Current through Register Vol. 24-06, March 15, 2024
(1)
Annual school district
reports. A review of each school district's kindergarten through twelfth
grade program shall be conducted annually for the purpose of determining
compliance or noncompliance with basic education program approval requirements.
On or before September 15th of each school year, each school district
superintendent shall complete and return the program assurance form distributed
by the state board of education. The form shall be designed to elicit data
necessary to make a determination of a school district's compliance or
noncompliance with basic education program approval requirements. The form
shall be submitted electronically and signed by:
(a) The school board president or
chairperson, and
(b) The
superintendent of the school district.
(2)
State board staff review.
(a) State board of education staff shall
review each school district's program assurance form, may conduct onsite visits
of selected school districts, as needed and subject to funding support, and
shall prepare recommendations and reports for presentation to the state board
of education: Provided, that, if a school district's initial program assurance
form does not establish compliance with the basic education program approval
requirements, the district shall be provided the opportunity to explain the
deficiency or deficiencies.
(b)
School districts may use the personnel and services of the educational service
district to assist the school district and schools in the district that are out
of compliance with basic education program approval requirements.
(3)
Annual certification of
compliance or noncompliance-Withholding of funds for noncompliance.
(a) At the November meeting of the state
board of education, or at such other meeting as the board shall designate, the
board shall certify by motion each school district as being in compliance or
noncompliance with the basic education program approval requirements.
(b) A certification of compliance shall be
effective for the then current school year subject to any subsequent ad hoc
review and determination of noncompliance as may be deemed necessary by the
state board of education or advisable by the superintendent of public
instruction. In addition, a certification of compliance shall be effective
tentatively for the succeeding school year until such time as the state board
takes its annual action certifying compliance or noncompliance with the program
approval requirements.
(c) A
certification of noncompliance shall be effective until program compliance is
assured by the school district to the satisfaction of state board of education
staff, subject to review by the state board.
(d) Upon the certification of noncompliance
of a school district, state board of education staff shall notify the
superintendent of public instruction and the school district of a certification
of noncompliance immediately after the board meeting at which certification
occurred.
(e) A withholding of
basic education allocation funding from a school district shall not occur for
noncompliance if the school district has remediated the noncompliance situation
within sixty school business days from the time the district receives notice of
the noncompliance from the state board of education. The state board of
education may extend the sixty days timeline only if the district demonstrates
by clear and convincing evidence to the satisfaction of the state board of
education that sixty days is not reasonable to make the necessary corrections.
For the purposes of this section, a school business day shall mean any calendar
day, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and any federal and school holidays upon
which the office of the superintendent of the school district is open to the
public for the conduct of business. A school business day shall be concluded or
terminated upon the closure of said office for the calendar day.
(f) At the discretion of the state board of
education, after notification by the state board of education to a school
district regarding an existing noncompliance, the state board of education may
recommend the superintendent of public instruction withhold funds or may enter
into a compliance agreement with the school district that shall include, but
not be limited to, the following criteria:
(i)
A deadline for school district remediation of the non-compliance(s).
(ii) A listing of all the noncompliance areas
and the necessary terms that must be satisfied in each area in order for the
school district to gain compliance status. This listing also shall specify
additional deadlines for the accomplishment of the stated terms if different
from the final deadline as specified in subsection (1) of this
section.
(iii) A closing statement
specifying that a school district's failure to remediate a noncompliance by the
determined deadline may result, at the state board of education's or its
designee's discretion, in the recommendation to the superintendent of public
instruction of withholding of the school district's basic education allocation
funding by the superintendent of public instruction.
(iv) The date and the signatures of the
superintendent of the school district, the chair of the school district's board
of directors, and the chair of the state board of education, or his/her
designee, to the agreement. A copy of the completed compliance agreement shall
be sent to the chairperson of the school district's board of directors and the
school district superintendent.
(g) In the event a school district fails to
sign a compliance agreement within five school business days from the date of
issuance or does not satisfy all of the terms of the signed compliance
agreement within the designated amount of time, the state board of education
may recommend to the superintendent of public instruction withholding state
funds for the basic education allocation until program compliance is
assured.
(h) Any school district
may appeal to the state board of education the decision of noncompliance by the
state board of education. Such appeal shall be limited to the interpretation
and application of these rules by the state board of education. Such appeal
shall not stay the withholding of any state funds pursuant to this section or
completion of the compliance agreement.
(4) The provisions of subsection (3)(g) of
this section shall not apply if the noncompliance is related to the school
district's fiscal condition and results in the implementation of a financial
plan under
RCW
28A.505.140(3).
(5) Each school district shall develop,
maintain and, if necessary, implement a continuity of operations plan under WAC
180-16-200
and 180-16-212 for delivering the program of basic education during disruptions
to basic education delivery resulting from an "emergency or disaster" as
defined in
RCW
38.52.010. "Emergency" may also include a
national declaration of emergency by an authorized federal official.
Statutory Authority:
RCW
28A.150.220,
28A.150.250, and
28A.150.260. 11-17-044, §
180-16-195, filed 8/11/11,
effective 9/11/11. Statutory Authority:
RCW
28A.150.220(4),
28A.305.140,28A.305.130(6).
02-18-056, §
180-16-195, filed 8/28/02,
effective 9/28/02. Statutory Authority:
RCW
28A.150.250,
28A.150.260 and 28A.15.220
[28A.150.220]. 99-10-091, §
180-16-195, filed 5/4/99,
effective 6/4/99. Statutory Authority: RCW 28A.58.754(6). 84-11-043 (Order
2-84), §
180-16-195, filed 5/17/84.
Statutory Authority: RCW 28A.04.120. 83-13-002 (Order 3-83), §
180-16-195, filed 6/2/83.
Statutory Authority: RCW 28A.01.010, 28A.04.120, 28A.41.130, 28A.41.140,
28A.58.754, 28A.58.758, and 1979 ex.s. c 250. 79-10-033 (Order 10-79), §
180-16-195, filed 9/12/79.
Statutory Authority: RCW 28A.41.130 and 28A.58.754. 78-06-097 (Order 3-78),
§
180-16-195, filed
6/5/78.