BILL REQ. #:  S-3598.1 

Read first time 01/15/14.   Referred to Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education.

     AN ACT Relating to K-12 instructional hours; and amending RCW 28A.150.205 and 28A.150.220.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 28A.150.205 and 1992 c 141 s 502 are each amended to read as follows:
     Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definition in this section applies throughout RCW 28A.150.200 through 28A.150.295.
     "Instructional hours" means those hours students are provided the opportunity to engage in educational activity planned by and under the direction of school district staff, as directed by the administration and board of directors of the district, inclusive of intermissions for class changes, recess, teacher collaboration time, and teacher/parent-guardian conferences that are planned and scheduled by the district for the purpose of discussing students' educational needs or progress, and exclusive of time actually spent for meals.

Sec. 2   RCW 28A.150.220 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 9 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) In order for students to have the opportunity to develop the basic education knowledge and skills under RCW 28A.150.210, school districts must provide instruction of sufficient quantity and quality and give students the opportunity to complete graduation requirements that are intended to prepare them for postsecondary education, gainful employment, and citizenship. The program established under this section shall be the minimum instructional program of basic education offered by school districts.
     (2) Each school district shall make available to students ((the following)) a minimum instructional offering each school year that comprises instructional hours as defined in RCW 28A.150.205 and:
     (a) For students enrolled in grades one through twelve, at least a district-wide annual average of one thousand hours, which shall be increased to at least one thousand eighty instructional hours for students enrolled in each of grades seven through twelve and at least one thousand instructional hours for students in each of grades one through six according to an implementation schedule adopted by the legislature, but not before the 2014-15 school year; and
     (b) For students enrolled in kindergarten, at least four hundred fifty instructional hours, which shall be increased to at least one thousand instructional hours according to the implementation schedule under RCW 28A.150.315.
     (3) The instructional program of basic education provided by each school district shall include:
     (a) Instruction in the essential academic learning requirements under RCW 28A.655.070;
     (b) Instruction that provides students the opportunity to complete twenty-four credits for high school graduation, subject to a phased-in implementation of the twenty-four credits as established by the legislature. Course distribution requirements may be established by the state board of education under RCW 28A.230.090;
     (c) If the essential academic learning requirements include a requirement of languages other than English, the requirement may be met by students receiving instruction in one or more American Indian languages;
     (d) Supplemental instruction and services for underachieving students through the learning assistance program under RCW 28A.165.005 through 28A.165.065;
     (e) Supplemental instruction and services for eligible and enrolled students and exited students whose primary language is other than English through the transitional bilingual instruction program under RCW 28A.180.010 through 28A.180.080;
     (f) The opportunity for an appropriate education at public expense as defined by RCW 28A.155.020 for all eligible students with disabilities as defined in RCW 28A.155.020; and
     (g) Programs for highly capable students under RCW 28A.185.010 through 28A.185.030.
     (4) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to require individual students to attend school for any particular number of hours per day or to take any particular courses.
     (5) Each school district's kindergarten through twelfth grade basic educational program shall be accessible to all students who are five years of age, as provided by RCW 28A.225.160, and less than twenty-one years of age and shall consist of a minimum of one hundred eighty school days per school year in such grades as are conducted by a school district, and one hundred eighty half-days of instruction, or equivalent, in kindergarten, to be increased to a minimum of one hundred eighty school days per school year according to the implementation schedule under RCW 28A.150.315. However, schools administering the Washington kindergarten inventory of developing skills may use up to three school days at the beginning of the school year to meet with parents and families as required in the parent involvement component of the inventory. In addition, effective May 1, 1979, a school district may schedule the last five school days of the one hundred and eighty day school year for noninstructional purposes in the case of students who are graduating from high school, including, but not limited to, the observance of graduation and early release from school upon the request of a student, and all such students may be claimed as a full-time equivalent student to the extent they could otherwise have been so claimed for the purposes of RCW 28A.150.250 and 28A.150.260.
     (6) Nothing in this section precludes a school district from enriching the instructional program of basic education, such as offering additional instruction or providing additional services, programs, or activities that the school district determines to be appropriate for the education of the school district's students.
     (7) The state board of education shall adopt rules to implement and ensure compliance with the program requirements imposed by this section, RCW 28A.150.250 and 28A.150.260, and such related supplemental program approval requirements as the state board may establish, except that until the 2017-18 school year, the state board of education shall not penalize a school district for not fully implementing the increase in the minimum instructional offering under subsection (2)(a) of this section so long as the school district is making progress each biennium.