Governor Jay Inslee has signed a bill sponsored by Rep. Drew MacEwen that will provide financial relief for non-high school districts in Washington state.

House Bill 2040 will change the calculation of how much non-high school districts are required to reimburse neighboring high school districts for educating their students.

In order to reimburse high school districts for educating transferred students, non-high school districts can raise funds locally through enrichment levies. However, since current law requires them to pay the per-pupil levy rate of the high school district, they may find themselves in a situation where they’re not able to collect enough revenue to make the full payment. As a result, non-high school districts could be forced to tap into other resources.

MacEwen’s bill will change the law so non-high school districts are only required to pay whichever per-pupil levy rate is lower between the two districts.

“This is a good bill that’s going to help balance out some of the inequity that exists between the two divisions of school districts in our state,” said MacEwen, R-Union. “As a result of HB 2040 becoming law, more funds are going to remain in our non-high school districts for local educational needs. That’s important for thousands of students and families across the state, especially in our more rural areas. I’m grateful for the unanimous approval this bill received in both the House and Senate, and want to thank the governor for signing it into law.”

House Bill 2040 will go into effect on June 10, 2020.