Annual basic education allocation of funds according to average FTE student enrollment — Procedure to determine distribution formula — Submittal to legislature — Enrollment, FTE student, certificated and classified staff, defined. (Effective until September 1, 2011.)

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

     (1) 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:

     (a) Certificated instructional staff and their related costs;

     (b) Certificated administrative staff and their related costs;

     (c) Classified staff and their related costs;

     (d) Nonsalary costs;

     (e) Extraordinary costs, including school facilities, of remote and necessary schools as judged by the superintendent of public instruction, with recommendations from the school facilities citizen advisory panel under RCW 28A.525.025, and small high schools, including costs of additional certificated and classified staff; and

     (f) The attendance of students pursuant to RCW 28A.335.160 and 28A.225.250 who do not reside within the servicing school district.

     (2)(a) 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. The formula shall be for allocation purposes only. While the legislature intends that the allocations for additional instructional staff be used to increase the ratio of such staff to students, nothing in this section shall require districts to reduce the number of administrative staff below existing levels.

     (b) The formula adopted by the legislature shall reflect the following ratios at a minimum: (i) Forty-nine certificated instructional staff to one thousand annual average full time equivalent students enrolled in grades kindergarten through three; (ii) forty-six certificated instructional staff to one thousand annual average full time equivalent students in grades four through twelve; (iii) four certificated administrative staff to one thousand annual average full time equivalent students in grades kindergarten through twelve; and (iv) sixteen and sixty-seven one-hundredths classified personnel to one thousand annual average full time equivalent students enrolled in grades kindergarten through twelve.

     (c) 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.150.220 and 28A.150.100. 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.150.350, enrolled on the first school day of each month and shall exclude full time equivalent students with disabilities recognized for the purposes of allocation of state funds for programs under RCW 28A.155.010 through 28A.155.100. The definition of full time equivalent student shall be determined by rules 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.

     (3)(a) Certificated instructional staff shall include those persons employed by a school district who are nonsupervisory employees within the meaning of RCW 41.59.020(8): 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 classified people shall not occur during a labor dispute and such classified people shall not be hired to replace certificated employees during a labor dispute.

     (b) Certificated administrative staff shall include all those persons who are chief executive officers, chief administrative officers, confidential employees, supervisors, principals, or assistant principals within the meaning of RCW 41.59.020(4).

[2006 c 263 § 322; 1997 c 13 § 2; (1997 c 13 § 1 and 1995 c 77 § 2 expired September 1, 2000); 1995 c 77 § 3; 1992 c 141 § 507; 1992 c 141 § 303; 1991 c 116 § 10; 1990 c 33 § 108; 1987 1st ex.s. c 2 § 202; 1985 c 349 § 5; 1983 c 229 § 1; 1979 ex.s. c 250 § 3; 1979 c 151 § 12; 1977 ex.s. c 359 § 5; 1969 ex.s. c 244 § 14. Prior: 1969 ex.s. c 217 § 3; 1969 c 130 § 7; 1969 ex.s. c 223 § 28A.41.140; prior: 1965 ex.s. c 154 § 3. Formerly RCW 28A.41.140, 28.41.140.]

Notes: Findings -- Purpose -- Part headings not law -- 2006 c 263: See notes following RCW 28A.150.230.

Contingent effective date -- 1997 c 13 § 2: "Section 2 of this act shall take effect September 1, 2000. However, section 2 of this act shall not take effect if, by September 1, 2000, a law is enacted stating that a school accountability and academic assessment system is not in place." [1997 c 13 § 15.] That law was not enacted by September 1, 2000.

Contingent effective date -- 1995 c 77 § 3: "Section 3 of this act shall take effect September 1, 2000. However, section 3 of this act shall not take effect if, by September 1, 2000, a law is enacted stating that a school accountability and academic assessment system is not in place." [1995 c 77 § 33.] That law was not enacted by September 1, 2000.

Contingent effective date -- 1992 c 141 §§ 502-504, 506, and 507: See note following RCW 28A.150.205.

Findings -- Part headings -- Severability -- 1992 c 141: See notes following RCW 28A.410.040.

Intent -- Severability -- Effective date -- 1987 1st ex.s. c 2:See notes following RCW 84.52.0531.

Severability -- 1985 c 349: "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." [1985 c 349 § 9.]

Effective date -- Severability -- 1979 ex.s. c 250: See notes following RCW 28A.150.220.

