section 1 of the state Constitution, full funding of which is described
under section 101 of this act.
(11) "School day" means each day of the school year on which pupils
enrolled in the common schools of a school district are engaged in
academic and career and technical instruction planned by and under the
direction of the school.
(12) "School year" includes the minimum number of school days
required under section 104 of this act and begins on the first day of
September and ends with the last day of August, except that any school
district may elect to commence the annual school term in the month of
August of any calendar year and in such case the operation of a school
district for such period in August shall be credited by the
superintendent of public instruction to the succeeding school year for
the purpose of the allocation and distribution of state funds for the
support of such school district.
(13) "Teacher planning period" means a period of a school day as
determined by the administration and board of the directors of the
district that may be used by teachers for instruction-related
activities including but not limited to preparing instructional
materials; reviewing student performance; recording student data;
consulting with other teachers, instructional aides, mentors,
instructional coaches, administrators, and parents; or participating in
professional development.
Sec. 103 RCW 28A.150.210 and 2007 c 400 s 1 are each amended to
read as follows:The goal of the basic education act for
the schools of the state of Washington set forth in this chapter shall
be to)) A basic education is an evolving program of instruction that
provides students with the opportunity to become responsible and
respectful global citizens, to contribute to their economic well-being
and that of their families and communities, to explore and understand
different perspectives, and to enjoy productive and satisfying lives.
((Additionally,)) The state of Washington intends to provide for a
public school system that is able to evolve and adapt in order to
better focus on strengthening the educational achievement of all
students, which includes high expectations for all students and gives
all students the opportunity to achieve personal and academic success.
To these ends, the goals of each school district, with the involvement
of parents and community members, shall be to provide opportunities for
every student to develop the knowledge and skills essential to:
(1) Read with comprehension, write effectively, and communicate
successfully in a variety of ways and settings and with a variety of
audiences;
(2) Know and apply the core concepts and principles of mathematics;
social, physical, and life sciences; civics and history, including
different cultures and participation in representative government;
geography; arts; and health and fitness;
(3) Think analytically, logically, and creatively, and to integrate
different experiences and knowledge to form reasoned judgments and
solve problems; and
(4) Understand the importance of work and finance and how
performance, effort, and decisions directly affect future career and
educational opportunities.
Sec. 104 RCW 28A.150.220 and 1993 c 371 s 2 are each amended to
read as follows:Satisfaction of the basic education
program requirements identified in RCW 28A.150.210 shall be considered
to be implemented by the following program:)) In order for students to have the opportunity to develop the
basic education knowledge and skills under section 103 of this act,
school districts must provide instruction of sufficient quantity and
quality and give students the opportunity to complete graduation
requirements that are intended to prepare them for postsecondary
education, gainful employment, lifelong learning, and citizenship. The
program established under this section, supported by the resources
allocated under sections 106 through 108 of this act, shall be the
minimum instructional program of basic education offered by school
districts.
(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)
(2) 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)),
to be increased to a minimum of one hundred eighty school days per
school year no later than the 2016-17 school year and according to the
implementation schedules under sections 109 and 113 of this act.
However, 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 students to the
extent they could otherwise have been so claimed for the purposes of
((RCW 28A.150.250 and 28A.150.260.)) section 106 of this act. The minimum one hundred eighty day
school year requirement may be waived by the state board of education
as provided under section 115 of this act.
(4)
(3) Each school district shall make available to students the
following minimum instructional offering each school year:
(a) For students enrolled in grades seven through twelve, at least
a district-wide annual average of one thousand hours for students
enrolled in grades one through twelve, which shall be increased to one
thousand eighty instructional hours by the 2016-17 school year
according to the implementation schedules under section 113 of this
act;
(b) For students enrolled in grades one through six, at least a
district-wide annual average of one thousand hours for students
enrolled in grades one through twelve, which shall be increased to one
thousand instructional hours by the 2016-17 school year according to
the implementation schedules under section 113 of this act; and
(c) For students enrolled in kindergarten, at least four hundred
fifty instructional hours, which shall be increased to at least one
thousand instructional hours by the 2016-17 school year according to
the implementation schedules under sections 109 and 113 of this act.
(4) The instructional program of basic education provided by each
school district shall include:
(a) Instruction in the essential academic learning requirements
under RCW 28A.655.070;
(b) Instruction that provides students the opportunity to complete
twenty-four credits for high school graduation, with course
distribution requirements established by the state board of education
under RCW 28A.230.090 and that may be subject to a phased-in
implementation of the twenty-four credits as adopted by the board;
(c) Supplemental instruction and services for underachieving
students through the learning assistance program under RCW 28A.165.005
through 28A.165.065;
(d) Supplemental instruction and services for eligible and enrolled
students whose primary language is other than English through the
transitional bilingual instruction program under RCW 28A.180.010
through 28A.180.080; and
(e) The opportunity for an appropriate education at public expense
as defined by RCW 28A.155.020 for all eligible students with
disabilities as defined in RCW 28A.155.020.
(5) Nothing in this section precludes a school district from
enriching the instructional program of basic education, such as
offering additional instruction in other subjects or providing
additional services, programs, or activities that the school district
determines to be appropriate for the education of the school district's
students.
(6) Nothing in this section requires individual students to attend
school for any particular number of hours per day or to take any
particular courses.
(7) The state board of education shall adopt rules to implement and
((ensure)) assure compliance with the ((program requirements imposed by
this section, RCW 28A.150.250 and 28A.150.260, and such related
supplemental program approval requirements as the state board may
establish)) minimum instructional hours and school days required under
this section and to assure that school districts provide the components
of the basic education instructional program under this section. If a
school district's basic education instructional program fails to meet
the requirements of this section, the state board of education shall
require the superintendent of public instruction to withhold state
funds in whole or in part for the basic education allocation until
program compliance is assured. The state board shall periodically
examine the effectiveness of different instructional strategies and
schedules used by school districts to meet the requirements of this
section, communicate identified concerns to districts, and disseminate
to other districts information about effective innovations.
Sec. 105 RCW 28A.150.250 and 1990 c 33 s 107 are each amended to
read as follows:amount which, when
combined with an appropriate portion of such locally available
revenues, other than)) allocation based on the formulas provided in
sections 106 through 108 of this act. The basic education
instructional allocation shall be net of receipts from federal forest
revenues distributed to school districts pursuant to RCW 28A.520.010
and 28A.520.020((, as the superintendent of public instruction may deem
appropriate for consideration in computing state equalization support,
excluding excess property tax levies, will constitute a basic education
allocation in dollars for each annual average full time equivalent
student enrolled, based upon one full school year of one hundred eighty
days, except that for kindergartens one full school year shall be one
hundred eighty half days of instruction, or the equivalent as provided
in RCW 28A.150.220.)).
Basic education shall be considered to be fully funded by those
amounts of dollars appropriated by the legislature pursuant to RCW
28A.150.250 and 28A.150.260 to fund those program requirements
identified in RCW 28A.150.220 in accordance with the formula and ratios
provided in RCW 28A.150.260 and those amounts of dollars appropriated
by the legislature to fund the salary requirements of RCW 28A.150.100
and 28A.150.410.
Operation of a program approved by the state board of education,
for the purposes of this section, shall include a finding that the
ratio of students per classroom teacher in grades kindergarten through
three is not greater than the ratio of students per classroom teacher
in grades four and above for such district: PROVIDED, That for the
purposes of this section, "classroom teacher" shall be defined as an
instructional employee possessing at least a provisional certificate,
but not necessarily employed as a certificated employee, whose primary
duty is the daily educational instruction of students: PROVIDED
FURTHER, That the state board of education shall adopt rules and
regulations to insure compliance with the student/teacher ratio
provisions of this section, and such rules and regulations shall allow
for exemptions for those special programs and/or school districts which
may be deemed unable to practicably meet the student/teacher ratio
requirements of this section by virtue of a small number of students.
If a school district's basic education program fails to meet the
basic education requirements enumerated in RCW 28A.150.250,
28A.150.260, and 28A.150.220, the state board of education shall
require the superintendent of public instruction to withhold state
funds in whole or in part for the basic education allocation until
program compliance is assured: PROVIDED, That the state board of
education may waive this requirement in the event of substantial lack
of classroom space
Sec. 106 RCW 28A.150.260 and 2006 c 263 s 322 are each amended to
read as follows:The
basic education allocation for each annual average full time equivalent
student shall be determined in accordance with the following
procedures)) The purpose of this section is to provide for the
allocation of state funding that the legislature deems necessary to
support school districts in offering the minimum instructional program
of basic education under section 104 of this act. The allocation shall
be determined as follows:
(1) The governor shall and the superintendent of public instruction
may recommend to the legislature a formula ((based on a ratio of
students to staff)) for the distribution of a basic education
instructional allocation for each ((annual average full time equivalent
student enrolled in a)) common school district. ((The distribution
formula shall have the primary objective of equalizing educational
opportunities and shall provide appropriate recognition of the
following costs among the various districts within the state:))
(a) Certificated instructional staff and their related costs;
(b) Certificated administrative staff and their related costs;
(c) Classified staff and their related costs;
(d) Nonsalary costs;
(e) Extraordinary costs, including school facilities, of remote and
necessary schools as judged by the superintendent of public
instruction, with recommendations from the school facilities citizen
advisory panel under RCW 28A.525.025, and small high schools, including
costs of additional certificated and classified staff; and
(f) The attendance of students pursuant to RCW 28A.335.160 and
28A.225.250 who do not reside within the servicing school district.
(2)(((a))) The distribution formula under this section shall be for
allocation purposes only. Except as may be required under chapter
28A.165, 28A.180, or 28A.155 RCW, or federal laws and regulations,
nothing in this section requires school districts to use basic
education instructional funds to implement a particular instructional
approach or service. Nothing in this section requires school districts
to maintain a particular classroom teacher-to-student ratio or other
staff-to-student ratio or to use allocated funds to pay for particular
types or classifications of staff. Nothing in this section entitles an
individual teacher to a particular teacher planning period.
(3)(a) The distribution formula for the basic education
instructional allocation shall be based on minimum staffing and
nonstaff costs the legislature deems necessary to support instruction
and operations in prototypical schools serving high, middle, and
elementary school students as provided in this section. The use of
prototypical schools for the distribution formula does not constitute
legislative intent that schools should be operated or structured in a
similar fashion as the prototypes. Prototypical schools illustrate the
level of resources needed to operate a school of a particular size with
particular types and grade levels of students using commonly understood
terms and inputs, such as class size, hours of instruction, and various
categories of school staff. Funding allocations to school districts
shall be adjusted from the school prototypes based on the actual number
of annual average full-time equivalent students in each grade level at
each school in the district and not based on the grade-level
configuration of the school. The allocations shall be further adjusted
from the school prototypes with minimum allocations for small schools
and to reflect other factors identified in the omnibus appropriations
act.
(b) For the purposes of this section, prototypical schools are
defined as follows:
(i) A prototypical high school has six hundred average annual full-time equivalent students in grades nine through twelve;
(ii) A prototypical middle school has four hundred thirty-two
average annual full-time equivalent students in grades seven and eight;
and
(iii) A prototypical elementary school has four hundred average
annual full-time equivalent students in grades kindergarten through
six.
(c) By the 2016-17 school year, the minimum allocation for a
prototypical high school shall be based on the number of full-time
equivalent classroom teachers needed to provide instruction over one
thousand eighty annual instructional hours and provide at least one
teacher planning period per school day, with the following average
class size:
Average
Class Size
Basic class size . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.0
Basic class size in schools where more than fifty percent
of the students are eligible for free and reduced-price
meals, adjusted as provided under subsection (8) of
this section . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.0
For exploratory career and technical education courses . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.0
For laboratory science, advanced placement, and
international baccalaureate courses . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.0
For preparatory career and technical education courses,
including those offered through a skill center . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.0
(d) By the 2016-17 school year, the minimum allocation for a
prototypical middle school shall be based on the number of full-time
equivalent classroom teachers needed to provide instruction over one
thousand eighty instructional hours and provide at least one teacher
planning period per school day, with the following average class size:
Average
Class Size
Basic class size . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.0
Basic class size in schools where more than fifty percent
of the students are eligible for free and reduced-price
meals, adjusted as provided under subsection (8) of
this section . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.0
For exploratory career and technical education courses . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.0
(e) By the 2016-17 school year, the minimum allocation for a
prototypical elementary school shall be based on the number of full-time equivalent classroom teachers needed to provide instruction over
one thousand instructional hours and provide at least one teacher
planning period per school day, with the following average class size:
Average
Class Size
Basic class size . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.0
Basic class size in schools where more than fifty percent
of the students are eligible for free and reduced-priced
meals . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.0
Class size in grades kindergarten through three . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.0
(f) By the 2016-17 school year, the minimum allocation for each
prototypical school shall include allocations for the following types
and number of full-time equivalent staff in addition to classroom
teachers:
| High School | Middle School | Elementary School | |
| Principals, including assistant principals and other certificated building-level administrators . . . . . . . . . . . . | 1.8 | 1.3 | 1.2 |
| Teacher librarians, a function that includes information literacy, technology, and media to support school library media programs . . . . . . . . . . . . | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Student health services, a function that includes school nurses and social workers . . . . . . . . . . . . | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Guidance counselors, a function that includes parent outreach and graduation advisor . . . . . . . . . . . . | 1.50 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| Professional development coaches . . . . . . . . . . . . | 0.75 | 0.50 | 0.50 |
| Office support and noninstructional aides . . . . . . . . . . . . | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Custodians and other maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Student and staff safety . . . . . . . . . . . . | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| High School | Middle School | Elementary School | |
| Instructional hours per week . . . . . . . . . . . . | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Average class size . . . . . . . . . . . . | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| High School | Middle School | Elementary School | |
| Instructional hours per week . . . . . . . . . . . . | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| Number of weeks . . . . . . . . . . . . | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Average class size . . . . . . . . . . . . | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| High School | Middle School | Elementary School | |
| Percent of school day in supplemental instruction . . . . . . . . . . . . | 14.0% | 14.0% | 20.0% |
| Average class size . . . . . . . . . . . . | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
Sec. 107 RCW 28A.150.390 and 1995 c 77 s 6 are each amended to
read as follows:RCW 28A.150.250,
28A.150.260,)) section 106 (3) through (5) of this act and federal
medical assistance and private funds accruing under RCW 74.09.5249
through 74.09.5253 and 74.09.5254 through 74.09.5256((, and other state
and local funds, excluding special excess levies)).
(2) The excess cost allocation to school districts shall be based
on the following:
(a) A district's annual average headcount enrollment of students
ages birth through four and those five year olds not yet enrolled in
kindergarten who are eligible for and enrolled in special education,
multiplied by the district's base allocation per full-time equivalent
student, multiplied by 1.15; and
(b) A district's annual average full-time equivalent basic
education enrollment, multiplied by the district's funded enrollment
percent, multiplied by the district's base allocation per full-time
equivalent student, multiplied by 0.9309.
(3) As used in this section:
(a) "Base allocation" means the total state allocation to all
schools in the district generated by the distribution formula under
section 106 (3) through (5) of this act, to be divided by the
district's full-time equivalent enrollment.
(b) "Basic education enrollment" means enrollment of resident
students including nonresident students enrolled under RCW 28A.225.225
and students from nonhigh districts enrolled under RCW 28A.225.210 and
excluding students residing in another district enrolled as part of an
interdistrict cooperative program under RCW 28A.225.250.
(c) "Enrollment percent" means the district's resident special
education annual average enrollment, excluding students ages birth
through four and those five year olds not yet enrolled in kindergarten,
as a percent of the district's annual average full-time equivalent
basic education enrollment.
(d) "Funded enrollment percent" means the lesser of the district's
actual enrollment percent or twelve and seven-tenths percent.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 108
(a) The committee shall consider additional funds for districts
that can convincingly demonstrate that all legitimate expenditures for
special education exceed all available revenues from state funding
formulas. In the determination of need, the committee shall also
consider additional available revenues from federal sources.
Differences in program costs attributable to district philosophy,
service delivery choice, or accounting practices are not a legitimate
basis for safety net awards. In the determination of need, the
committee shall require that districts demonstrate that they are
maximizing their eligibility for all state and federal revenues related
to services for special education students.
(b) The committee shall then consider the extraordinary high cost
needs of one or more individual special education students.
Differences in costs attributable to district philosophy, service
delivery choice, or accounting practices are not a legitimate basis for
safety net awards.
(c) Using criteria developed by the committee, the committee shall
then consider extraordinary costs associated with communities that draw
a larger number of families with children in need of special education
services. Safety net awards under this subsection (1)(c) shall be
adjusted to reflect amounts awarded under (b) of this subsection.
