House Bill 1660

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House Bill 1660 Best Practices and Frequently Asked Questions Prepared by: Activities & Athletics Business Services Special Recognition: Bellevue School District HB 1660 Workgroup Last Updated: September 22, 2021 This is a SAMPLE from Bellevue School District. Make sure you check with your legal counsel and Board Policies before implementing.

Transcript of House Bill 1660

Page 1: House Bill 1660

House Bill 1660 Best Practices and Frequently Asked Questions

Prepared by:

Activities & Athletics Business Services

Special Recognition: Bellevue School District HB 1660 Workgroup

Last Updated: September 22, 2021

This is a SAMPLE from Bellevue School District. Make sure you check with your legal counsel and Board Policies before implementing.

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Table of Contents

I. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................... 2

II. About House Bill (HB) 1660 ................................................................................................................................ 2

III. Implementing HB 1660 at Bellevue School District ........................................................................................... 2

IV. Bellevue School District’s Fee Waiver Program ................................................................................................ 3

A. Summary of Fees Eligible for Waiver ............................................................................................................. 3

B. Summary of Fees NOT Eligible for Waiver ..................................................................................................... 4

V. Best Practices and Frequently Asked Questions ................................................................................................ 4

A. Impact of Implementing HB 1660 ............................................................................................................... 4

B. Students Eligible for Fee Waivers ................................................................................................................ 6

E. Event Attendance (Dance, Performance, Athletics) ................................................................................. 10

F. Field Trips .................................................................................................................................................. 12

G. Scholarships, Fundraising, Donations ....................................................................................................... 13

H. InvestED Funds .......................................................................................................................................... 15

I. Data Collection & Reporting Requirements .............................................................................................. 15

J. Applicable Policies and Procedures........................................................................................................... 16

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I. Introduction This document is meant to serve as a training and reference tool to familiarize relevant District and School Staff about House Bill 1660 and implications of the new law on the District’s operations.

II. About House Bill (HB) 1660 Extracurricular activities, including school-based athletic programs and other optional noncredit school clubs, are an important part of enriching a student’s educational experience. The Legislature finds that student fees associated with obtaining Associated Student Body (ASB) cards and participating in extracurricular activities may create barriers to participation, especially for students from low-income families.

In 2020, the Legislature passed House Bill 1660 – Relating to the participation of students who are low-income in extracurricular activities. This bill aims to increase participation in extracurricular activities by:

● Creating equitable access to extracurricular opportunities that improve academic, social, and emotional outcomes;

● Collecting and analyzing data; and ● Addressing barriers to extracurricular activities, such as ASB fees.

The new law revised RCW 28A.325.010 and RCW 28A.325.050 and went into effect for the 2020-21 school year. For optional non-credit extracurricular activities, school districts must:

● Waive attendance or participation fees for eligible low-income students; ● Reduce attendance fees for low-income students’ family members; and ● Reduce attendance fees for low-income nonstudents age > 65.

The new law also requires school districts to calculate, report, and resolve any student opportunity gaps. The data collection, publishing, and reporting requirements around students in possession of ASB cards and participation in school-based athletic programs are for grades 9–12 only. For 2021-22, the opportunity gap must be < 16%.

III. Implementing HB 1660 at Bellevue School District

The District has historically offered various waivers for students by reason of their low income. However, with the introduction of House Bill 1660, the District is required to provide additional waivers for extracurricular-related fees that were not provided in the past.

The following table summarizes the key requirements of HB 1660, the District’s implementation plan, and the status of the plan. The District previously had some processes built-in, prior to the law becoming effective. In some areas, processes will need to be revised to comply with HB 1660. The introduction of HB1660 has also highlighted areas where practices may need to be adjusted to address inconsistencies in how activities are treated across schools.

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HB 1660 Requirement

District Implementation Plan

Identify eligible low-income students

[Completed] Continue to use the District’s existing process to identify students of low income, including:

• Students that are eligible for free & reduced-priced meals through the lunch program (via direct certification or the free and reduced-price lunch application. Per federal guidelines, parent consent is required to share this data. Students who are eligible through direct certification for McKinney Vento services are automatically eligible for fee waivers without requiring a consent to share data.

