BP BHEAD INT H

AN ACT Relating to school attendance; amending RCW 28A.225.010, 28A.225.020, 28A.225.030, 28A.225.035, 28A.225.151, and 28A.225.025; adding a new section to chapter 2.56 RCW; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 28A.225.010 and 1990 c 33 s 219 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) All parents in this state of any child eight years of age and under eighteen years of age shall cause such child to attend the public school of the district in which the child resides and such child shall have the responsibility to and therefore shall attend for the full time when such school may be in session unless:

(a) The child is attending an approved private school for the same time or is enrolled in an extension program as provided in RCW 28A.195.010(4);

(b) The child is receiving home-based instruction as provided in subsection (4) of this section; ((or))

(c) The school district superintendent of the district in which the child resides shall have excused such child from attendance because the child is physically or mentally unable to attend school, is attending a residential school operated by the department of social and health services, or has been temporarily excused upon the request of his or her parents for purposes agreed upon by the school authorities and the parent: PROVIDED, That such excused absences shall not be permitted if deemed to cause a serious adverse effect upon the student's educational progress: PROVIDED FURTHER, That students excused for such temporary absences may be claimed as full time equivalent students to the extent they would otherwise have been so claimed for the purposes of RCW 28A.150.250 and 28A.150.260 and shall not affect school district compliance with the provisions of RCW 28A.150.220; or

(d) The child is ((~~fifteen~~)) sixteen years of age or older and:

(i) ((The school district superintendent determines that such child has already attained a reasonable proficiency in the branches required by law to be taught in the first nine grades of the public schools of this state;

~~(ii)~~)) The child is regularly and lawfully ((~~engaged in a useful or remunerative occupation~~)) employed and either the parent agrees that the child should not be required to attend school or the child is emancipated in accordance with chapter 13.64 RCW;

((~~(iii)~~)) (ii) The child has already met graduation requirements in accordance with state board of education rules and regulations; or

((~~(iv)~~)) (iii) The child has received a certificate of educational competence under rules and regulations established by the state board of education under RCW 28A.305.190.

(2) A parent for the purpose of this chapter means a parent, guardian, or person having legal custody of a child.

(3) An approved private school for the purposes of this chapter and chapter 28A.200 RCW shall be one approved under regulations established by the state board of education pursuant to RCW 28A.305.130.

(4) For the purposes of this chapter and chapter 28A.200 RCW, instruction shall be home-based if it consists of planned and supervised instructional and related educational activities, including a curriculum and instruction in the basic skills of occupational education, science, mathematics, language, social studies, history, health, reading, writing, spelling, and the development of an appreciation of art and music, provided for a number of hours equivalent to the total annual program hours per grade level established for approved private schools under RCW 28A.195.010 and 28A.195.040 and if such activities are:

(a) Provided by a parent who is instructing his or her child only and are supervised by a certificated person. A certificated person for purposes of this chapter and chapter 28A.200 RCW shall be a person certified under chapter 28A.410 RCW. For purposes of this section, "supervised by a certificated person" means: The planning by the certificated person and the parent of objectives consistent with this subsection; a minimum each month of an average of one contact hour per week with the child being supervised by the certificated person; and evaluation of such child's progress by the certificated person. The number of children supervised by the certificated person shall not exceed thirty for purposes of this subsection; or

(b) Provided by a parent who is instructing his or her child only and who has either earned forty-five college level quarter credit hours or its equivalent in semester hours or has completed a course in home-based instruction at a postsecondary institution or a vocational-technical institute; or

(c) Provided by a parent who is deemed sufficiently qualified to provide home-based instruction by the superintendent of the local school district in which the child resides.

(5) The legislature recognizes that home-based instruction is less structured and more experiential than the instruction normally provided in a classroom setting. Therefore, the provisions of subsection (4) of this section relating to the nature and quantity of instructional and related educational activities shall be liberally construed.

