BILL REQ. #:  H-3723.3 

READ FIRST TIME 03/31/12.   

     AN ACT Relating to addressing issues of accountability and funding for alternative learning experience programs; amending RCW 28A.150.325, 28A.150.262, and 28A.225.225; reenacting and amending RCW 28A.150.260 and 28A.225.220; and providing an expiration date.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 28A.150.325 and 2011 1st sp.s. c 34 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) ((For purposes of)) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this chapter((,)) unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (a) "Alternative learning experience program" means a course or set of courses that is:
     (((a))) (i) Provided in whole or in part independently from a regular classroom setting or schedule, but may include some components of direct instruction;
     (((b))) (ii) Supervised, monitored, assessed, evaluated, and documented by a certificated teacher employed by the school district or under contract as permitted by applicable rules; and
     (((c))) (iii) Provided in accordance with a written student learning plan that is implemented pursuant to the school district's policy and rules adopted by the superintendent of public instruction for alternative learning experiences.
     (b) "Contract-based learning program" means a program that serves students in grades nine through twelve where students receive an average of at least five hours of classroom-based instruction per week. The running start program established under RCW 28A.600.300 is not a contract-based learning program.
     (2)(a) For students in grades nine through twelve, all instruction and activities in the student learning plan must generate credits that meet state or local high school graduation requirements.
     (b) For students in grades kindergarten through eight, all instruction and activities in the student learning plan must be directly related to one or more of the following core academic subjects: English, reading and language arts, writing, science, technology, engineering, mathematics, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, the arts, history, and geography.
     (3) The broad categories of alternative learning experience programs include, but are not limited to:
     (a) Online programs as defined in RCW 28A.150.262;
     (b) Parent partnership programs that include significant participation and partnership by parents and families in the design and implementation of a student's learning experience; and
     (c) Contract-based learning programs.
     (((3))) (4) School districts that offer alternative learning experience programs may not provide any compensation, reimbursement, gift, reward, or gratuity to any parents, guardians, or students for participation. School district employees are prohibited from receiving any compensation or payment as an incentive to increase student enrollment of out-of-district students in an alternative learning experience program. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, providing funds to parents, guardians, or students for the purchase of educational materials, supplies, experiences, services, or technological equipment. A district may purchase educational materials, equipment, or other nonconsumable supplies for students' use in alternative learning experience programs if the purchase is consistent with the district's approved curriculum, conforms to applicable laws and rules, and is made in the same manner as such purchases are made for students in the district's regular instructional program. Items so purchased remain the property of the school district upon program completion. School districts may not purchase or contract for instructional or co- curricular experiences and services that are included in an alternative learning experience written student learning plan, including but not limited to lessons, trips, and other activities, unless substantially similar experiences and services are available to students enrolled in the district's regular instructional program. Except when required under an individualized education program for a student with disabilities or as necessary to provide accommodation for a student qualifying under section 504 of the federal rehabilitation act of 1973, contracts for instructional or cocurricular experiences and services may not provide experiences and services for a single individual alternative learning experience student, but may provide experiences and services for students in a group setting. School districts that purchase or contract for such experiences and services for students enrolled in an alternative learning experience program must submit an annual report to the office of the superintendent of public instruction detailing the costs and purposes of the expenditures. These requirements extend to contracted providers of alternative learning experience programs, and each district shall be responsible for monitoring the compliance of its providers with these requirements. However, nothing in this section shall prohibit school districts from contracting with online providers approved by the office of the superintendent of public instruction pursuant to chapter 28A.250 RCW.
     (((4))) (5) Part-time enrollment in alternative learning experiences is subject to the provisions of RCW 28A.150.350. Part-time students who are enrolled in alternative learning experiences are not exempt from participating in the statewide academic assessment system under RCW 28A.655.070 in the same manner as full-time students. Participation shall be based on a student's completion of the course material that is the subject of the assessment. Nonresident students in alternative learning experience programs may participate in statewide student assessments in the district of residence, subject to that district's planned testing schedule.
     (((5))) (6) Requirements for direct personal contact between a teacher and a student in an alternative learning experience program may be met in a group setting between the teacher and multiple students.
     (7) Except for students whose enrollment in an alternative learning experience program occurs only through enrollment in an alternative learning experience online program under RCW 28A.150.262, and except for students who are enrolled part-time in an alternative learning experience program and part-time in a regular instructional program in the same school district, all students enrolled in an alternative learning experience program must receive in-person, face-to-face direct personal contact with a teacher at least once a week.
     (8) For programs where students of any grade level receive an average of at least five hours of in-person, face-to-face instruction per week in a physical classroom, no documentation beyond school attendance records is required for the program to verify that direct personal contact or instructional contact time requirements have been met.
     (9) Beginning with the 2012-13 school year and thereafter, school districts shall record individual student enrollment in an alternative learning experience program in the comprehensive education data and research system. The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall reconfigure the system to accommodate the provisions of this subsection.
     (10) The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules defining minimum requirements and accountability for alternative learning experience programs.

