School safety

AN ACT Relating to nonfirearm measures to increase school safety 1
for students and staff; amending RCW 28A.710.280, 28A.715.040, 2
28A.600.015, 28A.600.020, 28A.600.460, and 28A.300.645; adding new 3
sections to chapter 28A.300 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 4
28A.525 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.150 RCW; adding a 5
new section to chapter 44.28 RCW; creating new sections; providing an 6
effective date; and providing an expiration date. 7
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:8
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that the safety 9
and well-being of our students, educators, and school communities is 10
not just a priority, it is a fundamental necessity. Across Washington 11
state, the alarming statistics tell a grim story: At least 18 percent 12
of students report feeling unsafe on school grounds and some have 13
reported not attending school out of fear. Over 30 percent of 14
students are not regularly attending school, and a staggering 70 15
percent of teachers report being afraid to go to work each day. More 16
troubling still, 79 percent of teachers report having been subjected 17
to physical violence, and 67 percent say that this violence has 18
pushed them to the brink of leaving the profession. The legislature 19
understands that it cannot continue to turn a blind eye to these 20
realities.21
H-0629.2
HOUSE BILL 1637
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives McClintock, Couture, Rude, Jacobsen, Connors,
Chase, Klicker, Ley, Keaton, Barkis, Eslick, Burnett, and Graham
Read first time 01/28/25. Referred to Committee on Education.
p. 1 HB 1637
(2) To begin to confront this crisis, the legislature intends to 1
create a school safety data dashboard that will be accessible to the 2
public, policymakers, schools, and parents. The purpose of this 3
dashboard is to provide data on all school safety incidents, ensuring 4
transparency and accountability. By gathering these statistics for 5
the first time and making them easily accessible, the legislature 6
intends to identify school districts and public schools that are 7
struggling, and target supports to address local safety concerns and 8
vulnerabilities. The legislature plans to hold school districts 9
accountable for the safety of our children and the well-being of our 10
educators, which starts with knowing where the problems lie.11
(3) The legislature recognizes that to improve public school 12
safety, investments in school facility security enhancements are 13
necessary. Therefore, the legislature intends to establish school 14
safety and security grants to help schools physically secure their 15
buildings with a number of project types, including purchase and 16
installation of facility key card access, remote door access, door 17
locks, panic buttons, fencing, and more. Every public school should 18
have the resources it needs to create a safe and secure learning 19
environment for its students and staff. 20
(4) Further, it is the intent of the legislature to provide every 21
public school in Washington with the resources to employ a full-time 22
school resource officer to promote a safe learning environment and to 23
protect the safety and welfare of all students and school personnel. 24
The presence of trained, professional security personnel is essential 25
to creating an environment where students can focus on their 26
education without fear and where educational staff can do their jobs 27
without the threat of violence or disruption. School resource 28
officers not only respond to emergencies, but also play a proactive 29
role in building positive relationships with students, de-escalating 30
potential conflicts, and fostering a culture of respect and 31
responsibility within the school community. By ensuring that every 32
school has a dedicated school resource officer, the state is taking a 33
critical step toward safeguarding our schools and ensuring that every 34
student has the opportunity to succeed in a secure environment.35
(5) However, the legislature recognizes that it is not enough to 36
simply address physical security measures, but it must also reform 37
student discipline policies to make schools conducive to learning and 38
free from disruptions and violence. Teachers should be empowered to 39
maintain order in their classrooms, and students should understand 40
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the consequences of harmful behavior. Therefore, the legislature 1
further intends to foster better working relationships between school 2
administrators and teachers in disciplinary decision making in order 3
to create an environment where every student can thrive academically.4
(6) The legislature acknowledges that, in 2019, bipartisan 5
legislation was enacted to make comprehensive school safety reforms. 6
Therefore, the legislature intends to require an evaluation of these 7
