School levies & local effort

AN ACT Relating to enrichment levies and local effort assistance; 1
amending RCW 84.52.0531 and 28A.500.015; repealing RCW 84.52.058; and 2
providing an effective date. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 84.52.0531 and 2022 c 108 s 3 are each amended to 5
read as follows: 6
(1) ((Beginning with taxes levied for collection in 2020, the 7
maximum dollar amount which may be levied by or for any school 8
district for enrichment levies under RCW 84.52.053 is equal to the 9
lesser of two dollars and fifty cents per thousand dollars of the 10
assessed value of property in the school district or the maximum per-11
pupil limit. This maximum dollar amount shall be reduced accordingly 12
as provided under RCW 43.09.2856(2).13
(2) The definitions in this subsection apply to this section 14
unless the context clearly requires otherwise.15
(a) For the purpose of this section, "inflation" means the 16
percentage change in the seasonally adjusted consumer price index for 17
all urban consumers, Seattle area, for the most recent 12-month 18
period as of September 25th of the year before the taxes are payable, 19
using the official current base compiled by the United States bureau 20
of labor statistics.21
S-0793.1
SENATE BILL 5593
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Wellman, Pedersen, Cleveland, Shewmake, C. Wilson,
Cortes, Saldaña, Slatter, and Valdez
Read first time 01/30/25. Referred to Committee on Early Learning &
K-12 Education.
p. 1 SB 5593
(b) "Maximum per-pupil limit" means:1
(i) Two thousand five hundred dollars, as increased by inflation 2
beginning with property taxes levied for collection in 2020, 3
multiplied by the number of average annual full-time equivalent 4
students enrolled in the school district in the prior school year, 5
for school districts with fewer than forty thousand annual full-time 6
equivalent students enrolled in the school district in the prior 7
school year; or8
(ii) Three thousand dollars, as increased by inflation beginning 9
with property taxes levied for collection in 2020, multiplied by the 10
number of average annual full-time equivalent students enrolled in 11
the school district in the prior school year, for school districts 12
with forty thousand or more annual full-time equivalent students 13
enrolled in the school district in the prior school year.14
(c) "Open for in-person instruction to all students" means that 15
all students in all grades have the option to participate in at least 16
40 hours of planned in-person instruction per month and the school 17
follows state department of health guidance and recommendations for 18
resuming in-person instruction to the greatest extent practicable.19
(d) "Prior school year" means the most recent school year 20
completed prior to the year in which the levies are to be collected, 21
except as follows:22
(i) In the 2022 calendar year, if 2019-20 school year average 23
annual full-time equivalent enrollment is greater than the school 24
district's 2020-21 school year average annual full-time equivalent 25
enrollment and the school district is open for in-person instruction 26
to all students by the beginning of the 2021-22 school year, "prior 27
school year" means the 2019-20 school year.28
(ii) In the 2023 calendar year, if 2019-20 school year average 29
annual full-time equivalent enrollment is greater than the school 30
district's 2021-22 school year average annual full-time equivalent 31
enrollment and the school district was open for in-person instruction 32
to all students by the beginning of the 2021-22 school year, "prior 33
school year" means the 2019-20 school year.34
(3) For districts in a high/nonhigh relationship, the enrollments 35
of the nonhigh students attending the high school shall only be 36
counted by the nonhigh school districts for purposes of funding under 37
this section.38
(4) For school districts participating in an innovation academy 39
cooperative established under RCW 28A.340.080, enrollments of 40
p. 2 SB 5593
students attending the academy shall be adjusted so that each 1
participant district receives its proportional share of student 2
enrollments for purposes of funding under this section.3
(5) Beginning with propositions for enrichment levies for 4
collection in calendar year 2020 and thereafter, a )) The maximum 5
dollar amount which may be levied by or for any school district for 6
enrichment levies under RCW 84.52.053 must be determined as follows: 7
For enrichment levies for collection in calendar year 2026 and 8
thereafter, the maximum dollar amount is the sum of (a) of this 9
subsection plus or minus (b), (c), and (d) of this subsection minus 10
(e) and (f) of this subsection;11
(a) The school district's levy base as provided in subsection (2) 12
of this section multiplied by the school district's maximum levy 13
percentage as provided in subsection (3) of this section;14
(b) For school districts in a high/nonhigh relationship, the high 15
school district's maximum levy amount must be reduced and the nonhigh 16
school district's maximum levy amount must be increased by an amount 17
equal to the estimated amount of the nonhigh payment due to the high 18
school district under RCW 28A.545.030(3) and 28A.545.050 for the 19
school year commencing the year of the levy;20
(c) Except for nonhigh districts under (d) of this subsection, 21
for school districts in an interdistrict cooperative agreement, the 22
nonresident school district's maximum levy amount must be reduced and 23
the resident school district's maximum levy amount must be increased 24
