HB 2311 — Reducing barriers to student participation in extracurricular activities.

H-3893.1SUBSTITUTEH-3175.2HOUSE HOUSE BILL 2311State of Washington65th Legislature2018 Regular SessionBy House Education (originally sponsored by Representatives Bergquist, Harris, Hudgins, Tarleton, Slatter, Haler, Reeves, Doglio, Muri, Graves, and Young)READYoungPrefiled FIRST12/20/17. TIME 01/22/18.AN ACT Relating to reducing barriers to student participation in extracurricular activities;

amendingRead RCWfirst 28A.195.010;time 01/08/18.

Referred to Committee on Education.AN ACT Relating to reducing barriers to student participation in extracurricular activities;

adding a new section to chapter 28A.320 RCW;

and positively enhances a student's educational experience.(2) Thus, the legislature intends to reduce barriers to participation in extracurricular activities by:(a) Capping fees for low-income students who participate in these activities,activities;(b) including career and technical student organizations, and sports and other activities governed by the Washington interscholastic activities association;(b) Requiring that the process for charging and collecting fees be identical for all students;

(1)(a) The maximum fee charged to a public or private high school student eligible to participate in the federal free and reduced-price meals program for an associated student body or other student identification card is five dollars per school year.(b) The maximum fee charged to a public or private high school student eligible to participate in the federal free and reduced-price meals program to participate in an extracurricular activity is five dollars per extracurricular activity per school year.

This subsection (1)(b) applies only to high school students who are enrolled in a school district that is a member of the Washington interscholastic activities association.(c)association.(2) The maximum fee charged to a public or private high school student to participate in career and technical student organizations is five dollars per organization per year.(2) The process for charging and collecting fees from public and private high school students eligible to participate in the federal free and reduced-price meals program, as required by subsection (1) of this section, must be identical to the process for charging and collecting fees from other students.(3)students.NEW The legislature recommends, but does not require, that the provisions of this section are made applicable to public and private junior and middle schools.NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3.  A new section is added to chapter 28A.32028A.300 RCW to read as follows:COMMUNICATINGfollows:PROMOTING FEELIVELY LIMITS.ACTIVITIES FOR YOUTH (PLAY) GRANT PROGRAM.

School(1) districtsThe mustpromoting widely,lively effectively,activities andfor frequentlyyouth communicate(PLAY) thegrant feeprogram limitsis oncreated theto purchasesubsidize ofsmall studentschool identificationdistricts cards,unduly participationimpacted inby extracurricularsection activities,2 andof participationthis inact, careerwhich andlimits technicalthe studentextracurricular organizationsactivities forfee charged to public school students eligible to participate in the federal free and reduced-price meals program,program.(2) describedSubject into sectionthe 2availability of amounts appropriated for this act.specific purpose and beginning in the 2018-19 school year, the superintendent of public instruction shall allocate, on a first come basis, up to fifty thousand dollars per school year for the purposes of the PLAY grant program.(3) To qualify for a PLAY grant, a school district must:(a) Have fewer than two thousand students;(b) Have fifty percent or more of their students eligible to participate in the federal free and reduced-price meals program;

Informationand(c) aboutBe theimpacted feeby limitsthe mustmaximum beextracurricular includedactivities onfee thelimitations highdescribed school'sin websection site2 andof thethis schoolact.(4) district'sApplications webfor site,a registrationPLAY formsgrant relatedmust toinclude schoolthe enrollmentnumber and participationoverall inpercentage extracurricularof activitiesstudents oreligible careerto andparticipate technicalin studentthe organizations,federal annualfree informationand packetsreduced-price tomeals studentsprogram andwho families,participated andin newsletters.Sec. 4.  RCWone 28A.195.010or andmore 2009extracurricular cactivities 548in sthe 303prior areschool eachyear, amendedand toan readestimate asof follows:(1)the Thenumber legislatureof herebyextracurricular recognizesactivities thatfees privatesubject schoolsto shouldthe bemaximum subjectdescribed onlyin tosection those2(2) minimumof statethis controlsact.(5) necessaryThe tomaximum insuregrant theaward healthper andschool safetydistrict ofis allfive thethousand studentsdollars inper theyear.NEW stateSECTION.  Sec. 4.  A andnew tosection insureis aadded sufficientto basicchapter education28A.600 RCW to meetread usualas graduationfollows:PHYSICAL requirements.EXAMINATION FREQUENCY.

The state, any agency or official thereof, shall not restrict or dictate any specific educational or other programs for private schools except as hereinafter in this section provided.(2) Principals of private schools or superintendents of private school districts shall file each year with the state superintendent of public instruction a statement certifying that the minimum requirements hereinafter set forth are being met, noting any deviations.

After review of the statement, the state superintendent will notify schools or school districts of those deviations which must be corrected.

In case of major deviations, the school or school district may request and the state board of education may grant provisional status for one year in order that the school or school district may take action to meet the requirements.

The state board of education shall not require private school students to meet the student learning goals, obtain a certificate of academic achievement, or a certificate of individual achievement to graduate from high school, to master the essential academic learning requirements, or to be assessed pursuant to RCW 28A.655.061.

