K-12 education funding

AN ACT Relating to investing in the state's paramount duty to 1
fund K-12 education and build strong and safe communities by 2
modifying the state and local property tax authority and adjusting 3
the school funding formula; amending RCW 84.52.0531, 28A.500.015, 4
84.55.005, 84.55.100, 28A.150.390, 28A.150.392, and 28A.150.560; 5
creating new sections; repealing RCW 84.55.0101; 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. The legislature finds that the state's 9
constitutional paramount duty is to make ample provision for the 10
education of all children. The state continues to see growing needs 11
for everything from special education to equitable student supports 12
in school districts across the state. The legislature further finds 13
the current one percent property growth cap has damaged the ability 14
of our schools to adequately educate Washington's children because 15
population and inflation have exceeded one percent regularly over the 16
past decade. The legislature further finds that because costs have 17
exceeded the one percent cap for over a decade, it has damaged local 18
government's ability to adequately invest in public safety, including 19
the recruitment and retention of well-trained law enforcement 20
S-3145.1
SENATE BILL 5812
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Wellman, Hansen, Alvarado, Frame, Nobles, Pedersen,
Valdez, and C. Wilson
Read first time 04/16/25. Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.
p. 1 SB 5812
officers, early intervention, and other strategies to intervene in 1
behavioral health treatment. 2
The legislature further finds that school funding obligations 3
require an adjustment to levy equalization methods to ensure 4
equitable funding for our state's public schools. Increasing local 5
flexibility requires the state to ensure equitable funding for 6
historically underinvested areas of our state, including rural school 7
districts, mitigating widening funding gaps between schools.8
Therefore, it is the legislature's intent to increase the levy 9
authority for state and local property tax limits from one percent to 10
three percent to ensure investments in public K-12 schools and public 11
safety improving community resiliency. The legislature further 12
intends to adjust the school funding formula to ensure appropriate 13
funding for schools so that all Washington children receive the 14
quality education afforded to them under our Constitution.15
Sec. 2. RCW 84.52.0531 and 2022 c 108 s 3 are each amended to 16
read as follows: 17
(1) Beginning with taxes levied for collection in 2020, the 18
maximum dollar amount which may be levied by or for any school 19
district for enrichment levies under RCW 84.52.053 is equal to the 20
lesser of ((two dollars and fifty cents )) $2.50 per ((thousand 21
dollars)) $1,000 of the assessed value of property in the school 22
district or the maximum per-pupil limit. This maximum dollar amount 23
shall be reduced accordingly as provided under RCW 43.09.2856(2).24
(2) The definitions in this subsection apply to this section 25
unless the context clearly requires otherwise. 26
(a) ((For the purpose of this section, "inflation" )) "Inflation" 27
means the percentage change in the seasonally adjusted consumer price 28
index for all urban consumers, Seattle area, for the most recent 12-29
month period as of September 25th of the year before the taxes are 30
payable, using the official current base compiled by the United 31
States bureau of labor statistics. 32
(b) "Inflation enhancement" means:33
(i) $500 in the 2026 calendar year; and34
(ii) 3.33 percentage points added to inflation each year from the 35
2027 to 2030 calendar years.36
(c) "Maximum per-pupil limit" means: 37
(i) ((Two thousand five hundred dollars )) Through the 2030 38
calendar year:39
p. 2 SB 5812
(A) $2,500, as increased by inflation , plus inflation 1
enhancements defined in (b) of this subsection, beginning with 2
property taxes levied for collection in 2020, multiplied by the 3
number of average annual full-time equivalent students enrolled in 4
the school district in the prior school year, for school districts 5
with fewer than ((forty thousand)) 40,000 annual full-time equivalent 6
students enrolled in the school district in the prior school year; or7
(((ii) Three thousand dollars )) (B) $3,000, as increased by 8
inflation plus the inflation enhancement defined in (b)(i) of this 9
subsection, beginning with property taxes levied for collection in 10
2020, multiplied by the number of average annual full-time equivalent 11
students enrolled in the school district in the prior school year, 12
for school districts with ((forty thousand )) 40,000 or more annual 13
full-time equivalent students enrolled in the school district in the 14
prior school year. 15
(((c) "Open for in-person instruction to all students" means that 16
all students in all grades have the option to participate in at least 17
40 hours of planned in-person instruction per month and the school 18
follows state department of health guidance and recommendations for 19
resuming in-person instruction to the greatest extent practicable. )) 20
