WSR 15-12-111 EMERGENCY RULES STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION [Filed June 3, 2015, 8:42 a.m., effective June 3, 2015, 8:42 a.m.] Effective Date of Rule: Immediately upon filing.
Purpose: Extending the 2015 deadlines for submittal and approval of required action plans to allow sufficient time for districts to complete a required action plan and for the state board of education to approve the plan.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 180-17-020 Process for submittal and approval of required action plan.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 28A.657.120.
Under RCW 34.05.350 the agency for good cause finds that immediate adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule is necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, or general welfare, and that observing the time requirements of notice and opportunity to comment upon adoption of a permanent rule would be contrary to the public interest.
Reasons for this Finding: The legislature has found that it is the state's responsibility to create a coherent and effective accountability framework for the continuous improvement of all schools and for a specific group of lowest-achieving schools and their districts, and provide a required action process to turn around the identified schools (RCW 28A.657.005). Immediate adoption is necessary for districts to have sufficient time to complete a required action plan, a critical part of the turnaround process, and for approval of the plan by the state board of education. The office of the superintendent of public instruction's identification of priority schools, one of the criteria for the designation of required action districts, was delayed this year because certain required data was not available.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: May 8, 2014.
Ben Rarick
Executive Director
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 10-23-083, filed 11/16/10, effective 12/17/10)
WAC 180-17-020 Process for submittal and approval of required action plan.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in WAC 180-17-030 and subsection (5) of this section, school districts designated as required action districts by the state board of education shall develop a required action plan according to the following schedule:
(a) By April 15th of the year in which the district is designated, a school district shall submit a required action plan to the superintendent of public instruction to review and approve that the plan is consistent with federal guidelines for the receipt of a School Improvement Grant. The required action plan must comply with all of the requirements set forth in RCW 28A.657.050.
(b) By May 1st of the year in which the district is designated, a school district shall submit a required action plan approved by the superintendent of public instruction to the state board of education for approval.
(2) The state board of education shall, by May 15th of each year, either:
(a) Approve the school district's required action plan; or
(b) Notify the school district that the required action plan has not been approved stating the reasons for the disapproval.
(3) A school district notified by the state board of education that its required action plan has not been approved under subsection (2)(a) of this section shall either:
(a) Submit a new required action plan to the superintendent of public instruction and state board of education for review and approval within forty days of notification that its plan was rejected. The state board of education shall approve the school district's required action plan by no later than July 15th if it meets all of the requirements set forth in RCW 28A.657.050; or
(b) Submit a request to the required action plan review panel established under RCW 28A.657.070 for reconsideration of the state board's rejection within ten days of the notification that the plan was rejected. The review panel shall consider and issue a decision regarding a district's request for reconsideration to the state board of education by no later than June 10th. The state board of education shall consider the recommendations of the panel and issue a decision in writing to the school district and the panel by no later than June 20th. If the state board of education accepts the changes to the required action plan recommended by the panel, the school district shall submit a revised required action plan to the superintendent of public instruction and state board of education by July 30th. The state board of education shall approve the plan by no later than August 10th if it incorporates the recommended changes of the panel.
(4) If the review panel issues a decision that reaffirms the decision of the state board of education rejecting the school district's required action plan, then the school district shall submit a revised plan to the superintendent of public instruction and state board of education within twenty days of the panel's decision. The state board of education shall approve the district's required action plan by no later than July 15th if it meets all of the requirements set forth in RCW 28A.657.050.
(5) For required action districts designated in 2015 only, the schedule for plan submittal and approval of required action plans will be as follows:
(a) A school district shall submit a required action plan for approval by the office of the superintendent of public instruction by June 13, 2015.
(b) A school district shall submit a required action plan approved by the office of the superintendent of public instruction to the state board of education for approval by June 20, 2015.
(c) The state board of education shall, by July 2015, either approve the school district's required action plan or notify the district that the required action plan has not been approved state the reasons for the disapproval. The district shall either:
(i) Submit a new plan to the office of the superintendent of public instruction and the state board of education by August 10, 2015.
(ii) Request a review of the plan by the required action plan review panel by July 22, 2015. The review panel shall consider and issue a decision regarding the district's request for reconsideration to the state board of education no later than August 8, 2015. If the state board of education accepts the changes to the required action plan recommended by the panel, the school district shall submit a revised required action plan to the superintendent of public instruction and the state board of education by August 15, 2015. The state board of education shall approve the plan no later than August 25, 2015, if it incorporates the recommended changes of the panel. If the review panel issues a decision that reaffirms the decision of the state board of education rejecting the school district's required action plan, then the school district shall submit a revised plan to the superintendent of public instruction and the state board of education by August 15, 2015. The state board of education shall approve the district's required action plan no later than August 25, 2015, if it meets all of the requirements set forth in RCW 28A.657.050.
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