However, private schools may choose, on a voluntary basis, to have their students master these essential academic learning requirements, take the assessments, and obtain a certificate of academic achievement or a certificate of individual achievement.

Minimum requirements shall be as follows:(((1))) (a) The minimum school year for instructional purposes shall consist of no less than one hundred eighty school days or the equivalent in annual minimum instructional hour offerings, with a school-wide annual average total instructional hour offering of one thousand hours for students enrolled in grades one through twelve, and at least four hundred fifty hours for students enrolled in kindergarten.(((2))) (b) The school day shall be the same as defined in RCW 28A.150.203.(((3))) (c) All classroom teachers shall hold appropriate Washington state certification except as follows:(((a))) (i) Teachers for religious courses or courses for which no counterpart exists in public schools shall not be required to obtain a state certificate to teach those courses.(((b))) (ii) In exceptional cases, people of unusual competence but without certification may teach students so long as a certified person exercises general supervision.

Annual written statements shall be submitted to the office of the superintendent of public instruction reporting and explaining such circumstances.(((4))) (d) An approved private school may operate an extension program for parents, guardians, or persons having legal custody of a child to teach children in their custody.

The extension program shall require at a minimum that:(((a))) (i) The parent, guardian, or custodian be under the supervision of an employee of the approved private school who is certified under chapter 28A.410 RCW;(((b))) (ii) The planning by the certified person and the parent, guardian, or person having legal custody include objectives consistent with this subsection (2)(d) and ((subsections (1), (2), (5), (6), and (7) of this section)) (a), (b), (e), (f), and (g) of this subsection;(((c))) (iii) The certified person spend a minimum average each month of one contact hour per week with each student under his or her supervision who is enrolled in the approved private school extension program;(((d))) (iv) Each student's progress be evaluated by the certified person;

and(((e))) (v) The certified employee shall not supervise more than thirty students enrolled in the approved private school's extension program.(((5))) (e) Appropriate measures shall be taken to safeguard all permanent records against loss or damage.(((6))) (f) The physical facilities of the school or district shall be adequate to meet the program offered by the school or district:

PROVIDED, That each school building shall meet reasonable health and fire safety requirements.

A residential dwelling of the parent, guardian, or custodian shall be deemed to be an adequate physical facility when a parent, guardian, or person having legal custody is instructing his or her child under (d) of this subsection (((4) of this section)).(((7))) (g) Private school curriculum shall include instruction of the basic skills of occupational education, science, mathematics, language, social studies, history, health, reading, writing, spelling, and the development of appreciation of art and music, all in sufficient units for meeting state board of education graduation requirements.(((8))) (h) Each school or school district shall be required to maintain up-to-date policy statements related to the administration and operation of the school or school district.(3) All decisions of policy, philosophy, selection of books, teaching material, curriculum, except as in subsection (((7))) (2)(g) of this section provided, school rules and administration, or other matters not specifically referred to in this section, shall be the responsibility of the administration and administrators of the particular private school involved.(4) Each school or school district shall comply with the requirements of sections 2 and 3 of this act relating to fee limits on the purchase of student identification cards, participation in extracurricular activities, and participation in career and technical student organizations for students eligible to participate in the federal free and reduced-price meals program.NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5.  A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 RCW to read as follows:PROMOTING LIVELY ACTIVITIES FOR YOUTH (PLAY) GRANT PROGRAM.

(1)(a) The promoting lively activities for youth (PLAY) grant program is created to subsidize small school districts unduly impacted by section 2(1)(b) of this act, which limits the extracurricular activities fee charged to public high school students eligible to participate in the federal free and reduced-price meals program.(b) The Washington interscholastic activities association, under contract with the superintendent of public instruction, must administer the program.(2)(a) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose and beginning in the 2018-19 school year, the Washington interscholastic activities association must allocate, on a first come basis, up to fifty thousand dollars per school year for the purposes of the PLAY grant program.(b) The Washington interscholastic activities association may not retain any of the appropriated amounts for administrative purposes.(3) To qualify for a PLAY grant, a school district must:(a) Have fewer than two thousand students;(b) Have fifty percent or more of their high school students eligible to participate in the federal free and reduced-price meals program;

and(c) Be impacted by the maximum extracurricular activities fee limitations described in section 2(1)(b) of this act.(4) Applications for a PLAY grant must include the number and overall percentage of high school students eligible to participate in the federal free and reduced-price meals program who participated in one or more extracurricular activities in the prior school year, and an estimate of the number of extracurricular activities fees subject to the maximum described in section 2(1)(b) of this act.(5) The maximum grant award per school district is five thousand dollars per year.(6) By November 1, 2019, and in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, and by November 1st annually thereafter, the Washington interscholastic activities association must report to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the legislature the following data:

The number of applications, a summary of the information submitted with applications as required under subsection (4) of this section, and the number and amount of PLAY grants awarded.NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6.  A new section is added to chapter 28A.600 RCW to read as follows:PHYSICAL EXAMINATION FREQUENCY.