Sec. 2   RCW 28A.150.260 and 2011 1st sp.s. c 34 s 9 and 2011 1st sp.s. c 27 s 2 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     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 RCW 28A.150.220. The allocation shall be determined as follows:
     (1) The governor shall and the superintendent of public instruction may recommend to the legislature a formula for the distribution of a basic education instructional allocation for each common school district.
     (2) The distribution formula under this section shall be for allocation purposes only. Except as may be required under chapter 28A.155, 28A.165, 28A.180, or 28A.185 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) To the extent the technical details of the formula have been adopted by the legislature and except when specifically provided as a school district allocation, 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. It is the intent that the funding allocations to school districts 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 to the extent that data is available. 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) The total aggregate statewide allocations calculated under subsections (4) through (12) of this section for full-time equivalent student enrollment in alternative learning experience programs as defined in RCW 28A.150.325 shall be reduced by fifteen percent for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years. Contract-based learning programs shall receive a five percent reduction in the 2012-13 school year. Otherwise, the superintendent of public instruction shall determine how to implement this aggregate fifteen percent reduction among the different alternative learning experience programs. Except for contract-based learning programs, no program may receive less than a ten percent reduction and no program may receive greater than a twenty percent reduction. In determining how to implement the reductions among the alternative learning experience programs, the superintendent of public instruction must look to both how a program is currently operating as well as how it has operated in the past, to the extent that data is available, and must give consideration to the following criteria:
     (i) The category of program;
     (ii) The certificated instructional staffing ratio maintained by the program;
     (iii) The amount and type of direct personal student-to-teacher contact used by the program on a weekly basis;
     (iv) Whether the program uses any classroom-based instructional time to meet requirements in the written student learning plan for enrolled students; and
     (v) For online programs, whether the program is approved by the superintendent of public instruction under RCW 28A.250.020.
     (c) The superintendent of public instruction shall report to the legislature by December 31, 2011, regarding how the reductions in (b) of this subsection were implemented.
     (d) 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.
     (4)(a) The minimum allocation for each level of prototypical school shall be based on the number of full-time equivalent classroom teachers needed to provide instruction over the minimum required annual instructional hours under RCW 28A.150.220 and provide at least one teacher planning period per school day, and based on the following general education average class size of full-time equivalent students per teacher:

       General education
       average
       class size
Grades K-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.23
Grade 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.00
Grades 5-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.00
Grades 7-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.53
Grades 9-12 . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.74

     (b) During the 2011-2013 biennium and beginning with schools with the highest percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-price meals in the prior school year, the general education average class size for grades K-3 shall be reduced until the average class size funded under this subsection (4) is no more than 17.0 full-time equivalent students per teacher beginning in the 2017-18 school year.
     (c) The minimum allocation for each prototypical middle and high school shall also provide for full-time equivalent classroom teachers based on the following number of full-time equivalent students per teacher in career and technical education:

       Career and technical
       education average
       class size
Approved career and technical education offered at
the middle school and high school level . . . . . . . . . . . . 26.57
Skill center programs meeting the standards established
by the office of the superintendent of public
instruction . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.76

     (d) In addition, the omnibus appropriations act shall at a minimum specify:
     (i) A high-poverty average class size in schools where more than fifty percent of the students are eligible for free and reduced-price meals; and
     (ii) A specialty average class size for laboratory science, advanced placement, and international baccalaureate courses.
     (5) The minimum allocation for each level of prototypical school shall include allocations for the following types of staff in addition to classroom teachers:
     

