Alternative learning

AN ACT Relating to alternative learning experiences; amending RCW 1
28A.250.010, 28A.232.010, and 28A.250.020; reenacting and amending 2
RCW 28A.500.015; and adding a new section to chapter 28A.232 RCW.3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 28A.500.015 and 2025 c 405 s 1 and 2025 c 404 s 2 5
are each reenacted and amended to read as follows: 6
(1) Beginning in calendar year 2020 and each calendar year 7
thereafter, the state must provide state local effort assistance 8
funding to supplement school district enrichment levies as provided 9
in this section. 10
(2)(a) For an eligible school district with an actual enrichment 11
levy rate that is less than $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value in the 12
school district, the annual local effort assistance funding is equal 13
to the school district's maximum local effort assistance multiplied 14
by a fraction equal to the school district's actual enrichment levy 15
rate divided by $1.50 per $1,000 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 $1.50 per $1,000 of 19
assessed value in the school district, the annual local effort 20
S-4281.1
SENATE BILL 6320
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senators Hansen, Cortes, Hasegawa, and Nobles
Read first time 01/27/26. Referred to Committee on Early Learning &
K-12 Education.
p. 1 SB 6320
assistance funding is equal to the school district's maximum local 1
effort assistance. 2
(c) Beginning in calendar year 2022, for state-tribal education 3
compact schools established under chapter 28A.715 RCW, the annual 4
local effort assistance funding is equal to the actual enrichment 5
levy per student as calculated by the superintendent of public 6
instruction for the previous year for the school district in which 7
the state-tribal education compact school is located, up to a maximum 8
per-student amount of $1,550 as increased by inflation from the 2019 9
calendar year, multiplied by the student enrollment of the state-10
tribal education compact school in the prior school year.11
(3) The state local effort assistance funding provided under this 12
section is not part of the state's program of basic education deemed 13
by the legislature to comply with the requirements of Article IX, 14
section 1 of the state Constitution. 15
(4) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this 16
section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.17
(a) "Eligible school district" means a school district where the 18
amount generated by a levy of $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value in 19
the school district, divided by the school district's total student 20
enrollment in the prior school year, is less than the state local 21
effort assistance threshold. 22
(b) "Inflation" means the implicit price deflator for the 23
previous calendar year using the official current base, compiled by 24
the bureau of economic analysis, United States department of 25
commerce. 26
(c) "Maximum local effort assistance" means the difference 27
between the following: 28
(i) The school district's actual prior school year enrollment 29
multiplied by the state local effort assistance threshold; and30
(ii) The amount generated by a levy of $1.50 per $1,000 of 31
assessed value in the school district. 32
(d) "Prior school year" means the most recent school year 33
completed prior to the year in which the state local effort 34
assistance funding is to be distributed. 35
(e) "State local effort assistance threshold" means $1,550 per 36
student, increased for inflation beginning in calendar year 2020.37
(f) "Student enrollment" means the average annual full-time 38
equivalent student enrollment, reduced by the ((alternative learning 39
experience adjustment. Alternative learning experience adjustment 40
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equals (f)(i) of this subsection minus (f)(ii) of this subsection if 1
a school district's full-time equivalent student enrollment in 2
alternative learning experience courses exceeds 33 percent of average 3
annual full-time equivalent student enrollment. 4
(i) The full-time equivalent students enrolled in an alternative 5
learning experience course.6
(ii) Average annual full-time equivalent student enrollment 7
multiplied by 33 percent )) full-time equivalent student enrollment 8
for students attending remote or online alternative learning 9
experience programs that do not meet the funding restoration 10
requirements under section 2 of this act. 11
(5) For districts in a high/nonhigh relationship, the enrollments 12
of the nonhigh students attending the high school shall only be 13
counted by the nonhigh school districts for purposes of funding under 14
this section. 15
(6) For school districts participating in an innovation academy 16
cooperative established under RCW 28A.340.080, enrollments of 17
students attending the academy shall be adjusted so that each 18
participant district receives its proportional share of student 19
enrollments for purposes of funding under this section.20
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.232 21
RCW to read as follows: 22
(1) School districts may petition the office of the 23
superintendent of public instruction for restoration of funding under 24
RCW 28A.500.015(4)(f) on a per-student basis. 25
(2) The office of the superintendent of public instruction may 26
restore funding to districts under this section only for students 27
who: 28
(a) Reside within the boundaries of the petitioning district; and29
(b) Have provided the district with a written certification 30
signed by a health care practitioner attesting that the student is 31
