School operating costs

AN ACT Relating to school operating costs; and reenacting and 1
amending RCW 28A.150.260. 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:3
Sec. 1. RCW 28A.150.260 and 2024 c 262 s 2 and 2024 c 191 s 2 4
are each reenacted and amended to read as follows: 5
The purpose of this section is to provide for the allocation of 6
state funding that the legislature deems necessary to support school 7
districts in offering the minimum instructional program of basic 8
education under RCW 28A.150.220. The allocation shall be determined 9
as follows: 10
(1) The governor shall and the superintendent of public 11
instruction may recommend to the legislature a formula for the 12
distribution of a basic education instructional allocation for each 13
common school district. 14
(2)(a) The distribution formula under this section shall be for 15
allocation purposes only. Except as may be required under subsections 16
(4)(b) and (c), (5)(b) and (c), (8), and (9) of this section, chapter 17
28A.155, 28A.165, 28A.180, or 28A.185 RCW, or federal laws and 18
regulations, nothing in this section requires school districts to use 19
basic education instructional funds to implement a particular 20
instructional approach or service. Nothing in this section requires 21
H-0259.2
HOUSE BILL 1338
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Berg, Bergquist, Ramel, Stonier, Santos,
Tharinger, Taylor, Alvarado, Wylie, Berry, Nance, Ryu, Donaghy,
Street, Goodman, Doglio, Mena, Kloba, Pollet, Paul, Walen, Shavers,
Duerr, Davis, Salahuddin, Macri, Reed, Callan, and Fosse
Read first time 01/16/25. Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
p. 1 HB 1338
school districts to maintain a particular classroom teacher-to-1
student ratio or other staff-to-student ratio or to use allocated 2
funds to pay for particular types or classifications of staff. 3
Nothing in this section entitles an individual teacher to a 4
particular teacher planning period. 5
(b) To promote transparency in state funding allocations, the 6
superintendent of public instruction must report state per-pupil 7
allocations for each school district for the general apportionment, 8
special education, learning assistance, transitional bilingual, 9
highly capable, and career and technical education programs. The 10
superintendent must report this information in a user-friendly format 11
on the main page of the office's website. School districts must 12
include a link to the superintendent's per-pupil allocations report 13
on the main page of the school district's website. In addition, the 14
budget documents published by the legislature for the enacted omnibus 15
operating appropriations act must report statewide average per-pupil 16
allocations for general apportionment and the categorical programs 17
listed in this subsection. 18
(3)(a) To the extent the technical details of the formula have 19
been adopted by the legislature and except when specifically provided 20
as a school district allocation, the distribution formula for the 21
basic education instructional allocation shall be based on minimum 22
staffing and nonstaff costs the legislature deems necessary to 23
support instruction and operations in prototypical schools serving 24
high, middle, and elementary school students as provided in this 25
section. The use of prototypical schools for the distribution formula 26
does not constitute legislative intent that schools should be 27
operated or structured in a similar fashion as the prototypes. 28
Prototypical schools illustrate the level of resources needed to 29
operate a school of a particular size with particular types and grade 30
levels of students using commonly understood terms and inputs, such 31
as class size, hours of instruction, and various categories of school 32
staff. It is the intent that the funding allocations to school 33
districts be adjusted from the school prototypes based on the actual 34
number of annual average full-time equivalent students in each grade 35
level at each school in the district and not based on the grade-level 36
configuration of the school to the extent that data is available. The 37
allocations shall be further adjusted from the school prototypes with 38
minimum allocations for small schools and to reflect other factors 39
identified in the omnibus appropriations act. 40
p. 2 HB 1338
(b) For the purposes of this section, prototypical schools are 1
defined as follows: 2
(i) A prototypical high school has 600 average annual full-time 3
equivalent students in grades nine through 12; 4
(ii) A prototypical middle school has 432 average annual full-5
time equivalent students in grades seven and eight; and6
(iii) A prototypical elementary school has 400 average annual 7
full-time equivalent students in grades kindergarten through six.8
(4)(a)(i) The minimum allocation for each level of prototypical 9
school shall be based on the number of full-time equivalent classroom 10
