CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
SECOND SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5882
Chapter 191, Laws of 2024
68th Legislature
2024 Regular Session
PROTOTYPICAL SCHOOL STAFFING—MODIFICATION
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 6, 2024
Passed by the Senate March 4, 2024 CERTIFICATE
Yeas 49 Nays 0
I, Sarah Bannister, Secretary of
the Senate of the State of
DENNY HECK Washington, do hereby certify that
President of the Senate the attached is SECOND SUBSTITUTE
SENATE BILL 5882 as passed by the
Senate and the House of
Representatives on the dates hereon
Passed by the House February 29, 2024 set forth.
Yeas 90 Nays 2
SARAH BANNISTER
LAURIE JINKINS
Secretary
Speaker of the House of
Representatives
Approved March 19, 2024 10:01 AM FILED
March 19, 2024
Secretary of State
JAY INSLEE State of Washington
Governor of the State of Washington
 SECOND SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5882
AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
Passed Legislature - 2024 Regular Session
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By Senate Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Stanford,
Wellman, Hunt, Pedersen, C. Wilson, Conway, Hasegawa, Kuderer,
Nobles, Salomon, Shewmake, Valdez, and Van De Wege)
READ FIRST TIME 02/05/24.
1 AN ACT Relating to increasing prototypical school staffing to
2 better meet student needs; amending RCW 28A.150.260 and 28A.400.007;
3 and creating new sections.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
5 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. Youth mental and behavioral health has
6 been a rising crisis for a decade. As youth grapple with new
7 pressures from social media and impacts of a pandemic, their needs
8 can manifest as disruptive behaviors in the school environment.
9 Teachers, counselors, administrators, and education support
10 professionals have identified the need to have more caring and
11 committed education staff in schools to meet the needs of students.
12 Education support professionals are vital team members in a
13 school and often directly support students. Educational staff
14 professionals drive students safely to school, provide one-on-one
15 individualized instruction for special education students, run small
16 group instruction for English language learners and for students
17 struggling with certain academic concepts, supervise and monitor
18 students before and after school, at lunch, and during recess,
19 provide physical and behavioral health services in schools, serve
20 lunches, keep buildings clean and maintained, and many other support
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1 services that are essential to school operations and student
2 learning.
3 Therefore, to improve the individualized support for student
4 learning and behavioral needs, the legislature intends to increase
5 staffing allocations for paraprofessionals in instructional and
6 noninstructional roles. The intent of this additional funding is to
7 assist school districts in hiring additional support staff or
8 providing the staff they already employ with better wages.
9 Sec. 2. RCW 28A.150.260 and 2023 c 379 s 6 are each amended to
10 read as follows:
11 The purpose of this section is to provide for the allocation of
12 state funding that the legislature deems necessary to support school
13 districts in offering the minimum instructional program of basic
14 education under RCW 28A.150.220. The allocation shall be determined
15 as follows:
16 (1) The governor shall and the superintendent of public
17 instruction may recommend to the legislature a formula for the
18 distribution of a basic education instructional allocation for each
19 common school district.
20 (2)(a) The distribution formula under this section shall be for
21 allocation purposes only. Except as may be required under subsections
22 (4)(b) and (c), (5)(b) and (c), and (9) of this section, chapter
23 28A.155, 28A.165, 28A.180, or 28A.185 RCW, or federal laws and
24 regulations, nothing in this section requires school districts to use
25 basic education instructional funds to implement a particular
26 instructional approach or service. Nothing in this section requires
27 school districts to maintain a particular classroom teacher-to-
28 student ratio or other staff-to-student ratio or to use allocated
29 funds to pay for particular types or classifications of staff.
30 Nothing in this section entitles an individual teacher to a
31 particular teacher planning period.