unable to attend courses at a school building in their resident 32
school district for reasons of immunosuppression, severe and chronic 33
illness, severe injury, or severe bullying that has resulted in a 34
documented medical condition. 35
(3) For purposes of this section, "health care practitioner" 36
means a physician licensed under chapter 18.71 or 18.57 RCW, a 37
naturopath licensed under chapter 18.36A RCW, a physician assistant 38
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licensed under chapter 18.71A RCW, or an advanced registered nurse 1
practitioner licensed under chapter 18.79 RCW. 2
(4) The superintendent of public instruction may adopt rules to 3
implement this section. 4
Sec. 3. RCW 28A.250.010 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 18 s 504 are each 5
amended to read as follows: 6
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter 7
unless the context clearly requires otherwise. 8
(1)(a) "Multidistrict online provider" means: 9
(i) A ((private)) public or nonprofit organization that enters 10
into a contract with a school district to provide online courses or 11
programs to K-12 students from more than one school district;12
(ii) A ((private)) public or nonprofit organization that enters 13
into contracts with multiple school districts to provide online 14
courses or programs to K-12 students from those districts; or15
(iii) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, a school 16
district that provides online courses or programs to students who 17
reside outside the geographic boundaries of the school district.18
(b) "Multidistrict online provider" does not include a school 19
district online learning program in which fewer than ten percent of 20
the students enrolled in the program are from other districts under 21
the interdistrict student transfer provisions of RCW 28A.225.225. 22
"Multidistrict online provider" also does not include regional online 23
learning programs that are jointly developed and implemented by two 24
or more school districts or an educational service district through 25
an interdistrict cooperative program agreement that addresses, at 26
minimum, how the districts share student full-time equivalency for 27
state basic education funding purposes and how categorical education 28
programs, including special education, are provided to eligible 29
students. 30
(2)(a) "Online course" means a course or grade-level coursework 31
where: 32
(i) More than half of the course content is delivered 33
electronically using the internet or other computer-based methods;34
(ii) More than half of the teaching is conducted from a remote 35
location through an online course learning management system or other 36
online or electronic tools; 37
(iii) A certificated teacher has the primary responsibility for 38
the student's instructional interaction. Instructional interaction 39
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between the teacher and the student includes, but is not limited to, 1
direct instruction, review of assignments, assessment, testing, 2
progress monitoring, and educational facilitation; and3
(iv) Students have access to the teacher synchronously, 4
asynchronously, or both. 5
(b) "Online school program" means a school program that offers a 6
sequential set of online courses or grade-level coursework that may 7
be taken in a single school term or throughout the school year in a 8
manner that could provide a full-time basic education program if so 9
desired by the student. Students may enroll in the program as part-10
time or full-time students. 11
(c) An online course or online school program may be delivered to 12
students at school as part of the regularly scheduled school day. An 13
online course or online school program also may be delivered to 14
students, in whole or in part, independently from a regular classroom 15
schedule, but such courses or programs must comply with RCW 16
28A.232.010 and associated rules adopted by the superintendent of 17
public instruction to qualify for state basic education funding.18
(3) "Online provider" means any public or nonprofit provider of 19
an online course or program, including multidistrict online providers 20
under RCW 28A.250.020, all school district online learning programs, 21
and all regional online learning programs. 22
Sec. 4. RCW 28A.232.010 and 2018 c 56 s 1 are each amended to 23
read as follows: 24
(1) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this 25
chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.26
(a) "Alternative learning experience course" means a course, or 27
for grades kindergarten through eight grade-level coursework, that is 28
a delivery method for the program of basic education and is:29
(i) Provided in whole or in part independently from a regular 30
classroom setting or schedule, but may include some components of 31
direct instruction; 32
(ii) Supervised, monitored, assessed, evaluated, and documented 33
by a certificated teacher employed by the school district or under 34
contract as permitted by applicable rules; and 35
(iii) Provided in accordance with a written student learning plan 36
that is implemented pursuant to the school district's policy and 37
rules adopted by the superintendent of public instruction for 38
alternative learning experiences. 39
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(b) "In-person" means face-to-face instructional contact in a 1
physical classroom environment. 2
(c) "Instructional contact time" means instructional time with a 3
certificated teacher. Instructional contact time must be for the 4
purposes of actual instruction, review of assignments, testing, 5