reforms so that stakeholders and policymakers have a clearer picture 8
on the use and effectiveness of those policies. 9
(7) Finally, the legislature finds that the crisis facing our 10
schools is undeniable and demands immediate action. As Washington 11
faces the growing trend of students leaving public schools, whether 12
through increasing private school enrollment or home-based 13
instruction, the legislature must take action. Every child deserves 14
to learn in a safe, secure, and supportive environment. The 15
legislature believes this act will ensure that our schools are not 16
only places of education, but places where students, teachers, and 17
staff feel safe, respected, and valued. 18
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 19
RCW to read as follows: 20
(1)(a) The office of the superintendent of public instruction 21
shall establish and maintain on its website a school safety 22
dashboard. The purpose of the dashboard is to both: Enable the public 23
to review annually updated school safety data for the state and for 24
each public school and school district; and use the data to annually 25
rate public schools and school districts using a state safety rating 26
system. 27
(b) In meeting the requirements of this section, the office of 28
the superintendent of public instruction must examine and consider 29
the practices of other states in establishing comparable dashboards.30
(2)(a) Annually, the office of the superintendent of public 31
instruction shall update the school safety dashboard to display the 32
number of incidents involving public school students on public school 33
property sorted by behavioral violation and severity level as 34
follows: 35
(i) Type six – firearm; 36
(ii) Type five - assault II, sexual assault, illicit drug 37
distribution, possession of a weapon, robbery, assault of teacher, 38
and safety II; 39
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(iii) Type four - assault I, fighting with major injury, sexual 1
harassment, discriminatory harassment, malicious harassment, arson, 2
marijuana distribution, alcohol distribution, gang intimidation or 3
activity, and safety I; 4
(iv) Type three - bullying, fighting without major injury, 5
illicit drug possession or use, marijuana possession or use, alcohol 6
possession or use, tobacco distribution, theft, or other III;7
(v) Type two - destruction of property, physical aggression, 8
tobacco possession or use, failure to cooperate, sexually 9
inappropriate conduct, disruptive conduct II, or other II; and10
(vi) Type one - disruptive conduct I, dress code, physical 11
contact, defiance, disrespect, academic dishonesty/plagiarism, 12
property misuse, inappropriate language, other I. 13
(b) The dashboard must display the sorted incident data by school 14
district and by public school, in addition to displaying the 15
statewide totals. 16
(3)(a) The office of the superintendent of public instruction 17
shall establish a state safety rating system. Annually, the office of 18
the superintendent of public instruction shall analyze the data 19
submitted by the public schools as required by subsection (4) of this 20
section and rate school districts and public schools using the state 21
safety rating system. 22
(b) Annually, following the rating under (a) of this subsection 23
(3), the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall 24
notify the regional school safety centers, so that resources 25
available under RCW 28A.310.510 can be prioritized to the school 26
districts and public schools with the most vulnerable students and 27
staff. 28
(4)(a) Beginning September 2025, each public school shall collect 29
and submit any school safety incident data that the office of the 30
superintendent of public instruction needs for the school safety 31
dashboard through the statewide student data system.32
(b) Data must be collected and submitted in compliance with 33
standards for school data systems developed under RCW 28A.300.505 and 34
the data protocols and guidance of the K-12 data governance group 35
established in RCW 28A.300.507. 36
(5) For purposes of this section, "public school" has the same 37
meaning as in RCW 28A.150.010. 38
p. 4 HB 1637
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 1
RCW to read as follows: 2
To the extent that state or federal funding is appropriated or 3
otherwise allocated for school safety purposes, the office of the 4
superintendent of public instruction shall prioritize the funds to 5
school districts and public schools rated as having the most 6
vulnerable students and staff under section 2 of this act.7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 28A.525 8
RCW to read as follows: 9
(1) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall 10
administer a school safety capital grant program as provided for in 11
this section and shall adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW for the 12
administration of the program. 13
(2) Project eligibility. 14
