CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2494
Chapter 262, Laws of 2024
68th Legislature
2024 Regular Session
PUBLIC SCHOOL OPERATING COSTS—ADDITIONAL STATE FUNDING
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 6, 2024
Passed by the House March 5, 2024 CERTIFICATE
Yeas 93 Nays 0
I, Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk of the
House of Representatives of the
LAURIE JINKINS State of Washington, do hereby
Speaker of the House of certify that the attached is
Representatives ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL
2494 as passed by the House of
Representatives and the Senate on
the dates hereon set forth.
Passed by the Senate March 1, 2024
Yeas 48 Nays 1
BERNARD DEAN
DENNY HECK Chief Clerk
President of the Senate
Approved March 26, 2024 9:27 AM FILED
March 27, 2024
Secretary of State
JAY INSLEE State of Washington
Governor of the State of Washington
 ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2494
AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
Passed Legislature - 2024 Regular Session
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By House Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives
Bergquist, Rude, Simmons, Senn, Pollet, Callan, Paul, Macri, Stonier,
and Gregerson)
READ FIRST TIME 02/05/24.
1 AN ACT Relating to state funding for operating costs in schools;
2 amending RCW 28A.150.260; creating new sections; and providing an
3 expiration date.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
5 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that schools are
6 facing increased operating costs to serve students and staff. Some of
7 these increases are beyond inflationary adjustments and reflect the
8 evolving needs and requirements of schools. Therefore, the
9 legislature intends to increase funding for materials, supplies, and
10 operating costs in schools to address evolving operational needs.
11 Sec. 2. RCW 28A.150.260 and 2023 c 379 s 6 are each amended to
12 read as follows:
13 The purpose of this section is to provide for the allocation of
14 state funding that the legislature deems necessary to support school
15 districts in offering the minimum instructional program of basic
16 education under RCW 28A.150.220. The allocation shall be determined
17 as follows:
18 (1) The governor shall and the superintendent of public
19 instruction may recommend to the legislature a formula for the
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 1 distribution of a basic education instructional allocation for each
2 common school district.
3 (2)(a) The distribution formula under this section shall be for
4 allocation purposes only. Except as may be required under subsections
5 (4)(b) and (c), (5)(b), (8), and (9) of this section, chapter
6 28A.155, 28A.165, 28A.180, or 28A.185 RCW, or federal laws and
7 regulations, nothing in this section requires school districts to use
8 basic education instructional funds to implement a particular
9 instructional approach or service. Nothing in this section requires
10 school districts to maintain a particular classroom teacher-to-
11 student ratio or other staff-to-student ratio or to use allocated
12 funds to pay for particular types or classifications of staff.
13 Nothing in this section entitles an individual teacher to a
14 particular teacher planning period.
15 (b) To promote transparency in state funding allocations, the
16 superintendent of public instruction must report state per-pupil
17 allocations for each school district for the general apportionment,
18 special education, learning assistance, transitional bilingual,
19 highly capable, and career and technical education programs. The
20 superintendent must report this information in a user-friendly format
21 on the main page of the office's website. School districts must
22 include a link to the superintendent's per-pupil allocations report
23 on the main page of the school district's website. In addition, the
24 budget documents published by the legislature for the enacted omnibus
25 operating appropriations act must report statewide average per-pupil
26 allocations for general apportionment and the categorical programs
27 listed in this subsection.
28 (3)(a) To the extent the technical details of the formula have
29 been adopted by the legislature and except when specifically provided
30 as a school district allocation, the distribution formula for the
31 basic education instructional allocation shall be based on minimum
32 staffing and nonstaff costs the legislature deems necessary to
33 support instruction and operations in prototypical schools serving
34 high, middle, and elementary school students as provided in this
35 section. The use of prototypical schools for the distribution formula
36 does not constitute legislative intent that schools should be
37 operated or structured in a similar fashion as the prototypes.
38 Prototypical schools illustrate the level of resources needed to
39 operate a school of a particular size with particular types and grade
40 levels of students using commonly understood terms and inputs, such
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 1 as class size, hours of instruction, and various categories of school
2 staff. It is the intent that the funding allocations to school
3 districts be adjusted from the school prototypes based on the actual
4 number of annual average full-time equivalent students in each grade
5 level at each school in the district and not based on the grade-level
6 configuration of the school to the extent that data is available. The
7 allocations shall be further adjusted from the school prototypes with
8 minimum allocations for small schools and to reflect other factors
9 identified in the omnibus appropriations act.
10 (b) For the purposes of this section, prototypical schools are
11 defined as follows:
12 (i) A prototypical high school has 600 average annual full-time
13 equivalent students in grades nine through 12;
14 (ii) A prototypical middle school has 432 average annual full-
15 time equivalent students in grades seven and eight; and
16 (iii) A prototypical elementary school has 400 average annual
17 full-time equivalent students in grades kindergarten through six.
18 (4)(a)(i) The minimum allocation for each level of prototypical
19 school shall be based on the number of full-time equivalent classroom
20 teachers needed to provide instruction over the minimum required
21 annual instructional hours under RCW 28A.150.220 and provide at least
22 one teacher planning period per school day, and based on the
23 following general education average class size of full-time
24 equivalent students per teacher:
25 General education
26 average class size
27 Grades K-3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.00
28 Grade 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.00
29 Grades 5-6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.00
30 Grades 7-8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.53
31 Grades 9-12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.74
32 (ii) The minimum class size allocation for each prototypical high
33 school shall also provide for enhanced funding for class size
34 reduction for two laboratory science classes within grades nine
35 through 12 per full-time equivalent high school student multiplied by
36 a laboratory science course factor of 0.0833, based on the number of
37 full-time equivalent classroom teachers needed to provide instruction
38 over the minimum required annual instructional hours in RCW
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1 28A.150.220, and providing at least one teacher planning period per
2 school day:
3 Laboratory science
4 average class size
5 Grades 9-12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.98
6 (b)(i) Beginning September 1, 2019, funding for average K-3 class
7 sizes in this subsection (4) may be provided only to the extent of,
8 and proportionate to, the school district's demonstrated actual class
9 size in grades K-3, up to the funded class sizes.