Establish which student fees will be fee-waiver eligible

[Completed] Each year, the District evaluates the fee schedule for compliance, consistency, and reasonableness. FY2021 was the first year of implementing HB 1660, which included a detailed review of all student fees to determine which applicable extracurricular fees were required to be waived to comply with the new law. [In Progress] The District is currently evaluating practices around extended/overnight trips. Further clarification is necessary to understand which trips are school vs. private sponsored, as well as, which are curricular (General Fund) vs. extracurricular (ASB).

Waive applicable student fees for eligible students

[Completed] Continue to use the District’s POS system (InTouch) which automatically provides a waiver for eligible students when they access the system to purchase fee-waiver eligible items. Note: Once students are determined to be eligible through the lunch application or direct certifications, this data is stored in the Nutrition Services system and/or Synergy. The information uploads to the POS daily to ensure that when eligible students purchase fee waiver eligible items in the POS, the system will automatically waive the cost.

Reduce attendance fees for low-income students’ family members

[Completed] The District will waive entry fees for low-income students’ family members. Families that qualify at the start of each sport’s season, will be provided one or more opportunities to obtain single ticket and multi-game passes at no charge.

• Single tickets will be available to be purchased by all families. These tickets will be set-up as a fee-waiver eligible item.

• Multi-game passes will be available to be purchased by all families. These passes will be set-up in the POS system as a fee-waiver eligible item. School staff will communicate with eligible students and families that if they would like a multi-game pass to have their student athlete connect with the school accountant who can verify eligibility and issue the correct number of passes.

• Passes will only be issued at no-cost for eligible families up to the number of immediate family members listed in Synergy.

• No entry will be provided at the door without a ticket, multi-game pass, or payment. This process will prevent overt identification of private information about family income status.

Reduce attendance fees for low-income nonstudents age > 65

[Completed] The District has historically offered reduced rates to senior citizens for event entry. The District will continue to offer reduced rates for all individuals 65 and older without income consideration.

Calculate, report and resolve any student opportunity gaps

[In Progress] The District’s ASB Budget Analyst will use the OSPI template and online tool to publish the required data by the due date each year. If an Opportunity Gap Reduction Plan is required, due to a high school not meeting annual goals as outlined by OSPI, this will be shared with the Activities & Athletics Department and applicable High School staff to develop a plan.

IV. Bellevue School District’s Fee Waiver Program A. Summary of Fees Eligible for Waiver

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Student fees are reviewed and established annually by Business Services, which are compiled on the District’s Fee Schedule. Business Services makes reasonable efforts to ensure consistency among schools and to maintain fees to reasonable levels. Whether an item is fee-waiver eligible is determined based on direction and guidance from District Leadership and in compliance with State and Federal laws, where applicable.

The following is a summary of fees the District has waived in the past, and additional items that are now required to be waived to ensure compliance with HB 1660.

General Fund Items historically waived at BSD

ASB Items previously waived (Pre HB 1660)

Additional ASB items required to be waived (Post HB 1660)

AP/IB Tests ASB membership Fee Competitions and Conference Registration Fee

Music Instrument Maintenance Club Membership Dues - Outside Org Extracurricular Field Trips 6th Grade Camp Required Uniforms Performance Entry Fees, Social Events,

Dances Sport Pay to Play Transportation Fee Athletic Events

Required Uniforms Club Membership Dues/Participation Fee Transportation Fee Graduation Honor Cord Transcripts

B. Summary of Fees NOT Eligible for Waiver The following fees will NOT be waived even with the changes instituted by HB 1660:

● Yearbooks and ads ● Spirit wear ● Concessions ● Curricular related activities ● Replacement supplies ● Fundraisers ● Summer Schools ● Parking

V. Best Practices and Frequently Asked Questions A. Impact of Implementing HB 1660

1. What is the overall fiscal impact of implementing HB 1660 at Bellevue School District?

With more extracurricular fees being waived, an increase in extracurricular participation is expected across all District schools. Implementation of House Bill 1660 is anticipated to decrease the District’s revenue between $933,000 - $1,210,000 in both General Fund and ASB funds.