(a) Grants provided pursuant to this section may only be awarded 15
for school safety projects that make physical improvements intended 16
to advance the safety or security of a school facility. Examples of 17
eligible project types under this section include: (i) Design and 18
construction of security vestibules; (ii) purchase and installation 19
of metal detectors, facility key card access, remote door access, 20
panic buttons, or silent alarms; (iii) fencing; (iv) lighting; and 21
(v) crime prevention through environmental design projects.22
(b) Grantees must use grants awarded under this section to 23
incorporate, to the extent applicable to the project type, crime 24
prevention through environmental design principles.25
(3) Applicant eligibility. Common schools, state-tribal education 26
compact schools, and charter schools are eligible to apply for grants 27
under this section. For charter schools, the office of the 28
superintendent of public instruction may award grants only from 29
funding sources other than the common school construction fund.30
(4) Application process. The office of the superintendent of 31
public instruction shall develop a competitive grant application 32
process and assist eligible applicants in matters related to applying 33
for grants under this section. 34
(5) Administration. 35
(a) The office of the superintendent of public instruction may 36
use up to three percent of amounts appropriated for the grant program 37
under this section for costs that result from administration of the 38
program. 39
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(b) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this 1
specific purpose, the office of the superintendent of public 2
instruction shall award grants under this section on a competitive 3
basis. 4
(c) Prior to receiving funding, applicants for a grant under this 5
section must demonstrate that the project site is under their control 6
for a minimum of 10 years, either through ownership or a long-term 7
lease. 8
(d) In contracts for grants authorized under this section, the 9
office of the superintendent of public instruction shall include 10
provisions that require that capital improvements be held by the 11
grantee for a specified period of time appropriate to the amount of 12
the grant and that facilities be used for the express purpose of the 13
grant. If the office of the superintendent of public instruction 14
finds the grantee to be out of compliance with provisions of the 15
contract, the grantee shall repay the amount of the grant award to 16
the appropriate state fund, as determined by the office of the 17
superintendent of public instruction. If the source of grant funding 18
was general obligation bonds, then the repayment required for grant 19
noncompliance under this subsection must be made to the state general 20
fund and must include the principal amount of the grant plus interest 21
calculated at the rate of interest on state of Washington general 22
obligation bonds issued most closely to the date of authorization of 23
the grant. 24
(6) Maximum project cost. Projects receiving a grant award under 25
this section must have a total estimated project cost of $1,000,000 26
or less. 27
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 28A.150 28
RCW to read as follows: 29
(1)(a) In addition to amounts allocated under RCW 28A.150.260, 30
the superintendent of public instruction shall allocate to school 31
districts state funding sufficient for one school resource officer on 32
each school campus. 33
(b) The allocation for a school resource officer's annual salary 34
under this section is $85,000, adjusted for inflation from the 35
2025-26 school year as provided in RCW 28A.400.205 and the classified 36
regionalization factor of the school district in which the school 37
campus is located. Allocations for fringe benefits and insurance 38
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benefits must be calculated using rates specified in the omnibus 1
appropriations act for classified staff. 2
(c) Amounts allocated under this section may be used only to 3
support school resource officers or safety and security staff on 4
school campuses. Funding provided under this section is part of the 5
state's statutory program of basic education under RCW 28A.150.200.6
(2) For purposes of this section, the following definitions 7
apply: 8
(a) "Safety and security staff" has the same meaning as in RCW 9
28A.320.124. 10
(b) "School campus" means a school facility, as defined in rules 11
of the superintendent of public instruction adopted under RCW 12
28A.525.020, that is used primarily for in-person instruction of 13
students in any grade level from kindergarten through 12th grade.14
(c) "School resource officer" has the same meaning as in RCW 15
28A.320.124. 16
Sec. 6. RCW 28A.710.280 and 2021 c 111 s 12 are each amended to 17
read as follows: 18
(1) The legislature intends that state funding for charter 19
