Career & tech. ed./6th grade

AN ACT Relating to career and technical education in sixth grade; 1
amending RCW 28A.150.265; and reenacting and amending RCW 2
28A.150.260. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 28A.150.260 and 2024 c 262 s 2 and 2024 c 191 s 2 5
are each reenacted and amended to read as follows: 6
The purpose of this section is to provide for the allocation of 7
state funding that the legislature deems necessary to support school 8
districts in offering the minimum instructional program of basic 9
education under RCW 28A.150.220. The allocation shall be determined 10
as follows: 11
(1) The governor shall and the superintendent of public 12
instruction may recommend to the legislature a formula for the 13
distribution of a basic education instructional allocation for each 14
common school district. 15
(2)(a) The distribution formula under this section shall be for 16
allocation purposes only. Except as may be required under subsections 17
(4)(b) and (c), (5)(b) and (c), (8), and (9) of this section, chapter 18
28A.155, 28A.165, 28A.180, or 28A.185 RCW, or federal laws and 19
regulations, nothing in this section requires school districts to use 20
basic education instructional funds to implement a particular 21
Z-0306.1
HOUSE BILL 1280
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Shavers, Leavitt, Salahuddin, Bergquist, Reed,
Paul, Pollet, Simmons, and Hill; by request of Superintendent of
Public Instruction
Read first time 01/14/25. Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
p. 1 HB 1280
instructional approach or service. Nothing in this section requires 1
school districts to maintain a particular classroom teacher-to-2
student ratio or other staff-to-student ratio or to use allocated 3
funds to pay for particular types or classifications of staff. 4
Nothing in this section entitles an individual teacher to a 5
particular teacher planning period. 6
(b) To promote transparency in state funding allocations, the 7
superintendent of public instruction must report state per-pupil 8
allocations for each school district for the general apportionment, 9
special education, learning assistance, transitional bilingual, 10
highly capable, and career and technical education programs. The 11
superintendent must report this information in a user-friendly format 12
on the main page of the office's website. School districts must 13
include a link to the superintendent's per-pupil allocations report 14
on the main page of the school district's website. In addition, the 15
budget documents published by the legislature for the enacted omnibus 16
operating appropriations act must report statewide average per-pupil 17
allocations for general apportionment and the categorical programs 18
listed in this subsection. 19
(3)(a) To the extent the technical details of the formula have 20
been adopted by the legislature and except when specifically provided 21
as a school district allocation, the distribution formula for the 22
basic education instructional allocation shall be based on minimum 23
staffing and nonstaff costs the legislature deems necessary to 24
support instruction and operations in prototypical schools serving 25
high, middle, and elementary school students as provided in this 26
section. The use of prototypical schools for the distribution formula 27
does not constitute legislative intent that schools should be 28
operated or structured in a similar fashion as the prototypes. 29
Prototypical schools illustrate the level of resources needed to 30
operate a school of a particular size with particular types and grade 31
levels of students using commonly understood terms and inputs, such 32
as class size, hours of instruction, and various categories of school 33
staff. It is the intent that the funding allocations to school 34
districts be adjusted from the school prototypes based on the actual 35
number of annual average full-time equivalent students in each grade 36
level at each school in the district and not based on the grade-level 37
configuration of the school to the extent that data is available. The 38
allocations shall be further adjusted from the school prototypes with 39
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minimum allocations for small schools and to reflect other factors 1
identified in the omnibus appropriations act. 2
(b) For the purposes of this section, prototypical schools are 3
defined as follows: 4
(i) A prototypical high school has 600 average annual full-time 5
equivalent students in grades nine through 12; 6
(ii) A prototypical middle school has 432 average annual full-7
time equivalent students in grades seven and eight; and8
(iii) A prototypical elementary school has 400 average annual 9
full-time equivalent students in grades kindergarten through six.10
(4)(a)(i) The minimum allocation for each level of prototypical 11
school shall be based on the number of full-time equivalent classroom 12
teachers needed to provide instruction over the minimum required 13
annual instructional hours under RCW 28A.150.220 and provide at least 14
one teacher planning period per school day, and based on the 15
following general education average class size of full-time 16