2. Is there funding to offset the loss of revenues due to the increase in fee waivers anticipated?

$850,000 of state funding will be available for fiscal year 2021-22, and fiscal year 2022-23, solely for the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to create and administer a grant program for school districts to reduce ASB fees or participation fees for students of low income. Grant awards are prioritized in the following order:

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• High schools that implement the USDA Community Eligibility Provision. (Note: The District is not eligible for the grant under this provision, which is only available to the nation’s highest poverty schools in low-income areas).

• High schools with the highest percentage of students qualified to participate in the federal free and reduced-price meals program. (Note: The District’s schools could potentially meet this requirement depending on how many eligible schools apply. BSD schools have significantly lower F&R rates compared to all other high schools in the State).

• High schools located in school districts enrolling 5,000 or fewer students. (Note: The District is not eligible for this grant under this provision as it has over 20,000 students across its schools).

Administrators from interested high schools must log into iGrants as a school to apply. This application will not be initiated by the District. For additional information about the grant, contact Ken Turner at OSPI [email protected]. Schools will be informed if other funding is made available to Bellevue School District for this purpose.

3. Will the District help to cover the cost of fee waivers related to ASB related fees?

The District typically subsidizes a portion of fee waivers from the General Fund each year. For the 2021-22 school year, the District will subsidize the additional ASB fee waivers due to the implementation of HB 1660 except for ASB field trips.

While ASB fieldtrip fees will be waived for eligible students, the applicable ASB/Club will be responsible for ensuring it can cover the full cost of the fee waivers with its funds.

4. What can advisors and students do to address the reduced revenue impacts and any potential lack of funding?

Further planning is necessary to determine how any unsubsidized amounts will be covered. This may result in, but is not limited to, adjustments to historical ASB offerings, increased ASB fundraising efforts, and greater amount of donations/grants requests from outside groups such as PTSA/Booster Clubs. Note: Donations to the ASB/Club will decrease the cost for the entire group of students participating in the activity, not individual students only.

5. Do applicable waivers due to HB 1660 only impact middle and high school only?

No. The requirement is for waiving fees applies to any fees established and collected by a district for their attendance at or participation in noncredit extracurricular events, and is not grade-specific, thus applies to any students who are charged fees.

6. Does HB 1660 impact how student fines are handled? No. HB 1660 only impacts fees collected for attendance at or participation in any optional, noncredit extracurricular event of the district. Fines are defined as amounts assessed for the cost of replacing materials or property, which are lost or damaged due to negligence and/or amounts levied for items such as overdue books or parking infractions. For more information about fines refer to Policy 3520/Procedure 3520P.

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B. Students Eligible for Fee Waivers

1. How are students determined to be eligible for the District’s Fee Waiver Program?

Eligibility is based on income requirements of the student and their family. Currently, students are determined to be eligible through the following methods:

• Students who are eligible for free or reduced-priced meals through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program (via Direct Certification or through a FRPL application). Per federal guidelines, parent consent is required to share this data.

• Students who are eligible through direct certification for McKinney Vento services are automatically eligible for fee waivers without requiring a consent to share data.

2. Does HB 1660 change the way the District identifies eligible students for the District’s Fee Waiver

Program?

No, the District will continue to identify eligible students through the same methods as previously used (see #1). HB 1660 highlighted an additional method that can be used to determine eligibility through the College Bound Scholarship. However, the District will not use the CBS data to qualify students at this time.

3. How are the fee waivers applied to students accounts so they are not charged a fee?

Once students are determined to be eligible for the Fee Waiver Program, the POS information is updated so that whenever an eligible student purchases a fee-waiver eligible item in the system, they will automatically receive the waiver.

4. If a new eligible student joins the District after the school year begins, will they be added as eligible for fee waivers?

Yes, once the new student is found to be eligible this information would automatically be updated in the POS system for applicable fee waivers for that school year.

5. Should refunds be issued to students who paid fee-waiver eligible fees at the beginning of the year, and later becomes an eligible student for the Fee Waiver Program?

No. Fee waivers are only applied after a student is determined to be eligible for the Fee Waiver Program through methods established by the District.

C. Protecting Student Information 1. How can I access the list of students eligible for the Fee Waiver Program?

The list of eligible students is maintained by a limited number of authorized staff. Applicable staff accessing this information must be authorized by the Nutrition Services Director and must agree to the Data Sharing Agreements and confidentiality requirements before accessing information.

