2216-S.E [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to parents' rights and responsibilities in education; amending RCW 28A.315.510, 28A.320.230, and 28A.230.070; adding a new section to chapter 28A.600 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.320 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 28A RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature recognizes families as the fundamental unit of society and affirms parents' rights to direct the upbringing of their children. The legislature further supports parents as the primary educators of their children and recognizes parents' rights to further direct the educational decisions which concern their children.

The legislature believes that public schools derive their authority from parents of the attending students and must therefor take every reasonable step to provide parents with access and discretion regarding their child's education. Parents' rights regarding what their children are provided by public schools is paramount in protecting the proper and fundamental role of the family.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. DEFINITION. Unless specifically provided by law, for purposes of this chapter, "parent" means a parent or legal guardian having legal custody of a child enrolled in public school. For purposes of this chapter, "parent" does not mean parents of children in private schools or of children receiving home-based instruction.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. PARENTS' RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES EXISTING IN CURRENT LAW. (1) Parents shall immunize their children, unless exempted, in accordance with RCW 28A.210.030.

(2) Parents shall provide information about the child's prior educational programs when the child transfers to another school, in accordance with RCW 28A.225.330.

(3) Parents shall be responsible for property damaged by their children, in accordance with RCW 28A.635.060.

(4) Parents shall ensure that their children attend school every day, unless excused, in accordance with RCW 28A.225.010.

(5) Parents may decide whether their children participate in AIDS instruction, in accordance with RCW 28A.230.070 and this chapter.

(6) Parents may make a complaint to the school board and have the complaint heard at a public hearing on instructional and library materials that a parent thinks is objectionable, in accordance with RCW 28A.150.230.

(7) Parents may be members of instructional materials committees in accordance with RCW 28A.320.230 and this chapter.

(8) Parents shall be consulted in the development of the district's AIDS curriculum, in accordance with RCW 28A.230.070.

(9) Parents may exclude their children from scoliosis screening, in accordance with RCW 28A.210.090, 28A.210.210, and 28A.210.240.

(10) Parents shall receive periodic reports on the progress of their children, in accordance with RCW 28A.150.240.

(11) Parents shall be notified if their child has a hearing or visual loss, in accordance with RCW 28A.210.030.

(12) Parents shall be notified when their child has an unexcused absence, in accordance with RCW 28A.225.020.

(13) Parents shall be notified of their child's choice options in accordance with RCW 28A.225.300.

(14) Parents shall be notified of their parent involvement opportunities, in accordance with RCW 28A.225.300.

(15) Parents shall receive the results of their child's performance on state-wide assessments, in accordance with RCW 28A.230.190, 28A.230.195, 28A.230.230, 28A.230.240, and 28A.230.250.

(16) Parents shall receive an annual report from their school district, in accordance with RCW 28A.320.205.

(17) Parents shall be notified of pupil conduct, discipline, and rights, in accordance with RCW 28A.600.010.

(18) Parents shall be notified about the running start program, in accordance with RCW 28A.600.320.

(19) Parents shall be notified if a court order or subpoena has been issued for access to the records of their children, in accordance with RCW 28A.600.475.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. ACCESS TO ACADEMIC PROGRAMS AND TEACHING MATERIALS. (1) A parent shall have access to his or her child's classroom. Every school district board of directors shall, after following established procedures, adopt a policy ensuring parents access to their children's classrooms and school-sponsored activities for purposes of observing class procedure, teaching material, and class conduct. The policy shall provide that observation shall not disrupt the classroom procedure or learning activity.

(2) School district employees shall not withhold information pertaining to the school activities of a child from the child's parents.

(3) A parent has the right to review all tests and assessments given to his or her child after such test or assessment is administered.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. INFORMATION CONCERNING STUDENTS. (1) Each school district shall make available a list of all records that the district routinely keeps on a student and shall establish procedures whereby parents shall have access to their child's records. The list shall include, but not be limited to, academic, vocational, counseling, disciplinary, and attendance records.

(2) Except as specifically exempted by other state or federal law, a parent shall have the right to obtain a copy of any record maintained on his or her child by a school, school district, educational service district, the superintendent of public instruction, the state board of education, or anyone under contract with the entitites named in this subsection. Upon the written request of a parent, copies of records shall be provided within fourteen working days. Upon request, parents shall be provided with the appropriate legal reference for all individual records that the school, school district, educational service district, the superintendent of public instruction, the state board of education, or any contractor, claim are exempt from parent disclosure by state or federal law.

(3) Upon request, parents shall annually be entitled to one set of student records at no charge but districts may establish a fee pursuant to RCW 42.17.300 for each subsequent request made during the year.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 28A.600 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Except when generated by a student as a part of course work, a public school shall give parents or legal guardians twenty days advance written notice before the school, or before any person or organization under contract with the school, conducts any student test, questionnaire, survey, analysis, or evaluation that requests disclosure by the student of information about either the student or the student's parent's or legal guardian's personal: Political or religious affiliations, mental or psychological problems, sexual behavior or attitudes, illegal, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior, critical appraisals of any other individual with whom the student has a family relationship, legally privileged information arising out of confidential relationships with persons such as lawyers, physicians, or ministers, or religious issues. The notice shall provide disclosure to the student's parent or legal guardian regarding the subject matter, intended use of the results, and educational merit of the test, questionnaire, survey, analysis, or evaluation.

