SF 69 – Filling school board vacancies
SF 77 – ELL weighting and eligibility increase
SF 191 – TAG FTE at Department of Education
SF 204 – PPEL for transportation repair
SSB 1056 – GAP tuition technical clean up
SSB 1099 – Low income student supplement
SSB 1101 – Incentivizing expanded preschool access
COMMITTEE ACTION:
SF 69 requires that when a vacancy occurs on a school board, and if the board wants to fill that vacancy with an appointment, as opposed to holding a special election, they must inform the public of their intent. The board must publish notice of the intent of to fill a vacancy by appointment, and the electors of the school district have the right to file a petition requiring that the vacancy be filled by a special election.
The bill provides for the same procedure as a city council or county board vacancy; allows the board to make an appointment after the notice is published or after the vacancy occurs, whichever is later; and provides that the appointment is considered temporary if a valid petition to call a special election is filed with the secretary of the school board within 14 days after publication of the notice or within 14 days after the appointment is made. A valid petition must be signed by at least 100 eligible electors or eligible electors equaling at least 30 percent of the number of voters at the preceding regular school election, whichever is greater.
If a petition to hold a special election is successful, the special election must be held in accordance with requirements under current law for filling school district board vacancies.
The original bill maintained current law for the filling of a vacancy that occurs not later than 45 days before a regular school election, which is to say that an appointment may stand until the next regular school election. This 45-day timeframe is the same for city council and county supervisor vacancies and appointments. However, a committee amendment changed this to 180 days before a regular school election. The 180-day timeframe is only applicable to school board vacancies and appointments. [2/16: short Form]
SF 77 increases the weighting and eligibility for limited English proficient education. Current law provides supplementary weighting for the excess costs of instruction of limited English proficient students in the amount of 0.22 per student and program eligibility not to exceed five years.
The bill increases the amount of the supplementary weighting to 0.30 per student. The bill also includes a two-year phase in of an increase in eligible program years, going from five to seven eligible years. Starting next year, those students identified as limited English proficient may have up to six years of eligible program funding. For students first determined to be limited English proficient for a budget year beginning on after July 1, 2016, the additional weighting may be included for a period not exceeding seven years. The bill takes effect upon enactment and applies to FY16. [2/16: 10-5 (party-line with Zaun voting “yes”)]
SF 191 requires the Department of Education to employ one full-time qualified staff member or consultant for gifted and talented (TAG) programs. The department is currently required to employ “a consultant” for TAG programs, and has assigned a 0.2 portion of a FTE. [2/18: short form]
SF 204 expands the allowable use of a school district’s physical plant and equipment levies (PPEL) for the repair of transportation equipment. Current Code authorizes PPEL to be used for the purchase of transportation equipment but not for the repair of such purchases. A common complaint from school superintendents has been that they can buy a new bus for $80,000 but not fix an engine for $10,000. The repair would have to be paid for with general education funds, which are limited because of instructional obligations. The bill is applicable starting in FY17. [2/18: short form]
SSB 1056 is a technical change to the eligibility requirements for the GAP tuition assistance program, which provides funding to community colleges for need-based tuition assistance for students preparing for in-demand occupations. The bill changes one of the financial need criteria for the program to the applicant’s family income for the six months prior to the date of application. Currently, the period for the criterion is 12 months. An applicant approved for assistance under the federal supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) at the time of application for tuition assistance is deemed to have met the financial need requirements for tuition assistance. The bill also clarifies that GAP funding is the last source of funding, if applicants also qualify for federal workforce funds. [2/16: 10-5 (party-line with Sinclair voting “yes”)]
SSB 1099 provides additional funding to school districts for programs serving low-income pupils. Beginning in FY17, each district receives a low-income program supplement equal to the number of students in the school district who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals multiplied by four-hundredths of the regular program state cost per student for the budget year. This provides a 0.4 per student poverty weighting. The extra funding must be used by a school district to develop or maintain programs for low-income students, including before and after school programs, summer education programs, individual instructional assistance, tutoring and mentoring, programs to reduce or waive student fees required as part of the school district’s educational program, or other programs or assistance approved by the department. [2/16: 9-6 (party-line)]
SSB 1101 provides incentive to expand the statewide preschool program for four-year-old children. The bill requires school districts to implement a plan to get rid of any preschool waiting list for school budget years beginning on or after July 1, 2018. To be eligible for the preschool expansion incentive, a school district must develop and implement a preschool expansion plan, denoting how the school district will collaborate with participating families, early care providers and community partners to expand the district’s preschool enrollment.
The incentive program will operate for the three school budget years beginning in FY16, FY17 and FY18. For those three budget years, a school district is eligible to receive incentive state aid for the increase in the actual enrollment of eligible students. The amount of incentive state aid is equal to 20 percent of the regular program state cost per student multiplied by the school district’s incentive enrollment in the base year. The incentive state aid must be used to defray costs in connection with the school district’s preschool expansion plan. Such costs may include renovation and other facility costs connected with expansion, outreach, one-time expenses and other costs identified as eligible by the department.
The bill also addresses administration and other costs under the preschool program. Authorization is provided for a school district to transport the children participating in the preschool program to and from activities associated with the program along with other children. The bill authorizes community-based providers to prorate the costs of transporting children participating in the preschool program. The allowable administrative costs for school districts are increased from 5 to 10 percent. Also, the costs of outreach activities and facility rent are permitted as administrative costs. [2/16: 9-5 (Kraayenbrink excused)]