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2. Can a school/district share a student’s free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL) eligibility status for purposes other than free or reduced-priced meals without parent consent?

No, the school cannot share a student’s eligibility with other programs unless parent consent is provided. Child Nutrition data are governed by the federal child nutrition program guidelines, which include the need to obtain parent consent for sharing FRPL data for programs other than designated federal programs or state education programs. For more information, please see Disclosure of Free and Reduced Price Information and Eligibility Status on the OSPI Child Nutrition webpage.

3. Is parental consent required for students that are eligible for free or reduced-price meals through

the Direct Certification process?

Yes. Data collected through the direct certification process is also governed by the federal child nutrition program guidelines, which includes the need to obtain parent consent for sharing FRPL data for programs other than designated federal programs or state education programs. For more information, please see Disclosure of Free and Reduced Price Information and Eligibility Status on the OSPI Child Nutrition webpage. However, students that are directly certified for McKinney Vento services through the District’s McKinney Vento Liaison (not tied to the federal child nutrition program guidelines), no consent to share is obtained and individuals are automatically enrolled into the District’s FW Program.

4. Can districts use multiple ways to gather parent consent?

Yes. Schools/districts can use other forms to gain consent besides the National School lunch form. For example, schools can ask for parent consent on applications for sports and clubs by including language such as: “Students who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals are eligible to have athletic fees waived. Do you consent to sharing your child’s free or reduced-price eligibility information with this program?” The school or district would then have to verify that the student is eligible for free or reduced-priced meals and eligible for the fee waiver, consistent with district policy. However, at this time, the District’s only method to gather parent consent to share data is tied to the free & reduced lunch application through the Nutrition Services. For more information, see https://bsd405.org/services/nutrition-services/free-reduced/

5. Do advisors need to reach out to students/families to identify those that can or cannot pay?

No, it is not appropriate for advisors to directly request this information from students/families. This information is confidential and only limited, authorized staff have access to this. If the student is determined to be eligible for the Fee Waiver Program, this information will already be stored in the District’s POS and the price will shift to zero when the student purchase a fee waiver eligible item.

6. I’m an ASB Advisor and I’d like to know which students are of low income to plan out an activity/event. Can I ask our ASB Bookkeeper or counselor to provide the list to me? No. It is not appropriate or necessary for advisors to identify students of low income. However, depending on the purpose, the advisor may ask for the total number of students without identifying information of which specific students are low income.

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D. Establishing Student Fees

1. Who determines whether a fee is waived or not?

Business Services prepares a fee schedule each year, which is established by grade levels (elementary, middle, and high school). This indicates which items in general are eligible for a fee waiver. Each item is reviewed in a consistent manner to determine whether a fee is waived or not waived with assistance from school staff or other departments. When a fee is requested to be added on the POS system, it is classified as a fee-waiver eligible or not, based on the category it fits into within the fee schedule.

2. How can school staff ensure that it is following the intention of HB 1660, when establishing a student fee?

Ensure that advisors and teachers understand how to complete the fundraiser/activity approval form. As part of this training and communications with staff as reminders, reiterate that each item must be evaluated to:

• Understand what the fee is designed to cover • Whether it is required to participate in an activity or is considered an optional item to ensure

that waivers are applied for eligible students. • It may not be appropriate to have one comprehensive fee to cover more than one item, as

some items may be fee waiver eligible and others are not. • Ensure that all the details are determined by school staff, prior to submitting a request for

a POS item to be created.

3. Which activities and items will be waived for eligible students?

Optional, non-credit extracurricular events that are cultural, social, recreational, or athletic in nature. Curricular activities are not required to be waived by HB 1660, however, there are certain items waived under the District’s existing Fee Waiver Program.

• Fee Waiver Eligible Items include: ASB membership dues, dances, competitions and conferences, home games, uniforms required for participation, ASB field trips and club membership dues.

• Fee Waiver Eligible Items exclude: Yearbook and ads, spirit wear, dance photos, concession sales, tangible items not required for participation, incidentals on field trips (souvenirs, food, etc), graduation caps and gowns, booster/PTSA fundraisers, entry for away games (out-of-district), parking.