evaluation of student progress, or other learning activities or 6
requirements identified in the student's written student learning 7
plan. Instructional contact time must be related to an alternative 8
learning experience course identified in the student's written 9
student learning plan. Instructional contact time may occur in a 10
group setting between the teacher and multiple students and may be 11
delivered either in-person or remotely using technology.12
(d) "Online course" means an alternative learning experience 13
course that has the same meaning as provided in RCW 28A.250.010.14
(e) "Remote course" means an alternative learning experience 15
course that is not an online course where the written student 16
learning plan for the course does not include a requirement for in-17
person instructional contact time. No minimum in-person instructional 18
contact time is required. The remote course must be provided by a 19
public or nonprofit organization.20
(f) "Site-based course" means an alternative learning experience 21
course where the written student learning plan for the course 22
includes a requirement for in-person instructional contact time.23
(g) "Total weekly time" means the estimated average hours per 24
school week the student will engage in learning activities to meet 25
the requirements of the written student learning plan.26
(2) School districts may claim state funding under RCW 27
28A.232.020, to the extent otherwise allowed by state law including 28
the provisions of RCW 28A.250.060, for students enrolled in remote, 29
site-based, or online alternative learning experience courses. High 30
school courses must meet district or state graduation requirements 31
and be offered for high school credit. 32
(3) School districts that offer alternative learning experience 33
courses may not provide any compensation, reimbursement, gift, 34
reward, or gratuity to any parents, guardians, or students for 35
participation in the courses. School district employees are 36
prohibited from receiving any compensation or payment as an incentive 37
to increase student enrollment of out-of-district students in 38
alternative learning experience courses. This prohibition includes, 39
but is not limited to, providing funds to parents, guardians, or 40
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students for the purchase of educational materials, supplies, 1
experiences, services, or technological equipment. A district may 2
purchase educational materials, equipment, or other nonconsumable 3
supplies for students' use in alternative learning experience courses 4
if the purchase is consistent with the district's approved 5
curriculum, conforms to applicable laws and rules, and is made in the 6
same manner as such purchases are made for students in the district's 7
regular instructional program. Items so purchased remain the property 8
of the school district upon program completion. School districts may 9
not purchase or contract for instructional or cocurricular 10
experiences and services that are included in an alternative learning 11
experience written student learning plan, including but not limited 12
to lessons, trips, and other activities, unless substantially similar 13
experiences and services are available to students enrolled in the 14
district's regular instructional program. School districts that 15
purchase or contract for such experiences and services for students 16
enrolled in an alternative learning experience course must submit an 17
annual report to the office of the superintendent of public 18
instruction detailing the costs and purposes of the expenditures. 19
These requirements extend to contracted providers of alternative 20
learning experience courses, and each district shall be responsible 21
for monitoring the compliance of its providers with these 22
requirements. However, nothing in this subsection shall prohibit 23
school districts from contracting with school district employees to 24
provide services or experiences to students, or from contracting with 25
online providers approved by the office of the superintendent of 26
public instruction pursuant to chapter 28A.250 RCW.27
(4) Each school district offering or contracting to offer 28
alternative learning experience courses must: 29
(a) Report annually to the superintendent of public instruction 30
regarding the course types and offerings, and number of students 31
participating in each; 32
(b) Document the district of residence for each student enrolled 33
in an alternative learning experience course; and 34
(c) Beginning in the 2013 -14 school year and continuing through 35
the 2016-17 school year, pay costs associated with a biennial measure 36
of student outcomes and financial audit of the district's alternative 37
learning experience courses by the office of the state auditor.38
(5) A school district offering or contracting to offer an 39
alternative learning experience course to a nonresident student must 40
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inform the resident school district if the student drops out of the 1
course or is otherwise no longer enrolled. 2
(6) School districts must assess the educational progress of 3
enrolled students at least annually, using, for full-time students, 4
the state assessment for the student's grade level and using any 5
other annual assessments required by the school district. Part-time 6
students must also be assessed at least annually. However, part-time 7
students who are either receiving home-based instruction under 8
chapter 28A.200 RCW or who are enrolled in an approved private school 9
under chapter 28A.195 RCW are not required to participate in the 10
