SEATTLE (AP) — A plan to reduce state school aid to districts with low attendance has died a quick death in the Legislature.
The idea is being pulled out the Senate budget after experts, education groups and Gov. Chris Gregoire said the idea would just create new challenges for the state’s poorest school districts.
Budgeting according to how many kids are in school every day is an approach that has been tried in a handful of other states, but mostly as an incentive for improving attendance. The plan presented earlier this week in the state Senate would have subtracted money from schools with poor attendance.
A national group that tracks the relationship between seat time and academic achievement said the proposal may result in better attendance in small schools. But it could also backfire on the schools with the highest number of poor kids..