(d) The maximum allowable indirect cost for calculating safety net
eligibility may not exceed the federal restricted indirect cost rate
for the district plus one percent.
(e) Safety net awards shall be adjusted based on the percent of
potential medicaid eligible students billed as calculated by the
superintendent of public instruction in accordance with chapter 318,
Laws of 1999.
(f) Safety net awards must be adjusted for any audit findings or
exceptions related to special education funding.
(2) The superintendent of public instruction may adopt such rules
and procedures as are necessary to administer the special education
funding and safety net award process. Before revising any standards,
procedures, or rules, the superintendent shall consult with the office
of financial management and the fiscal committees of the legislature.
In adopting and revising the rules, the superintendent shall ensure the
application process to access safety net funding is streamlined,
timelines for submission are not in conflict, feedback to school
districts is timely and provides sufficient information to allow school
districts to understand how to correct any deficiencies in a safety net
application, and that there is consistency between awards approved by
school district and by application period. The office of the
superintendent of public instruction shall also provide technical
assistance to school districts in preparing and submitting special
education safety net applications.
(3) On an annual basis, the superintendent shall survey districts
regarding their satisfaction with the safety net process and consider
feedback from districts to improve the safety net process. Each year
by December 1st, the superintendent shall prepare and submit a report
to the office of financial management and the appropriate policy and
fiscal committees of the legislature that summarizes the survey results
and those changes made to the safety net process as a result of the
school district feedback.
(4) The safety net oversight committee appointed by the
superintendent of public instruction shall consist of:
(a) One staff member from the office of the superintendent of
public instruction;
(b) Staff of the office of the state auditor who shall be nonvoting
members of the committee; and
(c) One or more representatives from school districts or
educational service districts knowledgeable of special education
programs and funding.
Sec. 109 RCW 28A.150.315 and 2007 c 400 s 2 are each amended to
read as follows:
(a) Provide at least a one thousand-hour instructional program;
(b) Provide a curriculum that offers a rich, varied set of
experiences that assist students in:
(i) Developing initial skills in the academic areas of reading,
mathematics, and writing;
(ii) Developing a variety of communication skills;
(iii) Providing experiences in science, social studies, arts,
health and physical education, and a world language other than English;
(iv) Acquiring large and small motor skills;
(v) Acquiring social and emotional skills including successful
participation in learning activities as an individual and as part of a
group; and
(vi) Learning through hands-on experiences;
(c) Establish learning environments that are developmentally
appropriate and promote creativity;
(d) Demonstrate strong connections and communication with early
learning community providers; and
(e) Participate in kindergarten program readiness activities with
early learning providers and parents.
(2) Subject to funds appropriated for this purpose, the
superintendent of public instruction shall designate one or more school
districts to serve as resources and examples of best practices in
designing and operating a high-quality all-day kindergarten program.
Designated school districts shall serve as lighthouse programs and
provide technical assistance to other school districts in the initial
stages of implementing an all-day kindergarten program. Examples of
topics addressed by the technical assistance include strategic
planning, developing the instructional program and curriculum, working
with early learning providers to identify students and communicate with
parents, and developing kindergarten program readiness activities.
(((3) Any funds allocated to support all-day kindergarten programs
under this section shall not be considered as basic education
funding.))
NEW SECTION. Sec. 110
(2) The basis for the basic education program of early learning is
the statewide Washington head start program required to be proposed by
the department of early learning under RCW 43.215.125, which the
legislature may modify before adopting. It is the intent of the
legislature that the basic education program of early learning, which
shall include the federal head start program as it applies to at-risk
children, replace the early childhood education and assistance program
under RCW 43.215.400 through 43.215.450 as it applies to at-risk
children. The basic education program of early learning includes:
(a) Comprehensive services that focus on the needs of the child and
include education, health, and family support services;
(b) Instruction to develop literacy, numeracy, reasoning, problem-solving, and decision-making skills that are the foundation of school
readiness;
(c) A minimum of four hundred forty-eight instructional hours per
year;
(d) Required family support services and parent conferences;
(e) Minimum staffing requirements and appropriate minimum
qualifications for instructional staff;
(f) Data collection used for program planning; and
(g) Program quality and performance standards.
(3) For the purposes of this section and the basic education
program of early learning, "at-risk children" means children aged
three, four, and five who are not eligible for kindergarten and whose
family income is at or below one hundred thirty percent of the federal
poverty level, as published annually by the federal department of
health and human services. Participation by an at-risk child in the
basic education program of early learning is voluntary.
(4)(a) Beginning in the 2011-12 school year and subject to the
implementation schedule under section 113 of this act, the legislature
shall appropriate funds on a per-student basis to provide services for
at-risk children who enroll in the basic education program of early
learning. The per-student amount for the 2011-12 school year shall be
equivalent to the amount provided for that year for the federal head
start program and must be annually adjusted thereafter in the omnibus
appropriations act. The total allocation shall be net of receipts from
the federal head start program that are to provide services for at-risk
children.
(b) State and federal funds to support the program shall be
distributed to school districts that may provide services directly or
may contract with public or private nonsectarian organizations,
including but not limited to educational service districts, community
and technical colleges, local governments, or nonprofit organizations,
to provide services.
(5) All programs are subject to approval by the department of early
learning.
(6) The superintendent of public instruction shall assure that
school districts and contractors comply with Article IX, section 4 of
the state Constitution prohibiting sectarian control or influence of
all schools maintained or supported wholly or in part by public funds.
(7) In cooperation with the department of early learning, the
superintendent of public instruction shall require school districts to
use a common, statewide kindergarten readiness assessment as a form of
accountability for the basic education program of early learning.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 111
(2) The early learning working group shall continue the preliminary
work of the department of early learning under RCW 43.215.125 to
develop a proposal for a statewide Washington head start program. The
working group shall develop recommended parameters and minimum
standards for the program.
(3) The early learning working group shall also examine service
delivery, program, and funding options for providing preschool early
learning services for at-risk children aged birth to three and examine
the advantages, disadvantages, and implications of including services
to this population of children as part of the program of basic
education. A representative of the office of the attorney general
shall be included as a participant in the early learning working group
to assist with this examination.
(4) The work of the early learning working group shall be monitored
and overseen by the basic education steering committee under section 3
of this act. The working group shall provide updates on its work as
requested by the steering committee.
(5) The department of early learning and the office of the
superintendent of public instruction shall submit a progress report on
the development of the basic education program of early learning to the
basic education steering committee by November 15, 2009. The progress
report shall include recommendations for addressing any unresolved
issues or decisions requiring legislative action during the 2010
legislative session to allow continued development of the program. A
final report, including recommended legislation to authorize the
superintendent of public instruction and the department of early
learning to fulfill their responsibilities under section 110 of this
act, shall be submitted to the steering committee by September 1, 2010.
Sec. 112 RCW 28A.150.370 and 1995 c 335 s 102 and 1995 c 77 s 5
are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(2) In addition to those state funds provided to school districts
for basic education, the legislature ((shall appropriate funds for
pupil transportation, in accordance with this chapter, RCW 28A.160.150
through 28A.160.210, 28A.300.035, 28A.300.170, and 28A.500.010, and for
special education programs for students with disabilities, in
accordance with RCW 28A.155.010 through 28A.155.100. The legislature))
may appropriate funds to be distributed to school districts for
((population)) other factors ((such as urban costs, enrollment
fluctuations)) and for other special programs((, including but not
limited to, vocational-technical institutes, compensatory programs,
bilingual education, urban, rural, racial and disadvantaged programs,
programs for gifted students, and other special programs)) to enhance
or enrich the program of basic education.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 113
(2) By the 2016-17 school year, appropriations of state funds to
support the basic education program of early learning shall be
sufficient to serve all enrolled at-risk children as defined in section
110 of this act. Beginning with the 2011-12 school year, the
legislature may incrementally phase-in appropriations to support the
basic education program of early learning until full implementation is
achieved in the 2016-17 school year.
(3) For each school year beginning in 2011-12, the legislature
shall specify in the omnibus appropriations act the numeric values of
the funding formulas used to determine the appropriations and the
assumed number of at-risk children served.
(4) Within the six-year time frame under this section, the
priorities for phasing-in full implementation of the funding formulas
shall be as follows:
(a) Full funding of allocations for maintenance, supplies, and
operating costs and salary allocations for administrative and
classified staff and certificated instructional staff;
(b) Phasing-in all-day kindergarten according to the schedule
provided in section 109 of this act;
(c) Expansion of funding allocations for the learning assistance
program and the transitional bilingual instructional program to make
progress in closing the achievement gap;
(d) Increasing the number of at-risk children served under the
basic education program of early learning; and
(e) Class size reduction in grades kindergarten through three.
(5) This section expires June 30, 2017.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 114
(a) Minimum allocations or adjustments for small schools and small
and remote school districts. The allocations or adjustments should
reflect a level of support for schools that are small because they are
located in small school districts without providing an incentive for
possible inefficiencies of small schools within larger school
districts;
(b) Examination and analysis of the allocation to support central
office administration to assure the adequacy of the allocation and
consideration of whether adjustments are appropriate for small or large
school districts;
(c) Examination of costs and other implications of basing
allocations on a three-year rolling average of student enrollment;
(d) Examination of costs and other implications of using
retrospective, current, or prospective enrollment numbers;
(e) An adjustment factor on the percent of students eligible for
free and reduced-price meals to reflect underreporting of eligibility
by middle and high school students;
(f) An allocation formula for the mentoring and support program;
(g) Rounding of nonwhole numbers of staff allocations; and
(h) Other issues that arise in the development and refinement of
the financial model and funding formulas.
(2) The funding formulas working group shall include
representatives of the office of the superintendent of public
instruction, the legislative evaluation and accountability program
committee, educational service district financial managers, the
Washington association of school business officers, the Washington
education association, the Washington association of school
administrators, the Washington state school directors' association, and
other interested stakeholders with expertise in education finance. The
office of financial management may engage technical consultants as
needed for computer programming and modeling.
(3) The superintendent of public instruction shall review the
program of education provided by chapter 28A.190 RCW for students in
residential schools and for juveniles in detention facilities, along
with the funding formulas and assumptions to support the program, and
shall make recommendations to the funding formulas working group for a
revised funding formula for the distribution of the basic education
allocation for the program. The recommendations shall assume a minimum
instructional program of one thousand three hundred twenty
instructional hours per school year. The superintendent shall also
recommend any amendments to chapter 28A.190 RCW necessary to align with
the funding formulas or the basic education instructional program under
section 105 of this act.
(4) The work of the funding formulas working group shall be
monitored and overseen by the basic education steering committee under
section 3 of this act. The working group shall provide updates on its
work as requested by the steering committee.
(5) The office of financial management shall submit a progress
report on the development of the financial model and funding formulas
to the basic education steering committee by November 15, 2009. The
progress report shall include recommendations for addressing the issues
identified in subsection (1) of this section, the funding formula under
subsection (3) of this section, and other unresolved issues or
decisions requiring legislative action during the 2010 legislative
session to allow continued development of the financial model and
funding formulas. A final report shall be submitted to the steering
committee by September 1, 2010.
(6) The estimates and information submitted to the governor by the
superintendent of public instruction under RCW 28A.300.170 and the
governor's biennial budget request and budget bill submitted to the
legislature under RCW 43.88.060 for the 2011-2013 biennium shall be
based on the requirements of sections 105 through 108 and 113 of this
act, and the funding formulas developed under this section, to be
implemented beginning with the 2011-12 school year.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 115
(1) A school district may apply for a waiver of the minimum school
year if necessary to provide a specialized instructional program. The
district's application must describe the educational advantages of
offering the program for fewer than one hundred eighty days and
demonstrate how the minimum annual instructional hour requirement will
be maintained.
(2) The total waivers authorized by the board may not affect more
than two percent of the overall statewide student population. Waivers
shall be authorized for a one-year period only, and districts seeking
to continue a previously authorized waiver must resubmit a full
application.
(3) Waivers may not be granted for purposes of professional
development or teacher-parent conferences.
Sec. 116 RCW 28A.230.090 and 2006 c 114 s 3 are each amended to
read as follows:
(a) Any course in Washington state history and government used to
fulfill high school graduation requirements shall consider including
information on the culture, history, and government of the American
Indian peoples who were the first inhabitants of the state.
(b) The certificate of academic achievement requirements under RCW
28A.655.061 or the certificate of individual achievement requirements
under RCW 28A.155.045 are required for graduation from a public high
school but are not the only requirements for graduation.
(c) Any decision on whether a student has met the state board's
high school graduation requirements for a high school and beyond plan
shall remain at the local level.
(2)(a) In recognition of the statutory authority of the state board
of education to establish and enforce minimum high school graduation
requirements, the state board shall periodically reevaluate the
graduation requirements and shall report such findings to the
legislature in a timely manner as determined by the state board.
(b) The state board shall reevaluate the graduation requirements
for students enrolled in vocationally intensive and rigorous career and
technical education programs, particularly those programs that lead to
a certificate or credential that is state or nationally recognized.
The purpose of the evaluation is to ensure that students enrolled in
these programs have sufficient opportunity to earn a certificate of
academic achievement, complete the program and earn the program's
certificate or credential, and complete other state and local
graduation requirements. ((The board shall reports [report] its
findings and recommendations for additional flexibility in graduation
requirements, if necessary, to the legislature by December 1, 2007.))
(c) The state board shall forward any proposed changes to the high
school graduation requirements to the education committees of the
legislature for review, and the legislature shall have the opportunity
to act during a regular legislative session before the changes are
adopted through administrative rule by the state board. Changes that
have a fiscal impact on school districts, as identified by a fiscal
analysis prepared by the office of the superintendent of public
instruction, shall take effect only if formally authorized by the
legislature through the omnibus appropriations act or other enacted
legislation.
(3) Pursuant to any requirement for instruction in languages other
than English established by the state board of education or a local
school district, or both, for purposes of high school graduation,
students who receive instruction in American sign language or one or
more American Indian languages shall be considered to have satisfied
the state or local school district graduation requirement for
instruction in one or more languages other than English.
(4) If requested by the student and his or her family, a student
who has completed high school courses before attending high school
shall be given high school credit which shall be applied to fulfilling
high school graduation requirements if:
(a) The course was taken with high school students, if the academic
level of the course exceeds the requirements for seventh and eighth
grade classes, and the student has successfully passed by completing
the same course requirements and examinations as the high school
students enrolled in the class; or
(b) The academic level of the course exceeds the requirements for
seventh and eighth grade classes and the course would qualify for high
school credit, because the course is similar or equivalent to a course
offered at a high school in the district as determined by the school
district board of directors.
(5) Students who have taken and successfully completed high school
courses under the circumstances in subsection (4) of this section shall
not be required to take an additional competency examination or perform
any other additional assignment to receive credit.
(6) At the college or university level, five quarter or three
semester hours equals one high school credit.
Sec. 117 RCW 28A.190.030 and 1995 c 77 s 19 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) The employment, supervision and control of administrators,
teachers, specialized personnel and other persons, deemed necessary by
the school district for the conduct of the program of education;
(2) The purchase, lease or rental and provision of textbooks, maps,
audio-visual equipment, paper, writing instruments, physical education
equipment and other instructional equipment, materials and supplies,
deemed necessary by the school district for the conduct of the program
of education;
(3) The development and implementation, in consultation with the
superintendent or chief administrator of the residential school or his
or her designee, of the curriculum;
(4) The conduct of a program of education, including related
student activities, for residents who are three years of age and less
than twenty-one years of age, and have not met high school graduation
requirements as now or hereafter established by the state board of
education and the school district which includes:
(a) Not less than one hundred and eighty school days and, by the
2016-17 school year, one thousand three hundred twenty instructional
hours each school year;
(b) Special education pursuant to RCW 28A.155.010 through
28A.155.100, and vocational education, as necessary to address the
unique needs and limitations of residents; and
(c) Such courses of instruction and school related student
activities as are provided by the school district for nonresidential
school students to the extent it is practical and judged appropriate
for the residents by the school district after consultation with the
superintendent or chief administrator of the residential school:
PROVIDED, That a preschool special education program may be provided
for residential school students with disabilities;
(5) The control of students while participating in a program of
education conducted pursuant to this section and the discipline,
suspension or expulsion of students for violation of reasonable rules
of conduct adopted by the school district; and
(6) The expenditure of funds for the direct and indirect costs of
maintaining and operating the program of education that are
appropriated by the legislature and allocated by the superintendent of
public instruction for the exclusive purpose of maintaining and
operating residential school programs of education, and funds from
federal and private grants, bequests and gifts made for the purpose of
maintaining and operating the program of education.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 201
(2) Therefore, the legislature intends to establish a comprehensive
system of teacher certification, evaluation, and mentoring that is
directly aligned with a revised system of compensation and focused on
achievement of effective teaching. The certification, evaluation,
mentoring, and compensation systems shall be implemented beginning with
the 2012-13 school year.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 202 A new section is added to chapter 28A.410
RCW to read as follows:
(2) By January 1, 2010, the professional educator standards board
shall submit to the governor and the education and fiscal committees of
the legislature a proposal for a system for rigorous, objective
evaluation of teacher competency on the knowledge, skill, and
performance standards along with the estimated costs and statutory
authority needed for further development and implementation of the
evaluation system. The system shall include:
(a) Peer evaluations for residency and professional certification
to be conducted by state-certified evaluators who are teachers with
endorsements in the same or similar subjects and who are not employed
by the same school district as the teacher being evaluated or do not
have a conflict of interest regarding the teacher being evaluated;
(b) A common and standardized evaluation process that involves
multiple measures of teacher performance, including in-class visits and
observations and review of artifacts such as lesson plans and student
work. The evaluation shall include evidence of improved student
learning from statewide student formative assessments and other sources
of evidence;
(c) A common and standardized scoring rubric for determining
whether a teacher meets the minimum level of performance;
(d) Standards, a training program, and a procedure for the
professional educator standards board to certify evaluators; and
(e) Administration and management of the evaluation process and
deployment of evaluators through regional networks operated through the
educational service districts.