teachers needed to provide instruction over the minimum required 11
annual instructional hours under RCW 28A.150.220 and provide at least 12
one teacher planning period per school day, and based on the 13
following general education average class size of full-time 14
equivalent students per teacher: 15
General education16
average class size17
Grades K-3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.0018
Grade 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.0019
Grades 5-6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.0020
Grades 7-8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.5321
Grades 9-12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.7422
(ii) The minimum class size allocation for each prototypical high 23
school shall also provide for enhanced funding for class size 24
reduction for two laboratory science classes within grades nine 25
through 12 per full-time equivalent high school student multiplied by 26
a laboratory science course factor of 0.0833, based on the number of 27
full-time equivalent classroom teachers needed to provide instruction 28
over the minimum required annual instructional hours in RCW 29
28A.150.220, and providing at least one teacher planning period per 30
school day: 31
Laboratory science32
average class size33
Grades 9-12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.9834
(b)(i) Beginning September 1, 2019, funding for average K-3 class 35
sizes in this subsection (4) may be provided only to the extent of, 36
and proportionate to, the school district's demonstrated actual class 37
size in grades K-3, up to the funded class sizes. 38
p. 3 HB 1338
(ii) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall 1
develop rules to implement this subsection (4)(b). 2
(c)(i) The minimum allocation for each prototypical middle and 3
high school shall also provide for full-time equivalent classroom 4
teachers based on the following number of full-time equivalent 5
students per teacher in career and technical education:6
Career and technical7
education average8
class size9
Approved career and technical education offered at10
the middle school and high school level. . . . . . . . . . . . 23.0011
Skill center programs meeting the standards established12
by the office of the superintendent of public 13
instruction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ((19.00)) 16.6714
(ii) Funding allocated under this subsection (4)(c) is subject to 15
RCW 28A.150.265. 16
(d) In addition, the omnibus appropriations act shall at a 17
minimum specify: 18
(i) A high-poverty average class size in schools where more than 19
50 percent of the students are eligible for free and reduced-price 20
meals; and 21
(ii) A specialty average class size for advanced placement and 22
international baccalaureate courses. 23
(5)(a) The minimum allocation for each level of prototypical 24
school shall include allocations for the following types of staff in 25
addition to classroom teachers: 26
27
28
Elementary
School
Middle
School
High
School
29
30
Principals, assistant principals, and other certificated building-level
administrators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.253

1.353

1.880
31
32
Teacher-librarians, a function that includes information literacy, technology,
and media to support school library media programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

0.663

0.519

0.523
33
34
Paraeducators, including any aspect of educational instructional services
provided by classified employees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.012

0.776

0.728
35 Office support and other noninstructional aides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.088 2.401 3.345
36 Custodians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.657 1.942 2.965
37 Nurses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.585 0.888 0.824
p. 4 HB 1338
1 Social workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.311 0.088 0.127
2 Psychologists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.104 0.024 0.049
3 Counselors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.993 1.716 3.039
4 Classified staff providing student and staff safety. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.079 0.092 0.141
5 Parent involvement coordinators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0825 0.00 0.00
(b)(i) The superintendent may only allocate funding, up to the 6
combined minimum allocations, for nurses, social workers, 7
psychologists, counselors, classified staff providing student and 8
staff safety, and parent involvement coordinators under (a) of this 9
subsection to the extent of and proportionate to a school district's 10
demonstrated actual ratios of: Full-time equivalent physical, social, 11
and emotional support staff to full-time equivalent students.12
(ii) The superintendent must adopt rules to implement this 13
subsection (5)(b) and the rules must require school districts to 14
