AN ACT Relating to the voluntary elimination, reduction, or prevention of minority group isolation in public elementary and secondary schools; adding new sections to Title 28A RCW; and making an appropriation.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. It is the intent of the legislature to establish a magnet school program to provide eligible school districts an opportunity to apply for state funds which are separate from and in addition to the state funds allocated for the state's basic program of education.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The state legislature shall appropriate funds for each fiscal year to carry out the provisions of sections 1 through 10 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) It is the purpose of sections 1 through 10 of this act:

(a) To provide financial assistance to eligible local school districts to enable such agencies to establish and operate magnet schools;

(b) To meet the special needs incident to the elimination of minority group segregation and discrimination among students and faculty in elementary and secondary schools through the use of magnet schools;

(c) To encourage through magnet schools the voluntary elimination, reduction, or prevention of minority group isolation in elementary and secondary schools with substantial proportions of minority group students; and

(d) To encourage the development of courses of instruction within magnet schools that will substantially strengthen the knowledge of academic subjects and the grasp of tangible and marketable vocational skills of students attending such schools.

(2) The creation and funding of a magnet school program shall not result in a less effective or valuable basic education program being offered in any school within a district. Magnet school funds shall be used to enhance the program being offered by the addition of special emphasis or enhancement of subject matter or support of the needs of students to develop a better grasp of tangible vocational skills. The aim of the program is to enhance education not to create unequal learning opportunities for a few students.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A local school district is eligible to receive assistance under sections 1 through 10 of this act if the district:

(1) Is implementing a plan undertaken according to a final order issued by a court of the United States or a court of the state of Washington that requires the desegregation of minority group segregated children or faculty in the elementary and secondary schools of such district; or

(2) Without having been required to do so, has developed and is implementing or will, if assistance is made available to it under sections 1 through 10 of this act, adopt and implement a plan that reduces, eliminates, or prevents minority group isolation in elementary and secondary schools with substantial proportions of minority group students; and

(3) Has a minority student population in excess of twenty-five percent.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The superintendent is authorized, in accordance with the provisions of sections 1 through 10 of this act, to make allocation grants to eligible local school districts for use in magnet schools that are part of a desegregation plan and are designed to bring students from different social, economic, ethnic, and racial backgrounds together.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. For the purpose of sections 1 through 10 of this act:

(1) "Magnet school" means a school or education center that offers a special curriculum or special programs capable of attracting substantial numbers of students of different racial backgrounds.

(2) "Superintendent" means the superintendent of public instruction.

(3) "Minority group isolation" means the situation where the minority racial distribution of a school varies more than twenty percent from the district average, provided that no single minority racial group exceeds fifty percent of the school's student enrollment.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Magnet school act funds made under sections 1 through 10 of this act may be used by eligible local school districts for:

(1) Planning and promotional activities directly related to expansion, continuation, or enhancement of academic programs and services offered at magnet schools;

(2) The acquisition of books, materials, and equipment, including computers and their maintenance and operation, that are necessary for the conduct of programs in magnet schools;

(3) The payment or subsidization of the compensation of elementary and secondary instructional staff who are certified or licensed by the state and who are necessary for the conduct of programs in magnet schools; and

(4) Assistance, for circumstances given in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, shall be related to improving student skills in basic education, vocational skills, or special programs that contribute to reducing racial isolation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. (1) Each eligible local educational agency which desires to receive assistance under sections 1 through 10 of this act shall submit a magnet schools application to the superintendent. Each application shall be in the form that the superintendent may reasonably require. Each application shall contain assurances that the local school district will meet the conditions enumerated in subsection (2) of this section.

(2) As part of the annual application required by subsection (1) of this section, each eligible local school district shall certify that the district agrees:

(a) To use funds made available under sections 1 through 10 of this act for the purposes specified in section 7 of this act;

(b) To employ instructional staff in the courses of instruction assisted under sections 1 through 10 of this act who are certified or licensed by the state to teach the subject matter of the courses of instruction;

(c) To provide assurances that the local school district will not engage in discrimination based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex, or handicap in the hiring, promotion, or assignment of employees of the district or other personnel for whom the district has any administrative responsibility;

(d) To provide assurances that the local school district will not engage in discrimination based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex, or handicap in the assignment of students to schools or to courses of instruction within schools of such district except to carry out its desegregation plan;

(e) To provide assurances that the local school district will not engage in discrimination based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex, or handicap in designing or operating extracurricular activities for students;

(f) To describe how assistance made available under sections 1 through 10 of this act will be used to promote desegregation;

(g) To provide assurances that the district will carry out a high quality education program that will encourage greater parental decision making and involvement; and

(h) To provide other assurances as the superintendent determines are necessary to carry out the provisions of sections 1 through 10 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. (1) In approving applications under sections 1 through 10 of this act, the superintendent shall give priority to:

(a) The number of minority children enrolled in the district and the proportion of minority group children involved in any desegregation plan;

(b) The need for assistance based on the expense or difficulty of effectively carrying out a desegregation plan and the program or projects for which assistance is sought; and

(c) The degree to which the program or project for which assistance is sought affords promise of achieving the purposes of sections 1 through 10 of this act.

(2) In approving applications under sections 1 through 10 of this act, the superintendent shall give special consideration to the degree to which the program for which assistance is sought involves the collaborative efforts of institutions of higher education, community-based organizations, the superintendent, or any other private organizations.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. (1) Magnet schools assistance act funds shall be distributed to school districts based on the number of full-time equivalent students on October 1 of the previous year.

(2) No local school district may receive grant funds under this chapter for more than one fiscal year unless the superintendent determines that the program for which assistance was provided in the first fiscal year is making satisfactory progress in achieving the purposes of sections 1 through 10 of this act.

(3) No local school district may spend more than ten percent of the amount that the district receives in any fiscal year for planning.

(4) The superintendent shall award grant funds to local school districts under sections 1 through 10 of this act no later than June 30 of the fiscal year preceding the year in which the funds will be used.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. The sum of ten million dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1991, from the general fund to the superintendent of public instruction for the purposes of sections 1 through 10 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. Sections 1 through 10 of this act are each added to Title 28A RCW.