(3) To the extent that funds are appropriated for this purpose, the
professional educator standards board shall develop the evaluation
system and process throughout the remainder of the 2010-11 and 2011-12
school years.
(4) The professional educator standards board shall establish
minimum levels of performance on the evaluation under this section for
a residency teaching certificate, a professional teaching certificate,
and continuing professional certification. The professional educator
standards board shall adopt a definition of master teacher that
requires certification from the national board for professional
teaching standards.
(a) Educator preparation programs approved to offer the residency
teaching certificate shall be required to demonstrate how the program
is aligned with and requires demonstration of the standards for
effective teaching adopted under this section. Beginning September 1,
2012, final evaluations for the award of the residency teaching
certificate shall be conducted through the evaluation system
established under this section.
(b) Beginning September 1, 2012, in addition to successfully
completing an approved residency certification program, a teacher
candidate must meet the minimum level of performance on the evaluation
under this section to receive a residency certificate. Beginning
September 1, 2012, a residency certificate issued to a teacher is valid
for no more than five years of teaching service in a Washington public
school, state-approved private school, educational service district, or
state agency that provides educational services for students. A
teacher must meet the minimum level of performance for and receive a
professional certificate to continue being certified as a teacher.
(c) Beginning September 1, 2012, award of a professional
certificate shall be based on a minimum of two years of successful
teaching experience as defined by the board and on the results of the
evaluation under this section and shall not require candidates to
enroll in a professional certification program.
(d) The professional educator standards board shall adopt standards
for continuing professional teaching certification that are based on
the results of periodic, ongoing evaluations under this section and do
not rely on continuing education credit hours. The standards shall
apply beginning September 1, 2012, to all teachers holding professional
teaching certification.
(5) By January 1, 2011, the professional educator standards board
shall adopt definitions and criteria for master-level certification for
educational staff associates. The criteria shall expect educational
staff associates to demonstrate a level of competency in their field
comparable to the level of competency that national board certification
expects from classroom teachers, with a comparable level of increased
competency between professional and master level as between
professional teaching certification and national board certification.
The board shall submit the proposed definitions and criteria to the
education committees of the legislature for review and must permit an
opportunity for the legislature to act before final adoption of the
definitions and criteria in rules.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 203 A new section is added to chapter 28A.415
RCW to read as follows:
(a) A rigorous and structured program of professional development
activities to assist teachers in meeting the standards for effective
teaching adopted by the professional educator standards board. The
program shall provide intensive support for teachers in their first
year of teaching service and graduated levels of additional support
depending on the needs of the teacher for up to five years or the
teacher's attainment of professional certification;
(b) Mentoring and coaching from state-certified mentors who are
teachers with an endorsement in the same or similar subject as the
teacher being mentored, including minimum recommended standards for
release time for mentors and new teachers and contact between mentors
and new teachers. The standards should encourage mentors to remain
actively engaged in classroom instruction to maintain their skills and
provide students continued opportunities to receive instruction from
highly effective teachers. School districts may select and assign
mentors as long as the mentors are state-certified; however the
legislature does not intend that teachers permanently assume the role
of mentor on a full-time basis; and
(c) Standards, a training program, and a procedure for the
superintendent of public instruction to certify mentors.
(2) To the extent that funds are appropriated for this purpose, the
superintendent of public instruction shall develop the mentoring and
support system throughout the remainder of the 2010-11 and 2011-12
school years.
(3) Beginning with the 2012-13 school year, teachers in their first
year of teaching service in Washington public schools after receipt of
a residency certificate must participate in the mentoring and support
program developed under this section. Teachers may receive additional
mentoring and support under this section as needed and as determined by
the school district for up to five years until they achieve
professional certification.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 204
(2) For the purposes of this section, the staff allocations for
classroom teachers, teacher librarians, professional development
coaches, student health services staff, and guidance counselors under
section 106 of this act are allocations for certificated instructional
staff.
(3) Salary allocations under this section shall be calculated by
the superintendent of public instruction by determining the district's
average salary for all certificated instructional staff in the district
who are subject to this section, using the statewide salary schedule
and related documents, conditions, and limitations established by the
omnibus appropriations act.
(4) The statewide salary schedule under this section shall be based
on three tiers of demonstrated performance that align with the three
levels of certification as defined by the professional educator
standards board: Residency, professional, and master. Each tier shall
contain salary steps based on years of service. The salary schedule
shall not provide increased salaries based on continuing education
credits or academic degrees.
(5) By the 2016-17 school year, the statewide salary schedule under
this section shall include the equivalent of ten learning improvement
days, subject to the provisions of section 208 of this act and the
implementation schedule under section 113 of this act.
(6) This section applies only to certificated instructional staff
whose first employment with a school district commences with or after
the 2012-13 school year or who have transferred to the compensation
system with salary allocations established under this section as
provided under section 205 of this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 205
(2) An employee who wishes to transfer to the new compensation
system in accordance with this section shall notify the employing
school district no later than November 15th of the year prior to the
school year when the transfer will take effect. The transfer shall
take effect with the next subsequent school year after the notification
regardless of whether the employee changes school districts, takes a
leave of absence, or terminates employment before the beginning of the
school year.
(3) Any employee subject to this section who has not transferred to
the new compensation system by November 15, 2021, shall be
automatically transferred effective September 1, 2022.
(4) This section expires December 31, 2022.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 206
(2) The compensation working group shall consider but not be
limited to the following information and factors in developing the
salary schedule:
(a) Results of the preliminary labor market survey and analysis
conducted under this section and other information about average
salaries for noneducators in comparable occupations in Washington,
including noneducators at the beginning of their careers and various
types of educational staff associates working in noneducational
settings;
(b) The impact of recognizing nonschool experience in the placement
of educational staff associates on the salary allocation schedule;
(c) The relative distribution of certificated staff on the current
salary allocation schedule, in combination with current pay for
additional time, responsibilities, and incentives, compared to the
levels of compensation that would make transfer to a new system
financially attractive for many individuals; and
(d) Significant recognition of effective teaching performance as
staff advance on the three tiers of the salary schedule.
(3) The compensation working group shall consider but not be
limited to the following factors in developing the recommended bonus
amounts for mentors and evaluators:
(a) Time commitment and level of effort expected of mentors under
the mentoring and support system proposed by the superintendent of
public instruction;
(b) Varying bonus levels for part-time and full-time service as a
mentor;
(c) Time commitment and level of effort expected of evaluators
under the teacher evaluation system proposed by the professional
educator standards board; and
(d) Amounts that, in combination with base salaries in the salary
schedule, represent an incentive for experienced and effective teachers
to serve as mentors and evaluators.
(4) The department of personnel shall conduct a preliminary
comparative labor market survey and analysis as described under section
216 of this act and provide the results to the working group.
(5) The work of the compensation working group shall be monitored
and overseen by the basic education steering committee under section 3
of this act. The working group shall provide updates on its work as
requested by the steering committee.
(6) The office of financial management shall submit a preliminary
analysis of the options developed under this section to the basic
education steering committee by November 15, 2009. The analysis shall
include preliminary fiscal estimates for implementing the schedule and
recommendations for addressing any unresolved issues or decisions
requiring legislative action during the 2010 legislative session to
allow continued development of the schedule and bonus amounts. A final
report shall be submitted to the steering committee by September 1,
2010.
(7) The estimates and information submitted to the governor by the
superintendent of public instruction under RCW 28A.300.170 and the
governor's biennial budget request and budget bill submitted to the
legislature under RCW 43.88.060 for the 2011-2013 biennium shall
include a proposed statewide salary schedule to implement section 204
of this act and proposed bonus amounts to implement section 210 of this
act, to be implemented beginning with the 2012-13 school year.
Sec. 207 RCW 28A.150.410 and 2007 c 403 s 1 are each amended to
read as follows:RCW 28A.150.260)) section 106 of this act. For the
purposes of this section, beginning in the 2011-12 school year, the
staff allocations for classroom teachers, librarians, professional
development coaches, student health services staff, and guidance
counselors under section 106 of this act are allocations for
certificated instructional staff.
(2) Salary allocations for ((state-funded basic education))
certificated instructional staff under this section shall be calculated
by the superintendent of public instruction by determining the
district's average salary for all certificated instructional staff who
are subject to this section, using the statewide salary allocation
schedule and related documents, conditions, and limitations established
by the omnibus appropriations act.
(3) Beginning January 1, 1992, no more than ninety college quarter-hour credits received by any employee after the baccalaureate degree
may be used to determine compensation allocations under the state
salary allocation schedule and LEAP documents referenced in the omnibus
appropriations act, or any replacement schedules and documents, unless:
(a) The employee has a masters degree; or
(b) The credits were used in generating state salary allocations
before January 1, 1992.
(4) Beginning in the 2007-08 school year, the calculation of years
of service for occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, audiologists, nurses, social workers,
counselors, and psychologists regulated under Title 18 RCW may include
experience in schools and other nonschool positions as occupational
therapists, physical therapists, speech-language pathologists,
audiologists, nurses, social workers, counselors, or psychologists.
The calculation shall be that one year of service in a nonschool
position counts as one year of service for purposes of this chapter, up
to a limit of two years of nonschool service. Nonschool years of
service included in calculations under this subsection shall not be
applied to service credit totals for purposes of any retirement benefit
under chapter 41.32, 41.35, or 41.40 RCW, or any other state retirement
system benefits.
(5) By the 2016-17 school year, the statewide salary allocation
schedule under this section shall include the equivalent of ten
learning improvement days, subject to the provisions of section 208 of
this act and the implementation schedule under section 113 of this act.
(6) Beginning in the 2012-13 school year, this section applies only
to certificated instructional staff whose first employment with a
school district commenced before the 2012-13 school year and who have
not transferred under section 205 of this act to the compensation
system with salary allocations provided under section 204 of this act.
(7) This section expires August 31, 2022.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 208
(2) The additional days shall be limited to specific activities
identified in the state-required school improvement plan related to
improving student learning that are consistent with education reform
implementation. The principal in each school shall assure that the
days are used to provide schoolwide professional development for all
teachers and other instructional staff that is tied directly to the
school improvement plan. The principal of each school and the
superintendent of the school district shall maintain documentation of
their approval of the activities.
(3) The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules and
take such other steps as necessary to assure that school districts
comply with the intent and purposes of this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 209
(a) Principals, including assistant principals and other
certificated building-level administrators;
(b) Office support and noninstructional aides;
(c) Custodians and other maintenance; and
(d) Student and staff safety.
(2) The statewide salary allocations under this section for the
2011-12 school year shall be calculated by the superintendent of public
instruction based on the statewide actual average salaries reported by
school districts for the 2008-09 school year for the types of
certificated and classified staff under subsection (1) of this section,
increased by any subsequent across-the-board salary increases
authorized by the legislature.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 210 A new section is added to chapter 28A.405
RCW to read as follows:
(a) Teachers serving as state-certified mentors as provided under
section 203 of this act shall receive a bonus in an amount specified in
the omnibus appropriations act. A state-certified mentor is eligible
for the mentor bonus only during periods of service as a mentor in the
program under section 203 of this act.
(b) Teachers serving as state-certified evaluators as provided
under section 202 of this act shall receive a bonus in an amount
specified in the omnibus appropriations act. A state-certified
evaluator is eligible for the evaluator bonus only during periods of
service as an evaluator.
(c) Certificated instructional staff who have attained
certification from the national board for professional teaching
standards shall receive a bonus in the amount of five thousand dollars
if the individual is in an instructional assignment in:
(i) A high school where at least fifty percent of the students in
the school are eligible for federal free or reduced-price meals;
(ii) A middle school where at least sixty percent of the students
in the school are eligible for federal free or reduced-price meals; or
(iii) An elementary school where at least seventy percent of the
students in the school are eligible for federal free or reduced-price
meals.
(2) The bonuses provided under this section are in addition to
compensation received under a district's salary schedule adopted in
accordance with RCW 28A.405.200 and shall not be included in
calculations of a district's average salary and associated salary
limitations under RCW 28A.400.200. The bonus under subsection (1)(c)
of this section shall be adjusted annually for inflation and shall be
paid in a lump sum amount.
(3) This section applies only to those certificated instructional
staff whose first employment with a school district commences with or
after the 2012-13 school year or who have transferred to the
compensation system with salary allocations established under section
204 of this act as provided under section 205 of this act.
(4) The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules to
implement this section, including assuring that certificated
instructional staff who qualify for one or more bonus under this
section for less than one full school year receive the bonus in a pro
rata manner.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 211 A new section is added to chapter 28A.400
RCW to read as follows:
(2) The office of financial management shall submit the initial
recommended regional wage adjustment and accompanying fiscal impact
analysis to the superintendent of public instruction, the governor, and
the education and fiscal committees of the legislature by August 1,
2010. The office of financial management shall update the recommended
adjustment and fiscal impact analysis every four years by August 1st.
Sec. 212 RCW 28A.405.415 and 2008 c 175 s 2 are each amended to
read as follows:
(2) Certificated instructional staff who have attained
certification from the national board for professional teaching
standards shall be eligible for bonuses in addition to that provided by
subsection (1) of this section if the individual is in an instructional
assignment in ((a school in which at least seventy percent of the
students qualify for the free and reduced-price lunch program)):
(a) A high school where at least fifty percent of the students in
the school are eligible for federal free or reduced-price lunch;
(b) A middle school where at least sixty percent of the students in
the school are eligible for federal free or reduced-price lunch; or
(c) An elementary school where at least seventy percent of the
students in the school are eligible for federal free or reduced-price
lunch.
(3) The amount of the additional bonus under subsection (2) of this
section for those meeting the qualifications of subsection (2) of this
section is five thousand dollars.
(4) Beginning in the 2012-13 school year, certificated
instructional staff who have attained professional level certification
from the professional educator standards board shall be eligible for a
one-time bonus of one thousand dollars. The bonus under this
subsection shall not be included in the definition of "earnable
compensation" under RCW 41.32.010(10).
(5) The bonuses provided under this section are in addition to
compensation received under a district's salary schedule adopted in
accordance with RCW 28A.405.200 and shall not be included in
calculations of a district's average salary and associated salary
limitations under RCW 28A.400.200.
(((5))) (6) The bonuses provided under this section shall be paid
in a lump sum amount.
(7) Beginning in the 2012-13 school year, this section applies only
to certificated instructional staff whose first employment with a
school district commenced before the 2012-13 school year and who have
not transferred under section 205 of this act to the compensation
system with salary allocations provided under section 204 of this act.
(8) This section expires August 31, 2022.
Sec. 213 RCW 28A.400.200 and 2002 c 353 s 2 are each amended to
read as follows:
(2) For certificated instructional staff subject to the salary
allocation schedule established under section 207 of this act:
(a) Salaries ((for certificated instructional staff)) shall not be
less than the salary provided in the omnibus appropriations act in the
statewide salary allocation schedule for an employee with a
baccalaureate degree and zero years of service; ((and))
(b) Salaries for ((certificated instructional)) staff with a
masters degree shall not be less than the salary provided in the
appropriations act in the statewide salary allocation schedule for an
employee with a masters degree and zero years of service; and
(((3)(a))) (c) The actual average salary paid to ((certificated
instructional)) staff subject to this subsection (2) shall not exceed
the district's average certificated instructional staff salary used for
the state basic education allocations for that school year as
determined pursuant to ((RCW 28A.150.410)) section 207 of this act.
