AN ACT Relating to prevention and intervention services for elementary students; adding new sections to chapter 28A.120 RCW; creating new sections; and making appropriations.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) A student's ability to learn can be affected by a number of factors, both positive and negative, including but not limited to: Level of parent involvement and support, child abuse and neglect, poverty, family transiency, drug and alcohol abuse, poor health and nutrition, and peer influence. Such factors can manifest themselves in forms such as underachievement, absenteeism and truancy, drug and alcohol abuse, delinquency, suicide, disruption of the classroom learning environment, dropping out, teen pregnancy and, later in life, unemployment, a need for public assistance, treatment or institutionalization for mental health reasons, involvement with the judicial system, and possibly imprisonment for civil or criminal convictions.

(2) The legislature finds that the provision of counseling and related prevention and intervention services at the elementary school level will enhance the classroom environment for students and teachers and better enable students to realize their academic and personal potentials.

The legislature finds that it is essential that resources be made available to school districts to provide early prevention and intervention services to students, their families, and classroom teachers; to enhance the opportunity for students to realize academic and personal success; and to reduce the number of students at-risk of performing below their ability levels in school.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout sections 3 through 10 of this act.

(1) "Early grades child intervention specialist" means:

(a) An educational staff associate who holds certification as a school counselor, a school psychologist, a school nurse, or as a school social worker under state board of education rules adopted pursuant to RCW 28A.04.120;

(b) An appropriate public or private provider of professional health care as defined under RCW 18.120.020(4) whose services may be requested by a school district pursuant to a prevention and intervention program for elementary grades students implemented under sections 3 through 7 of this act.

(2) "Early grades," "elementary grades," and "elementary level" mean kindergarten through grade six and may include pre- kindergarten-age children.

(3) "Elementary grades prevention and intervention program" means the program of services and activities or events developed by a school district pursuant to sections 3 through 7 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The superintendent of public instruction shall establish the fair start program, which shall be a voluntary, grant-based program to assist school districts in providing prevention and intervention programs for elementary grades students.

(2) The superintendent of public instruction may accept, receive, and administer for the purposes of sections 3 through 8 of this act, such gifts, grants, and contributions as may be provided from public and private sources for the purposes of sections 3 through 8 of this act.

(3) The fair start fund is hereby established in the custody of the state treasurer. The superintendent of public instruction shall deposit in the fund all moneys received under subsection (2) of this section. Moneys in the fund may be spent only for the purposes of sections 3 through 8 of this act. Disbursements from this fund shall be on the authorization of the superintendent of public instruction or the superintendent's designee. The fund is subject to the allotment procedure provided under chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is required for disbursements.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The superintendent of public instruction shall allocate to school districts on a matching basis state funds as may be appropriated for the purposes of sections 3 through 7 of this act and such gifts, grants, and contributions as may be received by the superintendent under section 3(2) of this act.

Districts shall provide a minimum of twenty-five percent of the cost of the proposed project. The district match may consist of local funds or contributions of services, materials, supplies, or physical facilities, or a combination thereof.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) School districts interested in implementing or enhancing an existing elementary school level prevention and intervention program shall submit a grant application to the superintendent of public instruction. Grant applications shall include the following:

(a) Documentation that the district board of directors has adopted a written policy regarding the district's role and responsibility relating to prevention and intervention services for elementary students or a letter of commitment from the board of directors that a written policy will be adopted within six months of receipt of state funding under the provisions of sections 3 through 7 of this act;

(b) Documentation that the district board of directors has adopted or will adopt a comprehensive plan for the implementation of an elementary grades prevention and intervention program. The comprehensive plan shall include but is not limited to the following:

(i) A statement regarding the goals of the proposed program;

(ii) Documentation that the development of the plan involved teachers, school and district administrators, educational staff associates and classified personnel, parents, students, community-based health care providers, and members of the community at-large, as well as the local business and labor community;

(iii) Information regarding the procedures the district will use to notify the parents or guardians of elementary grades students whom the district would like to refer for prevention and intervention services;

(iv) Information regarding district procedures that will be used to refer elementary grades students to community-based agencies and organizations or state agencies, or both, for prevention and intervention services;

(v) Information regarding the fiscal and programmatic relationship, if any, between the district and community-based, public or private providers of professional health care, as defined under section 2(1)(b) of this act, in providing prevention and intervention services to elementary grades students;

(vi) A description of the prevention and intervention services and activities or events to be provided under the program to elementary grades students, parents, and teachers as appropriate and by whom services will be provided;

(vii) A description of the methods and procedures to be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the prevention and intervention program. Districts are encouraged to use a variety of program assessment tools including but not limited to standardized test scores, measurements of student self-esteem, and surveys of students, teachers, parents, principals and other administrators, other school and district personnel, and local health care providers regarding their feelings and attitudes about the program; and

(viii) Such other information as may be requested by the superintendent of public instruction.