(ii) Beginning with the 2031 calendar year, $5,035, as increased by 21
inflation beginning with property taxes levied for collection in 22
2032, multiplied by the number of average annual full-time equivalent 23
students enrolled in the school district in the prior school year.24
(d) "Prior school year" means the most recent school year 25
completed prior to the year in which the levies are to be 26
collected((, except as follows:27
(i) In the 2022 calendar year, if 2019-20 school year average 28
annual full-time equivalent enrollment is greater than the school 29
district's 2020-21 school year average annual full-time equivalent 30
enrollment and the school district is open for in-person instruction 31
to all students by the beginning of the 2021-22 school year, "prior 32
school year" means the 2019-20 school year.33
(ii) In the 2023 calendar year, if 2019-20 school year average 34
annual full-time equivalent enrollment is greater than the school 35
district's 2021-22 school year average annual full-time equivalent 36
enrollment and the school district was open for in-person instruction 37
to all students by the beginning of the 2021-22 school year, "prior 38
school year" means the 2019-20 school year)). 39
p. 3 SB 5812
(3) For districts in a high/nonhigh relationship, the enrollments 1
of the nonhigh students attending the high school shall only be 2
counted by the nonhigh school districts for purposes of funding under 3
this section. 4
(4) For school districts participating in an innovation academy 5
cooperative established under RCW 28A.340.080, enrollments of 6
students attending the academy shall be adjusted so that each 7
participant district receives its proportional share of student 8
enrollments for purposes of funding under this section.9
(5) Beginning with propositions for enrichment levies for 10
collection in calendar year 2020 and thereafter, a district must 11
receive approval of an enrichment levy expenditure plan under RCW 12
28A.505.240 before submission of the proposition to the voters.13
(6) The superintendent of public instruction shall develop rules 14
and regulations and inform school districts of the pertinent data 15
necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.16
(7) Beginning with taxes levied for collection in 2018, 17
enrichment levy revenues must be deposited in a separate subfund of 18
the school district's general fund pursuant to RCW 28A.320.330, and 19
for the 2018-19 school year are subject to the restrictions of RCW 20
28A.150.276 and the audit requirements of RCW 43.09.2856.21
(8) Funds collected from levies for transportation vehicles, 22
construction, modernization, or remodeling of school facilities as 23
established in RCW 84.52.053 are not subject to the levy limitations 24
in subsections (1) through (5) of this section. 25
Sec. 3. RCW 28A.500.015 and 2022 c 108 s 4 are each amended to 26
read as follows: 27
(1) Beginning in calendar year 2020 and each calendar year 28
thereafter, the state must provide state local effort assistance 29
funding to supplement school district enrichment levies as provided 30
in this section. 31
(2)(a) For an eligible school district with an actual enrichment 32
levy rate that is less than ((one dollar and fifty cents )) $1.50 per 33
((thousand dollars)) $1,000 of assessed value in the school district, 34
the annual local effort assistance funding is equal to the school 35
district's maximum local effort assistance multiplied by a fraction 36
equal to the school district's actual enrichment levy rate divided by 37
((one dollar and fifty cents )) $1.50 per ((thousand dollars)) $1,000 38
of assessed value in the school district. 39
p. 4 SB 5812
(b) For an eligible school district with an actual enrichment 1
levy rate that is equal to or greater than ((one dollar and fifty 2
cents)) $1.50 per ((thousand dollars )) $1,000 of assessed value in 3
the school district, the annual local effort assistance funding is 4
equal to the school district's maximum local effort assistance.5
(c) Beginning in calendar year 2022, for state-tribal education 6
compact schools established under chapter 28A.715 RCW, the annual 7
local effort assistance funding is equal to the actual enrichment 8
levy per student as calculated by the superintendent of public 9
instruction for the previous year for the school district in which 10
the state-tribal education compact school is located, up to a maximum 11
per-student amount of ((one thousand five hundred fifty dollars )) 12
$1,550 as increased by inflation , plus inflation enhancements, from 13
the 2019 calendar year, multiplied by the student enrollment of the 14
state-tribal education compact school in the prior school year.15
(3) The state local effort assistance funding provided under this 16
section is not part of the state's program of basic education deemed 17
by the legislature to comply with the requirements of Article IX, 18
section 1 of the state Constitution. 19
(4) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this 20
section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.21
(a) "Eligible school district" means a school district where the 22
