BILL REQ. #:  S-3875.1 

Read first time 01/18/10.   Referred to Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education.

     AN ACT Relating to education; amending RCW 28A.150.010 and 41.59.080; adding a new section to chapter 41.56 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 41.59 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 41.32 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 41.35 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 41.40 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 28A RCW; creating a new section; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   DEFINITIONS. The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Applicant" means a nonprofit corporation that has submitted an application to a sponsor to obtain approval to operate an innovation partnership school. The nonprofit corporation must either be a public benefit nonprofit corporation as defined in RCW 24.03.490, or a nonprofit corporation as defined in RCW 24.03.005 that has applied for tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. Sec. 501(c)(3)). The nonprofit corporation may not be a sectarian or religious organization and must meet all of the requirements for a public benefit nonprofit corporation before receiving any funding under section 11 of this act.
     (2) "Board of directors" means the board of directors of the public benefit nonprofit corporation that manages and operates the innovation partnership school.
     (3) "Innovation partnership school" means a public school managed by an applicant's board of directors and operating independently of any school district board under a partnership agreement approved in accordance with this chapter.
     (4) "Partnership agreement" means a contract between an applicant and a sponsor. The partnership agreement establishes, in accordance with this chapter, the terms and conditions for the management, operation, and educational program of the innovation partnership school.
     (5) "Sponsor" means:
     (a) The school district in which the innovation partnership school is located; or
     (b) Any state or regional university as defined in RCW 28B.10.016. Innovation partnership schools sponsored under this subsection (5)(b) shall be approved by the governing board of the sponsoring institution or by an official or agency designated by and accountable to the governing board.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP SCHOOLS--POWERS. (1) The innovation partnership school's board of directors may hire, manage, and discharge any innovation partnership school employee in accordance with the terms of this chapter and that school's partnership agreement.
     (2) The innovation partnership school's board of directors may enter into a contract with any school district, or any other public or private entity, also empowered to enter into contracts, for any and all real property, equipment, goods, supplies, and services, including educational instructional services.
     (3) Innovation partnership schools may rent, lease, or own property, but may not acquire property by eminent domain. All partnership agreements and innovation partnership school contracts with other public and private entities must include provisions regarding the disposition of the property if the innovation partnership school fails to open as planned, closes, or the charter is revoked or not renewed. Innovation partnership schools may accept gifts and donations from other governmental and private entities, excluding sectarian or religious organizations. Innovation partnership schools may not accept any gifts or donations the conditions of which violate this chapter.
     (4) Neither an innovation partnership school sponsor nor the school district in which the innovation partnership school is located is liable for acts or omissions of an innovation partnership school, including acts or omissions related to the application, the partnership agreement, the operation, and the performance of the innovation partnership school.
     (5) Innovation partnership schools may not charge tuition, levy taxes, or issue tax-backed bonds, however they may charge fees for optional noncredit extracurricular events.
     (6) Innovation partnership schools may issue secured and unsecured debt to manage cash flow, improve operations, or finance the acquisition of real property or equipment. No such issuance constitutes an obligation, either general, special, or moral of the state, the innovation partnership school sponsor, the school district in which the innovation partnership school is located, or any other political subdivision or agency of the state. Neither the full faith and credit nor the taxing power of (a) the state, (b) the innovation partnership school sponsor, (c) the school district in which the innovation partnership school is located or (d) any other political subdivision or agency of the state may be pledged for the payment of such debt.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   LEGAL STATUS. An innovation partnership school is a public school including one or more grades, kindergarten through twelve, operated by a public benefit nonprofit corporation, according to the terms of a renewable five-year contract granted by a sponsor.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP SCHOOLS--EXEMPTIONS. (1) An innovation partnership school shall operate independently of any school district board, under a partnership agreement approved by a sponsor under this chapter.
     (2) Innovation partnership schools are exempt from all state statutes and rules applicable to school districts and school district boards of directors except as provided in this chapter and in the school's approved partnership agreement.
     (3) An innovation partnership school's board of directors may elect to comply with one or more provisions of the statutes or rules that are applicable to school districts and school district boards of directors.
