AN ACT Relating to local effort assistance for small school districts and small remote and necessary plants; and amending RCW 28A.500.015.

(1) Beginning in calendar year 2020 and each calendar year thereafter, the state must provide state local effort assistance funding to supplement school district enrichment levies as provided in this section.

(2)(a) For an eligible school district with an actual enrichment levy rate that is less than one dollar and fifty cents per thousand dollars of assessed value in the school district, the annual local effort assistance funding is equal to the school district's maximum local effort assistance multiplied by a fraction equal to the school district's actual enrichment levy rate divided by one dollar and fifty cents per thousand dollars of assessed value in the school district.

(b) For an eligible school district with an actual enrichment levy rate that is equal to or greater than one dollar and fifty cents per thousand dollars of assessed value in the school district, the annual local effort assistance funding is equal to the school district's maximum local effort assistance.

(c) Beginning in calendar year 2022, for state-tribal education compact schools established under chapter 28A.715 RCW, the annual local effort assistance funding is equal to the actual enrichment levy per student as calculated by the superintendent of public instruction for the previous year for the school district in which the state-tribal education compact school is located, up to a maximum per student amount of one thousand five hundred fifty dollars as increased by inflation from the 2019 calendar year, multiplied by the student enrollment of the state-tribal education compact school in the prior school year.

(d) For a school district that meets the criteria in this subsection and is located west of the Cascades in a county that borders another state, the annual local effort assistance funding is equal to the local effort assistance funding authorized under (b) of this subsection and additional local effort assistance funding equal to the following amounts:

(i) Two hundred forty-six dollars per pupil in the 2019-20 school year for a school district with more than twenty-five thousand annual full-time equivalent students; and

(ii) Two hundred eighty-six dollars per pupil in the 2019-20 school year for a school district with more than twenty thousand annual full-time equivalent enrolled students but fewer than twenty-five thousand annual full-time equivalent enrolled students.

(e) Beginning in calendar year 2021, for small school districts and small school plants that have been deemed remote and necessary by the office of the superintendent of public instruction, the annual local effort assistance funding is equal to the local effort assistance funding authorized under (a) or (b) of this subsection and additional local effort assistance funding equal to the following amounts:

(i) Nine hundred fifty dollars per pupil for small school districts and small school plants deemed remote and necessary that have twenty-five or fewer annual full-time equivalent enrolled students;

(ii) Seven hundred fifty dollars per pupil for small school districts and small school plants deemed remote and necessary that have more than twenty-five but fewer than one hundred annual full-time equivalent enrolled students; and

(iii) Five hundred fifty dollars per pupil for small school districts and small school plants deemed remote and necessary that have more than one hundred but fewer than three hundred annual full-time equivalent enrolled students.

(3) The state local effort assistance funding provided under this section is not part of the state's program of basic education deemed by the legislature to comply with the requirements of Article IX, section 1 of the state Constitution.

(a) "Eligible school district" means a school district where the amount generated by a levy of one dollar and fifty cents per thousand dollars of assessed value in the school district, divided by the school district's total student enrollment in the prior school year, is less than the state local effort assistance threshold.

(b) For the purpose of this section, "inflation" means, for any school year, the rate of the yearly increase of the previous calendar year's annual average consumer price index for all urban consumers, Seattle area, using the official current base compiled by the bureau of labor statistics, United States department of labor.

(i) The school district's actual prior school year enrollment multiplied by the state local effort assistance threshold; and

(ii) The amount generated by a levy of one dollar and fifty cents per thousand dollars of assessed value in the school district.

(d) "Prior school year" means the most recent school year completed prior to the year in which the state local effort assistance funding is to be distributed.

(e) "State local effort assistance threshold" means one thousand five hundred fifty dollars per student, increased for inflation beginning in calendar year 2020.

(5) For districts in a high/nonhigh relationship, the enrollments of the nonhigh students attending the high school shall only be counted by the nonhigh school districts for purposes of funding under this section.

(6) For school districts participating in an innovation academy cooperative established under RCW 28A.340.080, enrollments of students attending the academy shall be adjusted so that each participant district receives its proportional share of student enrollments for purposes of funding under this section.