(1) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall review and revise the guidelines for skill centers to encourage skill center programs. The superintendent, in cooperation with the workforce training and education coordinating board, skill center directors, and the Washington association for career and technical education, shall review and revise the existing skill centers' policy guidelines and create and adopt rules governing skill centers as follows:

(a) The threshold enrollment at a skill center shall be revised so that a skill center program need not have a minimum of seventy percent of its students enrolled on the skill center core campus in order to facilitate serving rural students through expansion of skill center programs by means of satellite programs or branch campuses;

(b) The developmental planning for branch campuses shall be encouraged. Underserved rural areas or high-density areas may partner with an existing skill center to create satellite programs or a branch campus. Once a branch campus reaches sufficient enrollment to become self-sustaining, it may become a separate skill center or remain an extension of the founding skill center; and

(c) Satellite and branch campus programs shall be encouraged to address high-demand fields.

(2) Rules adopted under this section shall allow for innovative models of satellite and branch campus programs, and such programs shall not be limited to those housed in physical buildings.

(3) The superintendent of public instruction shall develop and deliver a ten-year capital plan for legislative review before implementation. The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules that set as a goal a ten percent minimum local project contribution threshold for major skill center projects, unless there is a compelling rationale not to do so, including but not limited to local economic conditions, as determined by the superintendent of public instruction. This applies to the acquisition or major capital costs of skill center projects as outlined in the ten-year capital plan.

(4) Subject to available funding, the superintendent shall:

(a) Conduct approved feasibility studies for serving noncooperative rural and high-density area students in their geographic areas; and

(b) Develop a statewide master plan that identifies standards and resources needed to create a technology infrastructure for connecting all skill centers to the K-20 network.

Effective date—2008 c 179: See RCW 28A.527.902.