     (4) All approved innovation partnership schools must:
     (a) Comply with state and federal health, safety, and civil rights laws applicable to school districts;
     (b) Participate in the elementary, middle school, and high school standards, requirements, and assessment examinations as required in chapter 28A.655 RCW;
     (c) Employ certificated instructional staff as required in RCW 28A.410.010, however innovation partnership schools may, like other public schools, hire noncertificated instructional staff of unusual competence and in exceptional cases as specified in RCW 28A.150.260;
     (d) Comply with the employee record check requirements in RCW 28A.400.303;
     (e) Be subject to the same financial and audit requirements as a school district;
     (f) Comply with the annual school performance report under RCW 28A.655.110;
     (g) Report at least annually to its sponsor and to parents of children enrolled at the innovation partnership school on progress toward the student performance goals specified in the partnership agreement; and
     (h) Comply with the open public meetings act in chapter 42.30 RCW.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS. (1) An innovation partnership school must enroll all students who submit a timely application. If capacity is insufficient to enroll all students who submit a timely application, the innovation partnership school must give enrollment priority to students who reside within the school district boundaries in which the innovation partnership school is physically located. Priority also must be given to siblings of students who are currently enrolled in the school. Schools that convert to innovation partnership schools must also give priority to the students who are currently enrolled in the school. When too many students of equal priority have applied, a lottery shall be used to select the specific students who are offered admission.
     (2) An innovation partnership school may not limit admission based on race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, gender, income level, intellectual ability, disabling condition, proficiency in the English language, or athletic ability. An innovation partnership school may limit admission to students within a given age group or grade level.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT APPLICATION--PARTNERING PROCESS. (1) An applicant may apply to a sponsor to establish an innovation partnership school as provided in this section.
     (2) An application for an innovation partnership school may be submitted to any qualified sponsor.
     (3) If an applicant applies to the local school district for sponsorship, the local school district board of directors must hold a public hearing in the school district on the application within sixty days of receipt of the application. The school board must either accept or reject the application within thirty days after the hearing. The thirty-day deadline for acceptance or rejection of the innovation partnership school application may be extended for an additional thirty days if both parties agree in writing.
     (4) If the local school board rejects the application, the school board must notify the applicant in writing of the reasons for the rejection. The applicant may submit a revised application for the school board's reconsideration. The school board may provide assistance to improve the application. If the school board rejects the application after submission of a revised application, the school board must notify the applicant in writing of the reasons for the rejection.
     (5) If an applicant applies to a state or regional university as identified in section 1(5) of this act, the state or regional university must comply with the procedures specified in subsections (1) through (4) of this section for consideration of innovation partnership school applications. Such a state or regional university sponsor is not bound by another sponsor's findings or decision to deny the application, if any.
     (6) The superintendent of public instruction shall maintain copies of all approved innovation partnership school applications. Any interested person may obtain copies of those applications from the office of the superintendent of public instruction.
     (7) Only the local school district may sponsor the conversion of a conventional public school to an innovation partnership school.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS. (1) The innovation partnership school application is a proposed contract and must include:
     (a) The identification and description of the nonprofit corporation submitting the application, including the names and descriptions of the individuals who will operate the school;
     (b) The nonprofit corporation's articles of incorporation, bylaws, and most recent financial statement and balance sheet;
     (c) A mission statement for the proposed school, consistent with the description of legislative intent in this chapter;
     (d) A description of the school's educational program, including curriculum and instructional strategies;
     (e) A description of the school's admissions policy and marketing program, including deadlines for applications or admission;
     (f) A description of student performance standards that must meet those established in chapter 28A.655 RCW;
     (g) A description of the plan for evaluating student performance and the procedures for taking corrective action in the event that student performance at the innovation partnership school falls below standards established in its partnership agreement;
     (h) A description of the financial plan for the school. The plan shall include: (i) A proposed five-year budget of projected revenues and expenditures; (ii) a plan for starting the school; (iii) a five-year facilities plan; (iv) evidence supporting student enrollment projections of at least twenty students; and (v) a description of major contracts planned for equipment and services, leases, improvements, purchases of real property, and insurance;
     (i) A description of the proposed financial management procedures, including annual audits of the school's financial and administrative operations, which shall meet or exceed generally accepted standards of management and public accounting;
     (j) An assessment of the school's potential legal liability and a description of the types and limits of insurance coverage the nonprofit corporation plans to obtain that are adequate. For purposes of this subsection, a liability policy of between one million and five million dollars is required;
     (k) A description of the procedures to discipline and dismiss students; and
     (l) A description of the procedures to assure the health and safety of students, employees, and guests of the school and to comply with applicable federal and state health and safety laws, rules, and regulations.