equivalent students per teacher: 17
General education18
average class size19
Grades K-3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.0020
Grade 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.0021
Grades 5-6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.0022
Grades 7-8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.5323
Grades 9-12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.7424
(ii) The minimum class size allocation for each prototypical high 25
school shall also provide for enhanced funding for class size 26
reduction for two laboratory science classes within grades nine 27
through 12 per full-time equivalent high school student multiplied by 28
a laboratory science course factor of 0.0833, based on the number of 29
full-time equivalent classroom teachers needed to provide instruction 30
over the minimum required annual instructional hours in RCW 31
28A.150.220, and providing at least one teacher planning period per 32
school day: 33
Laboratory science34
average class size35
Grades 9-12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.9836
(b)(i) Beginning September 1, 2019, funding for average K-3 class 37
sizes in this subsection (4) may be provided only to the extent of, 38
p. 3 HB 1280
and proportionate to, the school district's demonstrated actual class 1
size in grades K-3, up to the funded class sizes. 2
(ii) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall 3
develop rules to implement this subsection (4)(b). 4
(c)(i) The minimum allocation for each prototypical middle and 5
high school shall also provide for full-time equivalent classroom 6
teachers based on the following number of full-time equivalent 7
students per teacher in career and technical education:8
Career and technical9
education average10
class size11
Approved career and technical education offered at12
the middle school and high school level. . . . . . . . . . . . 23.0013
Skill center programs meeting the standards established14
by the office of the superintendent of public 15
instruction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.0016
(ii) Funding allocated under this subsection (4)(c) is subject to 17
RCW 28A.150.265. 18
(d) In addition, the omnibus appropriations act shall at a 19
minimum specify: 20
(i) A high-poverty average class size in schools where more than 21
50 percent of the students are eligible for free and reduced-price 22
meals; and 23
(ii) A specialty average class size for advanced placement and 24
international baccalaureate courses. 25
(5)(a) The minimum allocation for each level of prototypical 26
school shall include allocations for the following types of staff in 27
addition to classroom teachers: 28
29
30
Elementary
School
Middle
School
High
School
31
32
Principals, assistant principals, and other certificated building-level
administrators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.253

1.353

1.880
33
34
Teacher-librarians, a function that includes information literacy, technology,
and media to support school library media programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

0.663

0.519

0.523
35
36
Paraeducators, including any aspect of educational instructional services
provided by classified employees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.012

0.776

0.728
37 Office support and other noninstructional aides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.088 2.401 3.345
p. 4 HB 1280
1 Custodians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.657 1.942 2.965
2 Nurses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.585 0.888 0.824
3 Social workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.311 0.088 0.127
4 Psychologists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.104 0.024 0.049
5 Counselors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.993 1.716 3.039
6 Classified staff providing student and staff safety. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.079 0.092 0.141
7 Parent involvement coordinators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0825 0.00 0.00
(b)(i) The superintendent may only allocate funding, up to the 8
combined minimum allocations, for nurses, social workers, 9
psychologists, counselors, classified staff providing student and 10
staff safety, and parent involvement coordinators under (a) of this 11
subsection to the extent of and proportionate to a school district's 12
demonstrated actual ratios of: Full-time equivalent physical, social, 13
and emotional support staff to full-time equivalent students.14
(ii) The superintendent must adopt rules to implement this 15
subsection (5)(b) and the rules must require school districts to 16
prioritize funding allocated as required by (b)(i) of this subsection 17
for physical, social, and emotional support staff who hold a valid 18
educational staff associate certificate appropriate for the staff's 19
role. 20
(iii) For the purposes of this subsection (5)(b), "physical, 21
social, and emotional support staff" include nurses, social workers, 22
psychologists, counselors, classified staff providing student and 23
staff safety, parent involvement coordinators, and other school 24