schools be distributed equitably with state funding provided for 20
other public schools. 21
(2) For eligible students enrolled in a charter school 22
established and operating in accordance with this chapter, the 23
superintendent of public instruction shall transmit to each charter 24
school an amount calculated as provided in this section and based on 25
the statewide average salaries set forth in RCW 28A.150.410 for 26
certificated instructional staff adjusted by the regionalization 27
factor that applies to the school district in which the charter 28
school is geographically located, including any enrichment to those 29
statutory formulae that is specified in the omnibus appropriations 30
act. The amount must be the sum of (a) and (b) of this subsection.31
(a) The superintendent shall, for purposes of making 32
distributions under this section, separately calculate and distribute 33
to charter schools moneys appropriated for general apportionment 34
under the same ratios as in RCW 28A.150.260 and school resource 35
officers under section 5 of this act. 36
(b) The superintendent also shall, for purposes of making 37
distributions under this section, and in accordance with the 38
applicable formulae for categorical programs specified in (b)(i) 39
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through (v) of this subsection (2) and any enrichment to those 1
statutory formulae that is specified in the omnibus appropriations 2
act, separately calculate and distribute moneys appropriated by the 3
legislature to charter schools for: 4
(i) Supplemental instruction and services for students who are 5
not meeting academic standards through the learning assistance 6
program under RCW 28A.165.005 through 28A.165.065; 7
(ii) Supplemental instruction and services for eligible and 8
enrolled students and exited students whose primary language is other 9
than English through the transitional bilingual instruction program 10
under RCW 28A.180.010 through 28A.180.080; 11
(iii) The opportunity for an appropriate education at public 12
expense as defined by RCW 28A.155.020 for all eligible students with 13
disabilities as defined in RCW 28A.155.020; 14
(iv) Programs for highly capable students under RCW 28A.185.010 15
through 28A.185.030; and 16
(v) Pupil transportation services to and from school in 17
accordance with RCW 28A.160.150 through 28A.160.180. Distributions 18
for pupil transportation must be calculated on a per eligible student 19
basis based on the allocation for the previous school year to the 20
school district in which the charter school is located.21
(3) The superintendent of public instruction must adopt rules 22
necessary for the distribution of funding required by this section 23
and to comply with federal reporting requirements.24
Sec. 7. RCW 28A.715.040 and 2018 c 266 s 404 are each amended to 25
read as follows: 26
(1) A school that is the subject of a state-tribal education 27
compact must report student enrollment. Reporting must be done in the 28
same manner and use the same definitions of enrolled students and 29
annual average full-time equivalent enrollment as is required of 30
school districts. The reporting requirements in this subsection are 31
required for a school to receive state or federal funding that is 32
allocated based on student characteristics. 33
(2) Funding for a school that is the subject of a state-tribal 34
education compact shall be apportioned by the superintendent of 35
public instruction according to the schedule established under RCW 36
28A.510.250, including general apportionment, special education, 37
categorical, and other nonbasic education moneys. Allocations for 38
certificated instructional staff must be based on the statewide 39
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average salary set forth in RCW 28A.150.410 and for school resource 1
officers must be based on section 5 of this act , adjusted by the 2
regionalization factor that applies to the school district in which 3
the school is located. Allocations for classified staff and 4
certificated administrative staff must be based on the salary 5
allocations of the school district in which the school is located as 6
set forth in RCW 28A.150.410, adjusted by the regionalization factor 7
that applies to the school district in which the school is located. 8
Nothing in this section requires a school that is the subject of a 9
state-tribal education compact to use the statewide salary allocation 10
schedule. Such a school is eligible to apply for state grants on the 11
same basis as a school district. 12
(3) Any moneys received by a school that is the subject of a 13
state-tribal education compact from any source that remain in the 14
school's accounts at the end of any budget year must remain in the 15
school's accounts for use by the school during subsequent budget 16
years. 17
Sec. 8. RCW 28A.600.015 and 2023 c 242 s 9 are each amended to 18
read as follows: 19
(1) The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt and 20
