AN ACT Relating to educational excellence; amending RCW 28A.41.140; adding a new section to chapter 28A.04 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 28A.58 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.67 RCW; creating new sections; and making appropriations.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The superintendent of public instruction shall by December 1, 1985, recommend to the legislature a basic education allocation formula which provides adequate but not excessive funding for districts having less than twenty-five full time equivalent students.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.58 RCW to read as follows:

Each school district board of directors shall develop a schedule and process by which each public school within its jurisdiction shall undertake self-study procedures on a regular basis: PROVIDED, That districts may allow two or more elementary school buildings in the district to undertake jointly the self-study process. Each school may follow the accreditation process developed by the state board of education under RCW 28A.04.120(4), although no school is required to file for actual accreditation, or the school may follow a self-study process developed locally. Whatever process is used must focus upon the quality and appropriateness of the school's educational program and the results of its operational efforts.

Any self-study process must include the participation of staff, parents, members of the community, and students, where appropriate to their age.

Emphasis throughout the process shall be placed upon:

(1) Achieving educational excellence and equity;

(2) Building stronger links with the community; and

(3) Reaching consensus upon educational expectations through community involvement and corresponding school management.

The initial self-study process within each district shall begin by September 1, 1986, and should be completed for all schools within a district by the end of the 1990-91 school year.

The state board of education shall develop rules and regulations governing procedural criteria. Such rules and regulations should be flexible so as to accommodate local goals and circumstances. Rules and regulations may allow for waiver of the self-study for economic reasons and may also allow for waiver of the initial self-study if a district or its schools have participated successfully in an official accreditation process or in a similar assessment of educational programs within the last three years. The self-study process shall be conducted on a cyclical basis every seven years following the initial 1990-91 period.

The superintendent of public instruction shall provide training to assist districts in their self-studies.

Each district shall annually report to the superintendent of public instruction on the scheduling and implementation of their self-study activities.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The legislature recognizes the need to keep and attract quality teachers in our public schools. The legislature intends to examine the effectiveness of a career ladder in our public schools. To improve the quality of teaching and foster a professional climate which encourages creativity and cooperation among teachers and enhances the intrinsic rewards teachers experience from helping students learn, the legislature intends to locally test ways in which the goal of attracting and retaining excellent teachers might be accomplished. The legislature recognizes that a career ladder system is one means of enhancing the attractiveness of teaching; however, the legislature wishes to investigate this concept further prior to determining whether to develop such a system.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 28A.67 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The superintendent of public instruction is hereby authorized to grant funds for selected school improvement and research projects, including improvements in curriculum, instruction, and classroom management developed by teachers.

(2) The superintendent shall appoint an advisory committee on research and development composed of certificated and noncertificated staff, administrators, curriculum specialists, parents, school directors, postsecondary educators, business persons, and others as the superintendent finds necessary. The committee shall propose criteria to the superintendent to evaluate proposed school improvement and research projects proposed by educational employees. The criteria approved by the superintendent shall: (a) Assure to the extent possible that projects will be chosen which represent the various geographical locations, school or district sizes, and grade levels existent in the state; (b) provide for evaluation of each project upon completion; and (c) include such other requirements as the superintendent finds necessary. The committee shall recommend to the superintendent of public instruction the awarding of grants to fund those proposals showing the most potential for developing knowledge which will be helpful to local districts in their efforts to enhance educational equity and excellence. Projects may involve the collaboration of personnel from higher education institutions and kindergarten through grade twelve educators.

(3) The superintendent of public instruction shall award grants to selected project participants in such amounts as determined by the superintendent of public instruction, who shall take into consideration grant amounts as recommended by the advisory committee on research and development under subsection (2) of this section. The sum of all grants awarded per year shall not exceed that amount appropriated by the legislature for such purposes. Grants may be awarded to individual teachers or teams of teachers including teacher's aides and volunteers.

(4) The superintendent of public instruction shall maintain a clearinghouse of information on these research projects for the use of local districts.

Sec. 5. Section 14, chapter 244, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. as last amended by section 1, chapter 229, Laws of 1983 and RCW 28A.41.140 are each amended to read as follows:

The basic education allocation for each annual average full time equivalent student shall be determined in accordance with the following procedures:

The governor shall and the superintendent of public instruction may recommend to the legislature a formula based on a ratio of students to staff for the distribution of a basic education allocation for each annual average full time equivalent student enrolled in a common school. The distribution formula shall have the primary objective of equalizing educational opportunities and shall provide appropriate recognition of the following costs among the various districts within the state:

(1) Certificated staff and their related costs;

(2) Classified staff and their related costs;

(3) Nonsalary costs;

(4) Extraordinary costs of remote and necessary schools and small high schools; and

(5) The attendance of students pursuant to RCW 28A.58.075 and 28A.58.245, each as now or hereafter amended, who do not reside within the servicing school district.