(((b))) (3) For certificated instructional staff subject to the
salary schedule established under section 204 of this act salaries
shall be as provided in the statewide salary schedule in the omnibus
appropriations act.
(4)(a) Fringe benefit contributions for certificated instructional
staff shall be included as salary under (((a) of this)) subsections (2)
and (3) of this section only to the extent that the district's actual
average benefit contribution exceeds the amount of the insurance
benefits allocation provided per certificated instructional staff unit
in the state operating appropriations act in effect at the time the
compensation is payable. For purposes of this section, fringe benefits
shall not include payment for unused leave for illness or injury under
RCW 28A.400.210; employer contributions for old age survivors
insurance, workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, and
retirement benefits under the Washington state retirement system; or
employer contributions for health benefits in excess of the insurance
benefits allocation provided per certificated instructional staff unit
in the state operating appropriations act in effect at the time the
compensation is payable. A school district may not use state funds to
provide employer contributions for such excess health benefits.
(((c))) (b) Salary and benefits for certificated instructional
staff in programs other than basic education shall be consistent with
the salary and benefits paid to certificated instructional staff in the
basic education program.
(((4))) (5)(a) Salaries and benefits for certificated instructional
staff may exceed the limitations in subsections (((3))) (2) through (4)
of this section only by separate contract for additional time((,
additional responsibilities, or incentives)) worked outside the regular
school day or school year.
(b) Supplemental contracts shall specify the minimum amount of
additional time required and the purpose or purposes of the additional
time using standard terms and definitions established by the office of
the superintendent of public instruction. Nothing in this section
prohibits a supplemental contract that pays a stipend rather than a
per-unit amount for the additional time. School districts shall
annually submit the information required under this subsection in a
common reporting format established by the office of the superintendent
of public instruction and disaggregated for each individual receiving
a supplemental contract.
(c) Supplemental contracts shall not cause the state to incur any
present or future funding obligation. Supplemental contracts shall be
subject to the collective bargaining provisions of chapter 41.59 RCW
and the provisions of RCW 28A.405.240, shall not exceed one year, and
if not renewed shall not constitute adverse change in accordance with
RCW 28A.405.300 through 28A.405.380.
(d) No district may enter into a supplemental contract under this
subsection (5) for the provision of services which are a part of the
basic education program ((required by Article IX, section 3 of the
state Constitution)) as defined in section 101 of this act.
(((5))) (6) Employee benefit plans offered by any district shall
comply with RCW 28A.400.350 and 28A.400.275 and 28A.400.280.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 214 A new section is added to chapter 41.59
RCW to read as follows:
Sec. 215 RCW 41.59.935 and 1990 c 33 s 571 are each amended to
read as follows:28A.150.410 and)) 28A.400.200.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 216 A new section is added to chapter 28A.400
RCW to read as follows:
(b) The survey and analysis shall examine salaries and other
compensation for teachers, other certificated instructional staff,
principals and other building-level certificated administrators, office
support and instructional aides, custodians and other maintenance
staff, and student and staff safety personnel, as compared to salaries
and other compensation for nonschool employees in comparable
occupations. The analysis shall compare salaries and other
compensation for a ten-month work year and a twelve-month work year.
(c) The survey and analysis shall be conducted at a statewide level
and for metropolitan areas and other labor markets in Washington
identified through the use of data from the United States bureau of the
census and the bureau of labor statistics.
(d) The survey and analysis shall also include a comparison of
salaries and other compensation to the appropriate labor market for at
least the following subgroups of educators:
(i) Beginning teachers;
(ii) Mathematics and science teachers; and
(iii) Types of educational staff associates.
(2) For the purposes of this section, "salaries and other
compensation" includes average base salaries, average total salaries,
average employee basic benefits as defined by RCW 28A.400.270, and
retirement benefits.
(3) The department of personnel shall submit the results of the
comparative labor market analysis to the office of financial
management, the superintendent of public instruction, and the education
and fiscal committees of the legislature by June 30, 2010, and every
four years thereafter.
Sec. 217 RCW 28A.405.100 and 1997 c 278 s 1 are each amended to
read as follows:developed in
the following categories: Instructional skill; classroom management,))
based on the standards and scoring rubric for effective teaching
adopted by the professional educator standards board. Additional
minimum criteria include professional preparation and scholarship;
effort toward improvement when needed; the handling of student
discipline and attendant problems; and interest in teaching pupils and
knowledge of subject matter.
Every board of directors shall, in accordance with procedure
provided in RCW 41.59.010 through 41.59.170, 41.59.910 and 41.59.920,
establish evaluative criteria and procedures for all certificated
classroom teachers and certificated support personnel. The evaluative
criteria must contain as a minimum the criteria established by the
superintendent of public instruction pursuant to this section and must
be prepared within six months following adoption of the superintendent
of public instruction's minimum criteria. The district must certify to
the superintendent of public instruction that evaluative criteria have
been so prepared by the district.
Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, it shall be
the responsibility of a principal or his or her designee to evaluate
all certificated personnel in his or her school. During each school
year all classroom teachers and certificated support personnel,
hereinafter referred to as "employees" in this section, shall be
observed for the purposes of evaluation at least twice in the
performance of their assigned duties. Total observation time for each
employee for each school year shall be not less than sixty minutes.
Following each observation, or series of observations, the principal or
other evaluator shall promptly document the results of the observation
in writing, and shall provide the employee with a copy thereof within
three days after such report is prepared. New employees shall be
observed at least once for a total observation time of thirty minutes
during the first ninety calendar days of their employment period.
At any time after October 15th, an employee whose work is judged
unsatisfactory based on district evaluation criteria shall be notified
in writing of the specific areas of deficiencies along with a
reasonable program for improvement. During the period of probation,
the employee may not be transferred from the supervision of the
original evaluator. Improvement of performance or probable cause for
nonrenewal must occur and be documented by the original evaluator
before any consideration of a request for transfer or reassignment as
contemplated by either the individual or the school district. A
probationary period of sixty school days shall be established. The
establishment of a probationary period does not adversely affect the
contract status of an employee within the meaning of RCW 28A.405.300.
The purpose of the probationary period is to give the employee
opportunity to demonstrate improvements in his or her areas of
deficiency. The establishment of the probationary period and the
giving of the notice to the employee of deficiency shall be by the
school district superintendent and need not be submitted to the board
of directors for approval. During the probationary period the
evaluator shall meet with the employee at least twice monthly to
supervise and make a written evaluation of the progress, if any, made
by the employee. The evaluator may authorize one additional
certificated employee to evaluate the probationer and to aid the
employee in improving his or her areas of deficiency; such additional
certificated employee shall be immune from any civil liability that
might otherwise be incurred or imposed with regard to the good faith
performance of such evaluation. The probationer may be removed from
probation if he or she has demonstrated improvement to the satisfaction
of the principal in those areas specifically detailed in his or her
initial notice of deficiency and subsequently detailed in his or her
improvement program. Lack of necessary improvement during the
established probationary period, as specifically documented in writing
with notification to the probationer and shall constitute grounds for
a finding of probable cause under RCW 28A.405.300 or 28A.405.210.
Immediately following the completion of a probationary period that
does not produce performance changes detailed in the initial notice of
deficiencies and improvement program, the employee may be removed from
his or her assignment and placed into an alternative assignment for the
remainder of the school year. This reassignment may not displace
another employee nor may it adversely affect the probationary
employee's compensation or benefits for the remainder of the employee's
contract year. If such reassignment is not possible, the district may,
at its option, place the employee on paid leave for the balance of the
contract term.
(2) Every board of directors shall establish evaluative criteria
and procedures for all superintendents, principals, and other
administrators. It shall be the responsibility of the district
superintendent or his or her designee to evaluate all administrators.
Such evaluation shall be based on the administrative position job
description. Such criteria, when applicable, shall include at least
the following categories: Knowledge of, experience in, and training in
recognizing good professional performance, capabilities and
development; school administration and management; school finance;
professional preparation and scholarship; effort toward improvement
when needed; interest in pupils, employees, patrons and subjects taught
in school; leadership; and ability and performance of evaluation of
school personnel.
(3) Each certificated employee shall have the opportunity for
confidential conferences with his or her immediate supervisor on no
less than two occasions in each school year. Such confidential
conference shall have as its sole purpose the aiding of the
administrator in his or her assessment of the employee's professional
performance.
(4) The failure of any evaluator to evaluate or supervise or cause
the evaluation or supervision of certificated employees or
administrators in accordance with this section, as now or hereafter
amended, when it is his or her specific assigned or delegated
responsibility to do so, shall be sufficient cause for the nonrenewal
of any such evaluator's contract under RCW 28A.405.210, or the
discharge of such evaluator under RCW 28A.405.300.
(5) After an employee has ((four)) five years of satisfactory
evaluations under subsection (1) of this section, a school district may
use a short form of evaluation, a locally bargained evaluation
emphasizing professional growth, an evaluation under subsection (1) of
this section, or any combination thereof. Any evaluation of a
classroom teacher under this subsection must include an evaluation
based on the standards and scoring rubric for effective teaching
adopted by the professional educator standards board. The short form
of evaluation shall include either a thirty minute observation during
the school year with a written summary or a final annual written
evaluation based on the criteria in subsection (1) of this section and
based on at least two observation periods during the school year
totaling at least sixty minutes without a written summary of such
observations being prepared. However, the evaluation process set forth
in subsection (1) of this section shall be followed at least once every
three years unless this time is extended by a local school district
under the bargaining process set forth in chapter 41.59 RCW. The
employee or evaluator may require that the evaluation process set forth
in subsection (1) of this section be conducted in any given school
year. No evaluation other than the evaluation authorized under
subsection (1) of this section may be used as a basis for determining
that an employee's work is unsatisfactory under subsection (1) of this
section or as probable cause for the nonrenewal of an employee's
contract under RCW 28A.405.210 unless an evaluation process developed
under chapter 41.59 RCW determines otherwise.
Sec. 218 RCW 28A.405.220 and 1996 c 201 s 2 are each amended to
read as follows:
(2) Every person employed by a school district in a teaching
position shall remain a provisional employee and subject to the
nonrenewal of employment contract until the beginning of the next
subsequent school year after the school year in which the employee
receives professional teaching certification as provided under section
202 of this act.
(3) Employees as defined in this section shall hereinafter be
referred to as "provisional employees".
(4) In the event the superintendent of the school district
determines that the employment contract of any provisional employee
should not be renewed by the district for the next ensuing term such
provisional employee shall be notified thereof in writing on or before
May 15th preceding the commencement of such school term, or if the
omnibus appropriations act has not passed the legislature by May 15th,
then notification shall be no later than June 1st, which notification
shall state the reason or reasons for such determination. Such notice
shall be served upon the provisional employee personally, or by
certified or registered mail, or by leaving a copy of the notice at the
place of his or her usual abode with some person of suitable age and
discretion then resident therein. The determination of the
superintendent shall be subject to the evaluation requirements of RCW
28A.405.100.
(5) Every such provisional employee so notified, at his or her
request made in writing and filed with the superintendent of the
district within ten days after receiving such notice, shall be given
the opportunity to meet informally with the superintendent for the
purpose of requesting the superintendent to reconsider his or her
decision. Such meeting shall be held no later than ten days following
the receipt of such request, and the provisional employee shall be
given written notice of the date, time and place of meeting at least
three days prior thereto. At such meeting the provisional employee
shall be given the opportunity to refute any facts upon which the
superintendent's determination was based and to make any argument in
support of his or her request for reconsideration.
(6) Within ten days following the meeting with the provisional
employee, the superintendent shall either reinstate the provisional
employee or shall submit to the school district board of directors for
consideration at its next regular meeting a written report recommending
that the employment contract of the provisional employee be nonrenewed
and stating the reason or reasons therefor. A copy of such report
shall be delivered to the provisional employee at least three days
prior to the scheduled meeting of the board of directors. In taking
action upon the recommendation of the superintendent, the board of
directors shall consider any written communication which the
provisional employee may file with the secretary of the board at any
time prior to that meeting.
(7) The board of directors shall notify the provisional employee in
writing of its final decision within ten days following the meeting at
which the superintendent's recommendation was considered. The decision
of the board of directors to nonrenew the contract of a provisional
employee shall be final and not subject to appeal.
(8) This section applies to any person employed by a school
district in a teaching or other nonsupervisory certificated position
after ((June 25, 1976)) the effective date of this section. This
section provides the exclusive means for nonrenewing the employment
contract of a provisional employee and no other provision of law shall
be applicable thereto, including, without limitation, RCW 28A.405.210
and chapter 28A.645 RCW.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 301
(2) The legislature further finds that it is the state's
responsibility to provide schools and districts with the tools
necessary to be accountable. These tools include the necessary
accounting and data reporting systems, assessment systems to monitor
student achievement, and a system of general support, targeted
assistance, recognition, and, if necessary, intervention.
Sec. 302 RCW 28A.305.130 and 2008 c 27 s 1 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) Hold regularly scheduled meetings at such time and place within
the state as the board shall determine and may hold such special
meetings as may be deemed necessary for the transaction of public
business;
(2) Form committees as necessary to effectively and efficiently
conduct the work of the board;
(3) Seek advice from the public and interested parties regarding
the work of the board;
(4) For purposes of statewide accountability:
(a) Adopt and revise performance improvement goals in reading,
writing, science, and mathematics, by subject and grade level, once
assessments in these subjects are required statewide; academic and
technical skills, as appropriate, in secondary career and technical
education programs; and student attendance, as the board deems
appropriate to improve student learning. The goals shall be consistent
with student privacy protection provisions of RCW 28A.655.090(7) and
shall not conflict with requirements contained in Title I of the
federal elementary and secondary education act of 1965, or the
requirements of the Carl D. Perkins vocational education act of 1998,
each as amended. The goals may be established for all students,
economically disadvantaged students, limited English proficient
students, students with disabilities, and students from
disproportionately academically underachieving racial and ethnic
backgrounds. The board may establish school and school district goals
addressing high school graduation rates and dropout reduction goals for
students in grades seven through twelve. The board shall adopt the
goals by rule. However, before each goal is implemented, the board
shall present the goal to the education committees of the house of
representatives and the senate for the committees' review and comment
in a time frame that will permit the legislature to take statutory
action on the goal if such action is deemed warranted by the
legislature;
(b) Identify the scores students must achieve in order to meet the
standard on the Washington assessment of student learning and, for high
school students, to obtain a certificate of academic achievement. The
board shall also determine student scores that identify levels of
student performance below and beyond the standard. The board shall
consider the incorporation of the standard error of measurement into
the decision regarding the award of the certificates. The board shall
set such performance standards and levels in consultation with the
superintendent of public instruction and after consideration of any
recommendations that may be developed by any advisory committees that
may be established for this purpose. The initial performance standards
and any changes recommended by the board in the performance standards
for the tenth grade assessment shall be presented to the education
committees of the house of representatives and the senate by November
30th of the school year in which the changes will take place to permit
the legislature to take statutory action before the changes are
implemented if such action is deemed warranted by the legislature. The
legislature shall be advised of the initial performance standards and
any changes made to the elementary level performance standards and the
middle school level performance standards;
(c) Adopt ((objective, systematic criteria)) an accountability
index as provided in section 303 of this act to identify successful
schools and school districts ((and recommend to the superintendent of
public instruction schools and districts to be recognized for two types
of accomplishments, student achievement and improvements in student
achievement. Recognition for improvements in student achievement shall
include consideration of one or more of the following accomplishments:)), those in need of assistance, and those in which
significant numbers of students persistently fail to meet state
standards((
(i) An increase in the percent of students meeting standards. The
level of achievement required for recognition may be based on the
achievement goals established by the legislature and by the board under
(a) of this subsection;
(ii) Positive progress on an improvement index that measures
improvement in all levels of the assessment; and
(iii) Improvements despite challenges such as high levels of
mobility, poverty, English as a second language learners, and large
numbers of students in special populations as measured by either the
percent of students meeting the standard, or the improvement index.