4. Are fines a fee waiver eligible item?

No. Fines are defined as amounts assessed for the cost of replacing materials or property, which are lost or damaged due to negligence and/or amounts levied for items such as overdue books or parking infractions. For more information about fines refer to Policy 3520/Procedure 3520P.

5. Is it okay to have one overall fee for multiple ASB items? For example, our school sells

ASB membership dues combined with a spirit wear shirt, as one overall POS item.

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It depends. It is best to separate items based on whether it is considered required to participate (fee waiver eligible), and what is considered optional (not fee waiver eligible). Based on the example provided, the ASB membership dues in this case would be considered required to participate in certain ASB activities, however, a spirit wear shirt is considered an optional item that individuals can purchase if they wish to so the two costs should be split up into individual items.

6. How does the HB 1660 impact events or activities that are held virtually?

The District will treat required participation and registration fees the same regardless of whether the activities take place in person or virtually.

7. Are gate/entry tickets to BSD-sponsored athletic events waived for students?

Yes, qualifying students will have gate/entry tickets waived. Away game (Non-BSD school fees) will not be waived. A school cannot share a student’s eligibility with another school or district.

BSD Students with ASB membership (ID card with ASB sticker) gain entry into all BSD athletic events for BSD schools.

8. How does the HB 1660 impact fees charged for athletic uniform costs?

Uniform costs can present barriers to student participation. The District provides waivers up to $350 for uniforms per sport. Additionally, the District has uniforms in rotation that are available to lend out for student-use.

7. Does HB 1660 impact curricular programs such as band, choir, orchestra, or drama?

No. HB 1660 does not apply to curricular programs. It impacts optional, non-credit extracurricular events that are cultural, social, recreational, or athletic in nature. HB 1660 does not apply to curricular programs that are credit bearing, including special fees charged (including travel) for after school events that are tied to the class even if it is optional or noncredit in nature.

8. Does HB 1660 apply to parking fees?

No. Parking fees would not be considered an extracurricular event. 9. Does HB 1660 impact SAT/ACT or Advanced Placement (AP) tests?

No. Testing fees and costs are considered academic. Additionally, the OSPI Test Fee Waiver program covers 100% of the test fee for students who qualify for FRPL program so there is no cost.

10. Does HB 1660 impact optional, overnight field trips?

Yes, pre-approved school-sponsored field trips that are of an optional noncredit extracurricular nature will be waived for eligible students of low income.

11. Does HB 1660 impact CTE programs and their CTSO or affiliate clubs?

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It depends. The programs related to CTE courses need to be evaluated to determine whether they are operating in alignment with extended learning requirements related to the course, or more broadly as optional, noncredit clubs. If it is determined to be tied to be an optional, noncredit club then fees associated with it should fee-waiver eligible, as outlined in the District’s fee schedule.

12. Does HB 1660 apply to events run through Parent Teacher Associations (PTA) or booster clubs?

No. Waiving fees are applicable for optional noncredit extracurricular activities that are sponsored by the District and ASB only.

13. Does HB 1660 affect sales of ASB items such as yearbook, spirit wear, or prom photos?

No. HB 1660 applies to extracurricular activities meaning school-based athletic programs and optional noncredit school clubs.

14. There is an extracurricular event for our ASB Club that is being hosted by an outside organization. The organization only has one comprehensive fee for registration that includes items that don’t seem to be required for participation (such as lanyard, drawstring bag, etc). How do we set-up the fee in the POS?

The fee should be set-up for the entire comprehensive fee if this is the required fee to participate in the event and does not provide an option to separate costs for items. The District does not have control over fees established by outside organizations.

15. An ASB High School Robotics Club would like to do a fundraiser where they will run a Robotics Workshop for Bellevue School District elementary students. Included in the overall fee to sign-up for the event is a kit that is needed to participate in the workshop. Is this event fee-waiver eligible for the elementary students to participate? Is the kit considered fee-waiver eligible?

No, because the participants of the workshop are not from the ASB High School Robotics Club, the cost to register for the workshop and the kit to participate is not a fee-waiver eligible item for the elementary students. If the workshop was for students in the ASB High School Robotics Club, the fee to participate would be a fee-waiver eligible item.