Effective date -- Severability -- 1977 ex.s. c 359: See notes following RCW 28A.150.200.

Basic Education Act, RCW 28A.150.260 as part of: RCW 28A.150.200.

Distribution of forest reserve funds -- As affects basic education allocation: RCW 28A.520.020.

RCW 28A.150.260

Allocation of state funding to support instructional program of basic education — Distribution formula — Prototypical schools — Enhancements and adjustments — Review and approval — Enrollment calculation. (Effective September 1, 2011.)

The purpose of this section is to provide for the allocation of state funding that the legislature deems necessary to support school districts in offering the minimum instructional program of basic education under RCW 28A.150.220. The allocation shall be determined as follows:

     (1) The governor shall and the superintendent of public instruction may recommend to the legislature a formula for the distribution of a basic education instructional allocation for each common school district.

     (2) The distribution formula under this section shall be for allocation purposes only. Except as may be required under chapter 28A.155, 28A.165, 28A.180, or 28A.185 RCW, or federal laws and regulations, nothing in this section requires school districts to use basic education instructional funds to implement a particular instructional approach or service. Nothing in this section requires school districts to maintain a particular classroom teacher-to-student ratio or other staff-to-student ratio or to use allocated funds to pay for particular types or classifications of staff. Nothing in this section entitles an individual teacher to a particular teacher planning period.

     (3)(a) To the extent the technical details of the formula have been adopted by the legislature and except when specifically provided as a school district allocation, the distribution formula for the basic education instructional allocation shall be based on minimum staffing and nonstaff costs the legislature deems necessary to support instruction and operations in prototypical schools serving high, middle, and elementary school students as provided in this section. The use of prototypical schools for the distribution formula does not constitute legislative intent that schools should be operated or structured in a similar fashion as the prototypes. Prototypical schools illustrate the level of resources needed to operate a school of a particular size with particular types and grade levels of students using commonly understood terms and inputs, such as class size, hours of instruction, and various categories of school staff. It is the intent that the funding allocations to school districts be adjusted from the school prototypes based on the actual number of annual average full-time equivalent students in each grade level at each school in the district and not based on the grade-level configuration of the school to the extent that data is available. The allocations shall be further adjusted from the school prototypes with minimum allocations for small schools and to reflect other factors identified in the omnibus appropriations act.

     (b) For the purposes of this section, prototypical schools are defined as follows:

     (i) A prototypical high school has six hundred average annual full-time equivalent students in grades nine through twelve;

     (ii) A prototypical middle school has four hundred thirty-two average annual full-time equivalent students in grades seven and eight; and

     (iii) A prototypical elementary school has four hundred average annual full-time equivalent students in grades kindergarten through six.

     (4)(a) The minimum allocation for each level of prototypical school shall be based on the number of full-time equivalent classroom teachers needed to provide instruction over the minimum required annual instructional hours under RCW 28A.150.220 and provide at least one teacher planning period per school day, and based on the following general education average class size of full-time equivalent students per teacher:

General education

average

class size

Grades K-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.23

Grade 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.00

Grades 5-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.00

Grades 7-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.53

Grades 9-12 . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.74

     (b) During the 2011-2013 biennium and beginning with schools with the highest percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-price meals in the prior school year, the general education average class size for grades K-3 shall be reduced until the average class size funded under this subsection (4) is no more than 17.0 full-time equivalent students per teacher beginning in the 2017-18 school year.

     (c) The minimum allocation for each prototypical middle and high school shall also provide for full-time equivalent classroom teachers based on the following number of full-time equivalent students per teacher in career and technical education:

Career and technical

education average

class size

Approved career and technical education offered at

the middle school and high school level . . . . . . . . . . . . 26.57

Skill center programs meeting the standards established

by the office of the superintendent of public

instruction . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.76

     (d) In addition, the omnibus appropriations act shall at a minimum specify:

     (i) A high-poverty average class size in schools where more than fifty percent of the students are eligible for free and reduced-price meals; and

     (ii) A specialty average class size for laboratory science, advanced placement, and international baccalaureate courses.

     (5) The minimum allocation for each level of prototypical school shall include allocations for the following types of staff in addition to classroom teachers:



Elementary School Middle School High School Principals, assistant principals, and other certificated building-level administrators . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.253

1.353

1.880 Teacher librarians, a function that includes information literacy, technology, and media to support school library media programs . . . . . . . . . . . .