by an amount equal to the per pupil basic education allocation 25
included in the nonresident school district's levy base under 26
subsection (2) of this section, multiplied by:27
(i) The number of full-time equivalent students served from the 28
resident school district in the prior school year, multiplied by:29
(ii) The serving school district's maximum levy percentage 30
determined under subsection (3) of this section;31
(d) The levy bases of nonhigh school districts participating in 32
an innovation academy cooperative established under RCW 28A.340.080 33
must be adjusted by the office of the superintendent of public 34
instruction to reflect each school district's proportional share of 35
student enrollment in the cooperative;36
(e) The school district's maximum levy amount must be reduced by 37
the maximum amount of local effort assistance for which the school 38
district is eligible under RCW 28A.500.015;39
p. 3 SB 5593
(f) The school district's maximum levy amount must be reduced by 1
the out-of-compliance expenditure amount identified by the state 2
auditor under RCW 43.09.2856(2), if applicable.3
(2) For excess levies for collection in calendar year 2026 and 4
thereafter, a school district's levy base is the sum of allocations 5
in (a) and (b) of this subsection received by the school district for 6
the prior school year. A school district's levy base does not include 7
local school district property tax levies or other local revenues or 8
state and federal allocations not identified in (a) and (b) of this 9
subsection.10
(a) The district's basic education allocation as determined 11
pursuant to RCW 28A.150.250, 28A.150.260, and 28A.150.350;12
(b) State categorical allocations for the following programs:13
(i) Pupil transportation;14
(ii) Special education;15
(iii) Education of highly capable students;16
(iv) Compensatory education including, but not limited to, 17
learning assistance and bilingual education; and18
(v) Food services.19
(3) Beginning with collection year 2026 and each year thereafter, 20
a school district's maximum levy percentage is 30 percent.21
(4) A district must receive approval of an enrichment levy 22
expenditure plan under RCW 28A.505.240 before submission of the 23
proposition to the voters. 24
(((6) The superintendent of public instruction shall develop 25
rules and regulations and inform school districts of the pertinent 26
data necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.27
(7) Beginning with taxes levied for collection in 2018, 28
enrichment)) (5) Enrichment levy revenues must be deposited in a 29
separate subfund of the school district's general fund pursuant to 30
RCW 28A.320.330((,)) and ((for the 2018-19 school year )) are subject 31
to the restrictions of RCW 28A.150.276 and the audit requirements of 32
RCW 43.09.2856. 33
(((8))) (6) Funds collected from levies for transportation 34
vehicles, construction, modernization, or remodeling of school 35
facilities as established in RCW 84.52.053 are not subject to the 36
levy limitations in ((subsections (1) through (5) of)) this section.37
(7) For purposes of this section, "prior school year" means the 38
most recent school year completed prior to the year in which the 39
levies are to be collected.40
p. 4 SB 5593
(8) The superintendent of public instruction shall develop rules 1
and regulations and inform school districts of the pertinent data 2
necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.3
Sec. 2. RCW 28A.500.015 and 2022 c 108 s 4 are each amended to 4
read as follows: 5
(1) ((Beginning in calendar year 2020 and each calendar year 6
thereafter, the )) The state must provide state local effort 7
assistance funding to supplement school district enrichment levies 8
for eligible school districts as provided in this section.9
(2)(((a) For an eligible school district with an actual 10
enrichment levy rate that is less than one dollar and fifty cents per 11
thousand dollars of assessed value in the school district, the annual 12
local effort assistance funding is equal to the school district's 13
maximum local effort assistance multiplied by a fraction equal to the 14
school district's actual enrichment levy rate divided by one dollar 15
and fifty cents per thousand dollars of assessed value in the school 16
district.17
(b) For an eligible school district with an actual enrichment 18
levy rate that is equal to or greater than one dollar and fifty cents 19
per thousand dollars of assessed value in the school district, the 20
annual local effort assistance funding is equal to the school 21
district's maximum local effort assistance.22
(c) Beginning in calendar year 2022, for state-tribal education 23
compact schools established under chapter 28A.715 RCW, the annual 24
local effort assistance funding is equal to the actual enrichment 25
levy per student as calculated by the superintendent of public 26
instruction for the previous year for the school district in which 27
the state-tribal education compact school is located, up to a maximum 28
per student amount of one thousand five hundred fifty dollars as 29
increased by inflation from the 2019 calendar year, multiplied by the 30
student enrollment of the state-tribal education compact school in 31
the prior school year.32
(3))) Funds raised by school districts through enrichment levies 33
shall be matched with state funds using the following ratio of state 34
funds to levy funds:35
(a) The difference between the district's 18 percent levy rate 36
and the statewide average 18 percent levy rate, to;37
(b) The statewide average 18 percent levy rate.38
p. 5 SB 5593
(3) The maximum amount of state funds for school districts 1