16. Can we mass fee all students and then back out the fee from students eligible to receive fee waivers? Some situations are better suited for setting a mass fee than others. For example, it is NOT advised to mass fee for ASB membership. Unless a set group of parents or students have agreed to participate in an event, it is not appropriate to mass fee all students. For example, a club would like to participate in a competition, if the set group of parents from the club agree to participate in the event, then it is okay to mass fee for that set group.

E. Event Attendance (Dance, Performance, Athletics)

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1. How does HB 1660 impact family members of a student who is low income?

The law requires reduced entry fees for family members of a student of low income that wish to attend an extracurricular event of the District.

District schools will offer free entry, rather than reduced rates for qualified family members, by providing single and multi-game passes. See #2 below for the process to offer free entry for qualified family members.

2. How should schools account for family members of low income for free entry?

Families that qualify at the start of each sport’s season, will be provided one or more opportunities to obtain single ticket and multi-game passes at no charge.

• Single tickets will be available to be purchased by all families. These tickets will be set-up as a

fee-waiver eligible item. • Multi-game passes will be available to be purchased by all families. These passes will be set-up

in the POS system as a fee-waiver eligible item. • Passes will only be issued at no-cost for eligible families up to the number of immediate family

members listed in Synergy. • No entry will be provided at the door without a ticket, multi-game pass, or payment.

This will prevent overt identification of private information about family income status. 3. How should schools determine which student’s family members are eligible for free entry?

At the start of each sports season, each high school coach will communicate with students and families that if they qualify for free and reduced meals, they may be eligible to obtain multi-game passes for qualified family members. Coaches will inform them to contact the school accountant for more information. The school accountants will verify up to how many multi-game passes will be issued for family members listed in Synergy. Families will need to show their ticket or multi-game pass for entry.

4. Are there any changes to the sale of event tickets to individuals age 65 or older, since HB 1660

requires a reduced rate for senior citizens with low income?

No, it has always been the District’s practice to offer senior priced discounts for event entry. The District will continue to offer the same rate for all individuals 65 and older without income consideration.

5. Will entry fees to away games and playoff games also be waived for eligible students and their

family members?

BSD Students, with ASB membership (ID card with ASB sticker) gain entry into all BSD athletic events for BSD schools.

However, the District will not waive or reduce fees for away games and playoff games. These fees are established outside of the District and the District does not collect fees on behalf of other District’s schools or outside organizations. The school cannot share a student’s eligibility with another school or District.

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6. Can an eligible student and family of low income get multiple tickets for free?

Yes. The cost of one ticket will be waived for the eligible student, and the number of free tickets will be limited to the number of immediate family members in the student’s household as indicated in Synergy.

7. Can a student get free tickets for their date to a dance such as (prom or homecoming) who has met the low-income eligibility requirements?

No. If a student is purchasing tickets for their prom or homecoming date, the purchaser’s date must identify themselves as eligible for the free ticket and be present at the time of sale to get the ticket price waived.

8. Should our school encourage ticket sales in advance? Why?

Yes, tickets should be sold in advance through Touchbase. This is preferred to anticipate attendance numbers, streamline the ticket purchasing process, prevent long lines at the door for entry due to tasks of collecting funds, and is another way to limit information from being inadvertently shared about students eligible for fee waivers and families eligible for reduced rates.

No entry will be provided at the door without a ticket, multi-game pass, or payment.

9. For our prom or homecoming event, we’d like to sell tickets at the door as another option. How can we do this while ensuring that we protect eligible student’s low-income status? A computer may be set-up in the vicinity for students to log-in and “purchase” tickets through Touchbase rather than disclosing their status to the ticket taker.

F. Field Trips

1. What is the impact of HB 1660 on extracurricular field trips?

As part of the field trip approval process, ASB groups will be required to designate the funding source. Trips may be funded through an ASB club, an athletics travel ASB account, donations from a parent support group, or other means.

2. What fieldtrip offerings will be available for the 2021-22 school year?

For the 2021-2022 school year due to the uncertainty of impacts of the coronavirus and a focus on student safety, optional/overnight field trips as defined in BSD Policy 2320/2320P will be limited.