distribute to all school districts lawful and reasonable rules 21
prescribing the substantive and procedural due process guarantees of 22
pupils in the common schools. Such rules shall authorize a school 23
district to use informal due process procedures in connection with 24
the short-term suspension of students to the extent constitutionally 25
permissible: PROVIDED, That the superintendent of public instruction 26
deems the interest of students to be adequately protected. When a 27
student suspension or expulsion is appealed, the rules shall 28
authorize a school district to impose the suspension or expulsion 29
temporarily after an initial hearing for no more than 10 consecutive 30
school days or until the appeal is decided, whichever is earlier. Any 31
days that the student is temporarily suspended or expelled before the 32
appeal is decided shall be applied to the term of the student 33
suspension or expulsion and shall not limit or extend the term of the 34
student suspension or expulsion. An expulsion or suspension of a 35
student may not be for an indefinite period of time.36
(2) Short-term suspension procedures may be used for suspensions 37
of students up to and including, 10 consecutive school days.38
p. 9 HB 1637
(3) Emergency removals must end or be converted to another form 1
of corrective action within ((ten)) 10 school days from the date of 2
the emergency removal from school. Notice and due process rights must 3
be provided when an emergency removal is converted to another form of 4
corrective action. 5
(4) School districts may not impose long-term suspension or 6
expulsion as a form of discretionary discipline. 7
(5) Any imposition of discretionary and nondiscretionary 8
discipline is subject to the bar on suspending the provision of 9
educational services pursuant to subsection (8) of this section.10
(6) As used in this chapter, "discretionary discipline" means a 11
disciplinary action taken by a school district for student behavior 12
that violates rules of student conduct adopted by a school district 13
board of directors under RCW 28A.600.010 and this section, but does 14
not constitute action taken in response to any of the following:15
(a) A violation of RCW 28A.600.420; 16
(b) An offense in RCW 13.04.155; 17
(c) Two or more violations of RCW 9A.46.120, 9.41.280, 18
28A.600.455, 28A.635.020, or 28A.635.060 within a three-year period; 19
((or))20
(d) Behavior that adversely impacts the health or safety of other 21
students or educational staff; or22
(e) Behavior that diminishes or impedes the educational 23
opportunity of another student. 24
(7) Except as provided in RCW 28A.600.420, school districts are 25
not required to impose long-term suspension or expulsion for behavior 26
that constitutes a violation or offense listed under subsection 27
(6)(a) through (((d))) (e) of this section and should first consider 28
alternative actions. 29
(8) School districts may not suspend the provision of educational 30
services to a student as a disciplinary action. A student may be 31
excluded from a particular classroom or instructional or activity 32
area for the period of suspension or expulsion, but the school 33
district must provide an opportunity for a student to receive 34
educational services during a period of suspension or expulsion.35
(9) Nothing in this section creates any civil liability for 36
school districts, or creates a new cause of action or new theory of 37
negligence against a school district board of directors, a school 38
district, or the state. 39
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Sec. 9. RCW 28A.600.020 and 2019 c 266 s 22 are each amended to 1
read as follows: 2
(1) The rules adopted pursuant to RCW 28A.600.010 shall be 3
interpreted to ensure that the optimum learning atmosphere of the 4
classroom is maintained, and that the highest consideration is given 5
to the judgment of qualified certificated educators regarding 6
conditions necessary to maintain the optimum learning atmosphere.7
(2) Any student who creates a disruption of the educational 8
process in violation of the building disciplinary standards while 9
under a teacher's immediate supervision may be excluded by the 10
teacher from his or her individual classroom and instructional or 11
activity area ((for all or any portion of the balance of the school 12
day, or up to the following two days, or )) until the principal or 13
designee and teacher have conferred ((, whichever occurs first )). 14
Except in emergency circumstances, the teacher first must attempt one 15
or more alternative forms of corrective action. In no event ((without 16
the consent of the teacher )) may an excluded student return to the 17
class ((during the balance of that class or activity period or up to 18
the following two days, or until the principal or his or her designee 19
and the teacher have conferred )) without the consent of the classroom 20
teacher. 21
(3) In order to preserve a beneficial learning environment for 22