When determining the baseline year or years for recognizing individual
schools, the board may use the assessment results from the initial
years the assessments were administered, if doing so with individual
schools would be appropriate;
(d) Adopt objective, systematic criteria to identify schools and
school districts. In its deliberations, the board shall consider the use of
all statewide mandated criterion-referenced and norm-referenced
standardized tests));
(d) Recommend to the superintendent of public instruction schools
and districts to be recognized for student achievement and improvements
in student achievement and recommend methods of recognition, including
the team-based recognition bonus under section 304 of this act;
(e) Identify schools and school districts in which state support,
assistance, and intervention measures will be needed ((and)); recommend
a range of appropriate support, assistance, and intervention strategies
((after the legislature has authorized a set of intervention
strategies. After the legislature has authorized a set of intervention
strategies, at the request of the board, the superintendent shall
intervene in the school or school district and take corrective actions.
This chapter does not provide additional authority for the board or the
superintendent of public instruction to intervene in a school or school
district)); adopt criteria for and approve performance contracts under
the innovation zone program as provided under section 305 of this act;
approve schools and school districts on academic watch as provided
under section 306 of this act; and review and approve academic watch
action plans for schools and school districts, including requiring
binding conditions in the plans as provided under section 306 of this
act;
(f) Identify performance incentive systems that have improved or
have the potential to improve student achievement;
(g) Annually review the assessment reporting system to ensure
fairness, accuracy, timeliness, and equity of opportunity, especially
with regard to schools with special circumstances and unique
populations of students, and a recommendation to the superintendent of
public instruction of any improvements needed to the system; and
(h) Include in the biennial report required under RCW 28A.305.035,
information on the progress that has been made in achieving goals
adopted by the board;
(5) Accredit, subject to such accreditation standards and
procedures as may be established by the state board of education, all
private schools that apply for accreditation, and approve, subject to
the provisions of RCW 28A.195.010, private schools carrying out a
program for any or all of the grades kindergarten through twelve:
PROVIDED, That no private school may be approved that operates a
kindergarten program only: PROVIDED FURTHER, That no private schools
shall be placed upon the list of accredited schools so long as secret
societies are knowingly allowed to exist among its students by school
officials;
(6) Articulate with the institutions of higher education, workforce
representatives, and early learning policymakers and providers to
coordinate and unify the work of the public school system;
(7) Hire an executive director and an administrative assistant to
reside in the office of the superintendent of public instruction for
administrative purposes. Any other personnel of the board shall be
appointed as provided by RCW 28A.300.020. The board may delegate to
the executive director by resolution such duties as deemed necessary to
efficiently carry on the business of the board including, but not
limited to, the authority to employ necessary personnel and the
authority to enter into, amend, and terminate contracts on behalf of
the board. The executive director, administrative assistant, and all
but one of the other personnel of the board are exempt from civil
service, together with other staff as now or hereafter designated as
exempt in accordance with chapter 41.06 RCW; and
(8) Adopt a seal that shall be kept in the office of the
superintendent of public instruction.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 303 A new section is added to chapter 28A.655
RCW to read as follows:
(2) The accountability index shall measure school and district
performance using multiple outcomes and indicators. The outcomes
measured by the index shall include but not be limited to extended
graduation rates and results from statewide assessments, including any
statewide formative assessments. The indicators measured by the index
shall include but not be limited to overall student achievement,
student achievement compared to similar schools and districts, and
improvement of student achievement.
(3) The state board of education shall develop a tiered system of
categories for evaluating schools and school districts based on the
results of the accountability index. The categories shall range from
struggling to exemplary and shall be used as the basis for recognition
and state support, assistance, and intervention.
(4) The superintendent of public instruction shall calculate the
results of the accountability index annually and place each school and
school district into one of the categories as defined by the state
board. The superintendent shall post the results of the accountability
index and the category for each school and district on the
superintendent's web site, subject to the protections of student
privacy required under RCW 28A.655.090.
(5) The superintendent of public instruction shall seek approval
from the United States department of education for use of the
accountability index and the state system of support, assistance, and
intervention to replace the federal accountability system under P.L.
107-110, the no child left behind act of 2001.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 304 A new section is added to chapter 28A.655
RCW to read as follows:
(2) Based on the results of the accountability index under section
303 of this act and other criteria established by the state board of
education, the superintendent of public instruction shall annually
recommend to the state board of education a subset of exemplary schools
whose level of overall achievement and sustained improvement of student
learning warrant a special recognition for the staff assigned to the
school. The state board of education shall review the list of
identified schools and designate the schools that are eligible for a
team-based recognition bonus.
(3) To the extent that funds are appropriated for the purposes of
this section, each school district employee assigned to a school
designated by the state board under subsection (2) of this section is
eligible for a team-based recognition bonus in an amount specified in
the omnibus appropriations act. The bonuses provided under this
section are in addition to compensation received under a district's
salary schedule adopted in accordance with RCW 28A.405.200 and shall
not be included in calculations of a district's average salary and
associated salary limitations under RCW 28A.400.200. The bonuses shall
not be included in the definition of "earnable compensation" under RCW
41.32.010(10), 41.35.010(6), or 41.40.010(8). The bonuses shall be
paid in a lump sum amount.
(4) By December 1, 2009, the state board of education shall submit
a proposal for the team-based recognition bonus to the governor and the
education and fiscal committees of the legislature, including the
criteria for identifying qualifying schools and recommendations
regarding the amount of the bonus, which shall be awarded on a per
person basis to all staff assigned to the school but may be
differentiated based on the type of staff in the school.
(5) By November 1, 2010, and annually thereafter, the state board
of education shall submit a list of schools qualifying for the team-based recognition bonus to the superintendent of public instruction and
the governor.
(6) The state board of education shall adopt rules to implement the
team-based recognition bonus under this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 305 A new section is added to chapter 28A.655
RCW to read as follows:
(2) Based on the results of the accountability index and other
criteria established by the state board of education, the
superintendent of public instruction shall annually recommend to the
state board of education a subset of struggling schools and school
districts whose level of achievement and sustained lack of improvement
of student learning warrant designation as priority schools or priority
school districts. Before making the recommendation, the superintendent
shall conduct an intensive analysis using quantitative and qualitative
data, including additional information supplied by the school or
district. The state board of education shall review the list of
identified schools and districts and designate priority schools and
priority school districts.
(3)(a) Subject to funds appropriated for this purpose, the
superintendent of public instruction shall develop and implement an
innovation zone program for priority schools and priority school
districts that apply and are designated by the state board of education
to participate in the program. The state board of education shall
adopt criteria for the performance contracts developed under the
program, including identifying the strategies for significantly
improving student achievement that must be included in a contract, and
shall approve the contracts of participating schools and districts.
(b) The innovation zone program shall include:
(i) Performance contracts between the state board of education and
school district boards of directors that include rigorous and demanding
expectations, measurable objectives and benchmarks with a timeline
against which a school or district is required to show progress, and a
commitment to strategies for making operational changes in the school
or district. Such strategies may include but not be limited to
additional time for professional development or student learning,
professional learning communities, supplemental learning opportunities
and support for students, reallocation of financial resources to the
extent authorized by law, personnel changes, implementation of data-driven instruction, changes in curriculum, waivers of state or federal
rules or regulations to the extent authorized by law, changes to
collective bargaining agreements that are agreed to by the parties to
the agreements, enhanced connections between schools, parents, and
local communities, and improved coordination of professional
development and instruction;
(ii) To the extent that funds are appropriated or otherwise
available for this purpose, supplemental resources and assistance
provided by the office of the superintendent of public instruction to
implement the performance contracts;
(iii) Systemic, district-wide reform initiatives that involve
clusters of schools within a district or across districts; and
(iv) A focus on schools and districts that demonstrate a readiness
to benefit from the program and a commitment to collaboration from key
partners including the school board, school and district
administration, teachers, school staff, and community leaders.
(d) Performance contracts under the innovation zone program shall
be for a minimum two-year period of implementation, not including time
to develop the contract and the plan for participating in the
innovation zone program. If the superintendent of public instruction
determines that the priority school or priority school district has
demonstrated significant improvement after two years of a performance
contract, the superintendent may recommend to the state board of
education that supplemental resources and assistance to the school or
district be continued for an additional two-year period.
(4) Priority schools and priority school districts that do not
participate in the innovation zone program shall be offered strategic
planning assistance for school improvement from the office of the
superintendent of public instruction.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 306 A new section is added to chapter 28A.655
RCW to read as follows:
(2)(a) A priority school or priority school district that has
participated in the innovation zone program under section 305 of this
act shall be placed on academic watch if the school or district retains
priority designation by the state board of education after two years of
support and assistance through a performance contract and a review by
the state board of education of progress made under the contract.
(b) A priority school or priority school district that has not
participated in the innovation zone program shall be placed on academic
watch if the school or district retains priority designation by the
state board of education two years after being so designated.
(3) The superintendent of public instruction shall conduct an
academic performance audit of a school or school district on academic
watch, using peer review teams of educators and experts in school
improvement. The audit shall recommend specific corrective actions
that must be undertaken to improve student learning in the school or
district and any supplemental resources necessary to implement the
corrective actions. With the assistance of the office of the
superintendent of public instruction, a school district on academic
watch or in which schools on academic watch are located shall develop
an academic watch action plan to implement the corrective actions
identified by the performance audit and submit the plan to the state
board of education.
(4) The state board of education shall:
(a) Review academic watch action plans and recommend any changes
the board deems appropriate;
(b) Direct the superintendent of public instruction to develop
final academic watch action plans containing conditions, which shall be
binding on the district, that the superintendent of public instruction
determines are necessary to enable successful implementation of the
plans;
(c) Approve final academic watch action plans with binding
conditions; and
(d) To the extent funds are appropriated or otherwise available for
this purpose, authorize the superintendent of public instruction to
provide supplemental resources and assistance to implement academic
watch action plans.
(5) If the state board of education determines that available
supplemental resources are not sufficient to implement an academic
watch action plan, the board shall not approve the plan.
(6) The superintendent of public instruction shall closely monitor
implementation of academic watch action plans and make periodic status
reports to the state board of education. If the superintendent
determines that a plan is not being successfully implemented or the
actions and binding conditions are not sufficient to achieve their
intended results, the superintendent shall recommend a revised academic
watch action plan for that school district, which shall be approved by
the state board of education as provided under subsections (4) and (5)
of this section. If the superintendent determines that a plan has been
successfully implemented and achieved its intended results, the
superintendent shall recommend that the state board of education remove
the school or district from academic watch.
(7) Binding conditions contained in an academic action plan under
this section may include but are not limited to reallocation of
financial resources to the extent authorized by law, personnel changes,
changes in curriculum and instructional practices, supplemental
instruction and support for students, adoption of a teacher mentoring
program, reduced class size, and adjustment of the school calendar
including extension of the school day or school year. A binding
condition may not alter or affect an existing collective bargaining
agreement unless the agreement is modified by a new agreement bargained
under the terms of chapter 41.59 or 41.56 RCW.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 307 A new section is added to chapter 28A.320
RCW to read as follows:
Sec. 308 RCW 28A.505.120 and 1975-'76 2nd ex.s. c 118 s 12 are
each amended to read as follows:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 309 A new section is added to chapter 28A.655
RCW to read as follows:
(2) The formative assessments shall have the following minimum
characteristics:
(a) Be reasonably aligned with the state essential academic
learning requirements and grade level expectations;
(b) Reliably measure student progress toward meeting grade-level
standards and progress within a grade level and from one grade to the
next;
(c) Provide periodic information during the school year about an
individual student's academic progress that is useful to parents and
teachers in adapting instruction to meet the student's learning needs;
(d) To the maximum extent possible, be administered online and with
immediate results; and
(e) Be available for statewide purchase and provision to school
districts with minimal adaptation or supplementation.
(3) In developing the request for proposals and reviewing the
responses, the superintendent of public instruction shall consult with
advisory committees of teachers, principals, and school curriculum and
assessment directors to assure the results of the formative assessments
provide instructional benefit.
(4) The superintendent shall report to the governor and the
education and fiscal committees of the legislature by November 15,
2010, identifying the recommended formative assessments and estimating
the costs of implementing the assessments statewide, starting with the
2011-12 school year.
(5) The superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with
the state board of education and the professional educator standards
board, shall adopt standards and a common format for schools and
districts to report results from the assessments that protect student
privacy as required under RCW 28A.655.090. Data from the assessments
must be consistently reported by student, by teacher, and by school so
that results may be used for the purposes identified in subsection (1)
of this section.
(6) To the extent that funds are appropriated for this purpose,
schools shall administer the formative assessments selected under this
section and report results beginning in the 2011-12 school year.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 310 A new section is added to chapter 28A.655
RCW to read as follows:
(2) It is the legislature's intent that the education data
accountability systems used by school districts and the state include
but not be limited to the following information and functionality:
(a) Comprehensive educator assignment information, including grade
level and courses taught, building or location, program, job
assignment, years of experience, and compensation;
(b) Capacity to link educator assignment information with educator
certification information such as certification number, type of
certification, route to certification, certification program, and
certification assessment or evaluation scores;
(c) Common coding of secondary courses and major areas of study at
the elementary level;
(d) Complete student information, including but not limited to
student characteristics, course and program enrollment, performance on
statewide summative and formative assessments, and performance on
college readiness tests;
(e) A subset of student information elements to serve as a dropout
early warning system;
(f) Capacity to link educator information with student information;
(g) A common, standardized structure for reporting the costs of
programs at the school and district level with a focus on financial
accountability rather than accounting for expenditure inputs;
(h) Separate accounting of state, federal, and local revenues and
costs;
(i) Alignment between state funding formulas and school district
budgeting and accounting, including procedures for assuring that
financial data is accurate and auditable; and
(j) Capacity to link program cost information with student
information to gauge the cost-effectiveness of programs.
(3) It is the legislature's long-term goal that all school
districts use a common software and data platform to support the
education data accountability systems under this section, which shall
be provided by the state. However, until this goal is fully
implemented, school districts may use software and programs of their
choosing as long as required information and functionality can be
assured.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 311
(2) The data working group shall include representatives of the
office of financial management, the state auditor's office, the
legislative evaluation and accountability program committee, the joint
legislative audit and review committee, the professional educator
standards board, the state board of education, the Washington state
information processing cooperative, educational service districts, the
Washington association of school business officers, the Washington
education association, the Washington association of school
administrators, the Washington state school directors' association, and
other interested stakeholders with expertise in education data.
(3) The data working group shall:
(a) Create a comprehensive needs requirement document detailing the
specific information and technical capacity needed by school districts
and the state to meet the legislature's expectations for comprehensive
data accountability systems as described under section 310 of this act;
(b) Conduct a gap analysis of current and planned information
compared to the needs requirement document, including an analysis of
the strengths and limitations of education data systems and programs
currently used by school districts and the state and the extent to
which these systems and programs have the capacity or can be modified
to meet the needs requirement document;
(c) Focus on financial and cost data necessary to support the new
financial models and funding formulas, including any necessary changes
to school district budgeting and accounting, and on assuring the
capacity to link data across financial, student, and educator systems;
and
(d) Develop a proposal for a data governance structure that would
be responsible for establishing a standard data dictionary, setting
data collection priorities, establishing minimum mandatory standards
for school data systems, and overseeing implementation of the
comprehensive education data accountability systems.
(4) The work of the data working group shall be monitored and
overseen by the basic education steering committee under section 3 of
this act. The working group shall provide updates on its work as
requested by the steering committee.
(5) The superintendent of public instruction shall submit a
preliminary report to the basic education steering committee by
November 15, 2009, including the analyses under subsection (3) of this
section and preliminary options for addressing identified gaps. A
final report, including a proposed phase-in plan and preliminary cost
estimates for implementation of comprehensive data accountability
systems for financial, student, and educator data shall be submitted to
the steering committee by September 1, 2010.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 401 A new section is added to chapter 28A.500
RCW to read as follows:
(2) However, the value of permitting local levies must be balanced
with the value of equity and fairness to students and to taxpayers,
neither of whom should be unduly disadvantaged due to differences in
the tax bases used to support local levies. Equity and fairness
require both an equitable basis for supplemental funding outside basic
education and a mechanism for property tax-poor school districts to
fairly access supplemental funding. As such, local effort assistance,
while also outside the state's obligation for basic education, is
another important component of school finance.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 402
(a) Local levy authority defined not on a percentage of state and
federal funding but on a per-student amount;
(b) State-funded matching assistance to equalize a portion of the
per-student amount in property tax-poor school districts that
demonstrate a level of local effort in authorizing a local levy; and
(c) Elimination of historic grandfathering of local levy authority.
(2) The local funding working group shall consider the impact on
overall school district revenues of the new basic education funding
system established under this act and shall recommend a phase-in plan
that ensures that no school district suffers a decrease in funding from
one school year to the next due to implementation of the new system of
supplemental funding.