10 (ii) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall
11 develop rules to implement this subsection (4)(b).
12 (c)(i) The minimum allocation for each prototypical middle and
13 high school shall also provide for full-time equivalent classroom
14 teachers based on the following number of full-time equivalent
15 students per teacher in career and technical education:
16 Career and technical
17 education average
18 class size
19 Approved career and technical education offered at
20 the middle school and high school level. . . . . . . . . . . . 23.00
21 Skill center programs meeting the standards established
22 by the office of the superintendent of public
23 instruction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.00
24 (ii) Funding allocated under this subsection (4)(c) is subject to
25 RCW 28A.150.265.
26 (d) In addition, the omnibus appropriations act shall at a
27 minimum specify:
28 (i) A high-poverty average class size in schools where more than
29 50 percent of the students are eligible for free and reduced-price
30 meals; and
31 (ii) A specialty average class size for advanced placement and
32 international baccalaureate courses.
33 (5)(a) The minimum allocation for each level of prototypical
34 school shall include allocations for the following types of staff in
35 addition to classroom teachers:
36 Elementary Middle High
37 School School School
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 1 Principals, assistant principals, and other certificated building-level
2 administrators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.253 1.353 1.880
3 Teacher-librarians, a function that includes information literacy, technology,
4 and media to support school library media programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.663 0.519 0.523
5 Teaching assistance, including any aspect of educational instructional services
6 provided by classified employees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.936 0.700 0.652
7 Office support and other noninstructional aides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.012 2.325 3.269
8 Custodians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.657 1.942 2.965
9 Nurses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.585 0.888 0.824
10 Social workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.311 0.088 0.127
11 Psychologists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.104 0.024 0.049
12 Counselors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.993 1.716 3.039
13 Classified staff providing student and staff safety. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.079 0.092 0.141
14 Parent involvement coordinators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0825 0.00 0.00
15 (b)(i) The superintendent may only allocate funding, up to the
16 combined minimum allocations, for nurses, social workers,
17 psychologists, counselors, classified staff providing student and
18 staff safety, and parent involvement coordinators under (a) of this
19 subsection to the extent of and proportionate to a school district's
20 demonstrated actual ratios of: Full-time equivalent physical, social,
21 and emotional support staff to full-time equivalent students.
22 (ii) The superintendent must adopt rules to implement this
23 subsection (5)(b) and the rules must require school districts to
24 prioritize funding allocated as required by (b)(i) of this subsection
25 for physical, social, and emotional support staff who hold a valid
26 educational staff associate certificate appropriate for the staff's
27 role.
28 (iii) For the purposes of this subsection (5)(b), "physical,
29 social, and emotional support staff" include nurses, social workers,
30 psychologists, counselors, classified staff providing student and
31 staff safety, parent involvement coordinators, and other school
32 district employees and contractors who provide physical, social, and
33 emotional support to students as defined by the superintendent.
34 (6)(a) The minimum staffing allocation for each school district
35 to provide district-wide support services shall be allocated per one
36 thousand annual average full-time equivalent students in grades K-12
37 as follows:
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1 Staff per 1,000
2 K-12 students
3 Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.628
4 Facilities, maintenance, and grounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.813
5 Warehouse, laborers, and mechanics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.332
6 (b) The minimum allocation of staff units for each school
7 district to support certificated and classified staffing of central
8 administration shall be 5.30 percent of the staff units generated
9 under subsections (4)(a) and (5) of this section and (a) of this
10 subsection.
11 (7) The distribution formula shall include staffing allocations
12 to school districts for career and technical education and skill
13 center administrative and other school-level certificated staff, as
14 specified in the omnibus appropriations act.
15 (8)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, the minimum
16 allocation for each school district shall include allocations per
17 annual average full-time equivalent student for the following
18 materials, supplies, and operating costs as provided in the
19 ((2017-18)) 2023-24 school year, after which the allocations shall be
20 adjusted annually for inflation as specified in the omnibus
21 appropriations act:
22 Per annual average
23 full-time equivalent student
24 in grades K-12
25 Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (($130.76)) $178.98
26 Utilities and insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . (($355.30)) $430.26
27 Curriculum and textbooks. . . . . . . . . . . . (($140.39)) $164.48
28 Other supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (($278.05)) $326.54
29 Library materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (($20.00)) $22.65
30 Instructional professional development for certificated and
31 classified staff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (($21.71)) $28.94
32 Facilities maintenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . (($176.01)) $206.22
33 Security and central office administration. . . (($121.94)) $146.37
34 (b) In addition to the amounts provided in (a) of this
35 subsection, beginning in the ((2014-15)) 2023-24 school year, the
36 omnibus appropriations act shall provide the following minimum
37 allocation for each annual average full-time equivalent student in
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 1 grades nine through 12 for the following materials, supplies, and
2 operating costs, to be adjusted annually for inflation:
3 Per annual average
4 full-time equivalent student
5 in grades 9-12
6 Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (($36.35)) $44.05
7 Curriculum and textbooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . (($39.02)) $48.06
8 Other supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (($77.28)) $94.07
9 Library materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (($5.56)) $6.05
10 Instructional professional development for certificated and
11 classified staff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (($6.04)) $8.01
12 (c) The increased allocation amount of $21 per annual average
13 full-time equivalent student for materials, supplies,