S-3773.1
SENATE BILL 5964
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By Senators Nobles, Frame, Dhingra, Hasegawa, Hunt, Keiser, Kuderer,
Liias, Lovelett, Lovick, Nguyen, Pedersen, Randall, Saldaña,
Stanford, Trudeau, Valdez, and C. Wilson
Prefiled 01/04/24. Read first time 01/08/24. Referred to Committee
on Early Learning & K-12 Education.
1 AN ACT Relating to increasing student access to free meals served
2 at public schools; amending RCW 28A.150.260, 28A.235.135,
3 28A.235.160, 28A.235.250, 28A.235.270, 28A.235.285, and 28A.405.415;
4 creating new sections; repealing RCW 28A.235.260; and providing an
5 effective date.
6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
7 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that providing all
8 public school students with access to meals served without charge
9 each school day will support academic success and promote student
10 well-being. The legislature, in support of students, families, and
11 productive learning environments, and in recognition of financial
12 challenges that can create barriers to academic achievement, declares
13 that no student should ever experience hunger or food insecurity
14 within a public school.
15 The legislature, therefore, intends to provide all requesting
16 students with access to school meals that are served without charge.
17 Sec. 2. RCW 28A.150.260 and 2023 c 379 s 6 are each amended to
18 read as follows:
19 The purpose of this section is to provide for the allocation of
20 state funding that the legislature deems necessary to support school
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 1 districts in offering the minimum instructional program of basic
2 education under RCW 28A.150.220. The allocation shall be determined
3 as follows:
4 (1) The governor shall and the superintendent of public
5 instruction may recommend to the legislature a formula for the
6 distribution of a basic education instructional allocation for each
7 common school district.
8 (2)(a) The distribution formula under this section shall be for
9 allocation purposes only. Except as may be required under subsections
10 (4)(b) and (c), (5)(b), and (9) of this section, chapter 28A.155,
11 28A.165, 28A.180, or 28A.185 RCW, or federal laws and regulations,
12 nothing in this section requires school districts to use basic
13 education instructional funds to implement a particular instructional
14 approach or service. Nothing in this section requires school
15 districts to maintain a particular classroom teacher-to-student ratio
16 or other staff-to-student ratio or to use allocated funds to pay for
17 particular types or classifications of staff. Nothing in this section
18 entitles an individual teacher to a particular teacher planning
19 period.
20 (b) To promote transparency in state funding allocations, the
21 superintendent of public instruction must report state per-pupil
22 allocations for each school district for the general apportionment,
23 special education, learning assistance, transitional bilingual,
24 highly capable, and career and technical education programs. The
25 superintendent must report this information in a user-friendly format
26 on the main page of the office's website. School districts must
27 include a link to the superintendent's per-pupil allocations report
28 on the main page of the school district's website. In addition, the
29 budget documents published by the legislature for the enacted omnibus
30 operating appropriations act must report statewide average per-pupil
31 allocations for general apportionment and the categorical programs
32 listed in this subsection.
33 (3)(a) To the extent the technical details of the formula have
34 been adopted by the legislature and except when specifically provided
35 as a school district allocation, the distribution formula for the
36 basic education instructional allocation shall be based on minimum
37 staffing and nonstaff costs the legislature deems necessary to
38 support instruction and operations in prototypical schools serving
39 high, middle, and elementary school students as provided in this
40 section. The use of prototypical schools for the distribution formula
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 1 does not constitute legislative intent that schools should be
2 operated or structured in a similar fashion as the prototypes.
3 Prototypical schools illustrate the level of resources needed to
4 operate a school of a particular size with particular types and grade
5 levels of students using commonly understood terms and inputs, such
6 as class size, hours of instruction, and various categories of school
7 staff. It is the intent that the funding allocations to school
8 districts be adjusted from the school prototypes based on the actual
9 number of annual average full-time equivalent students in each grade
10 level at each school in the district and not based on the grade-level
11 configuration of the school to the extent that data is available. The
12 allocations shall be further adjusted from the school prototypes with
13 minimum allocations for small schools and to reflect other factors
14 identified in the omnibus appropriations act.