     (2) Additional consideration must be given to applications that include collaboration with innovation partnership zones established in RCW 43.330.270.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   APPROVAL CRITERIA. A sponsor or alternate sponsor may approve an application for an innovation partnership school, if in its reasonable judgment, after exercising due diligence and good faith, the sponsor or alternate sponsor finds:
     (1) The applicant is a public benefit nonprofit corporation and the individuals it proposes to manage the school are qualified to operate an innovation partnership school and implement the proposed educational program;
     (2) The mission statement is consistent with the description of legislative intent and restrictions on innovation partnership school operations in this chapter;
     (3) The school's proposed educational program is free from religious or sectarian influence;
     (4) The school's proposed educational program includes student academic performance standards that meet those determined under chapter 28A.655 RCW;
     (5) The application includes a viable plan for evaluating pupil performance and procedures for taking appropriate corrective action in the event that pupil performance at the innovation partnership school falls below standards established in its charter;
     (6) The school's educational program, including curriculum and instructional strategies, is likely to improve student performance as measured under section 4 of this act;
     (7) The application includes school performance standards, which must meet those determined under the statewide accountability system adopted by the legislature pursuant to RCW 28A.305.130;
     (8) The school's admissions policy and marketing program is consistent with state and federal law;
     (9) The financial plan for the school is designed to reasonably support the innovation partnership school's educational program based on a review of the proposed five-year budget of projected revenues, expenditures, and facilities;
     (10) The school's financial and administrative operations, including its annual audits, meet or exceed generally accepted standards of accounting and management;
     (11) The assessment of the school's potential legal liability, and the types and limits of insurance coverage the school plans to obtain, are adequate. For purposes of this subsection, a liability policy of between one million and five million dollars is required;
     (12) The procedures the school plans to follow for discipline and dismissal of students are reasonable and comply with federal law;
     (13) The procedures the school plans to follow to assure the health and safety of students, employees, and guests of the school comply with applicable state and federal health and safety laws and regulations; and
     (14) The public benefit nonprofit corporation has been approved or conditionally approved by the internal revenue service for tax exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. Sec. 501(c)(3)).

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT--AMENDMENT. (1) A partnership agreement application approved by a sponsor with any changes constitutes a partnership agreement.
     (2) A partnership agreement may be amended during its term at the request of the innovation partnership school board of directors and on the approval of the sponsor.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10   PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT RENEWAL AND REVOCATION. (1) An approved plan to establish an innovation partnership school is effective for five years from the first day of operation. At the conclusion of the first three years of operation, the innovation partnership school may apply for renewal to its sponsor or an eligible sponsor under section 1(5) of this act. A request for renewal must be submitted no later than six months before the expiration of the partnership agreement. If the request is to a potentially new sponsor, the new sponsor shall follow the procedures in section 6 of this act.
     (2) Within the first three years of operation, and at least once every three years thereafter, an innovation partnership school shall apply to the Washington state quality award program established in RCW 43.06.335, or for the Malcolm Baldridge national quality award.
     (3) An innovation partnership school renewal application must include:
     (a) A report on the progress of the innovation partnership school in achieving the goals, student performance standards, and other terms of the partnership agreement; and
     (b) A financial statement that discloses the costs of administration, instruction, and other expenditure objects and activities of the innovation partnership school.
     (4) The sponsor may reject the application for renewal if any of the following occurred:
     (a) The innovation partnership school materially violated its contract with the sponsor, as set forth in the partnership agreement;
     (b) The students enrolled in the innovation partnership school failed to meet student performance standards identified in the partnership agreement;
     (c) The innovation partnership school failed to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management; or
     (d) The innovation partnership school violated provisions in law that have not been waived in accordance with this chapter.