• Not approved: School Sponsored International Trips • Considered: Optional/overnight merit-based trips for high school athletic programs, and select

extracurricular and curricular trips for high school and middle school programs Schools will be provided specific guidance to share with staff to assist in 2021-2022 trip planning. The guidance will outline an approval process to include: a review of local and destination health

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conditions, a review of applicable travel advisories, an updated timeline for approval including financial commitments to the district, and a detailed list of potential merit-based trips.

It is anticipated that schools will be able to plan for day trips, approval for these will remain at the school/building level. For the most up-to-date field trip procedures, refer to the District’s Athletics & Activities Website.

G. Scholarships, Fundraising, Donations

1. What new protocols/internal processes need to be in place to adhere to HB 1660?

Currently, the District subsidizes all fee waivers through the General Fund except for ASB field trips. Therefore, the ASB/Club will need to raise additional funds for ASB field trips. The ASB/Club members and advisors will need to anticipate and plan well in advance to ensure fundraisers are successful. This includes addressing how much funds will need to be raised to cover the costs of an extracurricular activity/event for the entire group. Additional training is needed to ensure:

• Entire group costs are considered whether individuals can pay and to cover costs for fee waiver eligible students.

• There is an unbiased method to qualify the whole group to attend the event. • Fundraising is viewed as a group activity, to offset the costs for the entire group. • Individual credits are not assigned to each student based upon how much they

have raised individually. Without adequate planning, especially for more expensive events/activities, there is a risk that not enough funds will be raised to cover the cost of the event which may result in a cancellation.

2. We have many clubs that want to fundraise. What can we do to help improve the success of our fundraisers?

• Have a master calendar of all fundraisers, noting the start and end for each. Having multiple fundraisers during the same period of time may be confusing and limit the fundraising potential.

• Learn from fundraisers that took place in previous years. Think about which ones were successful, why, and what can be improved.

• Clearly advertise the purpose of the fundraiser and what the donors are contributing towards.

3. If applicable ASB fees are required to be waived for eligible students, how can the club get funds to cover that cost for the activity/event?

It depends on the activity/event: • ASB fundraising: These are events organized by the ASB, donation campaigns, and may include

company matching for donations (ex. Benevity Fund). These funds are to decrease the cost for the entire group, not individual students. Procedure 3510P - ASB

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• Your school’s PTA/PTSA or Booster Club may provide donations/grants to help cover the cost of the activity/event applicable to the entire group.

4. Would the cost for an ASB activity/event be spread to other paying students?

It depends. Each year the District subsidizes a portion of fee waivers using General Funds. Any amounts that the District does not cover, will need to be raised through ASB fundraising, donations/grants from the PTA/PTSA or Booster Club, or other available resources for the entire group participating. Note: For the 2021-22 school year, the District will not subsidize waivers tied to ASB field trips.

5. The club collects donations for a planned event/trip.  If members don’t raise enough funds and the event/trip is cancelled, would the club need refund the donations? 

Donations are not refundable based on the Student Fees, Fines and Charges Refund Guidelines Procedure 3520P – Exhibit A. The funds should stay in the same account and can be spent on future allowable ASB activities. This should align to the intended purpose as outlined in the approved fundraiser form. When requesting donations from individuals/families, consider whether to advertise that the proceeds will only be used for that specific activity/event. Rather than asking for donations for a specific event only, it may be best to communicate that the donations will be used to defray costs for this event, or any other ASB activities/events as determined by the ASB.  

6. Do we need to estimate the percentage of low-income students for an event/activity to know how

much funds needs to be raised?

It is encouraged for the club and advisor to anticipate and plan for the total cost that needs to be covered for the entire group, regardless of the number of fee waiver-eligible students. If the District does not assist with subsidizing the shortfall with General Fund money, the club or ASB is expected to cover the fee waiver costs.

7. Can we deposit the funds raised for helping to provide scholarship to students in need into the club account?

No. These funds are considered non-ASB scholarship funds (620 account). Procedure 3510P – ASB. The intent for the use of the funds must be established prior to collecting the funds. If the intent was to gather donations for scholarships, it cannot be re-purposed for other uses.

8. Can non-ASB scholarship funds (620 account) be used to offset the waived fees?

No, scholarship funds are not eligible to be spent for waived fees.

9. Which funds can be used to help individual students that qualify for financial assistance for items that are not eligible for fee waivers?