amount generated by a levy of ((one dollar and fifty cents )) $1.50 23
per ((thousand dollars )) $1,000 of assessed value in the school 24
district, divided by the school district's total student enrollment 25
in the prior school year, is less than the state local effort 26
assistance threshold. 27
(b) ((For the purpose of this section, "inflation" )) "Inflation" 28
means, for any school year, the rate of the yearly increase of the 29
previous calendar year's annual average consumer price index for all 30
urban consumers, Seattle area, using the official current base 31
compiled by the bureau of labor statistics, United States department 32
of labor. 33
(c) "Inflation enhancement" means:34
(i) $200 in the 2026, 2030, and 2031 calendar years; and35
(ii) $300 in the 2027 calendar year.36
(d) "Maximum local effort assistance" means the difference 37
between the following: 38
(i) The school district's actual prior school year enrollment 39
multiplied by the state local effort assistance threshold; and40
p. 5 SB 5812
(ii) The amount generated by a levy of ((one dollar and fifty 1
cents)) $1.50 per ((thousand dollars )) $1,000 of assessed value in 2
the school district. 3
(((d))) (e) "Prior school year" means the most recent school year 4
completed prior to the year in which the state local effort 5
assistance funding is to be distributed((, except as follows:6
(i) In the 2022 calendar year, if 2019-20 school year average 7
annual full-time equivalent enrollment is greater than the school 8
district's 2020-21 school year average annual full-time equivalent 9
enrollment, "prior school year" means the 2019-20 school year.10
(ii) In the 2023 calendar year, if 2019-20 school year average 11
annual full-time equivalent enrollment is greater than the school 12
district's 2021-22 school year average annual full-time equivalent 13
enrollment, "prior school year" means the 2019-20 school year)).14
(((e))) (f) "State local effort assistance threshold" means ((one 15
thousand five hundred fifty dollars )) $1,550 per student, increased 16
for inflation , plus inflation enhancements, beginning in calendar 17
year 2020. 18
(((f))) (g) "Student enrollment" means the average annual full-19
time equivalent student enrollment. 20
(5) For districts in a high/nonhigh relationship, the enrollments 21
of the nonhigh students attending the high school shall only be 22
counted by the nonhigh school districts for purposes of funding under 23
this section. 24
(6) For school districts participating in an innovation academy 25
cooperative established under RCW 28A.340.080, enrollments of 26
students attending the academy shall be adjusted so that each 27
participant district receives its proportional share of student 28
enrollments for purposes of funding under this section.29
Sec. 4. RCW 84.55.005 and 2014 c 97 s 316 are each amended to 30
read as follows: 31
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter 32
unless the context clearly requires otherwise. 33
(1) "Inflation" means ((the percentage change in the implicit 34
price deflator for personal consumption expenditures for the United 35
States as published for the most recent twelve-month period by the 36
bureau of economic analysis of the federal department of commerce by 37
September 25th of the year before the taxes are payable; )) the annual 38
percentage increase in the consumer price index for all urban 39
p. 6 SB 5812
consumers in the western region for all items as provided in the most 1
recent 12-month period by the bureau of labor statistics of the 2
United States department of labor by July 25th of the year before the 3
taxes are payable. 4
(2) "Limit factor" means((:5
(a) For taxing districts with a population of less than ten 6
thousand in the calendar year prior to the assessment year, one 7
hundred one percent;8
(b) For taxing districts for which a limit factor is authorized 9
under RCW 84.55.0101, the lesser of the limit factor authorized under 10
that section or one hundred one percent;11
(c) For all other districts, the lesser of one hundred one 12
percent or one hundred )) 100 percent plus population change and 13
inflation((; and)), not to exceed 103 percent.14
(3)(a) "Population change" means the annual percent increase in 15
the population of a taxing district between the two most recent years 16
as provided in the official population estimates published by the 17
office of financial management for April 1st of the year before taxes 18
are payable. If the office of financial management estimates a net 19
decrease in a taxing district's population, for the purposes of this 20
section, the population change is zero. For a county, the "population 21
of a taxing district" means the population within the county's 22
incorporated and unincorporated areas, unless the county taxing 23
district boundaries are limited to the unincorporated county areas, 24
in which case the "population of a taxing district" means the 25
population of the unincorporated county areas only. For taxing 26
districts that are not coterminous with one or more cities, towns, 27
counties, or unincorporated county areas, or any combination thereof, 28