     (5) A sponsor shall give written notice of its decision to grant or deny the innovation partnership school's request for renewal within three months of receiving the request for renewal. If its decision is to deny the request, the sponsor shall provide the innovation partnership school with a reasonable opportunity to correct each identified deficiency in its operation. At the request of the board of directors of the innovation partnership school, the sponsor shall review its denial of the request for renewal after the innovation partnership school has corrected any identified deficiencies, and may, in its discretion, reverse its previous decision and grant the innovation partnership school's request for renewal.
     (6) The sponsor may revoke a previously approved partnership agreement before the expiration of the term of the partnership agreement, and before application for renewal, for any of the reasons specified in subsection (4) of this section. Except in cases of emergency where the health and safety of children are at risk, a partnership agreement may not be revoked unless the sponsor first provides written notice of the specific violations alleged, a public hearing, and a reasonable opportunity for the innovation partnership school to correct the identified areas of concern. The sponsor of an innovation partnership school shall provide for an appeal process upon a determination by the sponsor that grounds exist to revoke a partnership agreement.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 11   FUNDING. (1) If the sponsor is a school district:
     (a) For purposes of funding, students in innovation partnership schools shall be considered students of the sponsoring district for general fund apportionment purposes. Without violating the provisions of section 12 of this act, the sponsoring school district shall provide prompt and timely funding for innovation partnership schools on a per student basis in amounts the schools would have received if the students were enrolled in a conventional public school in the district except that an innovation partnership school shall not generate eligibility for small school assistance. Funding for innovation partnership schools shall include regular apportionment, categorical, and nonbasic education funds, as appropriate and shall be based on enrollment and other financial information submitted by the innovation partnership school to the school district as is required to determine state apportionment amounts;
     (b) Local levy moneys approved by the voters before the effective date of a partnership agreement between a school district and an applicant shall not be allocated to an innovation partnership school unless the sponsoring school district determines it has received sufficient authority from voters to allocate maintenance and operation excess tax levy money to the innovation partnership school. For levies approved after the effective date of a partnership agreement, innovation partnership schools shall be included in levy planning, budgets, and funding distribution in the same manner as other schools in the district; and
     (c) An innovation partnership school is eligible for state matching funds for common school construction if a sponsoring school district determines it has received voter approval of local capital funds for the project.
     (2) Conventional public schools that convert to innovation partnership schools shall receive funding in the same manner as other district-sponsored innovation partnership schools.
     (3) If the sponsor is not a school district, students in the innovation partnership school shall still be considered students of the district in which the innovation partnership school is located for general fund apportionment purposes. Without violating the provisions of section 12 of this act, the superintendent of public instruction shall provide prompt and timely funding for innovation partnership schools on a per student basis in amounts the schools would have received if the students were enrolled in a conventional public school in the district except that an innovation partnership school shall not generate eligibility for small school assistance. The funding shall include regular apportionment, categorical, and nonbasic education funds and shall be based on enrollment and other financial information submitted by the innovation partnership school to the school district and the superintendent of public instruction, as is required to determine state apportionment amounts.
