BILL REQ. #:  H-3052.1 

Read first time 01/21/14.   Referred to Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Education.

     AN ACT Relating to expanding the urban school turnaround initiative; creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   In 2012 the legislature made a targeted investment of funding and technical assistance in urban schools that are dramatically affected by poverty and the educational opportunity gap. The urban school turnaround initiative began in two selected schools in the state's largest urban school district. Although the initiative is only in its second year, preliminary results based on student achievement on state assessments are promising. Therefore the legislature intends to extend the initiative to additional urban school districts in the state.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) Subject to funds appropriated specifically for this purpose, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall select up to four schools in two large urban school districts in the state to participate in an urban school turnaround initiative beginning in the 2014-15 school year. One of the school districts shall be located in Eastern Washington and one shall be located in Western Washington. The school districts may not have previously received state funds for an urban school turnaround initiative. The selected schools shall be low-performing schools; be located within the same community in their respective districts and form a continuum of education for the students in that community; have significant educational opportunity gaps; and include a mix of elementary, middle, or high schools.
     (2) The office shall allocate funds appropriated for the urban school turnaround initiative to the school districts to be used exclusively in the selected schools. The districts may not charge an overhead or indirect fee for the allocated funds or supplant other state, federal, or local funds in the selected schools. Funding allocated under this section is intended to be one time, but school districts may expend the funds over a three-year period.
     (3) The school districts shall use the funds for intensive supplemental instruction, services, and materials in the selected schools, including but not limited to professional development for school staff; updated curriculum, materials, and technology; extended learning opportunities for students; reduced class size; summer enrichment activities; school-based health clinics; and other research-based initiatives to dramatically turn around the performance and close the opportunity gap in the schools. Priorities for the expenditure of the funds shall be determined by the leadership and staff of each school.
     (4) The office shall monitor the activities in the selected schools and the expenditure of funds to ensure the intent of this section is met, and submit a report to the legislature by December 1, 2017, including outcomes resulting from the urban school turnaround initiative. The report submitted to the legislature must include a comparison of student learning achievement in the selected schools with schools of comparable demographics that have not participated in the initiative.
     (5) This section expires July 1, 2018.