AN ACT Relating to education; and adding new sections to chapter 28A.58 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 28A.58 RCW to read as follows:

The quality instruction incentives program is established. The goals of this program are to increase the performance of public school students and to provide economic incentives to instructional personnel, and other personnel, based upon approved district incentive plans.

(1) The district quality instruction incentives program shall be staffed and administered by the superintendent of public instruction. The superintendent of public instruction shall:

(a) Review and approve or disapprove each district program proposal submitted by a school district and assist school districts in compliance with implementation of this section.

(b) Develop model statistical procedures and computer programs to assist districts in carrying out subsection (3)(b) of this section.

(c) Advise and assist the legislature in the development, implementation, and evaluation of the program, including submission of recommendations for modifications, as deemed appropriate, to the program.

(d) Recommend to the governor and the legislature in a timely manner an appropriate level of funding and distribution of funds to be appropriated for the programs under this section during the 1989-90 school year and thereafter.

(e) Conduct other duties as provided in this section.

(2) Each school district is authorized to adopt a quality instruction incentives program which is designed to implement the provisions of this section. Any district which adopts a program in compliance with this section shall be eligible for state funds, if available.

(a) In order for a district to qualify for state funding of its program, the program adopted in the district shall be designed to meet the program goals specified in this section, shall be free from racial or other prohibited discrimination, shall provide for voluntary participation by eligible personnel, shall be of no more than one year in duration, shall be submitted to the superintendent of public instruction for approval before October 1 of each year, and shall provide for the expenditure of at least fifty percent of the allocated funds for the category specified in subsection (3)(b)of this section. Under such programs, awards may be made only to personnel who return to employment with a school district the year following the year on which the award is based or to personnel who retire, and all awards shall be made in October of the school year following the school year on which the awards are based. To be approved as meeting the program goals, a local program shall provide, at a minimum, for distribution of all of the funds allocated to the district under this section on the basis of subsection (3)(b) of this section and, if so provided in the program, one or more of the other categories provided in subsection (3) of this section. The final determination of whether any local program meets the program goals and other criteria required for such programs shall be made by the superintendent of public instruction.

(b) A proposed local program shall be submitted to the superintendent of public instruction for evaluation of whether the program meets the requirements specified in this section. Funding of a local program shall be contingent upon a determination by the superintendent of public instruction that the program meets the requirements of this section and funds being available.

(i) The determination by the superintendent of public instruction shall be forwarded to the school district and shall consist of a certificate of compliance with the statutory requirements or a notice of noncompliance. Such determination and issuance of a certificate of compliance or a notice of noncompliance for a proposed local program shall be completed by the superintendent of public instruction no later than thirty days after receipt of the proposed local program by the superintendent of public instruction. A notice of noncompliance shall specify the deficiencies of the proposed program and shall include specific recommendations for correction of the deficiencies.

(ii) If a notice of noncompliance is issued with respect to a proposed program, subsequent proposals may be submitted for review, subject to the time limitations specified in (a) of this subsection.

(c) The use of funds under all programs adopted under this section is subject to audit by the state auditor's office. A finding of noncompliance in a district shall result in a pro rata negative adjustment of the state funding for the program of that district for the subsequent year.

(3) In order to be approved, the quality instruction incentives program of a school district shall provide awards based on the category specified in (b) of this subsection; and the program may also provide awards on the basis of one or more of the categories specified by the superintendent of public instruction by rule as follows:

(a) Superior evaluation results on a performance evaluation which utilizes reliable, valid, and normed instruments. Evaluations shall be conducted by the person's principal, who may elect to use other objective evaluation criteria approved by the school district superintendent.

(b) Employment at a meritorious school. Such a school shall be selected by being at least in the upper quartile of district schools pursuant to a local school district plan based on verifiable progress in the accomplishment of district-established goals and objectives which shall include student gain as measured by tests of verbal and quantitative achievement. However, when too few elementary schools, middle schools, junior high schools, or high schools exist within a district to determine the upper quartile, the meritorious designation of a school shall be specified in the school district plan. The school selection process shall be evaluated by the superintendent of public instruction to determine that the procedures of the district have assured to the fullest extent possible that:

(i) All participating schools, regardless of socioeconomic differences and grade levels, have an equal chance to be recognized as meritorious;

(ii) The local evaluation and measurement procedures are not such that the same schools would tend to be selected each year or that it would be too difficult for a school to be selected two years in a row;

(iii) The procedures are fair and nonbiased; and

(iv) A standard or standards shall be selected from at least one of the following measurement categories:

(A) Standardized tests, such as the national physical fitness test or state student assessment tests;

(B) Participation standards, such as membership in formal school support organizations or student participation in science fairs;

(D) Discipline standards, such as suspension rates or attendance rates.

(c) Each program approved under this section shall include provisions for recognizing student progress at meritorious schools. Noninstructional personnel and school-level administrators and supervisors may be included.

(4) This section shall be implemented in the beginning with the 1989-90 school year and thereafter only to the extent as funds are provided by the legislature for the purposes of this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.58 RCW to read as follows:

It is the policy of this state that at least eighty-five percent of the students in each school and school district at each grade level at which basic competency tests are administered should score at or above the level of performance established for mastery of basic skills. Any school or school district which has less than eighty-five percent of its students meeting specified levels of mastery on a basic competency test shall participate in a school improvement program administered by the superintendent of public instruction.

Any school or school district which has a definable group of students failing to meet the specified levels of mastery on a basic competency test, at a rate which is significantly different from that of the general student population, shall implement a plan to assist the students in that group in attaining mastery of the areas in which they are deficient. This plan shall be reviewed and approved by the superintendent of public instruction.