Background:

Career and Technical Education.

Career and technical education, or CTE, is a planned program of courses and learning experiences that begins with an exploration of career options and supports basic academic and life skills. Career and technical education instruction is provided in two general course classifications—exploratory and preparatory—both of which must comply with numerous standards established by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).

Career and technical education instruction is delivered through programs at middle and high schools, through approved online courses, and at skill centers that are regional CTE instructional venues. Skill centers are operated by a host school district and governed by an administrative council in accordance with a cooperative agreement of the participating school districts.

Underserved rural areas or high-density areas are authorized to partner with a skill center to create satellite programs or a branch campus. If a branch campus reaches sufficient enrollment to become self-sustaining, it may become a separate skill center or remain an extension of the founding skill center. Although not required, satellite and branch campus programs are encouraged to address high-demand fields.

Administrative rules adopted by the OSPI include definitions for satellite programs, branch campuses of skill centers, and related terms. As specified in rule:

a "skill center branch campus" is a common school or higher education facility that provides three or more programs at a location other than the skill center core campus. Each branch campus must be approved by the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI);
a "skill center satellite program" is a facility or site that provides less than three programs at a location other than the skill center core campus. Each satellite program must also be approved by the SPI and may only be hosted by a core campus; and
a "skill center core campus" is the facility housing a majority of the enrolled skill center students enrolled. A skill center core campus is operated by the skill center.

Student Funding.

Students attending skill centers are funded for all classes at the skill center and the sending districts at a rate of up to 1.6 full-time equivalents (FTEs) or as determined in the omnibus appropriations act adopted by the Legislature. The OSPI develops procedures to ensure that the school district and the skill center report do not exceed the 1.6 FTE funding limit for a student. The OSPI also develops procedures for determining the appropriate share of the FTE enrollment count between the resident high school and skill center.

Skill Center Minor Repair and Maintenance Account.

The host district of a skill center with more than one participating district must maintain a separate minor repair and maintenance capital account for facilities constructed or renovated with state funding. Participating school districts must make annual deposits into the account to pay for future minor repair and maintenance costs of those facilities. The host district has authority to collect those deposits by charging participating districts an annual per-pupil facility fee.

Summary of Bill:

A rural satellite skill center must report direct enrollment and receive direct funding if:

it is located at least 30 miles from a core campus or other satellite program and enrolls students from a minimum of two school districts;
it is solely responsible for hiring staff and covering all staffing costs;
it is solely responsible for providing facilities, equipment, materials, supplies, and training;
it has demonstrated the ability to build successful community and local business partnerships;
it has been operational and has secured agreements for at least one year with two or more rural districts in the area to accept and enroll students, has completed the required feasibility study, and has secured commitments from local businesses or industries;
the CTE advisory committee and the local school district board of directors recommend and support the direct funding; and
it shares liability of all reviews for the purposes of auditing and the consolidated program review including state and federal monitoring of the CTE programs.

A core campus skill center may receive, for administrative purposes, up to 7 percent of the funding provided to a partnered rural satellite skill center. Additionally, a core campus skill center may charge the annually required per-pupil facility fee related to minor repair and maintenance capital accounts as negotiated in the interdistrict cooperative agreement.

The term "rural," for purposes of the rural satellite skill center provisions, is defined as:

a local education agency that serves only schools that have a National Center for Education Statistics school locale code of 41, 42, or 43 (rural/fringe, rural/distant, and rural/remote, respectively); or
a local education agency that is located entirely within counties with a population density less than 100 persons per square mile or counties smaller than 225 square miles as determined and published by the Office of Financial Management each year for the period of July 1 to June 30.