BP BHEAD INT H [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to school safety grants; adding a new chapter to Title 28A RCW; making an appropriation; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that the safety of students, school employees, and volunteers in schools is a vital concern. In order for students to achieve high academic standards, schools must offer safe and civil learning environments in which students and teachers can concentrate on learning.

(2) The legislature finds that the presence of security personnel on school grounds during school hours is no longer important only in rare cases or isolated circumstances. Many schools, in all different types of communities throughout Washington, could benefit significantly by the presence of security personnel whenever school is in session.

(3) Incidents of fatal shootings, intentional serious injuries, and weapons possession at schools in Washington and across the nation in recent years, and other indicators of rising levels of violence at schools, have demonstrated the necessity for school administrators to reevaluate the staffing needs of schools under their authority to determine whether security personnel are appropriate.

(4) School security programs funded under this chapter are not basic education for purposes of Article IX of the state Constitution and the state's funding duty thereunder.

(5) The legislature intends to provide a program of grants to enhance security in schools throughout Washington within available funding, targeted to schools with the greatest need for security personnel and with the most efficient and effective proposals for making use of funding for security personnel.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. Grants provided under section 3 of this act may be used solely for matching grants to enhance security in schools. The grants shall be expended solely for the costs of employing or contracting for building security monitors in schools during school hours and school events. The grants shall require local or other nonstate matching funds so that the state grant amounts support a maximum of seventy-five percent of the costs of the services funded.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The superintendent of public instruction shall administer the school security program and select grant recipients in accordance with the following criteria:

(a) Applications shall document the need for school security services in the school building or buildings;

(b) Grant applicants shall:

(i) Demonstrate that other existing programs and public and private funding sources related to school safety have been reviewed;

(ii) Demonstrate that the grant request would fund a program that is coordinated with other local programs and funding sources that relate to school safety;

(iii) Demonstrate that the grant for school security sought under this chapter fills a void in a comprehensive school safety program that the applicant already has in place or is in the process of implementing at the school building or school district level; and

(iv) Describe steps taken to hold costs of the proposed program as low as reasonably possible and report whether any independent review by qualified auditors or budget and finance experts of the proposed program budget has been conducted;

(c) Priority shall be given in the selection of grant recipients to applications displaying the following characteristics:

(i) A high level of coordination with other programs in a comprehensive continuum of school safety efforts, from early prevention to reactive enforcement of safety rules and laws;

(ii) Close collaboration between the school or school district and local public or private individuals and organizations;

(iii) Matching funds from sources other than local school district funds; and

(iv) Applications from school districts or consortia of school districts that received funding through the school security program established in the biennial operating budget after July 1, 1995;

(d) The maximum state grant to any school district under this chapter shall be five hundred thousand dollars in fiscal years 2002 and 2003, four hundred thousand dollars in fiscal years 2004 and 2005, and three hundred thousand dollars thereafter. The superintendent shall carefully review all budgetary components of applications and may award a grant amount of less than the amount requested by the applicant if the superintendent deems that any portion of the grant request is not sufficiently cost-effective or for other reasons does not merit state grant support under this chapter.

(2) The superintendent of public instruction shall attempt to award grants as equitably as possible among school districts in rural, suburban, and urban areas, in all geographic parts of the state, and in districts representing the full range of levels of student enrollment, from districts with fewer enrolled students to those with the largest enrollments.

(3) Each program granted funds under this chapter shall be evaluated by the educational service district within which the school district receiving funds is located. Educational service districts may contract with other entities to conduct the evaluation. However, the educational service district may not contract with a school district receiving a grant under this chapter to conduct the evaluation. A school district receiving a grant under this chapter shall submit to the educational service district for its region all available and appropriate information concerning the impact and effectiveness of the school security program. The superintendent of public instruction shall compile the evaluations completed by educational service districts and report the findings, along with any recommendations the superintendent may choose to make, to the legislature by September 1st of even-numbered years beginning in 2002.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. This chapter applies to all new grants to enhance school safety that are made after the effective date of this section. Until July 1, 2001, this chapter does not apply to the renewal of a grant made before the effective date of this section. This chapter applies to all grants to enhance school safety, both new and renewals, made after July 1, 2001.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Sections 1 through 4 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 28A RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The sum of five million two hundred five thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001, from the general fund to the superintendent of public instruction for matching grants to enhance security in schools. This appropriation is in addition to the three million dollars appropriated in chapter 12, Laws of 1999 sp. sess., and shall be administered in accordance with this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.