The bill amends existing laws regarding career and technical education (CTE) in Washington State, specifically allowing sixth-grade students in middle schools to enroll in exploratory CTE courses. However, these students will not be included in the enrollment counts used for calculating funding allocations under specific sections of the law. This change aims to provide younger students with exposure to career and technical education without impacting the funding structure for existing programs.

Additionally, the bill modifies RCW 28A.150.265 to clarify that school districts can only use excess funding from CTE allocations for specific educational purposes, such as staff salaries, materials, and work-based learning programs. A new provision is also added to ensure that middle school and high school CTE programs are treated as a single program for accounting purposes, which is intended to maintain program quality across different grade levels. This provision emphasizes that the accounting treatment should not lead to disparities in program quality.

Statutes affected:
Original Bill: 43.62.050
Substitute Bill: 43.62.050
Second Substitute: 28A.150.260
Bill as Passed Legislature: 28A.150.260
Session Law: 28A.150.260