(3) The local funding working group shall be composed of
representatives from the office of the superintendent of public
instruction, the department of revenue, the legislative evaluation and
accountability program committee, educational service district
financial managers, and representatives of the Washington association
of school business officers, the Washington education association, the
Washington association of school administrators, the Washington state
school directors' association, and other interested stakeholders with
expertise in education finance. The office of financial management may
engage technical consultants as needed for revenue forecasts and
financial modeling.
(4) The work of the local funding working group shall be monitored
and overseen by the basic education steering committee under section 3
of this act. The working group shall provide updates on its work as
requested by the steering committee.
(5) The office of financial management shall submit a progress
report on the development of the new system of supplemental school
funding to the basic education steering committee by November 15, 2009.
The progress report shall identify the options being considered for the
system and their estimated fiscal impact and any unresolved issues or
decisions requiring legislative action during the 2010 legislative
session to allow continued development of the system. The office of
financial management shall submit a final report with recommendations,
estimated fiscal impact, and implementing legislation to the steering
committee by September 1, 2010.
Sec. 403 RCW 84.52.0531 and 1997 c 259 s 2 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) For excess levies for collection in calendar year 1997, the
maximum dollar amount shall be calculated pursuant to the laws and
rules in effect in November 1996.
(2) For excess levies for collection in calendar year 1998 and
thereafter, the maximum dollar amount shall be the sum of (a) plus or
minus (b) and (c) of this subsection ((minus (d) of this subsection)):
(a) The district's levy base as defined in subsection (3) of this
section multiplied by the district's maximum levy percentage as defined
in subsection (4) of this section;
(b) For districts in a high/nonhigh relationship, the high school
district's maximum levy amount shall be reduced and the nonhigh school
district's maximum levy amount shall be increased by an amount equal to
the estimated amount of the nonhigh payment due to the high school
district under RCW 28A.545.030(3) and 28A.545.050 for the school year
commencing the year of the levy;
(c) For districts in an interdistrict cooperative agreement, the
nonresident school district's maximum levy amount shall be reduced and
the resident school district's maximum levy amount shall be increased
by an amount equal to the per pupil basic education allocation included
in the nonresident district's levy base under subsection (3) of this
section multiplied by:
(i) The number of full-time equivalent students served from the
resident district in the prior school year; multiplied by:
(ii) The serving district's maximum levy percentage determined
under subsection (4) of this section; increased by:
(iii) The percent increase per full-time equivalent student as
stated in the state basic education appropriation section of the
biennial budget between the prior school year and the current school
year divided by fifty-five percent((;)).
(d) The district's maximum levy amount shall be reduced by the
maximum amount of state matching funds for which the district is
eligible under RCW 28A.500.010
(3) For excess levies for collection in calendar year ((1998 and
thereafter)) 2012, a district's levy base shall be the sum of
allocations in (a) through (c) of this subsection received by the
district for the prior school year, including allocations for
compensation increases, plus the sum of such allocations multiplied by
the percent increase per full-time equivalent student as stated in the
state basic education appropriation section of the biennial budget
between the prior school year and the current school year and divided
by fifty-five percent. A district's levy base shall not include local
school district property tax levies or other local revenues, or state
and federal allocations not identified in (a) through (c) of this
subsection.
(a) The district's basic education allocation as determined
pursuant to RCW 28A.150.250, 28A.150.260, and 28A.150.350, as they
existed for the 2010-11 school year;
(b) State and federal categorical allocations for the following
programs:
(i) Pupil transportation;
(ii) Special education;
(iii) Education of highly capable students;
(iv) Compensatory education, including but not limited to learning
assistance, migrant education, Indian education, refugee programs, and
bilingual education;
(v) Food services; and
(vi) Statewide block grant programs; and
(c) Any other federal allocations for elementary and secondary
school programs, including direct grants, other than federal impact aid
funds and allocations in lieu of taxes.
(4) For excess levies for collection in calendar year 2013 and
thereafter, a district's levy base shall be the sum of allocations in
(a) through (c) of this subsection received by the district for the
prior school year, including allocations for compensation increases,
plus the sum of such allocations multiplied by the percent increase per
full-time equivalent student as stated in the state basic education
appropriation section of the biennial budget between the prior school
year and the current school year and divided by fifty-five percent. A
district's levy base shall not include local school district property
tax levies or other local revenues, or state and federal allocations
not identified in (a) through (c) of this subsection.
(a) The district's basic education allocation as determined
pursuant to section 106 of this act, except amounts to fund special
education programs, the learning assistance program, and the
transitional bilingual instructional program, which are accounted for
under (b) of this subsection;
(b) State and federal categorical allocations for the following
programs:
(i) Pupil transportation;
(ii) Special education;
(iii) Education of highly capable students;
(iv) Compensatory education, including but not limited to learning
assistance, migrant education, Indian education, refugee programs, and
bilingual education;
(v) Food services; and
(vi) Statewide block grant programs; and
(c) Any other federal allocations for elementary and secondary
school programs, including direct grants, other than federal impact aid
funds and allocations in lieu of taxes.
(5) A district's maximum levy percentage shall be twenty-two
percent in 1998 and twenty-four percent in 1999 and every year
thereafter((; plus, for qualifying districts, the grandfathered
percentage determined as follows:)).
(a) For 1997, the difference between the district's 1993 maximum
levy percentage and twenty percent; and
(b) For 1998 and thereafter, the percentage calculated as follows:
(i) Multiply the grandfathered percentage for the prior year times
the district's levy base determined under subsection (3) of this
section;
(ii) Reduce the result of (b)(i) of this subsection by any levy
reduction funds as defined in subsection (5) of this section that are
to be allocated to the district for the current school year;
(iii) Divide the result of (b)(ii) of this subsection by the
district's levy base; and
(iv) Take the greater of zero or the percentage calculated in
(b)(iii) of this subsection
(((5))) (6) "Levy reduction funds" shall mean increases in state
funds from the prior school year for programs included under subsection
(3) or (4) of this section: (a) That are not attributable to
enrollment changes, compensation increases, or inflationary
adjustments; and (b) that are or were specifically identified as levy
reduction funds in the appropriations act. If levy reduction funds are
dependent on formula factors which would not be finalized until after
the start of the current school year, the superintendent of public
instruction shall estimate the total amount of levy reduction funds by
using prior school year data in place of current school year data.
Levy reduction funds shall not include moneys received by school
districts from cities or counties.
(((6))) (7) For the purposes of this section, "prior school year"
means the most recent school year completed prior to the year in which
the levies are to be collected.
(((7))) (8) For the purposes of this section, "current school year"
means the year immediately following the prior school year.
(((8))) (9) Funds collected from transportation vehicle fund tax
levies shall not be subject to the levy limitations in this section.
(((9))) (10) The superintendent of public instruction shall
((develop)) adopt rules ((and regulations)) and inform school districts
of the pertinent data necessary to carry out the provisions of this
section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 404
(1) RCW 28A.500.010 (Local effort assistance funds -- Purpose -- Not
basic education allocation) and 1999 c 317 s 1, 1997 c 259 s 4, 1993 c
410 s 1, 1992 c 49 s 2, & 1987 1st ex.s. c 2 s 102;
(2) RCW 28A.500.020 (Definitions) and 2004 c 21 s 1 & 1999 c 317 s
2;
(3) RCW 28A.500.030 (Allocation of state matching funds--Determination) and 2006 c 372 s 904, 2006 c 119 s 1, 2005 c 518 s 914,
2003 1st sp.s. c 25 s 912, 2002 c 317 s 4, & 1999 c 317 s 3;
(4) RCW 28A.500.040 (Distribution of funds) and 1999 c 317 s 4; and
(5) RCW 28A.500.900 (Effective date -- 1999 c 317) and 1999 c 317 s
5.
Sec. 405 RCW 28A.185.020 and 1990 c 33 s 168 are each amended to
read as follows:this program, in accordance with RCW
28A.150.370,)) the program for highly capable students shall be
categorical funding on an excess cost basis based upon a per student
((amount)) allocation to provide services to highly capable students
not to exceed three percent of any district's full-time equivalent
enrollment. The amount of supplementary funding for this program shall
be established by the legislature in the omnibus appropriations act.
The program for highly capable students shall not be considered part of
the program of basic education as defined under section 101 of this
act.
(2) It is the intent of the legislature that the per student
allocation for this program be calculated for each school district
based on costs to provide classroom teachers and maintenance, supplies,
and operating costs in prototypical schools as described under section
106 of this act and provide for the following supplemental instruction:
(a) An extended school day for a prototypical school of two
instructional hours per week with an average class size of five
students;
(b) An extended school year for a prototypical school of ten
instructional hours per week for four weeks with an average class size
of five students; and
(c) A per student allocation for maintenance, supplies, and
operating costs as provided in the omnibus appropriations act.
(3) The distribution formula under this section shall be for
allocation purposes only.
Sec. 406 RCW 28B.102.040 and 2008 c 170 s 306 are each amended to
read as follows:
(2) If the board selects participants for the program, it shall
establish a selection committee for screening and selecting recipients
of the conditional scholarships. The criteria shall emphasize factors
demonstrating excellence including but not limited to superior
scholastic achievement, leadership ability, community contributions,
bilingual ability, willingness to commit to providing teaching service
in shortage areas, and an ability to act as a role model for students.
Priority will be given to individuals seeking certification or an
additional endorsement in math, science, technology education,
((agricultural education, business and marketing education, family and
consumer science education, or)) special education, bilingual
education, or English as a second language instruction.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 407
(1) RCW 28A.505.210 (Student achievement funds -- Use and accounting
of funds -- Public hearing -- Report) and 2005 c 497 s 105 & 2001 c 3 s 3;
(2) RCW 28A.505.220 (Student achievement funds -- Allocations) and
2008 c 170 s 401 & 2005 c 514 s 1103;
(3) RCW 28A.150.380 (Appropriations by legislature) and 2001 c 3 s
10, 1995 c 335 s 103, 1990 c 33 s 115, 1980 c 6 s 3, & 1969 ex.s. c 223
s 28A.41.050; and
(4) RCW 84.52.068 (State levy -- Distribution to school districts)
and 2005 c 514 s 1104, 2003 1st sp.s. c 19 s 1, & 2001 c 3 s 5.
Sec. 408 RCW 84.52.067 and 2001 c 3 s 7 are each amended to read
as follows:, except for the
amounts collected under RCW 84.52.068 which shall be directly deposited
into the student achievement fund and distributed to school districts
as provided in RCW 84.52.068)).
Sec. 409 RCW 83.100.230 and 2008 c 329 s 924 are each amended to
read as follows:deposit into the student achievement fund and for)) expanding
access to higher education through funding for new enrollments and
financial aid, and other educational improvement efforts. ((During the
2007-2009 fiscal biennium,)) Moneys in the account may also be
transferred into the state general fund.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 501
(2) The superintendent of public instruction shall make every
effort to reduce the amount of paperwork required in administration of
this chapter and RCW 28A.300.170 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. 502 RCW 28A.150.350 and 1990 c 33 s 112 are each amended to
read as follows:
(a) "Private school student" shall mean any student enrolled full
time in a private school;
(b) "School" shall mean any primary, secondary or vocational
school;
(c) "School funding authority" shall mean any nonfederal
governmental authority which provides moneys to common schools;
(d) "Part-time student" shall mean and include: Any student
enrolled in a course of instruction in a private school and taking
courses at and/or receiving ancillary services offered by any public
school not available in such private school; or any student who is not
enrolled in a private school and is receiving home-based instruction
under RCW 28A.225.010 which instruction includes taking courses at or
receiving ancillary services from the local school district or both; or
any student involved in any work training program and taking courses in
any public school, which work training program is approved by the
school board of the district in which such school is located.
(2) The board of directors of any school district is authorized
and, in the same manner as for other public school students, shall
permit the enrollment of and provide ancillary services for part-time
students: PROVIDED, That this section shall only apply to part-time
students who would be otherwise eligible for full-time enrollment in
the school district.
(3) The superintendent of public instruction shall recognize the
costs to each school district occasioned by enrollment of and/or
ancillary services provided for part-time students authorized by
subsection (2) of this section and shall include such costs in the
distribution of funds to school districts pursuant to ((RCW
28A.150.260)) section 106 of this act. Each school district shall be
reimbursed for the costs or a portion thereof, occasioned by attendance
of and/or ancillary services provided for part-time students on a part-
time basis, by the superintendent of public instruction, according to
law.
(4) Each school funding authority shall recognize the costs
occasioned to each school district by enrollment of and ancillary
services provided for part-time students authorized by subsection (2)
of this section, and shall include said costs in funding the activities
of said school districts.
(((5) The superintendent of public instruction is authorized to
adopt rules and regulations to carry out the purposes of RCW
28A.150.260 and 28A.150.350.))
Sec. 503 RCW 28A.150.290 and 1992 c 141 s 504 are each amended to
read as follows: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.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.300.170, and
28A.500.010.)) The superintendent of public instruction shall have the
authority to ((
(2)make)) adopt 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)) section 106
of this act 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)) minimum
instructional hour offering imposed by ((RCW 28A.150.220 and
28A.150.260)) section 104 of this act 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)) inoperative; 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)) inoperative. 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.
(2) 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.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. 504 RCW 28A.150.400 and 1990 c 33 s 117 are each amended to
read as follows:RCW 28A.150.250)) section
105 of this act, any apportionment factors shall utilize data and
statistics derived in an annual period established pursuant to rules
((and regulations promulgated)) adopted by the superintendent of public
instruction in cooperation with the department of revenue.
Sec. 505 RCW 28A.150.275 and 1995 c 77 s 4 are each amended to
read as follows:allocation,
including applicable vocational entitlements and special education
program money,)) core instructional allocation generated under section
106 of this act, plus the special education excess cost allocation
generated under ((this chapter)) section 107 of this act and under
state appropriation acts by school districts for students enrolled in
a technical college program established by an interlocal agreement
under RCW 28B.50.533 shall be allocated in amounts as determined by the
superintendent of public instruction to the serving college rather than
to the school district, unless the college chooses to continue to
receive the allocations through the school districts. This section
does not apply to students enrolled in the running start program
established in RCW 28A.600.310.
Sec. 506 RCW 28A.150.310 and 2002 c 291 s 2 are each amended to
read as follows:vocational entitlements)) career and technical
education enhancements and special education program money, generated
under ((this)) chapter 28A.--- RCW (created in section 702 of this act)
and under state appropriations acts shall be allocated directly to the
military department for a national guard youth challenge program for
students earning high school graduation credit under RCW
((28A.305.170)) 28A.300.165. Funding shall be provided based on
statewide average rates for basic education, special education,
categorical, and block grant programs as determined by the office of
the superintendent of public instruction. The monthly full-time
equivalent enrollment reported for students enrolled in the national
guard youth challenge program shall be based on one full-time
equivalent for every one hundred student hours of scheduled instruction
eligible for high school graduation credit. The office of the
superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with the military
department, shall adopt such rules as are necessary to implement this
section.
Sec. 507 RCW 28A.150.230 and 2006 c 263 s 201 are each amended to
read as follows:
(2) In conformance with the provisions of Title 28A RCW, as now or
hereafter amended, it shall be the responsibility of each common school
district board of directors to adopt policies to:
(a) Establish performance criteria and an evaluation process for
its certificated personnel, including administrative staff, and for all
programs constituting a part of such district's curriculum;
(b) Determine the final assignment of staff, certificated or
classified, according to board enumerated classroom and program needs;
(c) Determine the amount of instructional hours necessary for any
student to acquire a quality education in such district, in not less
than an amount otherwise required in RCW ((28A.150.220)) section 104 of
this act, or rules of the state board of education;
(d) Determine the allocation of staff time, whether certificated or
classified;
(e) Establish final curriculum standards consistent with law and
rules of the superintendent of public instruction, relevant to the
particular needs of district students or the unusual characteristics of
the district, and ensuring a quality education for each student in the
district; and
(f) Evaluate teaching materials, including text books, teaching
aids, handouts, or other printed material, in public hearing upon
complaint by parents, guardians or custodians of students who consider
dissemination of such material to students objectionable.
Sec. 508 RCW 28A.165.005 and 2004 c 20 s 1 are each amended to
read as follows:The learning assistance program requirements
in)) This chapter ((are)) is designed to: (1) Promote the use of
assessment data when developing programs to assist underachieving
students; and (2) guide school districts in providing the most
effective and efficient practices when implementing ((programs))
supplemental instruction and services to assist underachieving
students. ((Further, this chapter provides the means by which a school
district becomes eligible for learning assistance program funds and the
distribution of those funds.))