all students and to maintain good order and discipline in each 23
classroom, every school district board of directors shall provide 24
that written procedures are developed for administering discipline at 25
each school within the district. Such procedures shall be developed 26
with the participation of parents and the community, and shall 27
provide that the teacher, principal or designee, and other 28
authorities designated by the board of directors, make every 29
reasonable attempt to involve the parent or guardian and the student 30
in the resolution of student discipline problems. Such procedures 31
shall provide that students may be excluded from their individual 32
classes or activities for periods of time in excess of that provided 33
in subsection (2) of this section if such students have repeatedly 34
disrupted the learning of other students. The procedures must be 35
consistent with the rules of the superintendent of public instruction 36
and must provide for early involvement of parents in attempts to 37
improve the student's behavior. 38
(4) The procedures shall assure, pursuant to RCW 28A.400.110, 39
that all staff work cooperatively toward consistent enforcement of 40
p. 11 HB 1637
proper student behavior throughout each school as well as within each 1
classroom. 2
(5)(a) A principal shall consider imposing long-term suspension 3
or expulsion as a sanction when deciding the appropriate disciplinary 4
action for a student who, after July 27, 1997: 5
(i) Engages in two or more violations within a three-year period 6
of RCW 9A.46.120, 28A.600.455, 28A.600.460, 28A.635.020, 28A.600.020, 7
28A.635.060, or 9.41.280; ((or))8
(ii) Engages in one or more of the offenses listed in RCW 9
13.04.155; or10
(iii) Repeatedly engages in behavior that diminishes or impedes 11
the educational opportunity of another student. 12
(b) The principal shall communicate the disciplinary action taken 13
by the principal to the school personnel who referred the student to 14
the principal for disciplinary action. 15
(6) Any corrective action involving a suspension or expulsion 16
from school for more than ((ten)) 10 days must have an end date of 17
not more than the length of an academic term, as defined by the 18
school board, from the time of corrective action. Districts shall 19
make reasonable efforts to assist students and parents in returning 20
to an educational setting prior to and no later than the end date of 21
the corrective action. Where warranted based on public health or 22
safety, a school may petition the superintendent of the school 23
district, pursuant to policies and procedures adopted by the office 24
of the superintendent of public instruction, for authorization to 25
exceed the academic term limitation provided in this subsection. The 26
superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules outlining the 27
limited circumstances in which a school may petition to exceed the 28
academic term limitation, including safeguards to ensure that the 29
school district has made every effort to plan for the student's 30
return to school. School districts shall report to the office of the 31
superintendent of public instruction the number of petitions made to 32
the school board and the number of petitions granted on an annual 33
basis. 34
(7) Nothing in this section prevents a public school district, 35
educational service district, the Washington center for deaf and hard 36
of hearing youth, or the state school for the blind if it has 37
suspended or expelled a student from the student's regular school 38
setting from providing educational services to the student in an 39
alternative setting or modifying the suspension or expulsion on a 40
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case-by-case basis. An alternative setting should be comparable, 1
equitable, and appropriate to the regular education services a 2
student would have received without the exclusionary discipline. 3
Example alternative settings include alternative high schools, one-4
on-one tutoring, and online learning. 5
Sec. 10. RCW 28A.600.460 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 18 s 305 are each 6
amended to read as follows: 7
(1) School district boards of directors shall adopt policies that 8
restore discipline to the classroom. Such policies must provide for 9
at least the following: Allowing each teacher to take disciplinary 10
action to correct a student who disrupts normal classroom activities, 11
abuses or insults a teacher as prohibited by RCW 28A.635.010, 12
willfully disobeys a teacher, uses abusive or foul language directed 13
at a school district employee, school volunteer, or another student, 14
violates school rules, or who interferes with an orderly education 15
process. Disciplinary action may include , but is not limited to: Oral 16
or written reprimands; classroom exclusion as described in RCW 17
28A.600.020; written notification to parents of disruptive behavior, 18
