BILL REQ. #:  H-1694.1 

Read first time 02/06/2007.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     AN ACT Relating to classified school employees; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that classified school employees are essential to the K-12 school system. The contributions of classified school employees to the health, safety, and efficient operation of each school building and each school district should not be, but all too frequently are, underestimated. Students cannot learn without an effective learning environment. The provision of such a learning environment should be one of the core goals of the basic education act and the state resources that are allocated to support basic education. Yet more than forty percent of classified school employees are paid through local dollars rather than by state dollars. The state funding formulas for classified school staffing have not been revised since their inception nearly thirty years ago. Therefore, the legislature intends to take steps that will lead to the desired outcome of reducing school district reliance on local funds to support classified school employees and increase the state's commitment to provide adequate levels of staffing in these critical support areas.
     (2) The superintendent of public instruction shall examine current classified school staffing patterns and trends in school districts and identify the levels of staffing, by type of staff, necessary to support an effective learning environment. The superintendent shall examine the extent to which classified staff are serving local and federally funded supplemental programs and the extent to which classified staff support state-funded programs. Based on this examination, the superintendent shall recommend a staffing and funding level and methodology for state-supported classified school employees. The superintendent shall also recommend a strategic plan for increasing state support for classified school employees.
     (3) The superintendent of public instruction shall submit the findings and recommendations by December 1, 2007.