     (4) No local levy money may be allocated to an innovation partnership school if the innovation partnership school is sponsored by any public agency other than the local school district.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 12   ADMINISTRATION FEE. To offset costs of oversight and administering the partnership agreement, a sponsor may retain up to three percent of state funding and local excess levy funding, if applicable, that is being driven to the innovation partnership school. Except for the administration fee in this section, no other offsets or deductions are allowed, whether for central administration or other off-site support services, from an innovation partnership school's per-pupil share of state appropriations, local levies, or other funds, unless the innovation partnership school has voluntarily contracted with its sponsor to obtain specific additional services.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 13   INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP SCHOOL ASSISTANCE ACCOUNT. The innovation partnership school assistance account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. All receipts from appropriations shall be deposited into the account. Expenditures from the account may be used only to provide financial grants to approved innovation partnership schools for start-up costs. Innovation partnership schools may receive up to two hundred fifty dollars per student for start-up costs. Only the superintendent of public instruction or the superintendent's designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is required for expenditures. Start-up moneys shall be distributed to schools with approved partnership agreements on a first-come, first-served basis.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 14   RULES--GRANTS. The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules to implement section 13 of this act. If an applicant for an innovation partnership school receives a grant under section 13 of this act and fails to begin operating an innovation partnership school within the next eighteen months, the applicant must immediately reimburse the office of the superintendent of public instruction for the amount of the grant.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 15   LEAVES OF ABSENCE. If a school district employee makes a written request for an extended leave of absence to work at an innovation partnership school, the school district shall grant the request. The school district may require that the request for a leave be made up to ninety days before the employee would otherwise have to report for duty. The leave shall be granted for up to three years. If the employee returns to the school district within the three-year period, the employee shall be hired before the district hires anyone else with fewer years of service, with respect to any position for which the returning employee is certificated or otherwise qualified.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 16   STUDY OF INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP SCHOOLS. The Washington institute for public policy shall study the implementation and effectiveness of chapter . . ., Laws of 2010 (this act). The institute shall make recommendations to the legislature about the effectiveness of innovation partnership schools and the impact of innovation partnership schools. The institute shall also recommend changes to this chapter including improvements that could be made to the application and approval process. A preliminary report of the study is due to the legislature by September 1, 2012, and a final report is due September 1, 2014.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 17   NUMBER OF INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP SCHOOLS. (1) The maximum number of partnership agreements that can be granted under this chapter is twenty in any given year commencing January 1, 2011, for the first four years. These annual allocations shall be cumulative so that if the maximum is not reached in any given year the maximum shall be increased accordingly for the successive years.
     (2) A sponsor may not sponsor an innovation partnership school in a school district with a student enrollment of less than one thousand students until January 1, 2013.
     (3) For purposes of monitoring compliance with this section and providing information to new innovation partnership school applicants, the superintendent of public instruction shall maintain a running total of the projected and actual enrollment at innovation partnership schools and the number of partnership agreements granted.
     (4) For purposes of implementing this subsection, a sponsor shall notify the office of the superintendent of public instruction when it receives an innovation partnership school application, when it approves an innovation partnership school, and when an innovation partnership school is renewed or terminated.
     (5) The maximum number of innovation partnership schools allowed under this section does not include conventional public schools converting to innovation partnership schools.

Sec. 18   RCW 28A.150.010 and 1969 ex.s. c 223 s 28A.01.055 are each amended to read as follows:
     Public schools ((shall)) means the common schools as referred to in Article IX of the state Constitution and those schools and institutions of learning having a curriculum below the college or university level as now or may be established by law and maintained at public expense, including innovation partnership schools under chapter 28A. . . . RCW (the new chapter created in section 25 of this act).

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 19   A new section is added to chapter 41.56 RCW to read as follows:
     COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS OF INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP SCHOOL EMPLOYEES. This chapter applies to charter public schools under chapter 28A. . . . RCW (the new chapter created in section 25 of this act) and the innovation partnership school's employees included in the bargaining unit. The bargaining unit of employees of innovation partnership schools must be limited to the employees of the innovation partnership school and must be separate from other bargaining units in the school district or educational service district.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 20   A new section is added to chapter 41.59 RCW to read as follows:
     COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS OF INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP SCHOOL EMPLOYEES. This chapter applies to collective bargaining agreements between innovation partnership schools and the employees of innovation partnership schools included in the bargaining unit. The bargaining unit of employees of innovation partnership schools must be limited to the employees of the innovation partnership school and must be separate from other bargaining units in the school district or educational service district.

