BILL REQ. #:  H-1767.2 

Read first time 02/10/09.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     AN ACT Relating to placements of students in residential habilitation centers; adding new sections to chapter 28A.190 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 28A.190 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) School districts within which residential habilitation centers, as defined in RCW 71A.20.020, are located are eligible for residential habilitation center impact assistance as provided in this section. The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall provide residential habilitation center impact assistance for actual costs associated with educational services provided to students who are residents of the centers to the extent that those costs exceed funding otherwise provided to serve these students. Impact assistance awards by the office of the superintendent of public instruction must be made upon application by the school district and subject to the following conditions and limitations:
     (a) Impact assistance is only available for actual costs associated with educational services provided to students who are residents of a residential habilitation center, as defined in RCW 71A.20.020, located within the district;
     (b) The district must convincingly demonstrate that these actual costs were legitimate expenditures associated with educational services and that they exceed the total of allocations made pursuant to RCW 28A.190.040, other state allocations and grants, federal allocations and grants including medicaid, and private grants, bequests, and gifts made for the purpose of maintaining and operating the program of education for these students; and
     (c) Differences in program costs attributable to district philosophy, service delivery choice, or accounting practices are not a legitimate basis for impact assistance awards.
     (2) The superintendent of public instruction may adopt such rules and procedures as are necessary to administer the impact assistance award process. Prior to revising any standards, procedures, or rules, the superintendent shall consult with the office of financial management and the fiscal committees of the legislature.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28A.190 RCW to read as follows:
     At least thirty days prior to the placement of any person between the ages of three and twenty-one into a residential habilitation center, as defined in RCW 71A.20.020, the department of social and health services shall provide notice of the placement to the superintendent of the school district in which the residential habilitation center is located. The department of social and health services and the school district shall cooperate and collaborate as partners in order to facilitate, to the maximum extent possible, the smooth transition of educational services and assure that the school district is able to provide the educational services needed by a student placed in a residential habilitation center.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   If any part of this act is found to be in conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition to the allocation of federal funds to the state, the conflicting part of this act is inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict and with respect to the agencies directly affected, and this finding does not affect the operation of the remainder of this act in its application to the agencies concerned. Rules adopted under this act must meet federal requirements that are a necessary condition to the receipt of federal funds by the state.