Primary
and Secondary School Environmental Health & Safety Rule
Revision
History and Status of
School Rule
Chapter 246-366 WAC
is the Board’s environmental health and safety rule
for primary and secondary schools. The Board
initiated a rule revision in October 2004. The
Department convened a School Rule Development
Committee (SRDC) to provide advice on rule changes.
The committee included representatives from public
health, school agencies and organizations,
parent/teacher associations, parents, and school
staff. The SRDC recommendations were considered by
the Department in developing a first draft rule
revision proposal, released in March 2006, and a
second draft, released in August 2007. The
Department and Board received much public comment on
the drafts and possible costs. The Board formed
another stakeholder workgroup called the School Rule
Revision Team (SRRT) with similar representation,
which met six times from April to June 2008 to help
standardize assumptions about proposed rule
provisions.
The Board filed a rule proposal on July 23, 2008,
for which the Board received public testimony at
rule hearings on Aug. 27 and Sept. 10, 2008. The
Board deliberated about adopting the rule on Oct. 8,
2008 but decided to delay a vote on rule adoption to
a future meeting, not later than June 2009. In the
meantime, the Legislature included a proviso in the
state’s operating budget for the 2009-2011 biennium
that restricted implementation of new or amended
rules for school facilities unless it provided
funding for such implementation.
On August 12, 2009, the State Board of Health
adopted chapter 246-366A WAC, which contains updated
rules regarding school environmental health and
safety. It also added two new sections to the
existing school rules, chapter 246-366 WAC. Please
note that adoption is not the same as implementation
and the Legislature continues to restrict
implementation of the updated chapter 246-366A WAC
without funding.
On December 22, 2009, the Board
filed rule-making order WSR 10-01-174
with an effective date of July 1, 2010. However, the
updated rules, chapter 246-366A WAC, could not
become effective at that time unless the 2010
Legislature took action that would allow for
implementation of all or part of the rules. On March
10, 2010, as the regular legislative session was
concluding and no funding was expected to allow
implementation of the new rules, the Board voted to
extend the effective date to July 1, 2011.This was
done through rule-making order
WSR 10-12-018 filed on May 21, 2010.
In April 2011, the Legislature was considering state
operating budget bills from both chambers that would
continue restrictions on implementing the new rules.
Therefore on April 13, 2011, the Board again voted
to file a rule-making order to delay the effective
date of the new rules another two years – July 1,
2013. The rule-making order was filed as WSR
11-10-080.
The initial bill based on Governor Gregoire’s
proposals for the 2013-2015 biennial budget
continued the restrictive language about
implementing the new rules. Therefore, on March 13,
2013, the Board again voted to delay the effective
date of the new rules another two years – July 1,
2015. The rule-making order was filed as WSR
13-09-040.
The Board intends that the existing chapter 246-366
WAC remain in effect until it can implement the
updated rules. The Board will evaluate actions of
the Legislature during future legislative sessions
until chapter 246-366A WAC is allowed to be
implemented and chapter 246-366 WAC repealed. The
Board will notify stakeholders
if it
changes the effective date of any new provisions.
School Rule Hearings, August 2008 - August 2009
Original Rule Proposal (CR102) - Filed July 2008
On August 27 and September 10, 2008, the State Board
of Health heard public testimony on a proposed
modernization of its school environmental health and
safety rule, chapter 246-366 WAC. The proposal,
published in the State Register as WSR 08-15-174,
would
have
repealed the current rule chapter and adopted
a reorganized and updated set of provisions in a new
chapter 246-366A WAC.
The Board deliberated on the proposal October 8, 2008 and considered three motions:
-
First it adopted by unanimous consent a motion to
amend
some of the language in the rule proposal.
-
It considered a motion to adopt the
rule proposal as amended,
but did not vote on this motion.
-
It
then
passed a subsidiary motion to defer a vote on the motion to adopt until
the Legislature had an opportunity during the
2009 session to consider providing funding to
support rule implementation.
The final 2009-11 operating budget, passed April
2009 as ESHB 1244, includes language prohibiting the
Department of Health and the State Board of Health
from implementing any new or amended school facility
rules without
public school
funding by the Legislature. The Legislature provided no funding for rule
implementation during the 2009 session. Section 222
of ESHB 1244 contained the following language:
"The appropriations in this section are subject to
the following conditions and limitations:
(1)...The department of health and the state board
of health shall not implement any new or amended
rules pertaining to primary and secondary school
facilities until the rules and a final cost estimate
have been presented to the legislature, and the
legislature has formally funded implementation of
the rules through the omnibus appropriations act or
by statute..."
On June 10, 2009, the Board considered the
legislative restriction. It substituted the motion
delayed from
its October 2008 meeting with a new motion that directed staff to
develop and file a revised rule proposal
recognizing the legislative restriction on
implementing new or amended rules. The
intention of the
revised proposal
was to
maintain existing chapter 246-366 WAC provisions
until
they could be superseded by the updated rules, chapter
246-366A WAC. This would allow phase-in of provisions contingent on funding being
provided
to public schools
by the
Legislature
or restrictions being otherwise removed.
Supplemental (CR102) Rule Proposal - Two
Alternatives
On July 1, 2009, the Board filed a
supplemental rule proposal (WSR 09-14-136)
with two alternatives. The alternatives differed
primarily in the process for establishing
implementation dates and language explaining
legislative actions needed before new rules are
implemented.
Public Hearing - August 2009
On August 12, 2009, the Board adopted an
amended, blended version of the alternatives in the
supplemental rule proposal,
as recommended by the Board's Environmental Health
Committee.
Existing chapter 246-366 WAC will remain in place
until superseded by new provisions of chapter
246-366A WAC.
The Board's Executive Director will file a rule
order (CR103) by the end of 2009 indicating an
effective date of July 1, 2010. This order could be
amended before July 1, 2010 to delay the effective
date of all or some of the new sections, depending
on the status of legislative restrictions and
funding to public schools for new or amended rule
provisions.
Interested Parties/Stakeholders
Additional Materials and Resources
-
Board of Health
Meeting Materials--School Environmental Health &
Safety
-
School Rule Revision
Workshops
-
Legislative Correspondence
-
From the Board
-
Speaker
Frank Chopp, March 26, 2009
-
Senate Early
Learning and K-12 Committee and House
Appropriations Subcommittee on Education,
October 17, 2008
-
Senate Early
Learning and K-12 Education Committee, March 24,
2008
-
House Capital Budget Committee, February 18,
2008
-
Representative Shay Schual-Berke, February 12,
2008
-
To the Board
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Senators
Rodney Tom, Rosemary McAuliff, and Fred Jarrett;
Representatives Kelli Linville and Mark Ericks,
May 27, 2009
-
Senator Ken
Jacobsen, October 9, 2008
-
Senator Eric Oemig,
October 7, 2008
-
Senator
Craig Pridemore, September 24, 2008
-
Senator
Karen Keiser, September 11, 2008
-
Representative Christine Rolfes, September 2,
2008
-
Senators Rosemary
McAuliffe, Rodney Tom, Dale Brandland, and
Curtis King, July 28, 2008
-
Representatives
Kathy Haigh, Pat Sullivan, Skip Priest, Glenn
Anderson, Ross Hunter, and Fred Jarrett, July
14, 2008
