AN ACT Relating to establishing regional school safety centers in educational service districts; amending RCW 28A.300.273; and creating a new section.

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

(a) Legislative requirements and funding for school safety and security have evolved over time. Since 2001, public schools have been required to create comprehensive safe school plans. Since about the same time, the school safety center and the safety advisory committee, within the office of the superintendent of public instruction, have overseen safety-related activities across the state, helped coordinate these efforts, and provided school safety-related advice and resources. In 2009, the legislature restructured the education funding formula, which in part, created a funding category for classified staff for providing student and staff safety at prototypical elementary, middle, and high schools, and a funding category for security and central office administration. In general, districts have discretion over how this money is spent. In 2013, the legislature required school districts building or remodeling school buildings to design the plans with specific security features.

(b) Total funding for school safety and security has increased dramatically since 2008. The largest and most stable source of school safety funding in Washington is provided through the state's education funding formula. Total funding for school safety and security was just over four million dollars in the 2009-2011 biennium. In the 2011-2013 biennium, total funding jumped to over twenty-four million five hundred thousand dollars, with over eighty percent from the state's education funding formula. In the 2013-2015 biennium, total funding peaked at nearly thirty-seven million dollars, but just over sixty-two percent was from the state's education funding formula. In the 2015-2017 biennium, total funding dropped to fifteen million seven hundred thousand dollars, but nearly ninety-three percent was from the state's education funding formula.

(2) In 2016, the legislature took steps toward establishing cost-effective methods for maintaining and increasing school safety (chapter 240, Laws of 2016) by:

(a) Requiring legislators and school safety experts to meet at an annual school safety summit to focus on establishing and monitoring the progress of a statewide plan for funding cost-effective methods for school safety that meet local needs;

(b) Directing the Washington state institute for public policy to evaluate how other states have funded school safety and security programs and report back by December 1, 2017;

(c) Requiring that school district staff training on developing students' social and emotional skills be made available online; and

(d) Authorizing educational service districts to implement a regional school safety and security program.

(3) The legislature finds that state law allows educational service districts to provide services to school districts and also allows school districts to purchase services from other organizations, including educational service districts.

(4) Therefore, the legislature intends to direct the annual safety summit participants to report to the superintendent of public instruction and the legislature on the progress of and impediments to implementing an effective and efficient statewide plan for school safety that meets local needs.

Sec. 2.  RCW 28A.300.273 and 2016 c 240 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the office of the superintendent of public instruction and the school safety advisory committee shall hold annual school safety summits. Each annual summit must focus on establishing and monitoring the progress of ((a)) implementing an effective and efficient statewide plan for funding cost-effective methods for school safety that meets local needs. Other areas of focus may include planning and implementation of school safety planning efforts, training of school safety professionals, and integrating mental health and security measures.

(2) Summit participants must be appointed no later than August 1, 2016.

(a) The majority and minority leaders of the senate shall appoint two members from each of the relevant caucuses of the senate.

(b) The speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint two members from each of the two largest caucuses of the house of representatives.

(c) The governor shall appoint one representative.

(3) Other summit participants may include representatives from the office of the superintendent of public instruction, the department of health, educational service districts, educational associations, private schools, emergency management, law enforcement, fire departments, parent organizations, and student organizations.

(4) Staff support for the annual summit shall be provided by the office of the superintendent of public instruction and the school safety advisory committee.

(5) Legislative members of the summit are reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120. Nonlegislative members are not entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses if they are elected officials or are participating on behalf of an employer, governmental entity, or other organization. Any reimbursement for other nonlegislative members is subject to chapter 43.03 RCW.

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