0.663

0.519

0.523 Health and social services:      School nurses . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.076 0.060 0.096      Social workers . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.042 0.006 0.015      Psychologists . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.017 0.002 0.007 Guidance counselors, a function that includes parent outreach and graduation advising . . . . . . . . . . . .

0.493

1.116

1.909 Teaching assistance, including any aspect of educational instructional services provided by classified employees . . . . . . . . . . . .

0.936

0.700

0.652 Office support and other noninstructional aides . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.012 2.325 3.269 Custodians . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.657 1.942 2.965 Classified staff providing student and staff safety . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.079 0.092 0.141 Parent involvement coordinators . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00 0.00 0.00

     (6)(a) The minimum staffing allocation for each school district to provide district-wide support services shall be allocated per one thousand annual average full-time equivalent students in grades K-12 as follows:

Staff per 1,000

K-12 students

Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.628

Facilities, maintenance, and grounds . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.813

Warehouse, laborers, and mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.332

     (b) The minimum allocation of staff units for each school district to support certificated and classified staffing of central administration shall be 5.30 percent of the staff units generated under subsections (4)(a) and (b) and (5) of this section and (a) of this subsection.

     (7) The distribution formula shall include staffing allocations to school districts for career and technical education and skill center administrative and other school-level certificated staff, as specified in the omnibus appropriations act.

     (8)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, the minimum allocation for each school district shall include allocations per annual average full-time equivalent student for the following materials, supplies, and operating costs, to be adjusted for inflation from the 2008-09 school year:

Per annual average

full-time equivalent student

in grades K-12

Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . $54.43

Utilities and insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . $147.90

Curriculum and textbooks . . . . . . . . . . . . $58.44

Other supplies and library materials . . . . . . . . . . . . $124.07

Instructional professional development for certified and

classified staff . . . . . . . . . . . . $9.04

Facilities maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . $73.27

Security and central office . . . . . . . . . . . . $50.76

     (b) During the 2011-2013 biennium, the minimum allocation for maintenance, supplies, and operating costs shall be increased as specified in the omnibus appropriations act. The following allocations, adjusted for inflation from the 2007-08 school year, are provided in the 2015-16 school year, after which the allocations shall be adjusted annually for inflation as specified in the omnibus appropriations act:

Per annual average

full-time equivalent student

in grades K-12

Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . $113.80

Utilities and insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . $309.21

Curriculum and textbooks . . . . . . . . . . . . $122.17

Other supplies and library materials . . . . . . . . . . . . $259.39

Instructional professional development for certificated and

classified staff . . . . . . . . . . . . $18.89

Facilities maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . $153.18

Security and central office administration . . . . . . . . . . . . $106.12

     (9) In addition to the amounts provided in subsection (8) of this section, the omnibus appropriations act shall provide an amount based on full-time equivalent student enrollment in each of the following:

     (a) Exploratory career and technical education courses for students in grades seven through twelve;

     (b) Laboratory science courses for students in grades nine through twelve;

     (c) Preparatory career and technical education courses for students in grades nine through twelve offered in a high school; and

     (d) Preparatory career and technical education courses for students in grades eleven and twelve offered through a skill center.

     (10) In addition to the allocations otherwise provided under this section, amounts shall be provided to support the following programs and services:

     (a) To provide supplemental instruction and services for underachieving students through the learning assistance program under RCW 28A.165.005 through 28A.165.065, allocations shall be based on the district percentage of students in grades K-12 who were eligible for free or reduced-price meals in the prior school year. The minimum allocation for the program shall provide for each level of prototypical school resources to provide, on a statewide average, 1.5156 hours per week in extra instruction with a class size of fifteen learning assistance program students per teacher.

     (b) To provide supplemental instruction and services for students whose primary language is other than English, allocations shall be based on the head count number of students in each school who are eligible for and enrolled in the transitional bilingual instruction program under RCW 28A.180.010 through 28A.180.080. The minimum allocation for each level of prototypical school shall provide resources to provide, on a statewide average, 4.7780 hours per week in extra instruction with fifteen transitional bilingual instruction program students per teacher.

     (c) To provide additional allocations to support programs for highly capable students under RCW 28A.185.010 through 28A.185.030, allocations shall be based on two and three hundred fourteen one-thousandths percent of each school district's full-time equivalent basic education enrollment. The minimum allocation for the programs shall provide resources to provide, on a statewide average, 2.1590 hours per week in extra instruction with fifteen highly capable program students per teacher.

