BILL REQ. #:  H-4108.2 

READ FIRST TIME 02/11/14.   

     AN ACT Relating to improving educational outcomes for homeless students; amending RCW 28A.300.540 and 28A.175.010; adding a new section to chapter 28A.320 RCW; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that since the 2005-06 school year, the number of homeless students identified in the K-12 public school system has been increasing. The legislature further finds that there are additional homeless students who are not identified by schools. The legislature intends to improve educational outcomes for homeless children by strengthening the ability of school districts to identify homeless students, establishing data reporting requirements, and distributing best practices and information regarding services and support for homeless students.

Sec. 2   RCW 28A.300.540 and 2009 c 515 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) By December 31, 2010, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall establish a uniform process designed to track the additional expenditures for transporting homeless students, including expenditures required under the McKinney Vento act, reauthorized as Title X, Part C, of the no child left behind act, P.L. 107-110, in January 2002. Once established, the superintendent shall adopt the necessary administrative rules to direct each school district to adopt and use the uniform process and track these expenditures. The superintendent shall ((provide information annually to the agency council on coordinated transportation, created in chapter 47.06B RCW, on)) post on the superintendent's web site total expenditures related to the transportation of homeless students.
     (2)(a) By January 10, 2015, and by January 10th of every odd-numbered year thereafter, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall report to the governor and the legislature the following data for homeless students:
     (i) The number of identified homeless students enrolled in public schools;
     (ii) The number of students participating in the learning assistance program under chapter 28A.165 RCW, the highly capable program under chapter 28A.185 RCW, and the running start program under chapter 28A.600 RCW; and
     (iii) The academic performance and educational outcomes of homeless students, including but not limited to the following performance and educational outcomes:
     (A) Student scores on the statewide administered academic assessments;
     (B) English language proficiency;
     (C) Dropout rates;
     (D) Four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate;
     (E) Five-year adjusted cohort graduation rate;
     (F) Absenteeism rates;
     (G) Truancy rates, if available; and
     (H) Suspension and expulsion data.
     (b) The data reported under this subsection (2) must include state and district-level information and must be disaggregated by at least the following subgroups of students: White, Black, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, Pacific Islander/Hawaiian Native, low income, transitional bilingual, migrant, special education, and gender.
     (3) By July 1, 2014, the office of the superintendent of public instruction in collaboration with experts from community organizations on homelessness and homeless education policy, shall develop or acquire a short video that provides information on how to identify signs that indicate a student may be homeless, how to provide services and support to homeless students, and why this identification and support is critical to student success. The video must be posted on the superintendent of public instruction's web site.
     (4) By July 1, 2014, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall adopt and distribute to each school district, best practices for choosing and training school district-designated homeless student liaisons.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 28A.320 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) On an annual basis, each school district must strongly encourage:
     (a) All school staff to review the video posted on the office of the superintendent of public instruction's web site on how to identify signs that indicate a student may be homeless, how to provide services and support to homeless students, and why this identification and support is critical to student success to ensure that homeless students are appropriately identified and supported; and
     (b) Every district-designated homeless student liaison to attend trainings provided by the state to ensure that homeless children and youth are identified and served.
     (2) Each school district shall include in existing materials that are shared with students at the beginning of the school year or at enrollment information about services and support for homeless students. School districts may use the brochure posted on the web site of the office of the superintendent of public instruction as a resource. School districts are also strongly encouraged to use a variety of communications each year to notify students and families about services and support available to them if they are experiencing homelessness, including but not limited to:
     (a) Distributing and collecting an annual housing intake survey;
     (b) Providing parent brochures directly to students and families;
     (c) Announcing the information at school-wide assemblies; or
     (d) Posting information on the school district's web site or linking to the office of the superintendent of public instruction web site.

Sec. 4   RCW 28A.175.010 and 2010 c 243 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     Each school district shall account for the educational progress of each of its students. To achieve this, school districts shall be required to report annually to the superintendent of public instruction:
     (1) For students enrolled in each of a school district's high school programs:
     (a) The number of students who graduate in fewer than four years;
     (b) The number of students who graduate in four years;
     (c) The number of students who remain in school for more than four years but who eventually graduate and the number of students who remain in school for more than four years but do not graduate;
     (d) The number of students who transfer to other schools;
     (e) The number of students in the ninth through twelfth grade who drop out of school over a four-year period; and
     (f) The number of students whose status is unknown.
     (2) Dropout rates of students in each of the grades seven through twelve.
     (3) Dropout rates for student populations in each of the grades seven through twelve by:
     (a) Ethnicity;
     (b) Gender;
     (c) Socioeconomic status; ((and))
     (d) Disability status; and
     (e) Identified homeless status.
     (4) The causes or reasons, or both, attributed to students for having dropped out of school in grades seven through twelve.
     (5) The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW to assure uniformity in the information districts are required to report under subsections (1) through (4) of this section. In developing rules, the superintendent of public instruction shall consult with school districts, including administrative and counseling personnel, with regard to the methods through which information is to be collected and reported.
     (6) In reporting on the causes or reasons, or both, attributed to students for having dropped out of school, school building officials shall, to the extent reasonably practical, obtain such information directly from students. In lieu of obtaining such information directly from students, building principals and counselors shall identify the causes or reasons, or both, based on their professional judgment.
     (7) The superintendent of public instruction shall report annually to the legislature the information collected under subsections (1) through (4) of this section.
     (8) The Washington state institute for public policy shall calculate an annual estimate of the savings resulting from any change compared to the prior school year in the extended graduation rate. The superintendent shall include the estimate from the institute in an appendix of the report required under subsection (7) of this section, beginning with the 2010 report.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 2014, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void.