district employees and contractors who provide physical, social, and 25
emotional support to students as defined by the superintendent.26
(c) The superintendent shall develop rules that require school 27
districts to use the additional funding provided under (a) of this 28
subsection to support increased staffing, prevent layoffs, or 29
increase salaries for the following staff types in the 2024-25 school 30
year: Paraeducators, office support, and noninstructional aides. The 31
superintendent shall collect data from school districts on how the 32
increased allocations are used. 33
(6)(a) The minimum staffing allocation for each school district 34
to provide district -wide support services shall be allocated per one 35
thousand annual average full -time equivalent students in grades K -12 36
as follows: 37
p. 5 HB 1280
Staff per 1,0001
K-12 students2
Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.6283
Facilities, maintenance, and grounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.8134
Warehouse, laborers, and mechanics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.3325
(b) The minimum allocation of staff units for each school 6
district to support certificated and classified staffing of central 7
administration shall be 5.30 percent of the staff units generated 8
under subsections (4)(a) and (5) of this section and (a) of this 9
subsection. 10
(7) The distribution formula shall include staffing allocations 11
to school districts for career and technical education and skill 12
center administrative and other school-level certificated staff, as 13
specified in the omnibus appropriations act. 14
(8)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, the minimum 15
allocation for each school district shall include allocations per 16
annual average full-time equivalent student for the following 17
materials, supplies, and operating costs as provided in the 2023-24 18
school year, after which the allocations shall be adjusted annually 19
for inflation as specified in the omnibus appropriations act:20
Per annual average21
full-time equivalent student22
in grades K-1223
Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $178.9824
Utilities and insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $430.2625
Curriculum and textbooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $164.4826
Other supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $326.5427
Library materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $22.6528
Instructional professional development for certificated and29
classified staff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $28.9430
Facilities maintenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $206.2231
Security and central office administration. . . . . . . . . $146.3732
(b) In addition to the amounts provided in (a) of this 33
subsection, beginning in the 2023-24 school year, the omnibus 34
appropriations act shall provide the following minimum allocation for 35
each annual average full-time equivalent student in grades nine 36
through 12 for the following materials, supplies, and operating 37
costs, to be adjusted annually for inflation: 38
p. 6 HB 1280
Per annual average1
full-time equivalent student2
in grades 9-123
Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $44.054
Curriculum and textbooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $48.065
Other supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $94.076
Library materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6.057
Instructional professional development for certificated and8
classified staff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $8.019
(c) The increased allocation amount of $21 per annual average 10
full-time equivalent student for materials, supplies, and operating 11
costs provided under (a) of this subsection is intended to address 12
growing costs in the enumerated categories and may not be expended 13
for any other purpose. 14
(9)(a) In addition to the amounts provided in subsection (8) of 15
this section and subject to RCW 28A.150.265, the omnibus 16
appropriations act shall provide an amount based on full-time 17
equivalent student enrollment in each of the following:18
(((a))) (i) Exploratory career and technical education courses 19
for students in grades ((seven)) six through 12 offered in a middle 20
or high school; 21
(((b))) (ii) Preparatory career and technical education courses 22
for students in grades nine through 12 offered in a high school; and23
(((c))) (iii) Preparatory career and technical education courses 24
for students in grades 11 and 12 offered through a skill center.25
(b) School districts may only receive funding under (a)(i) of 26
this subsection for middle school courses if those courses are 27
developed within a planned program of study that provides a 28
nonduplicative progression of aligned career and technical education 29
opportunities across both middle school and high school.30
(10) In addition to the allocations otherwise provided under this 31
section, amounts shall be provided to support the following programs 32
and services: 33
(a)(i) To provide supplemental instruction and services for 34