     (11) The allocations under subsections (4)(a) and (b), (5), (6), and (8) of this section shall be enhanced as provided under RCW 28A.150.390 on an excess cost basis to provide supplemental instructional resources for students with disabilities.

     (12)(a) For the purposes of allocations for prototypical high schools and middle schools under subsections (4) and (10) of this section that are based on the percent of students in the school who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals, the actual percent of such students in a school shall be adjusted by a factor identified in the omnibus appropriations act to reflect underreporting of free and reduced-price meal eligibility among middle and high school students.

     (b) Allocations or enhancements provided under subsections (4), (7), and (9) of this section for exploratory and preparatory career and technical education courses shall be provided only for courses approved by the office of the superintendent of public instruction under chapter 28A.700 RCW.

     (13)(a) 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.

     (b) 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.

     (c) 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.150.350, enrolled on the first school day of each month, including students who are in attendance pursuant to RCW 28A.335.160 and 28A.225.250 who do not reside within the servicing school district. The definition of full-time equivalent student shall be determined by rules of the superintendent of public instruction and shall be included as part of the superintendent's biennial budget request. The definition shall be based on the minimum instructional hour offerings required under RCW 28A.150.220. Any revision of the present definition shall not take effect until approved by the house ways and means committee and the senate ways and means committee.

     (d) 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.

[2010 c 236 § 2; 2009 c 548 § 106; 2006 c 263 § 322; 1997 c 13 § 2; (1997 c 13 § 1 and 1995 c 77 § 2 expired September 1, 2000); 1995 c 77 § 3; 1992 c 141 § 507; 1992 c 141 § 303; 1991 c 116 § 10; 1990 c 33 § 108; 1987 1st ex.s. c 2 § 202; 1985 c 349 § 5; 1983 c 229 § 1; 1979 ex.s. c 250 § 3; 1979 c 151 § 12; 1977 ex.s. c 359 § 5; 1969 ex.s. c 244 § 14. Prior: 1969 ex.s. c 217 § 3; 1969 c 130 § 7; 1969 ex.s. c 223 § 28A.41.140; prior: 1965 ex.s. c 154 § 3. Formerly RCW 28A.41.140, 28.41.140.]

Notes: Effective date -- 2010 c 236 §§ 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 13, and 14: "Sections 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 13, and 14 of this act take effect September 1, 2011." [2010 c 236 § 19.]

Intent -- 2010 c 236: "(1) It is the legislature's intent to continue implementation of chapter 548, Laws of 2009, by adopting the technical details of a new distribution formula for the instructional program of basic education and authorizing a phase-in of implementation of a new distribution formula for pupil transportation, both to take effect during the 2011-2013 biennium. Unless otherwise stated, the numeric values adopted in section 2 of this act represent the translation of 2009-10 state funding levels for the basic education act into the funding factors of the prototypical school funding formula, based on the expert advice and extensive work of the funding formula technical working group established by the legislature for this purpose. The legislature intends to continue to review and revise the formulas and may make revisions as necessary for technical purposes and consistency in the event of mathematical or other technical errors.

     (2) The legislature intends that per-pupil basic education funding for a school district shall not be decreased as a result of the transition of basic education funding formulas in effect during the 2009-2011 biennium to the new funding formulas under RCW 28A.150.260 that take effect during the 2011-2013 biennium.

     (3) It is also the legislature's intent to begin phasing-in enhancements to the baseline funding levels of 2009-10 in the 2011-2013 biennium for pupil transportation, class size allocations for grades kindergarten through three, full-day kindergarten, and allocations for maintenance, supplies, and operating costs.

     (4) Finally, it is the legislature's intent to adjust the timelines for other working groups so that their expertise and advice can be received as soon as possible and to make technical adjustments to certain provisions of chapter 548, Laws of 2009." [2010 c 236 § 1.]

Effective date -- 2009 c 548 §§ 101-110 and 701-710: See note following RCW 28A.150.200.

Intent -- 2009 c 548: See note following RCW 28A.150.198.

Finding -- 2009 c 548: See note following RCW 28A.410.270.

Intent -- Finding -- 2009 c 548: See note following RCW 28A.305.130.

Findings -- Purpose -- Part headings not law -- 2006 c 263: See notes following RCW 28A.150.230.