(2) No student may participate in any test, questionnaire, survey, analysis, or evaluation listed in subsection (1) of this section without prior written consent from the student's parent or legal guardian.

(3) All materials that a school uses in conducting any student test, questionnaire, survey, analysis, or evaluation that involves disclosure of information described in this section shall be readily available for inspection by the parent or legal guardian of a student, at least ten days before their administration, at the school during normal school hours. School personnel must also be readily available to answer questions relative to the materials.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. PROHIBITION ON REMOVAL OF CHILD. The board of directors of each school district shall adopt rules establishing procedures to ensure that each school within its district is carrying out district policy prohibiting a child in grades kindergarten through eight from being removed from any school grounds or building during school hours except by a person authorized by a parent or legal guardian having legal custody of the child, pursuant to RCW 28A.605.010.

Sec. 8. RCW 28A.315.510 and 1990 c 33 s 315 are each amended to read as follows:

Regular meetings of the board of directors of any school district shall be held monthly or more often at such a time as the board of directors by resolution shall determine or the bylaws of the board may prescribe. Special or deferred meetings may be held from time to time as circumstances may demand, at the call of the president, if a first class district, or the chair of the board, if a second class district, or on petition of a majority of the members of the board. All meetings shall be open to the public unless the board shall otherwise order an executive session as provided in RCW 42.30.110. The board of directors shall provide a reasonable opportunity for public oral and written comments on proposals before the board.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING SERVICES. (1) All schools shall maintain a written register regarding counseling services provided by a school counselor or other paraprofessional employed by the district to provide counseling services to students in the public schools. This register shall maintain the dates on which the student received counseling services and shall be maintained on a quarterly schedule. This register shall be available for parent review and shall not be maintained with student academic records. This register shall not be released to anyone other than the parent or student without the parent's consent. For purposes of this section a register means a list of dates and times a school counselor met with the student but does not include the subject of discussion.

(2) Counseling records maintained from counseling sessions involving social and emotional issues shall be destroyed upon the student's high school graduation or permanent transfer from the school.

(3) No school employee may knowingly use formal counseling techniques that are beyond the scope of the employee's certification.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. PARTICIPATION IN ADVISORY GROUPS. School districts shall seek parental involvement in advisory groups that are considering major policy decisions affecting the education of children in the school district.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. A new section is added to chapter 28A.320 RCW to read as follows:

Upon the written request or personal appearance of a parent or legal guardian of a student, a public school shall make available for inspection by the parent or legal guardian, during school hours, any classroom instructional materials, including textbooks, teacher's manuals, library books, films, video tapes, audio tapes, computer programs, supplementary materials, or any other materials, associated with the education or instruction of the student by the school. Materials physically located in the school shall be made available within five working days of the request. Materials within the school district shall be made available within fourteen working days of the request.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. (1) A student may attend or participate in any public school-sponsored class, program, or activity that concerns suicide or euthanasia, or includes human sexuality issues dealing with sex education, sexually transmitted diseases, contraception, or sexual orientation, provided that the school has on file a signed confirmation from the parent that the parent has received notification that the class, program, or activity concerns suicide or euthanasia, or includes human sexuality issues dealing with sex education, sexually transmitted diseases, contraception, or sexual orientation and the parent approves of his or her child's participation in the specific class, program, or activity. A school or school district may comply with the notification requirement in this section by notifying the parent at least once per school year of the planned classes, programs, or activities.

(2) A parent may inspect all instructional materials including teachers manuals, tapes, or other supplementary materials, or instructional materials that may be used by any guest speaker, in presenting any of the components of subsection (1) of this section.

(3) Employees of a school district may not encourage a student to withhold materials or other information concerning classroom activities, tests, discussions, or programs from his or her parents.

Sec. 13. RCW 28A.320.230 and 1989 c 371 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

Every board of directors, unless otherwise specifically provided by law, shall:

(1) Prepare, negotiate, set forth in writing and adopt, policy relative to the selection or deletion of instructional materials. Such policy shall:

(a) State the school district's goals and principles relative to instructional materials;

(b) Delegate responsibility for the preparation and recommendation of teachers' reading lists and specify the procedures to be followed in the selection of all instructional materials including text books;

(c) Establish an instructional materials committee to be appointed, with the approval of the school board, by the school district's chief administrative officer. This committee shall consist of representative members of the district's professional staff, including representation from the district's curriculum development committees, and, in the case of districts which operate elementary school(s) only, the educational service district superintendent, one of whose responsibilities shall be to assure the correlation of those elementary district adoptions with those of the high school district(s) which serve their children. The committee ((~~may~~)) shall include parents ((~~at the school board's discretion~~)) who are not school district employees and whose children are enrolled in the district: PROVIDED, That parent members shall make up ((~~less than one-half~~)) at least one-third of the total membership of the committee;

(d) Provide for reasonable notice to parents of the opportunity to serve on the committee and for terms of office for members of the instructional materials committee;

(e) Provide a system for receiving, considering and acting upon written complaints regarding instructional materials used by the school district;

(f) Provide free text books, supplies and other instructional materials to be loaned to the pupils of the school, when, in its judgment, the best interests of the district will be subserved thereby and prescribe rules and regulations to preserve such books, supplies and other instructional materials from unnecessary damage.