eligible for local effort assistance is the district's 18 percent 2
levy amount, multiplied by the following percentage:3
(a) The difference between the district's 18 percent levy rate 4
and the statewide average 18 percent levy rate, divided by;5
(b) The district's 18 percent levy rate.6
(4) For state-tribal education compact schools subject to chapter 7
28A.715 RCW, annual local effort assistance funding is equal to the 8
actual enrichment levy per student as calculated by the 9
superintendent of public instruction for the previous school year for 10
the school district in which the state-tribal education compact 11
school is located, up to $1,550 as increased by inflation from the 12
2019 calendar year, multiplied by the student enrollment of the 13
state-tribal education compact school in the prior school year.14
(5) The state local effort assistance funding provided under this 15
section is not part of the state's program of basic education deemed 16
by the legislature to comply with the requirements of Article IX, 17
section 1 of the state Constitution. 18
(((4))) (6) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout 19
this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.20
(a) (("Eligible school district" means a school district where 21
the amount generated by a levy of one dollar and fifty cents per 22
thousand dollars of assessed value in the school district, divided by 23
the school district's total student enrollment in the prior school 24
year, is less than the state local effort assistance threshold.25
(b) For the purpose of this section, "inflation" means, for any 26
school year, the rate of the yearly increase of the previous calendar 27
year's annual average consumer price index for all urban consumers, 28
Seattle area, using the official current base compiled by the bureau 29
of labor statistics, United States department of labor.30
(c) "Maximum local effort assistance" means the difference 31
between the following:32
(i) The school district's actual prior school year enrollment 33
multiplied by the state local effort assistance threshold; and34
(ii) The amount generated by a levy of one dollar and fifty cents 35
per thousand dollars of assessed value in the school district.36
(d) "Prior school year" means the most recent school year 37
completed prior to the year in which the state local effort 38
assistance funding is to be distributed, except as follows:39
p. 6 SB 5593
(i) In the 2022 calendar year, if 2019-20 school year average 1
annual full-time equivalent enrollment is greater than the school 2
district's 2020-21 school year average annual full-time equivalent 3
enrollment, "prior school year" means the 2019-20 school year.4
(ii) In the 2023 calendar year, if 2019-20 school year average 5
annual full-time equivalent enrollment is greater than the school 6
district's 2021-22 school year average annual full-time equivalent 7
enrollment, "prior school year" means the 2019-20 school year.8
(e) "State local effort assistance threshold" means one thousand 9
five hundred fifty dollars per student, increased for inflation 10
beginning in calendar year 2020.11
(f) "Student enrollment" means the average annual full-time 12
equivalent student enrollment.13
(5) For districts in a high/nonhigh relationship, the enrollments 14
of the nonhigh students attending the high school shall only be 15
counted by the nonhigh school districts for purposes of funding under 16
this section.17
(6) For school districts participating in an innovation academy 18
cooperative established under RCW 28A.340.080, enrollments of 19
students attending the academy shall be adjusted so that each 20
participant district receives its proportional share of student 21
enrollments for purposes of funding under this section. )) "Districts 22
eligible for local effort assistance" and "eligible school districts" 23
means those districts with a 18 percent levy rate that exceeds the 24
statewide average 18 percent levy rate.25
(b) "District's 18 percent levy amount" means the school 26
district's maximum levy authority after transfers determined under 27
RCW 84.52.0531(1) (a) through (d) multiplied by 18 percent.28
(c) "District's 18 percent levy rate" means the district's 18 29
percent levy amount divided by the district's assessed valuation for 30
excess levy purposes for the prior tax collection year as adjusted to 31
100 percent by the county indicated ratio established in RCW 32
84.48.075.33
(d) "Inflation" means, for any school year, the rate of the 34
yearly increase of the previous calendar year's annual average 35
consumer price index for all urban consumers, Seattle area, as of the 36
beginning of the school year, using the official current base 37
compiled by the bureau of labor statistics, United States department 38
of labor.39
p. 7 SB 5593
(e) "Prior tax collection year" means the year immediately 1
preceding the year in which the local effort assistance is allocated.2
(f) "Statewide average 18 percent levy rate" means 18 percent of 3
the total levy bases as described in RCW 84.52.0531, summed for all 4
school districts, and divided by the total assessed valuation for 5
excess levy purposes in the prior tax collection year for all 6
districts as adjusted to 100 percent by the county indicated ratio 7
established in RCW 84.48.075.8
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. RCW 84.52.058 (School districts with high/9
nonhigh relationship) and 2018 c 266 s 305 are each repealed.10
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. This act takes effect January 1, 2026.11
--- END ---
p. 8 SB 5593