as provided in the official population estimates published by the 29
office of financial management in April of the year before the taxes 30
are payable, "population change" means:31
(i) The population change for the city or town within which the 32
taxing district is wholly located;33
(ii) The population change for the county in which the taxing 34
district is wholly located, when the taxing district is not wholly 35
located within a city or town; or36
(iii) For taxing districts located in more than one county, the 37
county population change for the county in which the greatest total 38
taxable assessed value of the taxing district for the prior 39
assessment year is located.40
p. 7 SB 5812
(b) For the purposes of this subsection (3), the annual percent 1
increase in population is calculated to the nearest 0.1 percent, 2
rounding up to the next 0.1 percent if the second decimal place of 3
the annual percent increase is five or greater.4
(4) "Regular property taxes" has the meaning given it in RCW 5
84.04.140. 6
Sec. 5. RCW 84.55.100 and 1983 c 223 s 1 are each amended to 7
read as follows: 8
(1) The property tax limitation contained in this chapter shall 9
be determined by the county assessors of the respective counties in 10
accordance with the provisions of this chapter: PROVIDED, That the 11
limitation for any state levy shall be determined by the department 12
of revenue and the limitation for any intercounty rural library 13
district shall be determined by the library district in consultation 14
with the respective county assessors. 15
(2) By September 1, 2025, and by September 1st every year 16
thereafter, the department of revenue must provide county assessors 17
the limit factors necessary for the county assessor to comply with 18
subsections (1) and (3) of this section.19
(3) By October 1, 2025, and by October 1st every year thereafter, 20
the county assessor must determine the limit factor applicable to 21
each taxing district in their county and notify each taxing district 22
of the determination. However, for a taxing district located in more 23
than one county, the assessor of the county with the most assessed 24
value of the taxing district is subject to the requirements of this 25
subsection (3).26
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. RCW 84.55.0101 (Limit factor— Authorization 27
for taxing district to use one hundred one percent or less — Ordinance 28
or resolution) and 2007 sp.s. c 1 s 2 & 1997 c 3 s 204 are each 29
repealed.30
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Sections 4 through 6 of this act apply to 31
taxes levied for collection in 2026 and thereafter.32
Sec. 8. RCW 28A.150.390 and 2024 c 229 s 1 are each amended to 33
read as follows: 34
(1) The superintendent of public instruction shall submit to each 35
regular session of the legislature during an odd-numbered year a 36
p. 8 SB 5812
programmed budget request for special education programs for students 1
with disabilities. Funding for programs operated by local school 2
districts shall be on an excess cost basis from appropriations 3
provided by the legislature for special education programs for 4
students with disabilities and shall take account of state funds 5
accruing through RCW 28A.150.260 (4)(a), (5), (6), and (8) and 6
28A.150.415. 7
(2) The excess cost allocation to school districts shall be based 8
on the following: 9
(a) A district's annual average head count enrollment of students 10
ages three and four and those five year olds not yet enrolled in 11
kindergarten who are eligible for and receiving special education, 12
multiplied by the district's base allocation per full-time equivalent 13
student, multiplied by 1.2; 14
(b)(((i) Subject to the limitation in (b)(ii) of this subsection 15
(2), a)) A district's annual average enrollment of resident students 16
who are eligible for and receiving special education, excluding 17
students ages three and four and those five year olds not yet 18
enrolled in kindergarten, multiplied by the district's base 19
allocation per full-time equivalent student, multiplied by the 20
special education cost multiplier rate of((:21
(A) Beginning in the 2020-21 school year, either:22
(I) 1.0075 for students eligible for and receiving special 23
education and reported to be in the general education setting for 80 24
percent or more of the school day; or25
(II) 0.995 for students eligible for and receiving special 26
education and reported to be in the general education setting for 27
less than 80 percent of the school day;28
(B) Beginning in the 2023-24 school year,)) either:29
(((I))) (i) 1.12 for students eligible for and receiving special 30
education and reported to be in the general education setting for 80 31
percent or more of the school day; or 32
(((II))) (ii) 1.06 for students eligible for and receiving 33
special education and reported to be in the general education setting 34
for less than 80 percent of the school day. 35
(((ii) If the enrollment percent exceeds 16 percent, the excess 36
cost allocation calculated under (b)(i) of this subsection must be 37
adjusted by multiplying the allocation by 16 percent divided by the 38
enrollment percent.))39