prioritize funding allocated as required by (b)(i) of this subsection 15
for physical, social, and emotional support staff who hold a valid 16
educational staff associate certificate appropriate for the staff's 17
role. 18
(iii) For the purposes of this subsection (5)(b), "physical, 19
social, and emotional support staff" include nurses, social workers, 20
psychologists, counselors, classified staff providing student and 21
staff safety, parent involvement coordinators, and other school 22
district employees and contractors who provide physical, social, and 23
emotional support to students as defined by the superintendent.24
(c) The superintendent shall develop rules that require school 25
districts to use the additional funding provided under (a) of this 26
subsection to support increased staffing, prevent layoffs, or 27
increase salaries for the following staff types in the 2024-25 school 28
year: Paraeducators, office support, and noninstructional aides. The 29
superintendent shall collect data from school districts on how the 30
increased allocations are used. 31
(6)(a) The minimum staffing allocation for each school district 32
to provide district -wide support services shall be allocated per one 33
thousand annual average full -time equivalent students in grades K -12 34
as follows: 35
Staff per 1,00036
K-12 students37
Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.62838
p. 5 HB 1338
Facilities, maintenance, and grounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.8131
Warehouse, laborers, and mechanics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.3322
(b) The minimum allocation of staff units for each school 3
district to support certificated and classified staffing of central 4
administration shall be 5.30 percent of the staff units generated 5
under subsections (4)(a) and (5) of this section and (a) of this 6
subsection. 7
(7) The distribution formula shall include staffing allocations 8
to school districts for career and technical education and skill 9
center administrative and other school-level certificated staff, as 10
specified in the omnibus appropriations act. 11
(8)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, the minimum 12
allocation for each school district shall include allocations per 13
annual average full-time equivalent student for the following 14
materials, supplies, and operating costs as provided in the 15
((2023-24)) 2025-26 school year, after which the allocations shall be 16
adjusted annually for inflation as specified in ((the omnibus 17
appropriations act)) (d) of this subsection: 18
Per annual average19
full-time equivalent student20
in grades K-1221
Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (($178.98)) $224.1122
Utilities and insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . (($430.26)) $538.7423
Curriculum and textbooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . (($164.48)) $205.9524
Other supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (($326.54)) $408.8725
Library materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (($22.65)) $28.3726
Instructional professional development for certificated and27
classified staff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (($28.94)) $32.2428
Facilities maintenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . (($206.22)) $258.2129
Security and central office administration. . . . (($146.37)) $183.2730
(b) In addition to the amounts provided in (a) of this 31
subsection, beginning in the ((2023-24)) 2025-26 school year, the 32
omnibus appropriations act shall provide the following minimum 33
allocation for each annual average full-time equivalent student in 34
grades nine through 12 for the following materials, supplies, and 35
operating costs, to be adjusted annually for inflation as specified 36
in (d) of this subsection: 37
Per annual average38
p. 6 HB 1338
full-time equivalent student1
in grades 9-122
Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (($44.05)) $55.143
Curriculum and textbooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . (($48.06)) $60.184
Other supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (($94.07)) $117.795
Library materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (($6.05)) $7.586
Instructional professional development for certificated and7
classified staff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (($8.01)) $10.038
(c) ((The increased allocation amount of $21 per annual average 9
full-time equivalent student for materials, supplies, and operating 10
costs provided under (a) of this subsection is intended to address 11
growing costs in the enumerated categories and may not be expended 12
for any other purpose)) In addition to the amounts provided in (a) of 13
this subsection, beginning in the 2025-26 school year, the omnibus 14
appropriations act shall provide a minimum allocation per 15
certificated staff unit provided above the school prototypes for 16
