BySenate Early Learning & K-12 Education (originally sponsored by Senators Mullet, Lovick, Cleveland, Salomon, Shewmake, L. Wilson, Braun, C. Wilson, Lovelett, Dozier, Gildon, Kuderer, Padden, and Torres)

AN ACT Relating to enrichment funding for charter public schools; amending RCW 28A.710.280 and 28A.500.015; and creating a new section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the population of Washington state has become increasingly diverse over the last several decades. The legislature also finds that as the demographics of our state change, historically and currently marginalized communities still do not have the same opportunities to meet parity as their nonmarginalized counterparts across nearly every measure including education, poverty, employment, health, and more. Inequities based on race, ethnicity, gender, and other characteristics continue to be deep, pervasive, and persistent, and they come at a great economic and social cost.

The legislature finds that state government must identify and coordinate effective strategies that focus on eliminating systemic barriers for historically and currently marginalized groups and that providing equitable enrichment funding for charter public school students is an important step toward promoting opportunities for communities that have not always been well-served by traditional public schools.

(1) The legislature intends that state funding for charter schools be distributed equitably with state funding provided for other public schools. A charter school is eligible to apply for state grants on the same basis as a school district.

(2) For eligible students enrolled in a charter school established and operating in accordance with this chapter, the superintendent of public instruction shall transmit to each charter school an amount calculated as provided in this section and based on the statewide average salaries set forth in RCW 28A.150.410 for certificated instructional staff adjusted by the regionalization factor that applies to the school district in which the charter school is geographically located, including any enrichment to those statutory formulae that is specified in the omnibus appropriations act. The amount must be the sum of (a) ((and (b)))through (c) of this subsection.

(a) The superintendent shall, for purposes of making distributions under this section, separately calculate and distribute to charter schools moneys appropriated for general apportionment under the same ratios as in RCW 28A.150.260.

(b) The superintendent also shall, for purposes of making distributions under this section, and in accordance with the applicable formulae for categorical programs specified in (b)(i) through (v) of this subsection (2) and any enrichment to those statutory formulae that is specified in the omnibus appropriations act, separately calculate and distribute moneys appropriated by the legislature to charter schools for:

(i) Supplemental instruction and services for students who are not meeting academic standards through the learning assistance program under RCW 28A.165.005 through 28A.165.065;

(ii) 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;

(iii) 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;

(v) Pupil transportation services to and from school in accordance with RCW 28A.160.150 through 28A.160.180. Distributions for pupil transportation must be calculated on a per eligible student basis based on the allocation for the previous school year to the school district in which the charter school is located.

(c) The superintendent also shall, for purposes of making distributions under this section, separately calculate and distribute to charter schools moneys appropriated for local effort assistance under RCW 28A.500.015(2)(d).

(3) The superintendent of public instruction must adopt rules necessary for the distribution of funding required by this section and to comply with federal reporting requirements.

(1) Beginning in calendar year 2020 and each calendar year thereafter, the state must provide state local effort assistance funding to supplement school district enrichment levies as provided in this section.

(2)(a) For an eligible school district with an actual enrichment levy rate that is less than one dollar and fifty cents per thousand dollars of assessed value in the school district, the annual local effort assistance funding is equal to the school district's maximum local effort assistance multiplied by a fraction equal to the school district's actual enrichment levy rate divided by one dollar and fifty cents per thousand dollars of assessed value in the school district.

(b) For an eligible school district with an actual enrichment levy rate that is equal to or greater than one dollar and fifty cents per thousand dollars of assessed value in the school district, the annual local effort assistance funding is equal to the school district's maximum local effort assistance.

(c) Beginning in calendar year 2022, for state-tribal education compact schools established under chapter 28A.715 RCW, the annual local effort assistance funding is equal to the actual enrichment levy per student as calculated by the superintendent of public instruction for the previous year for the school district in which the state-tribal education compact school is located, up to a maximum per student amount of one thousand five hundred fifty dollars as increased by inflation from the 2019 calendar year, multiplied by the student enrollment of the state-tribal education compact school in the prior school year.

(d) Beginning in fiscal year 2025, for charter schools established under chapter 28A.710 RCW, the annual local effort assistance funding is equal to the actual enrichment levy per student as calculated by the superintendent of public instruction for the previous year for the school district in which the charter school is located, up to a maximum per student amount of $1,550 as increased by inflation from the 2019 calendar year, multiplied by the student enrollment of the charter school in the prior school year.

(3) The state local effort assistance funding provided under this section is not part of the state's program of basic education deemed by the legislature to comply with the requirements of Article IX, section 1 of the state Constitution.

(a) "Eligible school district" means a school district where the amount generated by a levy of one dollar and fifty cents per thousand dollars of assessed value in the school district, divided by the school district's total student enrollment in the prior school year, is less than the state local effort assistance threshold.

(b) For the purpose of this section, "inflation" means, for any school year, the rate of the yearly increase of the previous calendar year's annual average consumer price index for all urban consumers, Seattle area, using the official current base compiled by the bureau of labor statistics, United States department of labor.

(d) "Prior school year" means the most recent school year completed prior to the year in which the state local effort assistance funding is to be distributed, except as follows:

(i) In the 2022 calendar year, if 2019-20 school year average annual full-time equivalent enrollment is greater than the school district's 2020-21 school year average annual full-time equivalent enrollment, "prior school year" means the 2019-20 school year.

(ii) In the 2023 calendar year, if 2019-20 school year average annual full-time equivalent enrollment is greater than the school district's 2021-22 school year average annual full-time equivalent enrollment, "prior school year" means the 2019-20 school year.

(e) "State local effort assistance threshold" means one thousand five hundred fifty dollars per student, increased for inflation beginning in calendar year 2020.

(5) For districts in a high/nonhigh relationship, the enrollments of the nonhigh students attending the high school shall only be counted by the nonhigh school districts for purposes of funding under this section.

(6) For school districts participating in an innovation academy cooperative established under RCW 28A.340.080, enrollments of students attending the academy shall be adjusted so that each participant district receives its proportional share of student enrollments for purposes of funding under this section.