15 (b) For the purposes of this section, prototypical schools are
16 defined as follows:
17 (i) A prototypical high school has 600 average annual full-time
18 equivalent students in grades nine through 12;
19 (ii) A prototypical middle school has 432 average annual full-
20 time equivalent students in grades seven and eight; and
21 (iii) A prototypical elementary school has 400 average annual
22 full-time equivalent students in grades kindergarten through six.
23 (4)(a)(i) The minimum allocation for each level of prototypical
24 school shall be based on the number of full-time equivalent classroom
25 teachers needed to provide instruction over the minimum required
26 annual instructional hours under RCW 28A.150.220 and provide at least
27 one teacher planning period per school day, and based on the
28 following general education average class size of full-time
29 equivalent students per teacher:
30 General education
31 average class size
32 Grades K-3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.00
33 Grade 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.00
34 Grades 5-6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.00
35 Grades 7-8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.53
36 Grades 9-12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.74
37 (ii) The minimum class size allocation for each prototypical high
38 school shall also provide for enhanced funding for class size
39 reduction for two laboratory science classes within grades nine
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1 through 12 per full-time equivalent high school student multiplied by
2 a laboratory science course factor of 0.0833, based on the number of
3 full-time equivalent classroom teachers needed to provide instruction
4 over the minimum required annual instructional hours in RCW
5 28A.150.220, and providing at least one teacher planning period per
6 school day:
7 Laboratory science
8 average class size
9 Grades 9-12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.98
10 (b)(i) Beginning September 1, 2019, funding for average K-3 class
11 sizes in this subsection (4) may be provided only to the extent of,
12 and proportionate to, the school district's demonstrated actual class
13 size in grades K-3, up to the funded class sizes.
14 (ii) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall
15 develop rules to implement this subsection (4)(b).
16 (c)(i) The minimum allocation for each prototypical middle and
17 high school shall also provide for full-time equivalent classroom
18 teachers based on the following number of full-time equivalent
19 students per teacher in career and technical education:
20 Career and technical
21 education average
22 class size
23 Approved career and technical education offered at
24 the middle school and high school level. . . . . . . . . . . . 23.00
25 Skill center programs meeting the standards established
26 by the office of the superintendent of public
27 instruction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.00
28 (ii) Funding allocated under this subsection (4)(c) is subject to
29 RCW 28A.150.265.
30 (d) In addition, the omnibus appropriations act shall at a
31 minimum specify:
32 (i) A high-poverty average class size in schools where more than
33 50 percent of the students are eligible for free and reduced-price
34 meals; and
35 (ii) A specialty average class size for advanced placement and
36 international baccalaureate courses.
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 1 (5)(a) The minimum allocation for each level of prototypical
2 school shall include allocations for the following types of staff in
3 addition to classroom teachers:
4 Elementary Middle High
5 School School School
6 Principals, assistant principals, and other certificated building-level
7 administrators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.253 1.353 1.880
8 Teacher-librarians, a function that includes information literacy, technology,
9 and media to support school library media programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.663 0.519 0.523
10 Teaching assistance, including any aspect of educational instructional services
11 provided by classified employees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.936 0.700 0.652
12 Office support and other noninstructional aides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.012 2.325 3.269
13 Custodians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.657 1.942 2.965
14 Nurses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.585 0.888 0.824
15 Social workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.311 0.088 0.127
16 Psychologists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.104 0.024 0.049
17 Counselors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.993 1.716 3.039
18 Classified staff providing student and staff safety. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.079 0.092 0.141
19 Parent involvement coordinators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0825 0.00 0.00
20 (b)(i) The superintendent may only allocate funding, up to the
21 combined minimum allocations, for nurses, social workers,
22 psychologists, counselors, classified staff providing student and
23 staff safety, and parent involvement coordinators under (a) of this
24 subsection to the extent of and proportionate to a school district's
25 demonstrated actual ratios of: Full-time equivalent physical, social,
26 and emotional support staff to full-time equivalent students.