(3) As used in this section((:40
p. 9 SB 5812
(a) "Base)), "base allocation" means the total state allocation 1
to all schools in the district generated by the distribution formula 2
under RCW 28A.150.260 (4)(a), (5), (6), and (8) and the allocation 3
under RCW 28A.150.415, to be divided by the district's full-time 4
equivalent enrollment. 5
(((b) "Basic education enrollment" means enrollment of resident 6
students including nonresident students enrolled under RCW 7
28A.225.225 and students from nonhigh districts enrolled under RCW 8
28A.225.210 and excluding students residing in another district 9
enrolled as part of an interdistrict cooperative program under RCW 10
28A.225.250.11
(c) "Enrollment percent" means the district's resident annual 12
average enrollment of students who are eligible for and receiving 13
special education, excluding students ages three and four and those 14
five year olds not yet enrolled in kindergarten and students enrolled 15
in institutional education programs, as a percent of the district's 16
annual average full-time equivalent basic education enrollment.))17
Sec. 9. RCW 28A.150.392 and 2024 c 127 s 2 are each amended to 18
read as follows: 19
(1)(a) To the extent necessary, funds shall be made available for 20
safety net awards for districts with demonstrated needs for special 21
education funding beyond the amounts provided through the special 22
education funding formula under RCW 28A.150.390. 23
(b) If the federal safety net awards based on the federal 24
eligibility threshold exceed the federal appropriation in any fiscal 25
year, then the superintendent shall expend all available federal 26
discretionary funds necessary to meet this need. 27
(2) Safety net funds shall be awarded by the state safety net 28
oversight committee subject to the following conditions and 29
limitations: 30
(a) The committee shall award additional funds for districts that 31
can convincingly demonstrate that all legitimate expenditures for 32
special education exceed all available revenues from state funding 33
formulas. When determining award eligibility and amounts (([,])), the 34
committee shall limit its review to relevant documentation that 35
illustrates adherence to award criteria. The committee shall not make 36
determinations regarding the content of individualized education 37
programs beyond confirming documented and quantified services and 38
p. 10 SB 5812
evidence of corresponding expenditures for which a school district 1
seeks reimbursement. 2
(b) In the determination of need, the committee shall consider 3
additional available revenues from federal sources.4
(c) Differences in program costs attributable to district 5
philosophy, service delivery choice, or accounting practices are not 6
a legitimate basis for safety net awards. 7
(d) In the determination of need, the committee shall require 8
that districts demonstrate that they are maximizing their eligibility 9
for all state revenues related to services for students eligible for 10
special education and all federal revenues from federal impact aid, 11
medicaid, and the individuals with disabilities education act-Part B 12
and appropriate special projects. Awards associated with (e) ((and 13
(f))) of this subsection shall not exceed the total of a district's 14
specific determination of need. 15
(e) The committee shall then consider the extraordinary high cost 16
needs of one or more individual students eligible for and receiving 17
special education. Differences in costs attributable to district 18
philosophy, service delivery choice, or accounting practices are not 19
a legitimate basis for safety net awards. 20
(f) ((Using criteria developed by the committee, the committee 21
shall then consider extraordinary costs associated with communities 22
that draw a larger number of families with children in need of 23
special education services, which may include consideration of 24
proximity to group homes, military bases, and regional hospitals. 25
Safety net awards under this subsection (2)(f) shall be adjusted to 26
reflect amounts awarded under (e) of this subsection.27
(g))) The committee shall then consider the extraordinary high 28
cost needs of one or more individual students eligible for and 29
receiving special education served in residential schools, programs 30
for juveniles under the department of corrections, and programs for 31
juveniles operated by city and county jails to the extent they are 32
providing a secondary program of education. 33
(((h))) (g) The maximum allowable indirect cost for calculating 34
safety net eligibility may not exceed the federal restricted indirect 35
cost rate for the district plus one percent. 36
(((i))) (h) Safety net awards shall be adjusted based on the 37
percent of potential medicaid eligible students billed as calculated 38
by the superintendent of public instruction in accordance with 39
chapter 318, Laws of 1999. 40
p. 11 SB 5812
(((j))) (i) Safety net awards must be adjusted for any unresolved 1
audit findings or exceptions related to special education funding. 2
Safety net awards may only be adjusted for errors in safety net 3