small schools of $16,870.44 for materials, supplies, and operating 17
costs, to be adjusted annually for inflation as specified in (d) of 18
this subsection.19
(d) For purposes of subsections (8) and (9) of this section, 20
"inflation" means the implicit price deflator for the previous 21
calendar year as of the beginning of the school year, using the 22
official current base, compiled by the bureau of economic analysis, 23
United States department of commerce.24
(e) Beginning in the 2029-30 school year and every four years 25
thereafter, the legislature shall review and rebase materials, 26
supplies, and operating costs compared to school districts' actual 27
operations costs and revise minimum allocations, as necessary.28
(9) In addition to the amounts provided in subsection (8) of this 29
section and subject to RCW 28A.150.265, beginning in the 2025-26 30
school year, the omnibus appropriations act shall provide ((an amount 31
based on )) the following amounts per annual average full-time 32
equivalent student enrollment in each of the following to be adjusted 33
annually for inflation as specified in subsection (8)(d) of this 34
section: 35
(((a))) Exploratory career and technical education courses for 36
students in grades seven through 12((;)). . . . . . . . . . $1,799.5737
(((b))) Preparatory career and technical education courses for 38
students in grades nine through 12 offered in a high school((; and))39
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,799.5740
p. 7 HB 1338
(((c))) Preparatory career and technical education courses for 1
students in grades 11 and 12 offered through a skill center((.))2
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,159.483
(10) In addition to the allocations otherwise provided under this 4
section, amounts shall be provided to support the following programs 5
and services: 6
(a)(i) To provide supplemental instruction and services for 7
students who are not meeting academic standards through the learning 8
assistance program under RCW 28A.165.005 through 28A.165.065, 9
allocations shall be based on the greater of either: The district 10
percentage of students in kindergarten through grade 12 who were 11
eligible for free or reduced-price meals for the school year 12
immediately preceding the district's participation, in whole or part, 13
in the United States department of agriculture's community 14
eligibility provision, or the district percentage of students in 15
grades K-12 who were eligible for free or reduced-price meals in the 16
prior school year. The minimum allocation for the program shall, 17
except as provided in (a)(iii) of this subsection, provide for each 18
level of prototypical school resources to provide, on a statewide 19
average, 2.3975 hours per week in extra instruction with a class size 20
of 15 learning assistance program students per teacher.21
(ii) In addition to funding allocated under (a)(i) of this 22
subsection, to provide supplemental instruction and services for 23
students who are not meeting academic standards in qualifying 24
schools. A qualifying school, except as provided in (a)(iv) of this 25
subsection, means a school in which the three-year rolling average of 26
the prior year total annual average enrollment that qualifies for 27
free or reduced-price meals equals or exceeds 50 percent or more of 28
its total annual average enrollment. A school continues to meet the 29
definition of a qualifying school if the school: Participates in the 30
United States department of agriculture's community eligibility 31
provision; and met the definition of a qualifying school in the year 32
immediately preceding their participation. The minimum allocation for 33
this additional high poverty-based allocation must provide for each 34
level of prototypical school resources to provide, on a statewide 35
average, 1.1 hours per week in extra instruction with a class size of 36
15 learning assistance program students per teacher, under RCW 37
28A.165.055, school districts must distribute the high poverty-based 38
allocation to the schools that generated the funding allocation.39
p. 8 HB 1338
(iii) For the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years, allocations under 1
(a)(i) of this subsection for school districts providing meals at no 2
charge to students under RCW 28A.235.135 that are not participating, 3
in whole or in part, in the United States department of agriculture's 4
community eligibility provision shall be based on the school district 5
percentage of students in grades K-12 who were eligible for free or 6
reduced-price meals in school years 2019-20 through 2022-23 or the 7
prior school year, whichever is greatest. 8
(iv) For the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years, a school providing 9
meals at no charge to students under RCW 28A.235.135 that is not 10
participating in the department of agriculture's community 11
eligibility provision continues to meet the definition of a 12
