(1) Annual school district reports. A review of each school district's kindergarten through twelfth grade program shall be conducted annually for the purpose of determining compliance or noncompliance with basic education program approval requirements. On or before September 15th of each school year, each school district superintendent shall complete and return the program assurance form distributed by the state board of education. The form shall be designed to elicit data necessary to make a determination of a school district's compliance or noncompliance with basic education program approval requirements. The form shall be submitted electronically and signed by:

(a) The school board president or chairperson, and

(b) The superintendent of the school district.

(2) State board staff review.

(a) State board of education staff shall review each school district's program assurance form, may conduct on-site visits of selected school districts, as needed and subject to funding support, and shall prepare recommendations and reports for presentation to the state board of education: Provided, that, if a school district's initial program assurance form does not establish compliance with the basic education program approval requirements, the district shall be provided the opportunity to explain the deficiency or deficiencies.

(b) School districts may use the personnel and services of the educational service district to assist the school district and schools in the district that are out of compliance with basic education program approval requirements.

(3) Annual certification of compliance or noncompliance—Withholding of funds for noncompliance.

(a) At the November meeting of the state board of education, or at such other meeting as the board shall designate, the board shall certify by motion each school district as being in compliance or noncompliance with the basic education program approval requirements.

(b) A certification of compliance shall be effective for the then current school year subject to any subsequent ad hoc review and determination of noncompliance as may be deemed necessary by the state board of education or advisable by the superintendent of public instruction. In addition, a certification of compliance shall be effective tentatively for the succeeding school year until such time as the state board takes its annual action certifying compliance or noncompliance with the program approval requirements.

(c) A certification of noncompliance shall be effective until program compliance is assured by the school district to the satisfaction of state board of education staff, subject to review by the state board.

(d) Upon the certification of noncompliance of a school district, state board of education staff shall notify the superintendent of public instruction and the school district of a certification of noncompliance immediately after the board meeting at which certification occurred.

(e) A withholding of basic education allocation funding from a school district shall not occur for noncompliance if the school district has remediated the noncompliance situation within sixty school business days from the time the district receives notice of the noncompliance from the state board of education. The state board of education may extend the sixty days timeline only if the district demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence to the satisfaction of the state board of education that sixty days is not reasonable to make the necessary corrections. For the purposes of this section, a school business day shall mean any calendar day, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and any federal and school holidays upon which the office of the superintendent of the school district is open to the public for the conduct of business. A school business day shall be concluded or terminated upon the closure of said office for the calendar day.

(f) At the discretion of the state board of education, after notification by the state board of education to a school district regarding an existing noncompliance, the state board of education may recommend the superintendent of public instruction withhold funds or may enter into a compliance agreement with the school district that shall include, but not be limited to, the following criteria:

(i) A deadline for school district remediation of the noncompliance(s).

(ii) A listing of all the noncompliance areas and the necessary terms that must be satisfied in each area in order for the school district to gain compliance status. This listing also shall specify additional deadlines for the accomplishment of the stated terms if different from the final deadline as specified in subsection (1) of this section.

(iii) A closing statement specifying that a school district's failure to remediate a noncompliance by the determined deadline may result, at the state board of education's or its designee's discretion, in the recommendation to the superintendent of public instruction of withholding of the school district's basic education allocation funding by the superintendent of public instruction.

(iv) The date and the signatures of the superintendent of the school district, the chair of the school district's board of directors, and the chair of the state board of education, or his/her designee, to the agreement. A copy of the completed compliance agreement shall be sent to the chairperson of the school district's board of directors and the school district superintendent.

(g) In the event a school district fails to sign a compliance agreement within five school business days from the date of issuance or does not satisfy all of the terms of the signed compliance agreement within the designated amount of time, the state board of education may recommend to the superintendent of public instruction withholding state funds for the basic education allocation until program compliance is assured.

(h) Any school district may appeal to the state board of education the decision of noncompliance by the state board of education. Such appeal shall be limited to the interpretation and application of these rules by the state board of education. Such appeal shall not stay the withholding of any state funds pursuant to this section or completion of the compliance agreement.

(4) The provisions of subsection (3)(g) of this section shall not apply if the noncompliance is related to the school district's fiscal condition and results in the implementation of a financial plan under RCW 28A.505.140(3).

(5) Each school district shall develop, maintain and, if necessary, implement a continuity of operations plan under WAC 180-16-200 and 180-16-212 for delivering the program of basic education during disruptions to basic education delivery resulting from an "emergency or disaster" as defined in RCW 38.52.010. "Emergency" may also include a national declaration of emergency by an authorized federal official.

PDFWAC 180-16-195

Annual reporting and review process.