Sec. 21   RCW 41.59.080 and 1998 c 244 s 11 are each amended to read as follows:
     The commission, upon proper application for certification as an exclusive bargaining representative or upon petition for change of unit definition by the employer or any employee organization within the time limits specified in RCW 41.59.070(3), and after hearing upon reasonable notice, shall determine the unit appropriate for the purpose of collective bargaining. In determining, modifying or combining the bargaining unit, the commission shall consider the duties, skills, and working conditions of the educational employees; the history of collective bargaining; the extent of organization among the educational employees; and the desire of the educational employees; except that:
     (1) A unit including nonsupervisory educational employees shall not be considered appropriate unless it includes all such nonsupervisory educational employees of the employer; and
     (2) A unit that includes only supervisors may be considered appropriate if a majority of the employees in such category indicate by vote that they desire to be included in such a unit; and
     (3) A unit that includes only principals and assistant principals may be considered appropriate if a majority of such employees indicate by vote that they desire to be included in such a unit; and
     (4) A unit that includes both principals and assistant principals and other supervisory employees may be considered appropriate if a majority of the employees in each category indicate by vote that they desire to be included in such a unit; and
     (5) A unit that includes supervisors and/or principals and assistant principals and nonsupervisory educational employees may be considered appropriate if a majority of the employees in each category indicate by vote that they desire to be included in such a unit; and
     (6) A unit that includes only employees in vocational-technical institutes or occupational skill centers may be considered to constitute an appropriate bargaining unit if the history of bargaining in any such school district so justifies; and
     (7) Notwithstanding the definition of collective bargaining, a unit that contains only supervisors and/or principals and assistant principals shall be limited in scope of bargaining to compensation, hours of work, and the number of days of work in the annual employment contracts; and
     (8) The bargaining unit of certificated employees of school districts, educational service districts, or institutions of higher education that are education providers under chapter 28A.193 RCW must be limited to the employees working as education providers to juveniles in each adult correctional facility maintained by the department of corrections and must be separate from other bargaining units in school districts, educational service districts, or institutions of higher education; and
     (9) The bargaining unit for employees of innovation partnership schools as defined in section 1 of this act must be limited to the employees of the innovation partnership school and must be separate from other bargaining units in the school district or educational service district.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 22   A new section is added to chapter 41.32 RCW under the subchapter heading "Provisions applicable to plan 1, plan 2, and plan 3" to read as follows:
     RETIREMENT PLAN BENEFITS OF INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP SCHOOL EMPLOYEES. (1) Innovation partnership schools are employers and innovation partnership school teachers are members under this chapter.
     (2) This section takes effect only if the department receives determinations from the internal revenue service and the United States department of labor that such participation does not jeopardize the status of these retirement systems as governmental plans under the federal employees' retirement income security act and the internal revenue code.
     (3) "Innovation partnership school" has the definition in section 1 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 23   A new section is added to chapter 41.35 RCW under the subchapter heading "Provisions applicable to plan 2 and plan 3" to read as follows:
     RETIREMENT PLAN BENEFITS OF INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP SCHOOL EMPLOYEES. (1) Innovation partnership schools are employers and innovation partnership school employees other than teachers are members under this chapter.
     (2) This section takes effect only if the department receives determinations from the internal revenue service and the United States department of labor that such participation does not jeopardize the status of these retirement systems as governmental plans under the federal employees' retirement income security act and the internal revenue code.
     (3) "Innovation partnership school" has the definition in section 1 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 24   A new section is added to chapter 41.40 RCW under the subchapter heading "Provisions applicable to plan 1, plan 2, and plan 3" to read as follows:
     RETIREMENT PLAN BENEFITS OF INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP SCHOOL EMPLOYEES. (1) Innovation partnership schools are employers and innovation partnership school employees other than teachers are members under this chapter. RCW 41.40.750 applies to innovation partnership school employees who are not in plan 1 under this chapter on September 1, 2010.
     (2) This section takes effect only if the department receives determinations from the internal revenue service and the United States department of labor that such participation does not jeopardize the status of these retirement systems as governmental plans under the federal employees' retirement income security act and the internal revenue code.
     (3) "Innovation partnership school" has the definition in section 1 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 25   Sections 1 through 17 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 28A RCW.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 26   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.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 27   INTEGRATION WITH OTHER STATUTES. Within one year of the effective date of this section, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall develop and recommend legislation, if any is necessary, to bring Title 28A RCW into compliance with this act. Any failure to pass any such legislation does not, however, affect the validity and enforceability of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 28   Section 23 of this act takes effect September 1, 2010.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 29   Except for section 23 of this act, this act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.