qualifying school under (a)(ii) of this subsection if the school met 13
the definition during one year of the 2019-20 through 2022-23 school 14
years, or in the prior school year. 15
(b)(i) To provide supplemental instruction and services for 16
students whose primary language is other than English, allocations 17
shall be based on the head count number of students in each school 18
who are eligible for and enrolled in the transitional bilingual 19
instruction program under RCW 28A.180.010 through 28A.180.080. The 20
minimum allocation for each level of prototypical school shall 21
provide resources to provide, on a statewide average, 4.7780 hours 22
per week in extra instruction for students in grades kindergarten 23
through six and 6.7780 hours per week in extra instruction for 24
students in grades seven through 12, with 15 transitional bilingual 25
instruction program students per teacher. Notwithstanding other 26
provisions of this subsection (10), the actual per-student allocation 27
may be scaled to provide a larger allocation for students needing 28
more intensive intervention and a commensurate reduced allocation for 29
students needing less intensive intervention, as detailed in the 30
omnibus appropriations act. 31
(ii) To provide supplemental instruction and services for 32
students who have exited the transitional bilingual program, 33
allocations shall be based on the head count number of students in 34
each school who have exited the transitional bilingual program within 35
the previous two years based on their performance on the English 36
proficiency assessment and are eligible for and enrolled in the 37
transitional bilingual instruction program under RCW 38
28A.180.040(1)(g). The minimum allocation for each prototypical 39
school shall provide resources to provide, on a statewide average, 40
p. 9 HB 1338
3.0 hours per week in extra instruction with 15 exited students per 1
teacher. 2
(c) To provide additional allocations to support programs for 3
highly capable students under RCW 28A.185.010 through 28A.185.030, 4
allocations shall be based on 5.0 percent of each school district's 5
full-time equivalent basic education enrollment. The minimum 6
allocation for the programs shall provide resources to provide, on a 7
statewide average, 2.1590 hours per week in extra instruction with 8
fifteen highly capable program students per teacher.9
(11) The allocations under subsections (4)(a), (5), (6), and (8) 10
of this section shall be enhanced as provided under RCW 28A.150.390 11
on an excess cost basis to provide supplemental instructional 12
resources for students with disabilities. 13
(12)(a) For the purposes of allocations for prototypical high 14
schools and middle schools under subsections (4) and (10) of this 15
section that are based on the percent of students in the school who 16
are eligible for free and reduced-price meals, the actual percent of 17
such students in a school shall be adjusted by a factor identified in 18
the omnibus appropriations act to reflect underreporting of free and 19
reduced-price meal eligibility among middle and high school students.20
(b) Allocations or enhancements provided under subsections (4), 21
(7), and (9) of this section for exploratory and preparatory career 22
and technical education courses shall be provided only for courses 23
approved by the office of the superintendent of public instruction 24
under chapter 28A.700 RCW. 25
(13)(a) This formula for distribution of basic education funds 26
shall be reviewed biennially by the superintendent and governor. The 27
recommended formula shall be subject to approval, amendment or 28
rejection by the legislature. 29
(b) In the event the legislature rejects the distribution formula 30
recommended by the governor, without adopting a new distribution 31
formula, the distribution formula for the previous school year shall 32
remain in effect. 33
(c) The enrollment of any district shall be the annual average 34
number of full-time equivalent students and part-time students as 35
provided in RCW 28A.150.350, enrolled on the first school day of each 36
month, including students who are in attendance pursuant to RCW 37
28A.335.160 and 28A.225.250 who do not reside within the servicing 38
school district. The definition of full-time equivalent student shall 39
be determined by rules of the superintendent of public instruction 40
p. 10 HB 1338
and shall be included as part of the superintendent's biennial budget 1
request. The definition shall be based on the minimum instructional 2
hour offerings required under RCW 28A.150.220. Any revision of the 3
present definition shall not take effect until approved by the house 4
ways and means committee and the senate ways and means committee.5
(d) The office of financial management shall make a monthly 6
review of the superintendent's reported full-time equivalent students 7
in the common schools in conjunction with RCW 43.62.050.8
--- END ---
p. 11 HB 1338