applications or individualized education programs that materially 4
affect the demonstration of need. 5
(3) The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt such 6
rules and procedures as are necessary to administer the special 7
education funding and safety net award process. By December 1, 2018, 8
the superintendent shall review and revise the rules to achieve full 9
and complete implementation of the requirements of this subsection 10
and subsection (4) of this section including revisions to rules that 11
provide additional flexibility to access community impact awards. 12
Before revising any standards, procedures, or rules, the 13
superintendent shall consult with the office of financial management 14
and the fiscal committees of the legislature. In adopting and 15
revising the rules, the superintendent shall ensure the application 16
process to access safety net funding is streamlined, timelines for 17
submission are not in conflict, feedback to school districts is 18
timely and provides sufficient information to allow school districts 19
to understand how to correct any deficiencies in a safety net 20
application, and that there is consistency between awards approved by 21
school district and by application period. The office of the 22
superintendent of public instruction shall also provide technical 23
assistance to school districts in preparing and submitting special 24
education safety net applications. 25
(4)(a) On an annual basis, the superintendent shall survey 26
districts regarding their satisfaction with the safety net process 27
and consider feedback from districts to improve the safety net 28
process. Each year by December 1st, the superintendent shall prepare 29
and submit a report to the office of financial management and the 30
appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the legislature that 31
summarizes the survey results and those changes made to the safety 32
net process as a result of the school district feedback.33
(b) By December 1, 2024, the office of the superintendent of 34
public instruction must develop a survey requesting specific feedback 35
on the safety net application process from school districts with 36
3,000 or fewer students. The survey must include, at a minimum, 37
questions regarding the average amount of time school district staff 38
spend gathering safety net application data, filling out application 39
forms, and correcting application deficiencies. The survey must also 40
p. 12 SB 5812
include questions to help identify which application components are 1
the most challenging and time consuming for school districts to 2
complete. By December 1, 2025, the office of the superintendent of 3
public instruction must use this feedback to implement a simplified, 4
standardized safety net application for all school districts that 5
reduces barriers to safety net funding. 6
(5) The safety net oversight committee appointed by the 7
superintendent of public instruction shall consist of:8
(a) One staff member from the office of the superintendent of 9
public instruction; 10
(b) Staff of the office of the state auditor who shall be 11
nonvoting members of the committee; and 12
(c) One or more representatives from school districts or 13
educational service districts knowledgeable of special education 14
programs and funding. 15
(6)(a) ((Beginning in the 2019-20 school year, a high-need 16
student is eligible for safety net awards from state funding under 17
subsection (2)(e) and (g) of this section if the student's 18
individualized education program costs exceed two and three-tenths 19
times the average per-pupil expenditure as defined in Title 20 U.S.C. 20
Sec. 7801, the every student succeeds act of 2015.21
(b))) Beginning in the 2023-24 school year, a high-need student 22
is eligible for safety net awards from state funding under subsection 23
(2)(e) and (((g))) (f) of this section if the student's 24
individualized education program costs exceed: 25
(i) 2 times the average per-pupil expenditure, for school 26
districts with fewer than 1,000 full-time equivalent students;27
(ii) 2.2 times the average per-pupil expenditure, for school 28
districts with 1,000 or more full-time equivalent students.29
(((c))) (b) For purposes of (((b))) (a) of this subsection, 30
"average per-pupil expenditure" has the same meaning as in 20 U.S.C. 31
Sec. 7801, the every student succeeds act of 2015, and excludes 32
safety net funding provided in this section. 33
Sec. 10. RCW 28A.150.560 and 2023 c 417 s 6 are each amended to 34
read as follows: 35
(1) It is the policy of the state that for purposes of state 36
funding allocations, students eligible for and receiving special 37
education generate the full basic education allocation under RCW 38
28A.150.260 and, as a class, are to receive the benefits of this 39
p. 13 SB 5812
allocation for the entire school day, as defined in RCW 28A.150.203, 1
whether the student is placed in the general education setting or 2
another setting. 3
(2) The superintendent of public instruction shall develop an 4
allocation and cost accounting methodology ((that ensures state 5
general apportionment funding for students who receive their basic 6