Sec. 509 RCW 28A.165.015 and 2004 c 20 s 2 are each amended to
read as follows:
(1) "Approved program" means a program submitted to and approved by
the office of the superintendent of public instruction and conducted
pursuant to the plan that addresses the required elements as provided
for in this chapter.
(2) "Basic skills areas" means reading, writing, and mathematics as
well as readiness associated with these skills.
(3) "Participating student" means a student in kindergarten through
grade ((eleven who scores below standard for his or her grade level on
the statewide assessments and who is identified in the approved plan to
receive services. Beginning with the 2007-2008 school year,
"participating student" means a student in kindergarten through grade))
twelve who scores below standard for his or her grade level on the
statewide assessments and who is identified in the approved plan to
receive services.
(4) "Statewide assessments" means one or more of the several basic
skills assessments administered as part of the state's student
assessment system, and assessments in the basic skills areas
administered by local school districts.
(5) "Underachieving students" means students with the greatest
academic deficits in basic skills as identified by the statewide
assessments.
Sec. 510 RCW 28A.165.055 and 2008 c 321 s 10 are each amended to
read as follows:(1))) Each school district with an approved
program is eligible for state funds provided for the learning
assistance program. The funds shall be appropriated for the learning
assistance program in accordance with section 106 of this act and the
((biennial)) omnibus appropriations act. The distribution formula is
for school district allocation purposes only, but funds appropriated
for the learning assistance program must be expended for the purposes
of RCW 28A.165.005 through 28A.165.065. ((The distribution formula
shall be based on one or more family income factors measuring economic
need.))
(2) In addition to the funds allocated to eligible school districts
on the basis of family income factors, enhanced funds shall be
allocated for school districts where more than twenty percent of
students are eligible for and enrolled in the transitional bilingual
instruction program under chapter 28A.180 RCW as provided in this
subsection. The enhanced funding provided in this subsection shall
take effect beginning in the 2008-09 school year.
(a) If, in the prior school year, a district's percent of October
headcount student enrollment in grades kindergarten through twelve who
are enrolled in the transitional bilingual instruction program, based
on an average of the program headcount taken in October and May,
exceeds twenty percent, twenty percent shall be subtracted from the
district's percent transitional bilingual instruction program
enrollment and the resulting percent shall be multiplied by the
district's kindergarten through twelve annual average full-time
equivalent enrollment for the prior school year.
(b) The number calculated under (a) of this subsection shall be the
number of additional funded students for purposes of this subsection,
to be multiplied by the per-funded student allocation rates specified
in the omnibus appropriations act.
(c) School districts are only eligible for the enhanced funds under
this subsection if their percentage of October headcount enrollment in
grades kindergarten through twelve eligible for free or reduced-price
lunch exceeded forty percent in the prior school year.
Sec. 511 RCW 28A.180.010 and 1990 c 33 s 163 are each amended to
read as follows:, and to provide supplemental financial assistance to
school districts to meet the extra costs of these programs)).
Sec. 512 RCW 28A.180.080 and 1995 c 335 s 601 are each amended to
read as follows:The superintendent of public instruction shall
prepare and submit biennially to the governor and the legislature a
budget request for bilingual instruction programs.)) Moneys
appropriated by the legislature for the purposes of RCW 28A.180.010
through 28A.180.080 shall be allocated by the superintendent of public
instruction to school districts for the sole purpose of operating an
approved bilingual instruction program((; priorities for funding shall
exist for the early elementary grades. No moneys shall be allocated
pursuant to this section to fund more than three school years of
bilingual instruction for each eligible pupil within a district:
PROVIDED, That such moneys may be allocated to fund more than three
school years of bilingual instruction for any pupil who fails to
demonstrate improvement in English language skills adequate to remove
impairment of learning when taught only in English. The superintendent
of public instruction shall set standards and approve a test for the
measurement of such English language skills)).
Sec. 513 RCW 28A.180.090 and 2001 1st sp.s. c 6 s 2 are each
amended to read as follows:
(1) Require school districts to assess potentially eligible pupils
within ten days of registration using an English proficiency assessment
or assessments as specified by the superintendent of public
instruction. Results of these assessments shall be made available to
both the superintendent of public instruction and the school district;
(2) Require school districts to annually assess all eligible pupils
at the end of the school year using an English proficiency assessment
or assessments as specified by the superintendent of public
instruction. Results of these assessments shall be made available to
both the superintendent of public instruction and the school district;
and
(3) Develop a system to evaluate increases in the English and
academic proficiency of students who are, or were, eligible pupils.
This evaluation shall include students when they are in the program and
after they exit the program until they finish their K-12 career or
transfer from the school district. The purpose of the evaluation
system is to inform schools, school districts, parents, and the state
of the effectiveness of the transitional bilingual programs in school
and school districts in teaching these students English and other
content areas, such as mathematics and writing((; and)).
(4) Report to the education and fiscal committees of the
legislature by November 1, 2002, regarding the development of the
systems described in this section and a timeline for the full
implementation of those systems. The legislature shall approve and
provide funding for the evaluation system in subsection (3) of this
section before any implementation of the system developed under
subsection (3) of this section may occur
Sec. 514 RCW 28A.600.310 and 2005 c 125 s 1 are each amended to
read as follows:
(2) The pupil's school district shall transmit to the institution
of higher education an amount per each full-time equivalent college
student at statewide uniform rates for vocational and nonvocational
students. The superintendent of public instruction shall separately
calculate and allocate moneys appropriated ((for basic education under
RCW 28A.150.260)) under section 106 of this act to school districts for
purposes of making such payments and for granting school districts
seven percent thereof to offset program related costs. The
calculations and allocations shall be based upon the estimated
statewide annual average per full-time equivalent high school student
basic education core instructional allocations under ((RCW
28A.150.260)) section 106 of this act, excluding small high school
enhancements, and applicable rules adopted under chapter 34.05 RCW.
The superintendent of public instruction, the higher education
coordinating board, and the state board for community and technical
colleges shall consult on the calculation and distribution of the
funds. The institution of higher education shall not require the pupil
to pay any other fees. The funds received by the institution of higher
education from the school district shall not be deemed tuition or
operating fees and may be retained by the institution of higher
education. A student enrolled under this subsection shall not be
counted for the purpose of determining any enrollment restrictions
imposed by the state on the institution of higher education.
Sec. 515 RCW 28A.600.405 and 2007 c 355 s 4 are each amended to
read as follows:
(a) Receives a level 2 (basic) score on the reading and writing
content areas of the high school Washington assessment of student
learning;
(b) Has not successfully met state standards on a retake of the
assessment or an alternative assessment;
(c) Has participated in assessment remediation; and
(d) Receives a recommendation to enroll in courses or a program of
study made available under RCW 28B.50.534 from his or her high school
principal.
(2) An eligible student may enroll in courses or a program of study
made available by a community or technical college participating in the
pilot program created under RCW 28B.50.534 for the purpose of obtaining
a high school diploma.
(3) For eligible students in courses or programs delivered directly
by the community or technical college participating in the pilot
program under RCW 28B.50.534 and only for enrollment in courses that
lead to a high school diploma, the superintendent of public instruction
shall transmit to the colleges participating in the pilot program an
amount per each full-time equivalent college student at statewide
uniform rates. The amount shall be the sum of (a), (b), and (c)((, and
(d))) of this subsection, as applicable.
(a) The superintendent shall separately calculate and allocate
moneys appropriated ((for basic education under RCW 28A.150.260)) under
section 106 of this act for purposes of making payments under this
section. The calculations and allocations shall be based upon the
estimated statewide annual average per full-time equivalent high school
student basic education core instructional allocations under ((RCW
28A.150.260)) section 106 of this act, excluding small high school
enhancements, and applicable rules adopted under chapter 34.05 RCW.
(b) The superintendent shall allocate an amount equal to the per
funded student state allocation for the learning assistance program
under chapter 28A.165 RCW for each full-time equivalent college student
or a pro rata amount for less than full-time enrollment.
(c) ((The superintendent shall allocate an amount equal to the per
full-time equivalent student allocation for the student achievement
program under RCW 28A.505.210 for each full-time equivalent college
student or a pro rata amount for less than full-time enrollment.)) For eligible students who meet eligibility criteria for the
state transitional bilingual instruction program under chapter 28A.180
RCW, the superintendent shall allocate an amount equal to the per
student state allocation for the transitional bilingual instruction
program or a pro rata amount for less than full-time enrollment.
(d)
(4) The superintendent may adopt rules establishing enrollment
reporting, recordkeeping, and accounting requirements necessary to
ensure accountability for the use of basic education, learning
assistance, and transitional bilingual program funds under this section
for the pilot program created under RCW 28B.50.534.
(5) All school districts in the geographic area of the two
community and technical colleges selected pursuant to section 8,
chapter 355, Laws of 2007 to participate in the pilot program shall
provide information about the high school completion option under RCW
28B.50.534 to students in grades ten, eleven, and twelve and the
parents or guardians of those students.
Sec. 516 RCW 28A.320.190 and 2008 c 321 s 3 are each amended to
read as follows:
(2) Under the extended learning opportunities program, districts
shall make available to students in grade twelve who have failed to
meet one or more local or state graduation requirements the option of
continuing enrollment in the school district in accordance with RCW
28A.225.160. Districts are authorized to use basic education program
funding to provide instruction to eligible students under ((RCW
28A.150.220(3))) section 104(2) of this act.
(3) Under the extended learning (([opportunities])) opportunities
program, instructional services for eligible students can occur during
the regular school day, evenings, on weekends, or at a time and
location deemed appropriate by the school district, including the
educational service district, in order to meet the needs of these
students. Instructional services provided under this section do not
include services offered at private schools. Instructional services
can include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) Individual or small group instruction;
(b) Instruction in English language arts and/or mathematics that
eligible students need to pass all or part of the Washington assessment
of student learning;
(c) Attendance in a public high school or public alternative school
classes or at a skill center;
(d) Inclusion in remediation programs, including summer school;
(e) Language development instruction for English language learners;
(f) Online curriculum and instructional support, including programs
for credit retrieval and Washington assessment of student learning
preparatory classes; and
(g) Reading improvement specialists available at the educational
service districts to serve eighth, eleventh, and twelfth grade
educators through professional development in accordance with RCW
28A.415.350. The reading improvement specialist may also provide
direct services to eligible students and those students electing to
continue a fifth year in a high school program who are still struggling
with basic reading skills.
Sec. 517 RCW 28A.195.010 and 2004 c 19 s 106 are each amended to
read as follows:
Principals of private schools or superintendents of private school
districts shall file each year with the state superintendent of public
instruction a statement certifying that the minimum requirements
hereinafter set forth are being met, noting any deviations. After
review of the statement, the state superintendent will notify schools
or school districts of those deviations which must be corrected. In
case of major deviations, the school or school district may request and
the state board of education may grant provisional status for one year
in order that the school or school district may take action to meet the
requirements. The state board of education shall not require private
school students to meet the student learning goals, obtain a
certificate of academic achievement, or a certificate of individual
achievement to graduate from high school, to master the essential
academic learning requirements, or to be assessed pursuant to RCW
28A.655.061. However, private schools may choose, on a voluntary
basis, to have their students master these essential academic learning
requirements, take the assessments, and obtain a certificate of
academic achievement or a certificate of individual achievement.
Minimum requirements shall be as follows:
(1) The minimum school year for instructional purposes shall
consist of no less than one hundred eighty school days or the
equivalent in annual minimum ((program)) instructional hour offerings
((as prescribed in RCW 28A.150.220)), with a schoolwide annual average
total instructional hour offering of one thousand hours for students
enrolled in grades one through twelve, and at least four hundred fifty
hours for students enrolled in kindergarten.
(2) The school day shall be the same as ((that required in RCW
28A.150.030 and 28A.150.220, except that the percentages of total
program hour offerings as prescribed in RCW 28A.150.220 for basic
skills, work skills, and optional subjects and activities shall not
apply to private schools or private sectarian schools)) defined in
section 102 of this act.
(3) All classroom teachers shall hold appropriate Washington state
certification except as follows:
(a) Teachers for religious courses or courses for which no
counterpart exists in public schools shall not be required to obtain a
state certificate to teach those courses.
(b) In exceptional cases, people of unusual competence but without
certification may teach students so long as a certified person
exercises general supervision. Annual written statements shall be
submitted to the office of the superintendent of public instruction
reporting and explaining such circumstances.
(4) An approved private school may operate an extension program for
parents, guardians, or persons having legal custody of a child to teach
children in their custody. The extension program shall require at a
minimum that:
(a) The parent, guardian, or custodian be under the supervision of
an employee of the approved private school who is certified under
chapter 28A.410 RCW;
(b) The planning by the certified person and the parent, guardian,
or person having legal custody include objectives consistent with this
subsection and subsections (1), (2), (5), (6), and (7) of this section;
(c) The certified person spend a minimum average each month of one
contact hour per week with each student under his or her supervision
who is enrolled in the approved private school extension program;
(d) Each student's progress be evaluated by the certified person;
and
(e) The certified employee shall not supervise more than thirty
students enrolled in the approved private school's extension program.
(5) Appropriate measures shall be taken to safeguard all permanent
records against loss or damage.
(6) The physical facilities of the school or district shall be
adequate to meet the program offered by the school or district:
PROVIDED, That each school building shall meet reasonable health and
fire safety requirements. A residential dwelling of the parent,
guardian, or custodian shall be deemed to be an adequate physical
facility when a parent, guardian, or person having legal custody is
instructing his or her child under subsection (4) of this section.
(7) Private school curriculum shall include instruction of the
basic skills of occupational education, science, mathematics, language,
social studies, history, health, reading, writing, spelling, and the
development of appreciation of art and music, all in sufficient units
for meeting state board of education graduation requirements.
(8) Each school or school district shall be required to maintain
up-to-date policy statements related to the administration and
operation of the school or school district.
All decisions of policy, philosophy, selection of books, teaching
material, curriculum, except as in subsection (7) of this section
provided, school rules and administration, or other matters not
specifically referred to in this section, shall be the responsibility
of the administration and administrators of the particular private
school involved.
Sec. 518 RCW 28A.225.200 and 1990 c 33 s 234 are each amended to
read as follows::
PROVIDED, That)). Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
amount to be paid by the state to the resident school district for
apportionment purposes and otherwise payable pursuant to ((RCW
28A.150.100, 28A.150.250 through 28A.150.290, 28A.150.350 through
28A.150.410)) sections 105 through 108 and 112 of this act, RCW
28A.150.280, 28A.150.290 (as recodified by this act), 28A.150.350 (as
recodified by this act), 28A.150.400 (as recodified by this act),
sections 204, 207, and 209 of this act, 28A.160.150 through
28A.160.200, ((28A.160.220)) 28A.300.035, and 28A.300.170((, and
28A.500.010)) shall not be greater than the regular apportionment for
each high school student of the receiving district. Such authorization
may be extended for an additional year at the discretion of the
educational service district superintendent.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to districts
participating in a cooperative project established under RCW
28A.340.030 which exceeds two years in duration.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 519 The following acts or parts of acts are
each repealed:
(1) RCW 28A.150.030 (School day) and 1971 ex.s. c 161 s 1 & 1969
ex.s. c 223 s 28A.01.010;
(2) RCW 28A.150.205 (Definition) and 1992 c 141 s 502;
(3) RCW 28A.150.060 (Certificated employee) and 2005 c 497 s 212,
1990 c 33 s 102, 1977 ex.s. c 359 s 17, 1975 1st ex.s. c 288 s 21, &
1973 1st ex.s. c 105 s 1;
(4) RCW 28A.150.100 (Basic education certificated instructional
staff -- Definition -- Ratio to students) and 1990 c 33 s 103 & 1987 1st
ex.s. c 2 s 203;
(5) RCW 28A.150.040 (School year -- Beginning -- End) and 1990 c 33 s
101, 1982 c 158 s 5, 1977 ex.s. c 286 s 1, 1975-'76 2nd ex.s. c 118 s
22, & 1969 ex.s. c 223 s 28A.01.020;
(6) RCW 28A.305.140 (Waiver from provisions of RCW 28A.150.200
through 28A.150.220 authorized) and 1990 c 33 s 267, & 1985 c 349 s 6;
(7) RCW 28A.305.145 (Application process for waivers under RCW
28A.305.140) and 1993 c 336 s 302;
(8) RCW 28A.655.180 (Waivers for educational restructuring
programs -- Study by joint select committee on education restructuring--Report to legislature) and 1995 c 208 s 1; and
(9) RCW 28A.155.180 (Safety net funds -- Application -- Technical
assistance -- Annual survey) and 2007 c 400 s 8.
