BILL REQ. #:  H-5208.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/05/08.   

     AN ACT Relating to instructional support services; adding a new section to chapter 28A.150 RCW; 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 there has been much focus and attention on the importance of teachers in providing quality instruction to improve student achievement. However, there has not been sufficient focus and attention on the equal importance of instructional support services and the staff such as counselors and librarians who provide them.
     (2) Instructional support services enable students to maximize the benefits of a high quality teacher:
     (a) Most people now recognize that a K-12 education is a beginning, not an end to a student's educational path. There has been increased legislative attention in recent years to the importance of helping students explore, plan, and prepare for their future. School counselors play a critical support role in preparing students for the transitions of high school and beyond and in helping students take full advantage of K-12 learning opportunities and experiences.
     (b) Today's teachers cannot rely simply on a book and a lesson plan to provide quality instruction. Multiple sources of information, including multimedia, video, and the internet, are brought into play. Students, in turn, must use more sophisticated media research and analysis skills than ever before to be successful in an information-rich society. The research, media, and information expertise of teacher librarians is increasingly critical to support classroom instruction.
     (3) The legislature acknowledges that the basic education finance joint task force will be developing recommendations regarding funding and funding formulas for core instruction and critical instructional support services. However, there is a sense of urgency in the need for additional instructional support services that cannot wait for full implementation of the task force recommendations. Therefore, the legislature intends to implement a short-term remedy so that critical instructional support services can be increased and improved.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28A.150 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Subject to funds appropriated for this purpose, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall allocate funds to school districts on the basis of each one thousand average annual full-time equivalent enrollments for an additional forty-eight one-hundredths certificated instructional staff units in grades six through twelve. Any funds allocated for the additional certificated units provided in this section shall be used to increase instructional support services provided by certificated school counselors and librarians and shall not be considered basic education funding.
     (2) The legislature assumes that funds provided under this section are sufficient for school districts to provide an additional one-half full-time equivalent counselor or librarian for an average-sized high school, prorated based on the size of the high school for smaller and larger schools. An average-sized high school is assumed to be six hundred students. However, school districts may allocate funds provided under this section for instructional support services by certificated school counselors and librarians in any school, at any grade level, and in any staffing configuration.