This formula for distribution of basic education funds shall be reviewed biennially by the superintendent and governor. The recommended formula shall be subject to approval, amendment or rejection by the legislature. Commencing with the 1980-81 school year, the formula adopted by the legislature shall reflect a ratio of not less than fifty certificated personnel to one thousand annual average full time equivalent students and one classified person to three certificated personnel. In the event the legislature rejects the distribution formula recommended by the governor, without adopting a new distribution formula, the distribution formula for the previous school year shall remain in effect: PROVIDED, That the distribution formula developed pursuant to this section shall be for state apportionment and equalization purposes only and shall not be construed as mandating specific operational functions of local school districts other than those program requirements identified in RCW 28A.58.754. The enrollment of any district shall be the annual average number of full time equivalent students and part time students as provided in RCW 28A.41.145, as now or hereafter amended, enrolled on the first school day of each month. The definition of full time equivalent student shall be determined by rules and regulations of the superintendent of public instruction: PROVIDED, That the definition shall be included as part of the superintendent's biennial budget request: PROVIDED, FURTHER, That any revision of the present definition shall not take effect until approved by the house appropriations committee and the senate ways and means committee: PROVIDED, FURTHER, That the office of financial management shall make a monthly review of the superintendent's reported full time equivalent students in the common schools in conjunction with RCW 43.62.050.

Certificated staff shall include those persons employed by a school district in a teaching, instructional, educational staff associate, learning resources specialist, administrative or supervisory capacity and who hold positions as certificated employees as defined under RCW 28A.01.130, as now or hereafter amended, and every school district superintendent, and any person hired in any manner to fill a position designated as, or which is in fact, that of deputy superintendent or assistant superintendent: PROVIDED, That in exceptional cases, people of unusual competence but without certification may teach students so long as a certificated person exercises general supervision: PROVIDED, FURTHER, That the hiring of such noncertificated people shall not occur during a labor dispute and such noncertificated people shall not be hired to replace certificated employees during a labor dispute. Each annual average full time equivalent certificated classroom teacher's direct classroom contact hours shall average at least twenty-five hours per week. Direct classroom contact hours shall be exclusive of time required to be spent for preparation, conferences, or any other nonclassroom instruction duties. Up to two hundred minutes per week may be deducted from the twenty-five contact hour requirement, at the discretion of the school district board of directors, to accommodate authorized teacher/parent-guardian conferences, recess, passing time between classes, and informal instructional activity. Implementing rules to be adopted by the state board of education pursuant to RCW 28A.58.754(6) shall provide that compliance with the direct contact hour requirement shall be based upon teachers' normally assigned weekly instructional schedules, as assigned by the district administration. Additional record-keeping by classroom teachers as a means of accounting for contact hours shall not be required. However, upon request from the board of directors of any school district, the provisions relating to direct classroom contact hours for individual teachers in that district may be waived by the state board of education if the waiver is necessary to implement a locally approved plan for educational excellence and the waiver is limited to those individual teachers approved in the local plan for educational excellence. The state board of education shall develop criteria to evaluate the need for the waiver. Granting of the waiver shall depend upon verification that: (a) The students' classroom instructional time will not be reduced; and (b) the teacher's expertise is critical to the success of the local plan for excellence.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 28A.04 RCW to read as follows:

The state board of education may grant waivers to school districts from the provisions of RCW 28A.58.750 through 28A.58.754 on the basis that such waiver or waivers are necessary to implement successfully a local plan to provide for all students in the district an effective education system that is designed to enhance the educational program for each student. The local plan may include alternative ways to provide effective educational programs for students who experience difficulty with the regular education program.

The state board shall adopt criteria to evaluate the need for the waiver or waivers.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. A new section is added to chapter 28A.58 RCW to read as follows:

School boards may by separate contract with certificated instructional and classified staff provide supplemental compensation for additional days or additional duties as set forth in the bargaining agreement or agreements as negotiated between the district and the respective bargaining representatives, if the district does not incur obligations for the supplements beyond the current school year and if such supplements do not cause the state to incur any present or future funding obligations. Additional days for certificated instructional staff and classified staff shall be those days beyond their respective work year. Such separate contracts shall be subject to the collective bargaining provisions of chapters 41.59 and 41.56 RCW. Such supplemental compensation shall not be deemed an increase in salary or compensation for purposes of RCW 28A.58.095. Separate contracts shall be subject to the provision of RCW 28A.67.074, shall not exceed one year, and if not renewed shall not constitute adverse change in accordance with RCW 28A.58.450 through RCW 28A.58.515.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. (1) The sum of one hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1987, from the general fund to the superintendent of public instruction for the purposes of section 2 of this act.

(2) The sum of one hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1987, from the general fund to the superintendent of public instruction for the purposes of section 4 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.