students who are not meeting academic standards through the learning 35
assistance program under RCW 28A.165.005 through 28A.165.065, 36
allocations shall be based on the greater of either: The district 37
percentage of students in kindergarten through grade 12 who were 38
eligible for free or reduced-price meals for the school year 39
p. 7 HB 1280
immediately preceding the district's participation, in whole or part, 1
in the United States department of agriculture's community 2
eligibility provision, or the district percentage of students in 3
grades K-12 who were eligible for free or reduced-price meals in the 4
prior school year. The minimum allocation for the program shall, 5
except as provided in (a)(iii) of this subsection, provide for each 6
level of prototypical school resources to provide, on a statewide 7
average, 2.3975 hours per week in extra instruction with a class size 8
of 15 learning assistance program students per teacher.9
(ii) In addition to funding allocated under (a)(i) of this 10
subsection, to provide supplemental instruction and services for 11
students who are not meeting academic standards in qualifying 12
schools. A qualifying school, except as provided in (a)(iv) of this 13
subsection, means a school in which the three-year rolling average of 14
the prior year total annual average enrollment that qualifies for 15
free or reduced-price meals equals or exceeds 50 percent or more of 16
its total annual average enrollment. A school continues to meet the 17
definition of a qualifying school if the school: Participates in the 18
United States department of agriculture's community eligibility 19
provision; and met the definition of a qualifying school in the year 20
immediately preceding their participation. The minimum allocation for 21
this additional high poverty-based allocation must provide for each 22
level of prototypical school resources to provide, on a statewide 23
average, 1.1 hours per week in extra instruction with a class size of 24
15 learning assistance program students per teacher, under RCW 25
28A.165.055, school districts must distribute the high poverty-based 26
allocation to the schools that generated the funding allocation.27
(iii) For the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years, allocations under 28
(a)(i) of this subsection for school districts providing meals at no 29
charge to students under RCW 28A.235.135 that are not participating, 30
in whole or in part, in the United States department of agriculture's 31
community eligibility provision shall be based on the school district 32
percentage of students in grades K-12 who were eligible for free or 33
reduced-price meals in school years 2019-20 through 2022-23 or the 34
prior school year, whichever is greatest. 35
(iv) For the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years, a school providing 36
meals at no charge to students under RCW 28A.235.135 that is not 37
participating in the department of agriculture's community 38
eligibility provision continues to meet the definition of a 39
qualifying school under (a)(ii) of this subsection if the school met 40
p. 8 HB 1280
the definition during one year of the 2019-20 through 2022-23 school 1
years, or in the prior school year. 2
(b)(i) To provide supplemental instruction and services for 3
students whose primary language is other than English, allocations 4
shall be based on the head count number of students in each school 5
who are eligible for and enrolled in the transitional bilingual 6
instruction program under RCW 28A.180.010 through 28A.180.080. The 7
minimum allocation for each level of prototypical school shall 8
provide resources to provide, on a statewide average, 4.7780 hours 9
per week in extra instruction for students in grades kindergarten 10
through six and 6.7780 hours per week in extra instruction for 11
students in grades seven through 12, with 15 transitional bilingual 12
instruction program students per teacher. Notwithstanding other 13
provisions of this subsection (10), the actual per-student allocation 14
may be scaled to provide a larger allocation for students needing 15
more intensive intervention and a commensurate reduced allocation for 16
students needing less intensive intervention, as detailed in the 17
omnibus appropriations act. 18
(ii) To provide supplemental instruction and services for 19
students who have exited the transitional bilingual program, 20
allocations shall be based on the head count number of students in 21
each school who have exited the transitional bilingual program within 22
the previous two years based on their performance on the English 23
proficiency assessment and are eligible for and enrolled in the 24
transitional bilingual instruction program under RCW 25
28A.180.040(1)(g). The minimum allocation for each prototypical 26
school shall provide resources to provide, on a statewide average, 27
3.0 hours per week in extra instruction with 15 exited students per 28
teacher. 29
(c) To provide additional allocations to support programs for 30
highly capable students under RCW 28A.185.010 through 28A.185.030, 31
allocations shall be based on 5.0 percent of each school district's 32