Recommendation of instructional materials shall be by the district's instructional materials committee in accordance with district policy. Approval or disapproval shall be by the local school district's board of directors.

Districts may pay the necessary travel and subsistence expenses for expert counsel from outside the district. In addition, the committee's expenses incidental to visits to observe other districts' selection procedures may be reimbursed by the school district.

Districts may, within limitations stated in board policy, use ((~~and experiment with~~)) instructional materials for a period of time before general adoption is formalized.

Within the limitations of board policy, a school district's chief administrator may purchase instructional materials to meet deviant needs or rapidly changing circumstances.

(2) Establish a depreciation scale for determining the value of texts which students wish to purchase.

Sec. 14. RCW 28A.230.070 and 1994 c 245 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) ((~~The life-threatening dangers of~~)) Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) ((~~and its prevention shall be taught in the public schools of this state. AIDS~~)) prevention education shall be limited to the discussion of the life-threatening dangers of the disease, its spread, and prevention. ((~~Students shall receive such education at least once each school year beginning no later than the fifth grade.~~))

(2) Each district board of directors ((~~shall~~)) may adopt an AIDS prevention education program ((~~which is~~)). If a board of directors adopts an AIDS prevention education program, the program shall be developed in consultation with teachers, administrators, parents, and other community members including, but not limited to, persons from medical, public health, and mental health organizations and agencies ((~~so long as~~)). The curricula and materials developed for use in the AIDS education program shall either be: (a) ((~~are~~)) The model curricula and resources under subsection (3) of this section, or (b) ((~~are~~)) developed by the school district ((~~and approved for medical accuracy by the office on AIDS established in RCW 70.24.250~~)). If a district elects to use curricula developed by the school district, the district shall submit to the office on AIDS a copy of its curricula and an affidavit of medical accuracy ((stating that the material in the district-developed curricula has been compared to the model curricula for medical accuracy and that in the opinion of the district the district-developed materials are medically accurate. Upon submission of the affidavit and curricula, the district may use these materials until the approval procedure to be conducted by the office of AIDS has been completed)).

(3) Model curricula and other resources available from the superintendent of public instruction may be reviewed by the school district board of directors, in addition to materials designed locally, in developing the district's AIDS education program. The model curricula shall be reviewed for medical accuracy by the office on AIDS established in RCW 70.24.250 within the department of social and health services.

(4) Each school district shall, at least one month before teaching AIDS prevention education in any classroom, conduct at least one presentation during weekend and evening hours for the parents and guardians of students concerning the curricula and materials that will be used for such education. The parents and guardians shall be notified by the school district of the presentation and that the curricula and materials are available for inspection. No student may ((~~be required to~~)) participate in AIDS prevention education ((if)) unless the student's parent or guardian((~~, having attended one of the district presentations, objects in writing to the participation~~)) provides prior written permission for the student to participate.

(5) The office of the superintendent of public instruction with the assistance of the office on AIDS shall update AIDS education curriculum material as newly discovered medical facts make it necessary.

(6) The curriculum for AIDS prevention education shall stress the life-threatening dangers of contracting AIDS and be designed to teach students which behaviors place a person dangerously at risk of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and methods to avoid such risk including, at least:

(a) That abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain means for the prevention of the spread or contraction of the AIDS virus through sexual contact. It shall also teach that condoms and other artificial means of birth control are not a certain means of preventing the spread of the AIDS virus and reliance on condoms puts a person at risk for exposure to the disease; and

(b) The dangers of drug abuse, especially that involving the use of hypodermic needles((~~; and~~

~~(b) The dangers of sexual intercourse, with or without condoms~~)).

(((7) The program of AIDS prevention education shall stress the life-threatening dangers of contracting AIDS and shall stress that abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain means for the prevention of the spread or contraction of the AIDS virus through sexual contact. It shall also teach that condoms and other artificial means of birth control are not a certain means of preventing the spread of the AIDS virus and reliance on condoms puts a person at risk for exposure to the disease.))

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. COMPLAINTS. The board of directors of each school district shall have a grievance procedure under which the school district shall address and attempt to resolve each written complaint that the district receives concerning violation of a right guaranteed by this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. CAPTIONS NOT LAW. Captions used in this chapter do not constitute any part of the law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. Sections 2 through 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 15, and 16 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 28A RCW.