This bill amends existing laws related to career and technical education (CTE) in Washington State, specifically by including sixth-grade students in CTE programs. It reenacts and amends RCW 28A.150.260, introducing provisions for funding exploratory CTE courses for sixth graders, which must be part of a structured program that ensures a coherent progression of CTE opportunities from middle school to high school. School districts will only receive funding for these courses if they are developed within this framework. The bill also emphasizes transparency in funding by requiring the superintendent of public instruction to report per-pupil allocations for various educational programs, including CTE, in a user-friendly format, and mandates that school districts link to this report on their websites.

Additionally, the bill outlines funding allocations for supplemental instruction for students who have exited transitional bilingual programs and support for highly capable students, with allocations based on headcount and performance on English proficiency assessments. It establishes minimum allocations for prototypical schools to ensure adequate resources for extra instruction and includes provisions for enhancing allocations for students with disabilities. The bill introduces new legal language regarding the accounting and calculation of minimum expenditures for CTE programs, treating them as a single entity for financial purposes, and specifies allowable uses of excess funding. It also ensures that any changes to the distribution formula for basic education funds will require legislative approval, maintaining continuity in funding.

Statutes affected:
Original Bill: 43.62.050