32 (b) To promote transparency in state funding allocations, the
33 superintendent of public instruction must report state per-pupil
34 allocations for each school district for the general apportionment,
35 special education, learning assistance, transitional bilingual,
36 highly capable, and career and technical education programs. The
37 superintendent must report this information in a user-friendly format
38 on the main page of the office's website. School districts must
39 include a link to the superintendent's per-pupil allocations report
p. 2 2SSB 5882.SL
 1 on the main page of the school district's website. In addition, the
2 budget documents published by the legislature for the enacted omnibus
3 operating appropriations act must report statewide average per-pupil
4 allocations for general apportionment and the categorical programs
5 listed in this subsection.
6 (3)(a) To the extent the technical details of the formula have
7 been adopted by the legislature and except when specifically provided
8 as a school district allocation, the distribution formula for the
9 basic education instructional allocation shall be based on minimum
10 staffing and nonstaff costs the legislature deems necessary to
11 support instruction and operations in prototypical schools serving
12 high, middle, and elementary school students as provided in this
13 section. The use of prototypical schools for the distribution formula
14 does not constitute legislative intent that schools should be
15 operated or structured in a similar fashion as the prototypes.
16 Prototypical schools illustrate the level of resources needed to
17 operate a school of a particular size with particular types and grade
18 levels of students using commonly understood terms and inputs, such
19 as class size, hours of instruction, and various categories of school
20 staff. It is the intent that the funding allocations to school
21 districts be adjusted from the school prototypes based on the actual
22 number of annual average full-time equivalent students in each grade
23 level at each school in the district and not based on the grade-level
24 configuration of the school to the extent that data is available. The
25 allocations shall be further adjusted from the school prototypes with
26 minimum allocations for small schools and to reflect other factors
27 identified in the omnibus appropriations act.
28 (b) For the purposes of this section, prototypical schools are
29 defined as follows:
30 (i) A prototypical high school has 600 average annual full-time
31 equivalent students in grades nine through 12;
32 (ii) A prototypical middle school has 432 average annual full-
33 time equivalent students in grades seven and eight; and
34 (iii) A prototypical elementary school has 400 average annual
35 full-time equivalent students in grades kindergarten through six.
36 (4)(a)(i) The minimum allocation for each level of prototypical
37 school shall be based on the number of full-time equivalent classroom
38 teachers needed to provide instruction over the minimum required
39 annual instructional hours under RCW 28A.150.220 and provide at least
40 one teacher planning period per school day, and based on the
p. 3 2SSB 5882.SL
 1 following general education average class size of full-time
2 equivalent students per teacher:
3 General education
4 average class size
5 Grades K-3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.00
6 Grade 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.00
7 Grades 5-6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.00
8 Grades 7-8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.53
9 Grades 9-12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.74
10 (ii) The minimum class size allocation for each prototypical high
11 school shall also provide for enhanced funding for class size
12 reduction for two laboratory science classes within grades nine
13 through 12 per full-time equivalent high school student multiplied by
14 a laboratory science course factor of 0.0833, based on the number of
15 full-time equivalent classroom teachers needed to provide instruction
16 over the minimum required annual instructional hours in RCW
17 28A.150.220, and providing at least one teacher planning period per
18 school day:
19 Laboratory science
20 average class size
21 Grades 9-12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.98
22 (b)(i) Beginning September 1, 2019, funding for average K-3 class
23 sizes in this subsection (4) may be provided only to the extent of,
24 and proportionate to, the school district's demonstrated actual class
25 size in grades K-3, up to the funded class sizes.
26 (ii) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall
27 develop rules to implement this subsection (4)(b).