full-time equivalent basic education enrollment. The minimum 33
allocation for the programs shall provide resources to provide, on a 34
statewide average, 2.1590 hours per week in extra instruction with 35
fifteen highly capable program students per teacher.36
(11) The allocations under subsections (4)(a), (5), (6), and (8) 37
of this section shall be enhanced as provided under RCW 28A.150.390 38
on an excess cost basis to provide supplemental instructional 39
resources for students with disabilities. 40
p. 9 HB 1280
(12)(a) For the purposes of allocations for prototypical high 1
schools and middle schools under subsections (4) and (10) of this 2
section that are based on the percent of students in the school who 3
are eligible for free and reduced-price meals, the actual percent of 4
such students in a school shall be adjusted by a factor identified in 5
the omnibus appropriations act to reflect underreporting of free and 6
reduced-price meal eligibility among middle and high school students.7
(b) Allocations or enhancements provided under subsections (4), 8
(7), and (9) of this section for exploratory and preparatory career 9
and technical education courses shall be provided only for courses 10
approved by the office of the superintendent of public instruction 11
under chapter 28A.700 RCW. 12
(13)(a) This formula for distribution of basic education funds 13
shall be reviewed biennially by the superintendent and governor. The 14
recommended formula shall be subject to approval, amendment or 15
rejection by the legislature. 16
(b) In the event the legislature rejects the distribution formula 17
recommended by the governor, without adopting a new distribution 18
formula, the distribution formula for the previous school year shall 19
remain in effect. 20
(c) The enrollment of any district shall be the annual average 21
number of full-time equivalent students and part-time students as 22
provided in RCW 28A.150.350, enrolled on the first school day of each 23
month, including students who are in attendance pursuant to RCW 24
28A.335.160 and 28A.225.250 who do not reside within the servicing 25
school district. The definition of full-time equivalent student shall 26
be determined by rules of the superintendent of public instruction 27
and shall be included as part of the superintendent's biennial budget 28
request. The definition shall be based on the minimum instructional 29
hour offerings required under RCW 28A.150.220. Any revision of the 30
present definition shall not take effect until approved by the house 31
ways and means committee and the senate ways and means committee.32
(d) The office of financial management shall make a monthly 33
review of the superintendent's reported full-time equivalent students 34
in the common schools in conjunction with RCW 43.62.050.35
Sec. 2. RCW 28A.150.265 and 2017 3rd sp.s. c 13 s 409 are each 36
amended to read as follows: 37
(1) To the extent that career and technical education funding 38
allocations under RCW 28A.150.260 (4)(c) and (9) exceed general 39
p. 10 HB 1280
education funding allocations under RCW 28A.150.260, school districts 1
may use the difference only for the career and technical education 2
purposes, defined as follows: 3
(a) Staff salaries and benefits for career and technical 4
education program delivery; 5
(b) Materials, supplies, and operating costs; 6
(c) Smaller class sizes; 7
(d) Work-based learning programs such as internships and 8
preapprenticeship programs, including coordination tied to career and 9
technical education coursework; 10
(e) New high quality career and technical education and expanded 11
learning program development in high-demand fields;12
(f) Certificated work-based learning coordinators and career 13
guidance advisors; 14
(g) School expenses associated with career and technical 15
education community partnerships with a career discovery focus 16
including research or evidence-based mentoring programs and expanded 17
learning opportunities in school, before or after school, and during 18
the summer, and career-focused education programs with private and 19
public K-12 schools and colleges, community-based organizations and 20
nonprofit organizations, industry partners, tribal governments, and 21
workforce development entities; 22
(h) Student fees for national and state industry-recognized 23
certifications; and 24
(i) Course equivalency development to integrate core learning 25
standards into career and technical education courses.26
(2) A school district's maximum allowable indirect cost charges 27
for approved career and technical education programs funded by the 28
state may not exceed the lower of five percent or the cap established 29
in federal law for federal career and technical education funding 30
provided to school districts, as the federal law existed on September 31
1, 2017. 32
(3) For purposes of accounting for and calculating minimum 33
expenditures, and carryover or recovery amounts, the career and 34
technical education program funded through RCW 28A.150.260(4)(c) must 35
be treated as a single program.36
--- END ---
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