Sec. 601 RCW 28A.415.020 and 2007 c 319 s 3 are each amended to
read as follows:
(2) Certificated personnel shall receive for each ten clock hours
of approved continuing education earned, as continuing education is
defined by rule adopted by the professional educator standards board,
the equivalent of a one credit college quarter course on the salary
schedule developed by the legislative evaluation and accountability
program committee.
(3) Certificated personnel shall receive for each forty clock hours
of participation in an approved internship with a business, an
industry, or government, as an internship is defined by rule of the
professional educator standards board in accordance with RCW
28A.415.025, the equivalent of a one credit college quarter course on
the salary schedule developed by the legislative evaluation and
accountability program committee.
(4) An approved in-service training program shall be a program
approved by a school district board of directors, which meet standards
adopted by the professional educator standards board, and the
development of said program has been participated in by an in-service
training task force whose membership is the same as provided under RCW
28A.415.040, or a program offered by an education agency approved to
provide in-service for the purposes of continuing education as provided
for under rules adopted by the professional educator standards board,
or both.
(5) Clock hours eligible for application to the salary schedule
developed by the legislative evaluation and accountability program
committee as described in subsections (1) and (2) of this section,
shall be those hours acquired after August 31, 1987. Clock hours
eligible for application to the salary schedule as described in
subsection (3) of this section shall be those hours acquired after
December 31, 1995.
(6) In-service training or continuing education in first peoples'
language, culture, or oral tribal traditions provided by a sovereign
tribal government participating in the Washington state first peoples'
language, culture, and oral tribal traditions teacher certification
program authorized under RCW 28A.410.045 shall be considered approved
in-service training or approved continuing education under this section
and RCW 28A.415.023.
(7) Beginning in the 2012-13 school year, this section applies only
to certificated instructional staff whose first employment with a
school district commenced before the 2012-13 school year and who have
not transferred under section 205 of this act to the compensation
system with salary allocation schedules provided under section 204 of
this act.
(8) This section expires August 31, 2022.
Sec. 602 RCW 28A.415.023 and 2005 c 497 s 209 and 2005 c 393 s 1
are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(a) Is consistent with a school-based plan for mastery of student
learning goals as referenced in RCW 28A.655.110, the annual school
performance report, for the school in which the individual is assigned;
(b) Pertains to the individual's current assignment or expected
assignment for the subsequent school year;
(c) Is necessary to obtain an endorsement as prescribed by the
Washington professional educator standards board;
(d) Is specifically required to obtain advanced levels of
certification;
(e) Is included in a college or university degree program that
pertains to the individual's current assignment, or potential future
assignment, as a certified instructional staff; or
(f) Addresses research-based assessment and instructional
strategies for students with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and language
disabilities when addressing learning goal one under ((RCW
28A.150.210)) section 103 of this act, as applicable and appropriate
for individual certificated instructional staff.
(2) For the purpose of this section, "credits" mean college quarter
hour credits and equivalent credits for approved in-service, approved
continuing education, or approved internship hours computed in
accordance with RCW 28A.415.020.
(3) The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules and
standards consistent with the limits established by this section for
certificated instructional staff.
(4) Beginning in the 2012-13 school year, this section applies only
to certificated instructional staff whose first employment with a
school district commenced before the 2012-13 school year and who have
not transferred under section 205 of this act to the compensation
system with salary allocation schedules provided under section 204 of
this act.
(5) This section expires August 31, 2022.
Sec. 603 RCW 28A.415.024 and 2006 c 263 s 809 are each amended to
read as follows:
(2) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall
verify for school districts the accreditation status of educational
institutions granting degrees that are used by certificated staff to
increase earnings on the salary schedule consistent with RCW
28A.415.023.
(3) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall
provide school districts with training and additional resources to
ensure they can verify that degrees earned by certificated staff, that
are used to increase earnings on the salary schedule consistent with
RCW 28A.415.023, are obtained from an educational institution
accredited by an accrediting association recognized by rule of the
professional educator standards board.
(4)(a) No school district may submit degree information before
there has been verification of accreditation under subsection (3) of
this section.
(b) Certificated staff who submit degrees received from an
unaccredited educational institution for the purposes of receiving a
salary increase shall be fined three hundred dollars. The fine shall
be paid to the office of the superintendent of public instruction and
used for costs of administering this section.
(c) In addition to the fine in (b) of this subsection, certificated
staff who receive salary increases based upon degrees earned from
educational institutions that have been verified to be unaccredited
must reimburse the district for any compensation received based on
these degrees.
(5) Beginning in the 2012-13 school year, this section applies only
to certificated instructional staff whose first employment with a
school district commenced before the 2012-13 school year and who have
not transferred under section 205 of this act to the compensation
system with salary allocations provided under section 204 of this act.
(6) This section expires August 31, 2022.
Sec. 604 RCW 28A.415.025 and 2006 c 263 s 810 are each amended to
read as follows:
(2) An individual may not receive more than the equivalent of two
college quarter credits for internships during a calendar-year period.
The total number of credits for internships that an individual may earn
to advance on the salary schedule developed by the legislative
evaluation and accountability program committee or its successor agency
is limited to the equivalent of fifteen college quarter credits.
(3) Beginning in the 2012-13 school year, subsection (2) of this
section applies only to certificated instructional staff whose first
employment with a school district commenced before the 2012-13 school
year and who have not transferred under section 205 of this act to the
compensation system with salary allocations provided under section 204
of this act.
Sec. 605 RCW 28A.400.205 and 2003 1st sp.s. c 20 s 1 are each
amended to read as follows:
(a) The cost-of-living increase shall be calculated by applying the
rate of the yearly increase in the cost-of-living index to any state-funded salary base used in state funding formulas for teachers and
other school district employees. Beginning with the 2001-02 school
year, and for each subsequent school year, except for the 2003-04 and
2004-05 school years, each school district shall be provided a cost-of-living allocation sufficient to grant this cost-of-living increase.
(b) A school district shall distribute its cost-of-living
allocation for salaries and salary-related benefits in accordance with
the district's salary schedules, collective bargaining agreements, and
compensation policies. No later than the end of the school year, each
school district shall certify to the superintendent of public
instruction that it has spent funds provided for cost-of-living
increases on salaries and salary-related benefits.
(c) Any funded cost-of-living increase shall be included in the
salary base used to determine cost-of-living increases for school
employees in subsequent years. For teachers and other certificated
instructional staff, the rate of the annual cost-of-living increase
funded for certificated instructional staff shall be applied to the
base salary used with the statewide salary allocation schedules
established under ((RCW 28A.150.410)) sections 204 and 207 of this act
and to any other salary models used to recognize school district
personnel costs.
(2) For the purposes of this section, "cost-of-living index" means,
for any school year, the previous calendar year's annual average
consumer price index, using the official current base, compiled by the
bureau of labor statistics, United States department of labor for the
state of Washington. If the bureau of labor statistics develops more
than one consumer price index for areas within the state, the index
covering the greatest number of people, covering areas exclusively
within the boundaries of the state, and including all items shall be
used for the cost-of-living index in this section.
Sec. 606 RCW 28A.410.210 and 2008 c 176 s 1 are each amended to
read as follows:RCW 28A.150.210))
section 103 of this act; knowledge of research-based practice; and
professional development throughout a career. The Washington
professional educator standards board shall:
(1) Establish policies and practices for the approval of programs
of courses, requirements, and other activities leading to educator
certification including teacher, school administrator, and educational
staff associate certification;
(2) Establish policies and practices for the approval of the
character of work required to be performed as a condition of entrance
to and graduation from any educator preparation program including
teacher, school administrator, and educational staff associate
preparation program as provided in subsection (1) of this section;
(3) Establish a list of accredited institutions of higher education
of this and other states whose graduates may be awarded educator
certificates as teacher, school administrator, and educational staff
associate and establish criteria and enter into agreements with other
states to acquire reciprocal approval of educator preparation programs
and certification, including teacher certification from the national
board for professional teaching standards;
(4) Establish policies for approval of nontraditional educator
preparation programs;
(5) Conduct a review of educator program approval standards at
least every five years, beginning in 2006, to reflect research findings
and assure continued improvement of preparation programs for teachers,
administrators, and school specialized personnel;
(6) Specify the types and kinds of educator certificates to be
issued and conditions for certification in accordance with subsection
(1) of this section and RCW 28A.410.010 and section 202 of this act;
(7) Hear and determine educator certification appeals as provided
by RCW 28A.410.100;
(8) Apply for and receive federal or other funds on behalf of the
state for purposes related to the duties of the board;
(9) Adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW that are necessary for the
effective and efficient implementation of this chapter;
(10) Maintain data concerning educator preparation programs and
their quality, educator certification, educator employment trends and
needs, and other data deemed relevant by the board;
(11) Serve as an advisory body to the superintendent of public
instruction on issues related to educator recruitment, hiring,
mentoring and support, professional growth, retention, educator
evaluation including but not limited to peer evaluation, and revocation
and suspension of licensure;
(12) Submit, by October 15th of each even-numbered year, a joint
report with the state board of education to the legislative education
committees, the governor, and the superintendent of public instruction.
The report shall address the progress the boards have made and the
obstacles they have encountered, individually and collectively, in the
work of achieving the goals set out in ((RCW 28A.150.210)) section 103
of this act;
(13) Establish the prospective teacher assessment system for basic
skills and subject knowledge that shall be required to obtain residency
certification pursuant to RCW 28A.410.220 through 28A.410.240; and
(14) ((By January 2010, set performance standards and develop,
pilot, and implement a uniform and externally administered
professional-level certification assessment based on demonstrated
teaching skill. In the development of this assessment, consideration
shall be given to changes in professional certification program
components such as the culminating seminar; and)) Conduct meetings under the provisions of chapter 42.30 RCW.
(15)
Sec. 607 RCW 28A.410.220 and 2008 c 176 s 2 are each amended to
read as follows:
(b) On an individual student basis, approved teacher preparation
programs may admit into their programs a candidate who has not achieved
the minimum basic skills assessment score established by the Washington
professional educator standards board. Individuals so admitted may not
receive residency certification without passing the basic skills
assessment under this section.
(c) The Washington professional educator standards board may
establish criteria to ensure that persons from out-of-state who are
applying for residency certification and persons applying to master's
degree level teacher preparation programs can demonstrate to the
board's satisfaction that they have the requisite basic skills based
upon having completed another basic skills assessment acceptable to the
Washington professional educator standards board or by some other
alternative approved by the Washington professional educator standards
board.
(2) The professional educator standards board shall set performance
standards and develop, pilot, and implement ((a uniform and externally
administered professional-level certification assessment based on
demonstrated teaching skill. In the development of this assessment,
consideration shall be given to changes in professional certification
program components such as the culminating seminar)) a system of
rigorous, objective evaluations of teacher competency for residency and
professional teacher certification as provided under section 202 of
this act.
(3) Beginning not later than September 1, 2002, the Washington
professional educator standards board shall provide for the initial
piloting and implementation of a means of assessing an applicant's
knowledge in the subjects for which the applicant has applied for an
endorsement to his or her residency or professional teaching
certificate. The assessment of subject knowledge shall not include
instructional methodology. Beginning September 1, 2005, passing this
assessment shall be required to receive an endorsement for
certification purposes.
(4) The Washington professional educator standards board may permit
exceptions from the assessment requirements under subsections (1), (2),
and (3) of this section on a case-by-case basis.
(5) The Washington professional educator standards board shall
provide for reasonable accommodations for individuals who are required
to take the assessments in subsection (1), (2), or (3) of this section
if the individuals have learning or other disabilities.
(6) With the exception of applicants exempt from the requirements
of subsections (1), (2), and (3) of this section, an applicant must
achieve a minimum assessment score or scores established by the
Washington professional educator standards board on each of the
assessments under subsections (1), (2), and (3) of this section.
(7) The Washington professional educator standards board and
superintendent of public instruction, as determined by the Washington
professional educator standards board, may contract with one or more
third parties for:
(a) The development, purchase, administration, scoring, and
reporting of scores of the assessments established by the Washington
professional educator standards board under subsections (1), (2), and
(3) of this section;
(b) Related clerical and administrative activities; or
(c) Any combination of the purposes in this subsection.
(8) Applicants for admission to a Washington teacher preparation
program and applicants for residency and professional certificates who
are required to successfully complete one or more of the assessments
under subsections (1), (2), and (3) of this section, and who are
charged a fee for the assessment by a third party contracted with under
subsection (7) of this section, shall pay the fee charged by the
contractor directly to the contractor. Such fees shall be reasonably
related to the actual costs of the contractor in providing the
assessment.
(9) The superintendent of public instruction is responsible for
supervision and providing support services to administer this section.
(10) The Washington professional educator standards board shall
collaboratively select or develop and implement the assessments and
minimum assessment scores required under this section with the
superintendent of public instruction and shall provide opportunities
for representatives of other interested educational organizations to
participate in the selection or development and implementation of such
assessments in a manner deemed appropriate by the Washington
professional educator standards board.
(11) The Washington professional educator standards board shall
adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW that are reasonably necessary for
the effective and efficient implementation of this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 701 Part headings and captions used in this
act are not any part of the law.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 702 The following sections are codified or
recodified in the following order in a new chapter in Title 28A RCW.
RCW 28A.150.200
Section 102 of this act
RCW 28A.150.210
RCW 28A.150.211
RCW 28A.150.220
RCW 28A.150.250
RCW 28A.150.260
RCW 28A.150.390
Section 108 of this act
RCW 28A.150.315
Section 110 of this act
RCW 28A.150.370
Section 113 of this act
RCW 28A.150.230
RCW 28A.150.240
Section 115 of this act
Section 2 of this act
Section 3 of this act
Section 204 of this act
Section 205 of this act
RCW 28A.150.410
Section 208 of this act
Section 209 of this act
Section 501 of this act
RCW 28A.150.350
RCW 28A.150.290
RCW 28A.150.400
RCW 28A.150.275
RCW 28A.150.270
RCW 28A.150.360
RCW 28A.150.420
NEW SECTION. Sec. 703 Sections 101 through 109, 112, 113, 115,
117, 204, 205, 207, 208, 210, 212, 215, 305 through 308, 405, 407
through 409, 502 through 506, 510, 512, and 514 through 519 of this act
take effect September 1, 2011.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 704 Sections 403 and 404 of this act take
effect January 1, 2012.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 705 Sections 213, 217, and 218 of this act
take effect September 1, 2012.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 706 If any provision of this act or its
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other
persons or circumstances is not affected."
Correct the title.
EFFECT: Replaces all of the underlying bill with the following
provisions:
Adopts definitions, requirements, and financing formulas for a
Program of Basic Education and an Instructional Program that the
Legislature deems complies with Article IX of the State Constitution.
Includes within the requirements: Expanded minimum instructional
hours, full-day kindergarten, instruction for 24 credits for high
school graduation, a Program of Early Learning for at-risk children,
and supplemental instruction for students who are underachieving, non-
English proficient, and in special education.
Sets forth financing formulas based on a prototypical school model
and specifies numeric amounts as of the 2016-17 school year for such
inputs as class size, types of school staff, central office
administration, and allocations for maintenance, supplies, and
operating costs.
Provides for phased-in implementation of the requirements and
financing formulas beginning in the 2011-12 school year, with full
implementation required by 2016-17.
Revises teacher certification to be based on performance standards
and an evaluation from certified peer evaluators and requires
employment evaluations and mentoring programs for new teachers to be
aligned with the performance standards, all beginning in the 2012-13
school year.
Requires development of a new compensation system and state salary
schedule for Certificated Instructional Staff hired after the 2012-13
school year or who transfer to the new system.
Limits supplemental contracts for time, responsibilities, and
incentives to "time" worked.
Phases-in ten learning improvement days on the state salary
allocation schedule.
Requires development of a statewide mentoring program for beginning
teachers.
Directs development of a regional wage adjustment schedule based on
comparative labor market surveys conducted by the Department of
Personnel.
Authorizes the State Board of Education to implement a school and
district accountability system including an accountability index,
designation of some struggling schools and districts as Priority for
intensive assistance, and placement of Priority schools and districts
on Academic Watch with a binding performance agreement if no
improvement is made.
Sets the levy lid at 24 percent for all districts and repeals Local
Effort Assistance as of January 1, 2012, and directs a working group to
develop a new system of local finance for public schools.
Creates five technical working groups to continue development of
policies under the bill and creates a Basic Education Steering
Committee to monitor and oversee implementation.
Recodifies laws pertaining to Basic Education into a single chapter
of RCW.