BILL REQ. #:  S-1251.1 

Read first time 02/01/2007.   Referred to Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education.

     AN ACT Relating to establishing an urban school district allocation; adding a new section to chapter 28A.150 RCW; and making appropriations.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 28A.150 RCW to read as follows:
     An allocation is established to compensate the largest district in the state for the disproportionate amount of state property tax that is generated in that district and then redistributed to other school districts through the state funding formulas. This allocation is also intended to promote academic achievement and help students overcome obstacles that come along with being educated in a large urban area. The amounts provided shall supplement and not supplant current state and local funding for this purpose.
     (1) A district is eligible for an allocation only if its annual full-time equivalent student enrollment exceeds forty thousand students.
     (2) In the 2007-08 school year, an additional allocation of seven hundred dollars per student eligible for free and reduced-price lunch or enrolled in the transitional bilingual program shall be made to an eligible district based on the criteria in subsection (1) of this section.
     (3) In the 2008-09 school year and each school year thereafter until the state adopts a new basic education definition, an additional allocation of one thousand four hundred dollars per student eligible for free and reduced-price lunch or enrolled in the transitional bilingual program shall be made to an eligible district based on the criteria in subsection (1) of this section. After the 2008-09 school year, the amount of per student allocation shall be adjusted based on inflation.
     (4) School districts shall use sixty-five to eighty percent of the funds allocated under this section to provide class size relief, program enhancement, and restoration of critical coursework in elementary, middle, and high schools across the district. School districts shall use fifteen to thirty percent of the funds allocated under this section to reduce the disparity in educational achievement that exists between students of varying economic, ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds. School districts shall use five to ten percent of the funds allocated under this section to support classrooms, purchase teaching materials, support new teachers, and support custodial and maintenance needs for the increased operational hours and space utilization.
     (5) Each district receiving an allocation under this section shall annually report to its citizens on the impact of the activities funded on class size, graduation rates, student attendance, student achievement, and closing the achievement gap.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The sum of sixteen million one hundred ninety-eight thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, from the general fund to the office of the superintendent of public instruction for the purposes of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   The sum of thirty-two thousand three hundred ninety-six thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, from the general fund to the office of the superintendent of public instruction for the purposes of this act.