It depends on the activity/event/item:

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• InvestEd – Items that are not fee-waiver eligible may be covered by InvestEd. Check with your school counselor. InvestEd Coordinator Handbook

• Non-ASB (private money) scholarships – Items that are not fee-waiver eligible may be covered by Non-ASB scholarships. Check with the ASB bookkeeper if funds are available. 3510P- ASB

• Your school’s PTA/PTSA or Booster Club may provide scholarships for individual students. It is best to organize this internally at your school to keep confidential student information private. It is discouraged to have students ask the outside organization directly. For example, offering the total number of students needing financial assistance would be acceptable rather than sharing the individual student names to outside organizations.

Work with your School Counselor and Principal to identify what type of financial support is available.

H. InvestED Funds

1. Can InvestEd be used to cover the costs of students whose fees have been waived?

No, if fees have been waived, there is no cost to cover. However, InvestEd funds may be used for students of low income for items that are not fee-waiver eligible under HB 1660. Additionally, there are many other ways to use InvestEd funds, including various extracurricular fees and ASB membership for struggling students that don’t meet the Free and Reduced Lunch guidelines. Talk to your school counselor and access the InvestEd Coordinator Handbook for a complete list of allowable items that InvestEd funds can be used for.

2. Can InvestEd be used if a student is eligible for the Fee Waiver Program, but opts out it?

This is not relevant to the Fee Waiver Program. The intent for opting out of the Fee Waiver Program is not to access other resources.

I. Data Collection & Reporting Requirements

1. Are the data collection and reporting requirements for all District schools? No. The data collection, publishing, and reporting requirements around data related to students in possession of ASB cards (ASB memberships) and participation in school-based athletic programs are for grades 9–12 only.

2. How does a school or district know if an opportunity gap plan is required?

The Financial Accountability & Compliance Auditor along with the ASB Budget Analyst will be notified by OSPI. Your school will be contacted directly by the District’s Business Office and/or the Activities & Athletics Department. An Opportunity Gap Reduction Plan is required if the opportunity gap in student possession of an associated student body card OR the opportunity gap in extracurricular activity participation for any high school does not meet the goals identified below:

• During the 2020–21 school year, the opportunity gap must be twenty or fewer percentage points.

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• During the 2021–22 school year, the opportunity gap must be sixteen or fewer percentage points.

• During the 2022–23 school year, the opportunity gap must be twelve or fewer percentage points.

• During the 2023–24 school year, the opportunity gap must be eight or fewer percentage points.

• During the 2024–25 school year, and for each subsequent school year, the opportunity gap must be five or fewer percentage 10 points

3. What is the process for data collection, reporting, and submission of an opportunity gap reduction

plan?

OSPI created a template and an online tool where districts will submit their information. Each school requiring an opportunity gap reduction plan will provide it to the District’s Budget Analyst, who will then submit the information to OSPI.

4. How should the HB 1660 data for ASB and Athletic reporting be displayed?

OSPI has created a reporting tool through Smartsheet DynamicView. The Financial Accountability & Compliance Auditor and ASB Analyst will receive instructions from OSPI on how to access Smartsheet.

• ASB/Athletic data will be generated through Smartsheet for school districts. • Opportunity Gap Reduction Plan (if required) will also be generated through Smartsheet for

school districts.

These will be emailed to business managers in a PDF format once your high school data is entered. These reports will be posted at Athletics & Activities.

5. Do COVID-related school closures impact the April 15th reporting deadline?

If extracurricular activities or clubs are offered anytime within the school year, districts should plan to report those data as part of the data collection.

J. Applicable Policies and Procedures The following policies and procedures are being evaluated for revisions to reflect requirements of HB 1660. Final revisions made to the applicable policies and procedures will be shared with District and school staff.

2151 Interscholastic Activities 2151P Interscholastic Activities 2320 Field Trips, Excursion and Outdoor Education 2320P Field Trips 3520 Student Fees, Fines or Charges 3520P Student, Fees, Fines, Charges and Refunds 3520P Exh. A Student Fees, Fines and Charges Refund Guidelines 3530 Fund Raising Activities Involving Students 3530P Fund Raising Activities Involving Students 4237 Contests, Advertising and Promotions 4237P District Fundraising Activities: Contests, Advertising, and Promotions