assessments required under chapter 28A.655 RCW. The rules must 11
address how students who reside outside the geographic service area 12
of the school district are to be assessed. 13
(7) Beginning with the 2013-14 school year, school districts must 14
designate alternative learning experience courses as such when 15
reporting course information to the office of the superintendent of 16
public instruction under RCW 28A.300.500. 17
(8)(a) The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules 18
necessary to implement this section. 19
(b) Rules adopted for weekly direct personal contact requirements 20
and monthly progress evaluation must be flexible and reflect the 21
needs of the student and the student's individual learning plan 22
rather than specifying an amount of time. In addition, the rules must 23
reduce documentation requirements, particularly for students making 24
satisfactory progress, based on the unique aspects of the alternative 25
learning experience course types defined in this section and taking 26
into consideration the technical and system capabilities associated 27
with the different course types. 28
(c) The rules must establish procedures that address how the 29
counting of students must be coordinated by resident and nonresident 30
districts for state funding so that no student is counted for more 31
than one full-time equivalent in the aggregate. 32
Sec. 5. RCW 28A.250.020 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 18 s 505 are each 33
amended to read as follows: 34
(1) The superintendent of public instruction, in collaboration 35
with the state board of education, shall develop and implement 36
approval criteria and a process for approving online providers; a 37
process for monitoring and if necessary rescinding the approval of 38
courses or programs offered by an online provider; and an appeals 39
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process. The criteria and processes for multidistrict online 1
providers shall be adopted by rule by December 1, 2009.2
(2) No private or for-profit entity may be approved as an online 3
provider or multidistrict online provider under this section. The 4
superintendent of public instruction must rescind the approval of any 5
private or for-profit online providers or multidistrict online 6
providers no later than August 1, 2026.7
(3) When developing the approval criteria, the superintendent of 8
public instruction shall require that providers offering online 9
courses or programs have accreditation, or are candidates for 10
accreditation, through the Northwest accreditation commission or 11
another national, regional, or state accreditation program listed by 12
the office of the superintendent of public instruction. In addition 13
to other criteria, the approval criteria shall include the degree of 14
alignment with state academic standards and require that all teachers 15
be certificated in accordance with Washington state law. When 16
reviewing online providers that offer high school courses, the 17
superintendent of public instruction shall assure that the courses 18
offered by the provider are eligible for high school credit. However, 19
final decisions regarding whether credit meets the school district's 20
graduation requirements shall remain the responsibility of the school 21
districts. 22
(((3))) (4) Initial approval of online providers by the 23
superintendent of public instruction shall be for four years. The 24
superintendent of public instruction shall develop a process for the 25
renewal of approvals and for rescinding approvals based on 26
noncompliance with approval requirements. Any multidistrict online 27
provider that was approved by the digital learning commons or 28
accredited by the Northwest association of accredited schools before 29
July 26, 2009, and that meets the teacher certification requirements 30
of subsection (((2))) (3) of this section, is exempt from the initial 31
approval process under this section until August 31, 2012, but must 32
comply with the process for renewal of approvals and must comply with 33
approval requirements. 34
(((4))) (5) The superintendent of public instruction shall make 35
the first round of decisions regarding approval of multidistrict 36
online providers by April 1, 2010. The first round of decisions 37
regarding approval of online providers that are not multidistrict 38
online providers shall be made by April 1, 2013. Thereafter, the 39
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superintendent of public instruction shall make annual approval 1
decisions no later than November 1st of each year. 2
(((5))) (6) The superintendent of public instruction shall 3
establish an online learning advisory committee within existing 4
resources that shall provide advice to the superintendent regarding 5
the approval criteria, major components of the website, the model 6
school district policy, model agreements, and other related matters. 7
The committee shall include a representative of each of the following 8
groups: ((Private and public )) Public online providers, parents of 9
online students, accreditation organizations, educational service 10
districts, school principals, teachers, school administrators, school 11
board members, institutions of higher education, and other 12
individuals as determined by the superintendent. Members of the 13
advisory committee shall be selected by the superintendent based on 14
nominations from statewide organizations, shall serve three-year 15
terms, and may be reappointed. The superintendent shall select the 16
chair of the committee. 17
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