AN ACT Relating to improving educational outcomes for homeless students through increased in-school guidance supports, housing stability, and identification services; and amending RCW 28A.300.540.

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

Sec. 1.  RCW 28A.300.540 and 2014 c 212 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) For the purposes of this section, "unaccompanied homeless student" means a student who is not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian and is homeless.

(2) By December 31, 2010, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall establish a uniform process designed to track the additional expenditures for transporting homeless students, including expenditures required under the McKinney Vento act, reauthorized as Title X, Part C, of the no child left behind act, P.L. 107-110, in January 2002. Once established, the superintendent shall adopt the necessary administrative rules to direct each school district to adopt and use the uniform process and track these expenditures. The superintendent shall post on the superintendent's web site total expenditures related to the transportation of homeless students.

(((2))) (3)(a) By January 10, 2015, and every odd-numbered year thereafter, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall report to the governor and the legislature the following data for homeless students:

(i) The number of identified homeless students enrolled in public schools;

(ii) The number of identified unaccompanied homeless students enrolled in public schools;

(iii) The number of students participating in the learning assistance program under chapter 28A.165 RCW, the highly capable program under chapter 28A.185 RCW, and the running start program under chapter 28A.600 RCW; and

(((iii))) (iv) The academic performance and educational outcomes of homeless students and unaccompanied homeless students, including but not limited to the following performance and educational outcomes:

(A) Student scores on the statewide administered academic assessments;

(B) English language proficiency;

(C) Dropout rates;

(D) Four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate;

(E) Five-year adjusted cohort graduation rate;

(F) Absenteeism rates;

(G) Truancy rates, if available; and

(H) Suspension and expulsion data.

(b) The data reported under this subsection (((2))) (3) must include state and district-level information and must be disaggregated by at least the following subgroups of students: White, Black, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, Pacific Islander/Hawaiian Native, low income, transitional bilingual, migrant, special education, and gender.

(((3))) (4) By July 1, 2014, the office of the superintendent of public instruction in collaboration with experts from community organizations on homelessness and homeless education policy, shall develop or acquire a short video that provides information on how to identify signs that indicate a student may be homeless, how to provide services and support to homeless students, and why this identification and support is critical to student success. The video must be posted on the superintendent of public instruction's web site.

(((4))) (5) By July 1, 2014, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall adopt and distribute to each school district, best practices for choosing and training school district-designated homeless student liaisons.

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