27 (ii) The superintendent must adopt rules to implement this
28 subsection (5)(b) and the rules must require school districts to
29 prioritize funding allocated as required by (b)(i) of this subsection
30 for physical, social, and emotional support staff who hold a valid
31 educational staff associate certificate appropriate for the staff's
32 role.
33 (iii) For the purposes of this subsection (5)(b), "physical,
34 social, and emotional support staff" include nurses, social workers,
35 psychologists, counselors, classified staff providing student and
36 staff safety, parent involvement coordinators, and other school
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1 district employees and contractors who provide physical, social, and
2 emotional support to students as defined by the superintendent.
3 (6)(a) The minimum staffing allocation for each school district
4 to provide district-wide support services shall be allocated per one
5 thousand annual average full-time equivalent students in grades K-12
6 as follows:
7 Staff per 1,000
8 K-12 students
9 Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.628
10 Facilities, maintenance, and grounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.813
11 Warehouse, laborers, and mechanics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.332
12 (b) The minimum allocation of staff units for each school
13 district to support certificated and classified staffing of central
14 administration shall be 5.30 percent of the staff units generated
15 under subsections (4)(a) and (5) of this section and (a) of this
16 subsection.
17 (7) The distribution formula shall include staffing allocations
18 to school districts for career and technical education and skill
19 center administrative and other school-level certificated staff, as
20 specified in the omnibus appropriations act.
21 (8)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, the minimum
22 allocation for each school district shall include allocations per
23 annual average full-time equivalent student for the following
24 materials, supplies, and operating costs as provided in the 2017-18
25 school year, after which the allocations shall be adjusted annually
26 for inflation as specified in the omnibus appropriations act:
27 Per annual average
28 full-time equivalent student
29 in grades K-12
30 Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $130.76
31 Utilities and insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $355.30
32 Curriculum and textbooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $140.39
33 Other supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $278.05
34 Library materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20.00
35 Instructional professional development for certificated and
36 classified staff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $21.71
37 Facilities maintenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $176.01
38 Security and central office administration. . . . . . . . . $121.94
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1 (b) In addition to the amounts provided in (a) of this
2 subsection, beginning in the 2014-15 school year, the omnibus
3 appropriations act shall provide the following minimum allocation for
4 each annual average full-time equivalent student in grades nine
5 through 12 for the following materials, supplies, and operating
6 costs, to be adjusted annually for inflation:
7 Per annual average
8 full-time equivalent student
9 in grades 9-12
10 Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $36.35
11 Curriculum and textbooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $39.02
12 Other supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $77.28
13 Library materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5.56
14 Instructional professional development for certificated and
15 classified staff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6.04
16 (9) In addition to the amounts provided in subsection (8) of this
17 section and subject to RCW 28A.150.265, the omnibus appropriations
18 act shall provide an amount based on full-time equivalent student
19 enrollment in each of the following:
20 (a) Exploratory career and technical education courses for
21 students in grades seven through 12;
22 (b) Preparatory career and technical education courses for
23 students in grades nine through 12 offered in a high school; and
24 (c) Preparatory career and technical education courses for
25 students in grades 11 and 12 offered through a skill center.
26 (10) In addition to the allocations otherwise provided under this
27 section, amounts shall be provided to support the following programs
28 and services:
29 (a)(i) To provide supplemental instruction and services for
30 students who are not meeting academic standards through the learning
31 assistance program under RCW 28A.165.005 through 28A.165.065,
32 allocations shall be based on the greater of either: The district
33 percentage of students in kindergarten through grade 12 who were
34 elig