(1) Funds appropriated to the superintendent of public instruction from the common school construction fund shall be allotted by the superintendent of public instruction in accordance with this chapter.

(2) No allotment shall be made to a school district until such district has provided local funds equal to or greater than the difference between the total approved project cost and the amount of state funding assistance to the district for financing the project computed pursuant to RCW 28A.525.166, with the following exceptions:

(a) The superintendent of public instruction may waive the local requirement for state funding assistance for districts which have provided funds for school building construction purposes through the authorization of bonds or through the authorization of excess tax levies or both in an amount equivalent to two and one-half percent of the value of its taxable property, as defined in RCW 39.36.015.

(b) No such local funds shall be required as a condition to the allotment of funds from the state for the purpose of making major or minor structural changes to existing school facilities in order to bring such facilities into compliance with the barrier free access requirements of section 504 of the federal rehabilitation act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 706) and rules implementing the act.

(3) For the purpose of computing the state funding assistance percentage under RCW 28A.525.166 when a school district is granted authority to enter into contracts, adjusted valuation per pupil shall be calculated using head count student enrollments from the most recent October enrollment reports submitted by districts to the superintendent of public instruction, adjusted as follows:

(a) In the case of projects for which local bonds were approved after May 11, 1989:

(i) For districts which have been designated as serving high school districts under RCW 28A.540.110, students residing in the nonhigh district so designating shall be excluded from the enrollment count if the student is enrolled in any grade level not offered by the nonhigh district;

(ii) The enrollment of nonhigh school districts shall be increased by the number of students residing within the district who are enrolled in a serving high school district so designated by the nonhigh school district under RCW 28A.540.110, including only students who are enrolled in grade levels not offered by the nonhigh school district; and

(iii) The number of preschool students with disabilities included in the enrollment count shall be multiplied by one-half;

(b) In the case of construction or modernization of high school facilities in districts serving students from nonhigh school districts, the adjusted valuation per pupil shall be computed using the combined adjusted valuations and enrollments of each district, each weighted by the percentage of the district’s resident high school students served by the high school district;

(c) The number of kindergarten students included in the enrollment count shall be counted as one head count student; and

(d) The number of students residing outside the school district who are enrolled in alternative learning experience courses under RCW 28A.232.010 shall be excluded from the total.

(4) In lieu of the exclusion in subsection (3)(d) of this section, a district may submit an alternative calculation for excluding students enrolled in alternative learning experience courses. The alternative calculation must show the student head count use of district classroom facilities on a regular basis for a regular duration by out-of-district alternative learning experience students subtracted by the head count of in-district alternative learning experience students not using district classroom facilities on a regular basis for a reasonable duration. The alternative calculation must be submitted in a form approved by the office of the superintendent of public instruction. The office of the superintendent of public instruction must develop rules to define “regular basis” and “reasonable duration.”

(5) The superintendent of public instruction, considering policy recommendations from the school facilities citizen advisory panel, shall prescribe such rules as are necessary to equate insofar as possible the efforts made by school districts to provide capital funds by the means aforesaid.

(6) For the purposes of this section, “preschool students with disabilities” means children of preschool age who have developmental disabilities who are entitled to services under RCW 28A.155.010 through 28A.155.100 and are not included in the kindergarten enrollment count of the district.

Application—Enforcement of laws protecting health and safety—2013 2nd sp.s. c 18: See note following RCW 28A.600.022.

Intent—2012 c 244: “The school construction assistance funding formula is used to determine state funding contributions to school construction projects. It is the intent of the legislature that the formula use the most accurate method available to reflect the actual number of students using districts’ school facilities. State funding currently provides all-day kindergarten for over twenty percent of kindergarten students and RCW 28A.150.315 calls for the continued phasing-in of all-day kindergarten each year until full statewide implementation is achieved in the 2017-18 school year. In addition, because alternative learning experience programs of education take place in whole, or in part, outside the regular classroom setting, and because online alternative learning experience programs are delivered primarily electronically using the internet or other computer-based methods, it is appropriate to consider the impact of alternative learning experience students in assessing school space needs. The legislature acknowledges the review of the formula conducted by the office of the superintendent of public instruction and accepts many recommendations from the resulting December 2011 report. The legislature also intends to provide financial assistance for school districts affected by the transition to the new funding formula. This assistance will be limited to grants to cover direct district expenditures for contracted architects, engineers, and other consultants for projects that are no longer eligible for state assistance under the new formula or for projects requiring significant redesign work as a result of reduced state assistance under the new formula.” [ 2012 c 244 § 1.]

Effective date—2012 c 244: “This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately [March 30, 2012].” [ 2012 c 244 § 4.]

Intent—2009 c 129: See note following RCW 28A.335.230.

Findings—Purpose—Part headings not law—2006 c 263: See notes following RCW 28A.150.230.

Purpose—Effective dates—Savings—Disposition of certain funds—Severability—1980 c 154: See notes following chapter 82.45 RCW digest.

Severability—1974 ex.s. c 56: “If any provision of this 1974 amendatory act, or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act, or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.” [ 1974 ex.s. c 56 § 9.]

Severability—Effective date—1970 ex.s. c 42: See notes following RCW 39.36.015.

Severability—1969 ex.s. c 244: “If any section, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase or word of this act should be held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such act shall not affect nor impair the validity or constitutionality of any other section, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase or word of this act. It is hereby declared that had any section, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase or word as to which this act is declared invalid been eliminated from the act at the time the same was considered, the act would have nevertheless been enacted with such portions eliminated.” [ 1969 ex.s. c 244 § 16.]