(2) The superintendent of public instruction may appoint an advisory committee to assist in establishing other grant application criteria and to make recommendations to the superintendent regarding the awarding of grants. If an advisory committee is established it shall be of such size as determined by the superintendent but shall include representatives of at least the following groups:

(a) Early grades child intervention specialists;

(b) Teachers;

(d) Principals;

(e) Parents; and

(f) Health care providers licensed or regulated by the state under chapters 18.19, 18.71, 18.83, and 18.88 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. (1) The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules as necessary under chapter 34.05 RCW to implement sections 3 through 8 of this act.

(2) The rules shall permit the following:

(a) Two or more school districts may submit a joint application for the purpose of establishing or enhancing a cooperative prevention and intervention program for elementary grades students; and

(b) An educational service district may submit an application on behalf of two school districts or more for the purpose of establishing or enhancing a cooperative elementary grades prevention and intervention program.

(3) Districts may contract with governmental or nongovernmental organizations, or community-based professional health care providers, as defined under section 2(1)(b) of this act, to provide elementary students with prevention and intervention services as specified in the district's comprehensive plan. The service provider shall spend the majority of the total time contracted for within the school building or buildings for which services are being provided to students to assure that the service provider is knowledgeable of the unique nature of the individual school and the families and children served by the school. The service provider shall provide direct services to children on school grounds under the general supervision of an early grades child intervention specialist as defined under section 2(1)(a) of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Every district selected to receive a grant under sections 3 through 7 of this act, and which accepts such grant award, shall commit to undertaking the following activities:

(1) The district shall assign to each elementary grades building participating in the program the equivalent of one full- time equivalent early grades child intervention specialist.

(2) The district shall notify all parents and community- based health care providers, either directly or through notice in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the community in which the school district is located, of the receipt of the grant award and make available for viewing upon request a copy of the grant application or general description of the elementary grades prevention and intervention program.

(3)(a) The district shall use a portion of the grant to provide as necessary to certificated or classified staff, or both, in-service training pertaining to student emotional, social, and behavioral issues to enhance their ability to work with students under the district's elementary grades prevention and intervention program.

(b) The district shall use a portion of the grant to provide as necessary to any early grades child intervention specialist who is assigned responsibility for exercising general supervision over a service provider pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, in-service training in supervision skills.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The superintendent of public instruction shall submit biennially a report to the legislature on the grant program for prevention and intervention programs for elementary grades students established under section 3 of this act. The first report shall be submitted not later than January 15, 1991.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. The superintendent of public instruction, through the state clearinghouse for education information, shall collect and disseminate to school districts information on elementary grades prevention and intervention programs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. (1) Districts are encouraged to promote parent and community involvement in elementary grades prevention and intervention issues through parent visits under RCW 28A.58.053 and through any school involvement program established by the district under RCW 28A.58.640 through 28A.58.648. (2) Districts are further encouraged to review prevention and intervention issues relating to elementary grades students as part of the self-study procedures required under RCW 28A.58.085 and as part of any annual goal-setting process the district may have established under RCW 28A.58.094.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. Sections 2 through 10 of this act shall be known and cited as "the fair start program."

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. (1) It is the intent of the legislature that state-funded programs and services for the children of the state can and should be delivered in a manner that reduces duplication of services among state agencies and promotes coordination between state agencies for the delivery of services. Therefore, the superintendent of public instruction, the director of the department of community development, and the secretary of the department of social and health services jointly shall develop a plan which contains legislative or regulatory recommendations to coordinate or integrate the following programs:

(a) Early parenting education programs established under RCW 43.121.120 and 43.121.130;

(b) The early childhood education and assistance program established under chapter 28A.34A RCW;

(d) The family independence program under chapter 74.21 RCW;

(e) The learning assistance program under RCW 28A.120.010 through 28A.120.026;

(f) The substance abuse awareness program under RCW 28A.120.030 through 28A.120.050;

(g) The dropout prevention program under RCW 28A.120.060 through 28A.120.072;

(h) Project even start under RCW 28A.130.010 through 28A.130.020;

(i) Appropriate children and family services programs administered by the department of social and health services;

(j) Prevention and intervention programs for elementary students as may be established pursuant to sections 3 through 7 of this act; and

(k) Other state programs as may be appropriate.

(2) The plan shall include:

(a) A recommendation on which state agency, if any, should be the lead agency in administering an integrated, comprehensive prevention and intervention program for elementary age students;

(b) A suggested timetable for phasing in or otherwise implementing an integrated, comprehensive prevention and intervention program for elementary school age students;

(c) Suggested options and cost estimates for phasing in an expansion of the programs under subsection (1) of this section as component elements of an integrated, comprehensive prevention and intervention program for elementary school age students;

(d) Legislative authorization that may be necessary to allow state agencies to commingle appropriations for purposes of facilitating the cost-effective delivery of services under an integrated, comprehensive prevention and intervention program for elementary school age students; and

(e) Other recommendations as may be appropriate.

(3) The plan shall be submitted to the legislature not later than January 15, 1991.

(4) Any regulatory provision or interagency agreement that can be accomplished before January 15, 1991, to carry out the intent of this section, is encouraged.

(5) This section shall expire January 30, 1991.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. Sections 2 through 11 of this act are each added to chapter 28A.120 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. (1) The sum of eighty-eight 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 3 through 9 of this act.

(2) The sum of forty-nine thousand five hundred 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 section 12 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.