Sec. 3   RCW 28A.150.262 and 2011 1st sp.s. c 34 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     Under RCW 28A.150.260, the superintendent of public instruction shall revise the definition of a full-time equivalent student to include students who receive instruction through alternative learning experience online programs. As used in this section and RCW 28A.150.325, an "alternative learning experience online program" is a set of online courses or an online school program as defined in RCW 28A.250.010 that is delivered to students in whole or in part independently from a regular classroom schedule. Beginning in the 2013-14 school year, alternative learning experience online programs must be offered by an online provider approved by the superintendent of public instruction under RCW 28A.250.020 to meet the definition in this section. The rules shall include but not be limited to the following:
     (1) Defining a full-time equivalent student under RCW 28A.150.260 or part-time student under RCW 28A.150.350 based upon the district's estimated average weekly hours of learning activity as identified in the student's learning plan, as long as the student is found, through monthly evaluation, to be making satisfactory progress; the rules shall require districts providing programs under this section to nonresident students to establish procedures that address, at a minimum, the coordination of student counting for state funding so that no student is counted for more than one full-time equivalent in the aggregate;
     (2) Requiring the board of directors of a school district offering, or contracting under RCW 28A.150.305 to offer, an alternative learning experience online program to adopt and annually review written policies for each program and program provider and to receive an annual report on its digital alternative learning experience online programs from its staff;
     (3) Requiring each school district offering or contracting to offer an alternative learning experience online program to report annually to the superintendent of public instruction on the types of programs and course offerings, and number of students participating;
     (4) Requiring completion of a program self-evaluation;
     (5) Requiring documentation of the district of the student's physical residence;
     (6) Requiring that supervision, monitoring, assessment, and evaluation of the alternative learning experience online program be provided by a certificated teacher;
     (7) Requiring each school district offering courses or programs to identify the ratio of certificated instructional staff to full-time equivalent students enrolled in such courses or programs, and to include a description of their ratio as part of the reports required under subsections (2) and (3) of this section;
     (8) Requiring reliable methods to verify a student is doing his or her own work; the methods may include proctored examinations or projects, including the use of web cams or other technologies. "Proctored" means directly monitored by an adult authorized by the school district;
     (9) Requiring, for each student receiving instruction in an alternative learning experience online program, a learning plan that includes a description of course objectives and information on the requirements a student must meet to successfully complete the program or courses. The rules shall allow course syllabi and other additional information to be used to meet the requirement for a learning plan;
     (10) Requiring that the district assess the educational progress of enrolled students at least annually, using((, for full-time students,)) the state assessment for the student's grade level and using any other annual assessments required by the school district. Part-time students shall also be assessed at least annually. ((However, part-time students who are either receiving home-based instruction under chapter 28A.200 RCW or who are enrolled in an approved private school under chapter 28A.195 RCW are not required to participate in the assessments required under chapter 28A.655 RCW.)) The rules shall address how students who reside outside the geographic service area of the school district are to be assessed;
     (11) Requiring that each student enrolled in the program have direct personal contact with a certificated teacher at least weekly until the student completes the course objectives or the requirements in the learning plan. Direct personal contact is for the purposes of instruction, review of assignments, testing, evaluation of student progress, or other learning activities. Direct personal contact may include the use of telephone, e-mail, instant messaging, interactive video communication, or other means of digital communication, and may occur in a group setting between the teacher and multiple students;
     (12) Requiring state-funded public schools or public school programs whose primary purpose is to provide alternative learning experience online learning programs to receive accreditation through the Northwest accreditation commission or another national, regional, or state accreditation program listed by the office of the superintendent of public instruction after consultation with the Washington coalition for online learning;
     (13) Requiring state-funded public schools or public school programs whose primary purpose is to provide alternative learning experience online learning to provide information to students and parents on whether or not the courses or programs: Cover one or more of the school district's learning goals or of the state's essential academic learning requirements or whether they permit the student to meet one or more of the state's or district's graduation requirements; and
     (14) Requiring that a school district that provides one or more alternative learning experience online courses to a student provide the parent or guardian of the student, prior to the student's enrollment, with a description of any difference between home-based education as described in chapter 28A.200 RCW and the enrollment option selected by the student. The parent or guardian shall sign documentation attesting to his or her understanding of the difference and the documentation shall be retained by the district and made available for audit.

