(1) Immediately upon April 21, 2021, and through the later of: (a) The expiration or termination of Proclamation 20-05, and any subsequent orders extending or amending the proclamation, declaring a state of emergency on February 29, 2020, for all counties in Washington due to COVID-19; or (b) September 1, 2025, school districts must budget and expend the appropriations for the learning assistance program, under RCW
28A.165.005 through
28A.165.065, to identify and address the academic and nonacademic needs of students resulting from and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
(2) During the time period described in subsection (1) of this section, school districts are encouraged to budget and expend the appropriations for the learning assistance program, under RCW
28A.165.005 through
28A.165.065, using the framework of the Washington integrated student supports protocol, established under RCW
28A.300.139.
(3) If a school district elects to budget and expend learning assistance program funds using the framework of the Washington integrated student supports protocol, a district may use up to 15 percent of the district's learning assistance program allocation to deliver academic, nonacademic, and social-emotional supports and services to students through partnerships with community-based or other out-of-school organizations in accordance with RCW
28A.300.139. Any agreement entered into by a school district and a community partner in accordance with RCW
28A.300.139 must:
(a) Specify that learning assistance program funds may be used only to provide direct supports and services to students;
(b) Clearly identify the academic, nonacademic, or social-emotional supports and services that will be made available to students by the community partner and how those supports and services align to the needs of the students as identified in the student-level needs assessment required by RCW
28A.300.139; and
(c) Identify the in-school supports that will be reinforced by the supports and services provided by the community partner to promote student progress towards meeting academic standards.