education services primarily in an alternative classroom or setting 7
are prorated and allocated to the special education program and 8
accounted for before calculating special education excess costs )) to 9
account for expenditures beyond amounts provided through the special 10
education funding formula under RCW 28A.150.390. This method of 11
accounting must shift 30 percent of a school district's base 12
allocation as defined in RCW 28A.150.390 for students eligible for 13
and receiving special education to the school district's special 14
education program for expenditure.15
(3) To the extent that a school district's special education 16
program expenditures exceed state funding in a school year provided 17
under RCW 28A.150.390 and 28A.150.392, and redirected general 18
apportionment revenue under subsection (2) of this section, the 19
school district must use the remaining portion of the school 20
district's base allocation as defined in RCW 28A.150.390 for students 21
eligible for and receiving special education for the expenditures 22
prior to using other funding sources.23
(4) Unless otherwise prohibited by law, nothing in this section 24
prohibits school districts from using other funding and state 25
allocations above the amounts provided under RCW 28A.150.390 and 26
subsections (2) and (3) of this section to serve students eligible 27
for and receiving special education. 28
(5) Nothing in this section requires districts to provide 29
services in a manner inconsistent with the student's individualized 30
education program or other than in the least restrictive environment 31
as determined by the individualized education program team.32
(((3))) (6) The superintendent of public instruction shall 33
provide the legislature with an accounting of prorated general 34
apportionment allocations provided to special education programs 35
broken down by school district by January 1, 2024, and then every 36
January 1st of odd-numbered years thereafter. 37
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. The superintendent of public instruction 38
shall convene a K-12 funding equity work group to analyze K-12 39
p. 14 SB 5812
funding formulas and explore options for revisions to the funding 1
formula that are responsive to student needs, including economic, 2
demographic, and geographic differences in student and community 3
populations. The office of the superintendent of public instruction 4
may contract with institutions of higher education and public, 5
nonpartisan research entities to support the work group's analysis.6
(1) At a minimum, the work group's analysis must include:7
(a) Impacts of changes to per-pupil funding formulas and local 8
revenue; 9
(b) Compensation factors described in RCW 28A.150.412;10
(c) Funding distribution trends resulting from the prototypical 11
school funding formula; and 12
(d) Current formulas that benefit specific populations of 13
students including, but not limited to, the learning assistance 14
program, local effort assistance, and small school funding.15
(2) The superintendent of public instruction must use the work 16
group's analysis conducted under subsection (1) of this section to 17
consider options for revising state and local school funding 18
formulas. By November 1, 2025, and annually thereafter through 2027, 19
the superintendent of public instruction shall report the work 20
group's progress and any proposed options to the education and fiscal 21
committees of the legislature. The reports must include, but are not 22
limited to, the following topics: 23
(a) Options for revisions to the funding formula that address 24
system and resource inequities; 25
(b) Options that address state, local, and regional needs;26
(c) The potential adoption of student weights to direct 27
additional funding to students most in need; and 28
(d) Metrics for monitoring and accountability related to 29
equitable access to resources. 30
(3) The superintendent of public instruction may determine the 31
size, membership, and meeting frequency of the work group. The work 32
group must include representation from education and community 33
partners that are demographically and geographically diverse 34
including, but not limited to, groups representing educators, school 35
and district administrators, labor unions, families, students, 36
community partners who support groups disproportionately impacted by 37
inequities, and legislators. 38
(4) The estimated cost of an option or group of options proposed 39
by the superintendent of public instruction under subsection (2) of 40
p. 15 SB 5812
this section must not exceed the estimated additional state revenue 1
provided under section 4, chapter . . ., Laws of 2025 when combined 2
with the estimated additional state funding allocated in this act. 3
The department of revenue shall make available relevant data and 4
analyses to the superintendent of public instruction to support the 5
calculations under this subsection (4). 6
(5) This section expires December 1, 2027. 7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. Sections 8 through 10 of this act take 8
effect September 1, 2028.9
--- END ---
p. 16 SB 5812