Sec. 4   RCW 28A.225.220 and 1995 c 335 s 602 and 1995 c 52 s 2 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (1) Any board of directors may make agreements with adults choosing to attend school, and may charge the adults reasonable tuition.
     (2) A district is strongly encouraged to honor the request of a parent or guardian for his or her child to attend a school in another district or the request of a parent or guardian for his or her child to transfer as a student receiving home-based instruction.
     (3) A district shall release a student to a nonresident district that agrees to accept the student if:
     (a) A financial, educational, safety, or health condition affecting the student would likely be reasonably improved as a result of the transfer; or
     (b) Attendance at the school in the nonresident district is more accessible to the parent's place of work or to the location of child care; or
     (c) There is a special hardship or detrimental condition; or
     (d) The purpose of the transfer is for the student to enroll in an alternative learning experience online program under RCW 28A.150.262. The nonresident district must notify the resident district if a nonresident student drops out of the alternative learning experience online program.
     (4) A district may deny the request of a resident student to transfer to a nonresident district if the release of the student would adversely affect the district's existing desegregation plan.
     (5) For the purpose of helping a district assess the quality of its education program, a resident school district may request an optional exit interview or questionnaire with the parents or guardians of a child transferring to another district. No parent or guardian may be forced to attend such an interview or complete the questionnaire.
     (6) Beginning with the 1993-94 school year, school districts may not charge transfer fees or tuition for nonresident students enrolled under subsection (3) of this section and RCW 28A.225.225. Reimbursement of a high school district for cost of educating high school pupils of a nonhigh school district shall not be deemed a transfer fee as affecting the apportionment of current state school funds.

Sec. 5   RCW 28A.225.225 and 2009 c 380 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except for students who reside out-of-state and students under RCW 28A.225.217, a district shall accept applications from nonresident students who are the children of full-time certificated and classified school employees, and those children shall be permitted to enroll:
     (a) At the school to which the employee is assigned;
     (b) At a school forming the district's K through 12 continuum which includes the school to which the employee is assigned; or
     (c) At a school in the district that provides early intervention services pursuant to RCW 28A.155.065 or preschool services pursuant to RCW 28A.155.070, if the student is eligible for such services.
     (2) A district may reject applications under this section if:
     (a) The student's disciplinary records indicate a history of convictions for offenses or crimes, violent or disruptive behavior, or gang membership;
     (b) The student has been expelled or suspended from a public school for more than ten consecutive days. Any policy allowing for readmission of expelled or suspended students under this subsection (2)(b) must apply uniformly to both resident and nonresident applicants; or
     (c) Enrollment of a child under this section would displace a child who is a resident of the district, except that if a child is admitted under subsection (1) of this section, that child shall be permitted to remain enrolled at that school, or in that district's kindergarten through twelfth grade continuum, until he or she has completed his or her schooling.
     (3) Except as provided in subsection (1) of this section, all districts accepting applications from nonresident students or from students receiving home-based instruction for admission to the district's schools shall consider equally all applications received. Each school district shall adopt a policy establishing rational, fair, and equitable standards for acceptance and rejection of applications by June 30, 1990. The policy may include rejection of a nonresident student if:
     (a) Acceptance of a nonresident student would result in the district experiencing a financial hardship;
     (b) The student's disciplinary records indicate a history of convictions for offenses or crimes, violent or disruptive behavior, or gang membership; or
     (c) The student has been expelled or suspended from a public school for more than ten consecutive days. Any policy allowing for readmission of expelled or suspended students under this subsection (3)(c) must apply uniformly to both resident and nonresident applicants.
     For purposes of subsections (2)(a) and (3)(b) of this section, "gang" means a group which: (i) Consists of three or more persons; (ii) has identifiable leadership; and (iii) on an ongoing basis, regularly conspires and acts in concert mainly for criminal purposes.
     (4) A school district may enroll nonresident students in alternative learning experience programs as defined in RCW 28A.150.325 only if the district establishes an interlocal agreement with the student's district of residence which addresses, but is not limited to, responsibilities for assuring compliance with compulsory attendance laws, participation in statewide student assessments, and assurance of provision of appropriate services for students with disabilities. The agreement may apply to any nonresident alternative learning experience student from the same district and need not be unique to each student. A resident school district may not refuse to establish an interlocal agreement with a nonresident school district for students enrolling in an alternative learning experience online program under RCW 28A.150.262 in the nonresident district.
     (5) The district shall provide to applicants written notification of the approval or denial of the application in a timely manner. If the application is rejected, the notification shall include the reason or reasons for denial and the right to appeal under RCW 28A.225.230(3).

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   Section 2 of this act expires July 1, 2013.