AN ACT Relating to establishing a legislative task force on common school class size in school districts with more than forty-five thousand students; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

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

(i) The president of the senate shall appoint one member from each of the two largest caucuses of the senate.

(ii) The speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint three members from the two largest caucuses of the house of representatives: Two from the largest caucus of the house of representatives, and one from the second largest caucus of the house of representatives. Members appointed under this subsection (1)(a)(ii) must represent legislative districts with school districts with more than forty-five thousand students.

(iii) The governor shall appoint nonvoting members representing:

(A) Parent-teacher associations, one each from an elementary, middle school, and high school parent-teacher association in a district with more than forty-five thousand students;

(B) Boards of school directors from districts with more than forty-five thousand students;

(C) Principals, one each from an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school in a district with more than forty-five thousand students.

(iv) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall cooperate with the task force and maintain a liaison representative, who shall be a nonvoting member.

(b) The task force shall choose its cochairs from among its legislative membership. The governor or the governor's designee shall convene the initial meeting of the task force.

(2) The task force shall review the following issues:

(a) Discrepancies, if any, between class sizes established in allocation provisions in RCW 28A.150.260, and actual class sizes in the elementary, middle, and high schools of school districts with more than forty-five thousand students; and

(b) Barriers, if any, to better aligning class sizes established in allocation provisions in RCW 28A.150.260 with actual class sizes of schools in districts with more than forty-five thousand students. Examples of barriers to better class size alignment include, but are not limited to: Staffing; building capacity; and funding and allocation provisions.

(3) Staff support for the task force must be provided by senate committee services and the house of representatives office of program research.

(4) Legislative members of the task force are reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120. Nonlegislative members are not entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses if they are elected officials or are participating on behalf of an employer, governmental entity, or other organization. Any reimbursement for other nonlegislative members is subject to chapter 43.03 RCW.

(5) The expenses of the task force must be paid jointly by the senate and the house of representatives. Task force expenditures are subject to approval by the senate facilities and operations committee and the house of representatives executive rules committee, or their successor committees.

(6) The task force shall report its findings and recommendations, including actions taken by districts with more than forty-five thousand students to better align class sizes established in allocation provisions in RCW 28A.150.260 with actual class sizes of the district, to the governor, the superintendent of public instruction, and the appropriate education committees of the house of representatives and the senate. Preliminary recommendations must be provided in accordance with this subsection by December 1, 2017, with final recommendations submitted by December 1, 2018.

(7) This section expires June 30, 2019.

--- END ---