a copy of which must be provided to the principal.19
(2) A student committing an offense under chapter 9A.36, 9A.40, 20
9A.46, or 9A.48 RCW when the activity is directed toward the teacher, 21
shall not be assigned to that teacher's classroom for the duration of 22
the student's attendance at that school or any other school where the 23
teacher is assigned. 24
(3) A student who commits an offense under chapter 9A.36, 9A.40, 25
9A.46, or 9A.48 RCW, when directed toward another student, may be 26
removed from the classroom of the victim for the duration of the 27
student's attendance at that school or any other school where the 28
victim is enrolled. A student who commits an offense under one of the 29
chapters enumerated in this section against a student or another 30
school employee, may be expelled or suspended. 31
(4) Nothing in this section is intended to limit the authority of 32
a school under existing law and rules to expel or suspend a student 33
for misconduct or criminal behavior. 34
(5) All school districts must collect data on disciplinary 35
actions taken in each school and must record these actions using the 36
statewide student data system, based on the data collection standards 37
established by the office of the superintendent of public instruction 38
and the K-12 data governance group. The information shall be made 39
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available to the public, but public release of the data shall not 1
include personally identifiable information including, but not 2
limited to, a student's social security number, name, or address.3
Sec. 11. RCW 28A.300.645 and 2019 c 333 s 7 are each amended to 4
read as follows: 5
(1) ((Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for 6
this specific purpose, in )) In order to ensure that public schools 7
and school districts are meeting the requirements of RCW 28A.320.125 8
relating to comprehensive safe school plans, RCW 28A.320.127 related 9
to plans for recognition, initial screening, and response to 10
emotional or behavioral distress in students, and RCW 28A.320.123 11
relating to school-based threat assessment programs, the 12
superintendent of public instruction shall monitor these programs no 13
less than once every five years. 14
(2) The superintendent of public instruction must consult with 15
interested stakeholders to develop data collection and submission 16
requirements for school districts as they relate to RCW 28A.320.125 17
relating to comprehensive safe school plans, RCW 28A.320.127 related 18
to plans for recognition, initial screening, and response to 19
emotional or behavioral distress in students, and RCW 28A.320.123 20
relating to school-based threat assessment programs.21
(3) ((By December 1, 2020, and in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, 22
the office of the superintendent of public instruction must report to 23
the appropriate committees of the legislature regarding the office's 24
plans for data collection and monitoring under this section and 25
describing any implementation issues that could be fixed through 26
legislation.27
(4))) The superintendent of public instruction may adopt rules 28
under chapter 34.05 RCW to implement this section.29
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. A new section is added to chapter 44.28 30
RCW to read as follows: 31
(1) The joint committee shall conduct program audits of public 32
schools and school districts' compliance with the requirements of: 33
(a) RCW 28A.320.123 relating to school-based threat assessment 34
programs; (b) RCW 28A.320.125 relating to comprehensive safe school 35
plans; and (c) RCW 28A.320.127 related to plans for recognition, 36
initial screening, and response to emotional or behavioral distress 37
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in students. In conducting the audits, the joint committee shall 1
identify best practices for implementing the plans and programs.2
(2) During the initial phase of the program audit, the joint 3
committee and the office of the superintendent of public instruction 4
must collaborate to identify any data or other information that will 5
be needed for the program audits. Data or other information needed 6
for the program audits must be provided by the office of the 7
superintendent of public instruction, school districts, and public 8
schools. 9
(3) By November 1, 2030, and in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, 10
the joint committee shall submit a report of its findings and 11
recommendations to the appropriate committees of the legislature.12
(4) This section expires August 1, 2031. 13
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. Sections 5 through 7 of this act take 14
effect September 1, 2025.15
NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. This act may be known and cited as the 16
securing academic facilities and enhancing learning (SAFE-Learn) act.17
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