The authority for these rules is RCW 28A.657.020, 28A.657.030, and 28A.657.100, which require the superintendent of public instruction to annually:

(1) Identify challenged schools in need of improvement and a subset of such schools that are the persistently lowest-achieving schools in the state;

(2) Recommend school districts for designation as required action districts to the state board of education; and

(3) Make recommendations to the state board of education regarding the release of school districts from being designated as a required action district.

The purpose of this chapter is to:

(1) Adopt criteria, aligned with Washington's federally authorized accountability system, for identifying challenged schools in need of improvement and a subset of such schools that are the persistently lowest-achieving schools in the state;

(2) Establish criteria for recommending to the state board of education school districts for required action; and

(3) Establish exit criteria for districts that receive a required action designation.

For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:

(1) "Challenged schools in need of improvement" are schools which have been identified for comprehensive supports through Washington's federally authorized accountability system.

(2) "Federally approved accountability plan" refers to the state plan submitted to and approved by the federal Department of Education under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended.

(3) "Persistently lowest achieving schools" are a subset of "challenged schools in need of improvement" and are characterized, among other things, as schools showing a lack of progress for all students and subgroups of students over a number of years.

(4) "Required action district" is a district with one or more schools identified as a persistently lowest achieving school, which is recommended by the superintendent of public instruction as a required action district and subsequently designated by the state board of education as a required action district.

(5) "Washington school improvement framework" or "WSIF" means the system of school differentiation described in the Washington accountability plan approved by the U.S. Department of Education as meeting federal requirements.

In February of every year, the superintendent of public instruction will identify challenged schools in need of improvement.

(1) Challenged schools in need of improvement shall be the same schools identified for comprehensive supports through the WSIF.

(2) A subset of these schools shall be identified as persistently lowest achieving schools. Schools identified as persistently lowest achieving schools will meet the following criteria:

(a) The school is a challenged school in need of improvement;

(b) The school is in the lowest decile for combined student growth as defined in the WSIF;

(c) The school is in the lowest decile for combined student proficiency as defined in the WSIF; and

(d) The school is located in a district that serves a significantly higher proportion than the state average of students in the student groups targeted by the superintendent of public instruction for the highest rates of annual improvement in English language arts and math proficiency, as described in the federally accepted Washington accountability plan.

(3) The superintendent of public instruction will prioritize persistently lowest achieving schools as follows:

(a) Identifying the percentage of schools identified for improvement through the WSIF within each persistently lowest achieving school's district;

(b) Ordering the list from the largest to the smallest percentage.

(1) The superintendent of public instruction shall recommend to the state board of education school districts for designation as required action districts.

(2) The recommendations for designation of required action districts shall occur each year in March, or at a time mutually agreeable to the state board of education and the superintendent of public instruction.

(3) Only districts with one or more schools identified as a persistently lowest achieving school may be recommended as a required action district.

(4) The number of districts recommended for designation as a required action district will be based on:

(a) Prioritization, as described in WAC 392-503-130; and

(b) Availability of federal and state funds to meet the identified needs of the recommended districts.

(1) General. The superintendent of public instruction shall recommend to the state board of education that a school district be released from designation as a required action district after the district implements a required action plan for a period of three years if the district no longer has a school on the persistently lowest achieving list.

(2) Request for accelerated release.

(a) A school district may request that the superintendent of public instruction recommend an accelerated release from required action status if the district has met the following criteria:

(i) The district must be designated as a required action district for two years;

(ii) The district must operate no school that has been prioritized as a persistently lowest achieving school under WAC 392-503-130.

(b) The request must be made in writing and provided to the superintendent of public instruction by February of the second year after the district's designation as a required action district.

(3) Request to extend required action district designation.

(a) A school district meeting the requirements for release from required action designation may request that the superintendent of public instruction allow the district to continue under required action designation for another three-year cycle.

(b) The request must be made in writing and provided to the superintendent of public instruction by February of the third year after designation as a required action district.