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There
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The Washington
State Legislature created this fund in 2000 to provide additional funding
to school districts for class size reduction and professional development
and training. In 2001, the Legislature cut the Better Schools funding
by two-thirds (including the elimination of the professional development
portion).
Funds for
Bilingual Education (Title III of the No Child Left Behind Act) are
provided through federal grants to school districts for developing
and providing services to children with limited proficiency in understanding,
speaking, reading, and/or writing English. The funding is intended
for those with the greatest need; therefore, not all students who have
a primary language other than English may be eligible. The student’s
program eligibility ends whenever the student scores above the 35th
percentile in reading and language arts. For the 2001-02 school year,
there were 63,854 eligible bilingual students in Washington State and
the rate per eligible student was approximately $90 per year.
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Washington
State's Child Care program, administered by the Department of Social
and Health Services, provides child care subsidies to help families
with children to pay for child care. Subsidies are available to families
with children 12 and under and income at or below 200 percent of the
federal poverty level. This program serves approximately 76,500 children
per month.
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There
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ECEAP
is a “whole-child,” comprehensive, family-focused preschool program
created by the Washington State Legislature in 1985 to support the
healthy development and future success of less advantaged children.
Like Head Start, the program has four components: education, health
and nutrition, parent involvement and family support. It is a part-day
program, operating 3 to 3.5 hours per day, five days a week. The target
ECEAP population is four-year-old children whose family incomes are
at or below 110 percent of the federal poverty level. ECEAP operates
locally through a variety of contractors - school districts, educational
service districts, local governments, nonprofit organizations, child
care providers, community colleges, and tribal organizations. In 2001,
ECEAP served over 6,000 children with an average of $4,400 per enrollment
slot per year.
Early Head
Start, created in 1995, provides child development and parent education
services to low-income infants and toddler and their families. Services
are provided through home visits and Head Start centers, child care
centers and family child care homes. As with the Head Start program,
Early Head Start is administered by the Head Start Bureau, Administration
for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
There are
nine regional educational agencies serving school districts and state-approved
private schools in Washington State. ESDs function primarily as support
agencies and deliver educational services that can be more efficiently
or economically performed regionally.
This federal
family literacy program for low-income families, administered by the
Department of Education (Title I, Part B of the No Child Left Behind
Act), provides early childhood education, adult literacy, parenting
education, and interactive literacy activities between parents and
children. Grants are awarded to state education agencies; in
Washington state this is the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
(OSPI). OSPI makes competitive grants for Even Start family literacy
projects to partnerships of local education agencies (e.g. school districts)
and community-based organizations. In 2002-03, OSPI distributed
18 grants across Washington state.
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The
poverty guidelines, issued annually by the Department of Health and
Human Services, are the federal government’s official statistical definition
of poverty. This measure is used for administrative purposes, such
as determining financial eligibility for certain federal programs including
food stamps and Head Start. Using the 2003 guidelines, a family of
3 at 100 percent of the federal poverty level earns an annual income
of $15,260 or below.
The National
School Lunch Program is a federally funded meal program. Children from
families with incomes at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty
level are eligible for free or reduced-price meals based on family
income.
As part
of its Education Reform Act of 1993, Washington State established academic
standards for all public school students in the state. These standards,
the Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs), represent the
specific academic skills and knowledge students are required to meet
in the classroom. Students are tested at the 4th, 7th and 10th grade
levels to assess progress in meeting the state standards. The assessment
process is called Washington Assessment of Student Learning, with the
assessment tests commonly called WASLs. At the 4th grade level, state
standards have been established for reading, math, writing and listening.
Any school
district program offering kindergarten instructional hours in excess
of the state requirement of 180 half-days or equivalent of instruction.
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There
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The state’s
Basic Education Act requires school districts to provide 180 half-days
of instruction, or equivalent, in kindergarten (RCW 28A.150.220). Some
districts meet this requirement by providing 180 half-days; others
meet the requirement by providing 90 full days or some other variation
that is the equivalent of 180 half days.
The Head
Start program was begun in 1965 to provide comprehensive preschool
services to low-income children and children with disabilities. Head
Start legislation mandates that programs match federal funding with
a 20 percent non-federal share. The four major components of the program
- education, health, social services, and parent involvement - are
intended to help prepare children to succeed in the public school system
and in life. The target population is three- to five-year-old children
and their families. In order to be eligible, a family’s income must
be at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level and/or the
family must be receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
services. Although Head Start programs typically have provided part-day
services for eight or nine months out of the year, Head Start sites
are increasingly offering full-day, full-year programs in collaboration
with child care centers to meet the needs of parents who are either
working or in job training. Head Start, administered by the Head Start
Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, is a largely federally-funded program. Grants
are made directly to local public agencies, private non-profit and
for-profit organizations, Indian Tribes and school districts. In 2001,
Head Start served approximately 12,000 children in Washington State,
at an average funding level of $7,200 per child per year.
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In
November 2000, Washington State voters approved Initiative 728, the
K-12 2000 Student Achievement Act. The initiative dedicates a portion
of the state property tax and state lottery revenues to the Student
Achievement Fund, with funds then allocated annually to school districts
on a per-student basis ($194 in the 2001-02 school year). I-728 funds
may be used by school districts for six allowable uses. One allowable
use is to provide early assistance for children who need pre-kindergarten
support. Another allowable use is extended learning programs, including
full-day kindergarten.
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There
are no terms in the glossary starting with J.
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See
definitions for half-day
kindergarten or equivalent and full-day
kindergarten or extended program.
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LAP is
a program created by the Washington State Legislature in 1987 to provide
extra assistance for low-achieving students. Funding is determined
by a legislative formula that looks at test scores, free and reduced-price
lunch data, and projected enrollment. In the 1999-2000 school year,
districts received $370 per year per low-scoring student, with additional
funding provided to districts with above average levels of low-income
students. Nearly 90 percent of all districts received some LAP funding.
School
districts in Washington State are allowed to raise money locally using
a property tax. Although school districts can collect four types of
local levies (maintenance and operations, capital, technology, and
transportation vehicle), the most common levy is the maintenance and
operations levy that is intended to support school programs beyond
the basic education funded by the state. This includes hiring additional
teachers and funding enrichment school programs. A maintenance and
operations levy can last two, three, or four years, at which time it
must be re-approved. Approval requires a 60 percent supermajority "yes" vote
in a districtwide election. The size of a maintenance and operations
levy is decided by the local school board but limited by state law.
For most districts, the limit is 24 percent of the school district’s
state and federal funding for the previous school year (called the
levy base). However, many school districts operate without any local
levy dollars, and about 90 school districts in the state have levy
limits higher than 24 percent because historical levy levels were “grandfathered
in” after establishment of the limit.
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