28 (c)(i) The minimum allocation for each prototypical middle and
29 high school shall also provide for full-time equivalent classroom
30 teachers based on the following number of full-time equivalent
31 students per teacher in career and technical education:
32 Career and technical
33 education average
34 class size
35 Approved career and technical education offered at
36 the middle school and high school level. . . . . . . . . . . . 23.00
37 Skill center programs meeting the standards established
38 by the office of the superintendent of public
p. 4 2SSB 5882.SL
1 instruction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.00
2 (ii) Funding allocated under this subsection (4)(c) is subject to
3 RCW 28A.150.265.
4 (d) In addition, the omnibus appropriations act shall at a
5 minimum specify:
6 (i) A high-poverty average class size in schools where more than
7 50 percent of the students are eligible for free and reduced-price
8 meals; and
9 (ii) A specialty average class size for advanced placement and
10 international baccalaureate courses.
11 (5)(a) The minimum allocation for each level of prototypical
12 school shall include allocations for the following types of staff in
13 addition to classroom teachers:
14 Elementary Middle High
15 School School School
16 Principals, assistant principals, and other certificated building-level
17 administrators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.253 1.353 1.880
18 Teacher-librarians, a function that includes information literacy, technology,
19 and media to support school library media programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.663 0.519 0.523
20 ((Teaching assistance)) Paraeducators, including any aspect of educational
21 instructional services provided by classified employees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ((0.936)) ((0.700)) ((0.652))
22 1.012 0.776 0.728
23 Office support and other noninstructional aides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ((2.012)) ((2.325)) ((3.269))
24 2.088 2.401 3.345
25 Custodians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.657 1.942 2.965
26 Nurses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.585 0.888 0.824
27 Social workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.311 0.088 0.127
28 Psychologists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.104 0.024 0.049
29 Counselors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.993 1.716 3.039
30 Classified staff providing student and staff safety. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.079 0.092 0.141
31 Parent involvement coordinators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0825 0.00 0.00
32 (b)(i) The superintendent may only allocate funding, up to the
33 combined minimum allocations, for nurses, social workers,
34 psychologists, counselors, classified staff providing student and
35 staff safety, and parent involvement coordinators under (a) of this
36 subsection to the extent of and proportionate to a school district's
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 1 demonstrated actual ratios of: Full-time equivalent physical, social,
2 and emotional support staff to full-time equivalent students.
3 (ii) The superintendent must adopt rules to implement this
4 subsection (5)(b) and the rules must require school districts to
5 prioritize funding allocated as required by (b)(i) of this subsection
6 for physical, social, and emotional support staff who hold a valid
7 educational staff associate certificate appropriate for the staff's
8 role.
9 (iii) For the purposes of this subsection (5)(b), "physical,
10 social, and emotional support staff" include nurses, social workers,
11 psychologists, counselors, classified staff providing student and
12 staff safety, parent involvement coordinators, and other school
13 district employees and contractors who provide physical, social, and
14 emotional support to students as defined by the superintendent.
15 (c) The superintendent shall develop rules that require school
16 districts to use the additional funding provided under (a) of this
17 subsection to support increased staffing, prevent layoffs, or
18 increase salaries for the following staff types in the 2024-25 school
19 year: Paraeducators, office support, and noninstructional aides. The
20 superintendent shall collect data from school districts on how the
21 increased allocations are used.
22 (6)(a) The minimum staffing allocation for each school district
23 to provide district-wide support services shall be allocated per one
24 thousand annual average full-time equivalent students in grades K-12
25 as follows:
26 Staff per 1,000
27 K-12 students
28 Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.628
29 Facilities, maintenance, and grounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.813
30 Warehouse, laborers, and mechanics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.332
31 (b) The minimum allocation of staff units for each school
32 district to support certificated and classified staffing of central
33 administration shall be 5.30 percent of the staff units generated
34 under subsections (4)(a) and (5) of this section and (a) of this
35 subsection.
36 (7) The distribution formula shall include staffing allocations
37 to school districts for career and technical education and skill
38 center administrative and other school-level certificated staff, as
39 specified in the omnibus appropriations act.
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1 (8)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, the minimum
2 allocation for each school district shall include allocations per
3 annual average full-time equivalent student for the following
4 materials, supplies, and operating costs as provid