(1) Requirements: The Growth Management Act does not prohibit a county planning under RCW 36.70A.040 from authorizing the extension of public facilities and utilities to serve a school sited in a rural area that serves students from a rural area and an urban area so long as the following requirements are met:

(a) The applicable school district board of directors has adopted a policy addressing school service area and facility needs and educational program requirements;

(b) The applicable school district has made a finding, with the concurrence of the county legislative authority and the legislative authorities of any affected cities, that the district's proposed site is suitable to site the school and any associated recreational facilities that the district has determined cannot reasonably be collocated on an existing school site, taking into consideration the policy adopted in (a) of this subsection and the extent to which vacant or developable land within the growth area meets those requirements;

(c) The county and any affected cities agree to the extension of public facilities and utilities to serve the school sited in a rural area that serves urban and rural students at the time of concurrence in (b) of this subsection;

(d) If the public facility or utility is extended beyond the urban growth area to serve a school, the public facility or utility must serve only the school and the costs of such extension must be borne by the applicable school district based on a reasonable nexus to the impacts of the school, except as provided in subsection (3) of this section; and

(e) Any impacts associated with the siting of the school are mitigated as required by the State Environmental Policy Act, chapter 43.21C RCW.

(2) The act does not prohibit either the expansion or modernization of an existing school in the rural area or the placement of portable classrooms at an existing school in the rural area.

(3) Where a public facility or utility has been extended beyond the urban growth area to serve a school, the public facility or utility may, where consistent with RCW 36.70A.110(4), serve a property or properties in addition to the school if the property owner so requests, provided that the county and any affected cities agree with the request and provided that the property is located no further from the public facility or utility than the distance that, if the property were within the urban growth area, the property would be required to connect to the public facility or utility. In such an instance, the school district may, for a period not to exceed 20 years, require reimbursement from a requesting property owner for a proportional share of the construction costs incurred by the school district for the extension of the public facility or utility.

(4) Counties and cities must identify lands useful for public purposes, such as schools in their comprehensive plan. (See RCW 36.70A.150.) As part of subdivision approval, permitting jurisdictions must ensure appropriate provisions are made for schools and school grounds. (See RCW 58.17.110.)

(5) Recommendations for meeting requirements.

(a)(i) School sites should be considered as communities are being planned, and specifically considered when permitting large developments. (See RCW 36.70A.110(2) and 36.70A.150.)

(ii) Cities, counties, and school districts should first work together to identify potential school sites within urban growth areas. To facilitate the siting of schools within urban areas, cities and counties should work with school districts to assess zoning, height limits, and other factors that may affect the ability of a school to site within an urban growth area, including joint-use facilities. County policies may address schools in the rural area, and set out locational, buffering or screening policies to protect rural character. As schools are considered in the rural area, the long-term plan for the area should be considered, but new school development should not be used to intentionally drive urban development in a rural area.

(b) Cities, counties and school districts should:

(i) Coordinate enrollment forecasts and projections with the city and county's adopted population projections.

(ii) Identify school siting criteria with the county, cities, and regional transportation planning organizations. Such criteria may be included in countywide planning policies.

(iii) Identify suitable school sites with the county and cities, with priority to siting schools in existing cities and towns in locations where students can safely walk and bicycle to the school from their homes and that can effectively be served by transit.

(iv) Consider playgrounds and fields associated with activities during the normal school day (e.g., recess and physical education) for new, expanded, or modernized school sites. Districts may consider joint use of recreational facilities as part of the proposal.

(c) If school impact fees are collected, a jurisdiction's capital facilities element must address school facility needs related to growth. (See RCW 82.02.050 and 82.02.090(7).) Cities and counties should work with school districts to review the relationship of school district enrollment projections with local population growth projections.

(d) A school district policy adopted pursuant to RCW 36.70A.213 may include criteria for siting schools, school grade configuration, educational programming, recreational facility co-location, feeder schools, transportation routes, or other relevant factors that may affect school siting decisions.

(e) If a county or affected city concurs with the school district's finding, the county and any affected cities should also at that time agree to the extension of public facilities and utilities to serve the school. If a county or affected city finds that it cannot concur with the school district's findings regarding the proposed school, the county or city should document the reasons in their decision.