S-2729               _______________________________________________

                                         SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 5524

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Bailey, Rinehart, Lee, Gaspard, Smith, Bluechel, Johnson, Barr, Amondson, Pullen, Nelson, Moore, Craswell, Sellar, Anderson, West, Rasmussen, Metcalf, Fleming, Benitz, Patterson, Newhouse, Murray, Stratton, Bauer, Vognild, Warnke, Wojahn, Kreidler, McMullen, Smitherman, Williams, DeJarnatt, McCaslin and Thorsness; by request of Superintendent of Public Instruction)

Read first time 3/23/89.

AN ACT Relating to provision of local education enhancement program funds; adding new sections to Title 28A RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The superintendent of public instruction shall allocate state funds, as may be appropriated, to provide local education program enhancement funds to each school district to meet educational needs identified by the district within the following program areas:

          (1) Prevention and intervention services in the elementary grades;

          (2) Reduction of class size;

          (3) Early childhood education;

          (4) Student-at-risk programs, including dropout prevention and retrieval, and substance abuse awareness and prevention;

          (5) Staff development and in-service programs;

          (6) Student logical reasoning and analytical skill development; and

          (7) Other purposes which enhance a school district's basic education program.

          New and existing education program enhancements funded pursuant to sections 1 through 3 of this act do not fall within the definition of basic education for purposes of Article IX of the state Constitution and the state's funding duty thereunder, nor shall such funding as now or hereafter appropriated and allocated constitute levy reduction funds for purposes of RCW 84.52.0531.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     Each school district shall be eligible to receive local education program enhancement funds, provided that the school district's board of directors has:

          (1) Assessed the needs of the schools within the district;

          (2) Prioritized the identified needs; and

          (3) Developed an evaluation methodology to assess benefit to the students.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     Local education program enhancement funds shall be distributed to school districts on the basis of the number of annual average full-time equivalent students.  For school districts enrolling not more than one hundred annual average full-time equivalent students and for small school plants within any school district designated as remote and necessary plants, the funds shall be determined as follows:

          (1) Enrollment of not more than sixty annual average full-time equivalent students in grades kindergarten through six shall generate funding based on sixty full-time equivalent students;

          (2) Enrollment of not more than twenty annual average full-time equivalent students in grades seven and eight shall generate funding based on twenty full-time equivalent students; and

          (3) Enrollment of sixty or fewer annual average full-time equivalent students in grades nine through twelve shall generate funding based on sixty full-time equivalent students.

          Funds shall be distributed pursuant to RCW 28A.48.010.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.     If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill number, is not provided by June 30, 1989, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act shall be null and void.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.     Sections 1 through 3 of this act are each added to Title 28A RCW.