Sec. 2. RCW 28A.225.020 and 1995 c 312 s 67 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) If a child required to attend school under ((~~the laws of the state of Washington~~)) RCW 28A.225.010 fails to attend school without valid justification, the child's school shall:

((~~(1)~~)) (a) Inform the child's custodial parent, parents, or guardian by a notice in writing or by telephone whenever the child has failed to attend school after one unexcused absence within any month during the current school year. School officials shall inform the parent of the potential consequences of additional unexcused absences;

((~~(2)~~)) (b) Schedule a conference or conferences with the custodial parent, parents, or guardian and child at a time ((~~and place~~)) reasonably convenient for all persons included for the purpose of analyzing the causes of the child's absences after two unexcused absences within any month during the current school year. If a regularly scheduled parent-teacher conference day is to take place within thirty days of the second unexcused absence, then the school district may schedule this conference on that day; and

((~~(3)~~)) (c) Take steps to eliminate or reduce the child's absences. These steps shall include, where appropriate, adjusting the child's school program or school or course assignment, providing more individualized or remedial instruction, providing appropriate vocational courses or work experience, ((~~or refer~~)) referring the child to a community truancy board, requiring the child to attend an alternative school or program, or assisting the parent or child to obtain supplementary services that might eliminate or ameliorate the cause or causes for the absence from school. If the child's parent does not attend the scheduled conference, the conference may be conducted with the student and school official. However, the parent shall be notified of the steps to be taken to eliminate or reduce the child's absence.

(2) For purposes of this chapter, an "unexcused absence" means that a child:

(a) Has failed to attend the majority of hours or periods in an average school day or has failed to comply with a more restrictive school district policy; and

(b) Has failed to meet the school district's policy for excused absences.

Sec. 3. RCW 28A.225.030 and 1995 c 312 s 68 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) If a child is required to attend school under RCW 28A.225.010 and if the actions taken by a school district under RCW 28A.225.020 are not successful in substantially reducing an enrolled student's absences from school, upon the fifth unexcused absence by a child within any month during the current school year or upon the tenth unexcused absence during the current school year the school district shall:

(a) File a petition for a civil action with the juvenile court alleging a violation of RCW 28A.225.010: ((~~(1)~~)) (i) By the parent; ((~~(2)~~)) (ii) by the child; or ((~~(3)~~)) (iii) by the parent and the child ;

(b) Enter into an agreement with the student and parent that establishes school attendance requirements; or

(c) Refer the student to a community truancy board as defined in RCW 28A.225.025. The community truancy board shall enter into a contract with the student and parent that establishes school attendance requirements.

(2) If the school district or community truancy board determines that the student has failed to meet the school attendance requirements contained in an agreement required in subsection (1) (b) and (c) of this section, the school district shall file a petition with the juvenile court in accordance with subsection (1)(a) of this section within five school days.

(3) The petition may be filed by a school district employee who is not an attorney.

(4) If the school district fails to file a petition under this section, the parent of a child with five or more unexcused absences in any month during the current school year or upon the tenth unexcused absence during the current school year may file a petition with the juvenile court alleging a violation of RCW 28A.225.010.

Sec. 4. RCW 28A.225.035 and 1995 c 312 s 69 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) A petition for a civil action under RCW 28A.225.030 shall consist of a written notification to the court alleging that:

(a) The child has five or more unexcused absences within any month during the current school year or ten or more unexcused absences in the current school year;

(b) Actions taken by the school district have not been successful in substantially reducing the child's absences from school; and

(c) Court intervention and supervision are necessary to assist the school district or parent to reduce the child's absences from school.

(2) The petition shall set forth the name, age, school, and residence of the child and the names and residence of the child's parents.

(3) The petition shall set forth facts that support the allegations in this section and shall generally request relief available under this chapter.

(4) When a petition is filed under RCW 28A.225.030, the juvenile court ((~~may:~~

~~(a)~~)) shall schedule a ((~~fact-finding~~)) hearing at which the court shall consider the petition((;)).

((~~(b)~~)) When a hearing is held, the court shall:

(a) Separately notify the child, the parent of the child, and the school district of the ((~~fact-finding~~)) hearing;

((~~(c)~~)) (b) Notify the parent and the child of their rights to present evidence at the fact-finding hearing; and

((~~(d)~~)) (c) Notify the parent and the child of the options and rights available under chapter 13.32A RCW.

(5) The court may require the attendance of both the child and the parents at any hearing on a petition filed under RCW 28A.225.030.

(6) The court may permit the first hearing to be held without requiring that either party be represented by legal counsel. At the request of the school district, the court may permit a school district representative who is not an attorney to represent the school district at future hearings.

(7) The court shall grant the petition and enter an order assuming jurisdiction to intervene for the remainder of the school year, if the allegations in the petition are established by a preponderance of the evidence.

((~~(7)~~)) (8) If the court assumes jurisdiction, the school district shall regularly report to the court any additional unexcused absences by the child.

Sec. 5. RCW 28A.225.151 and 1995 c 312 s 72 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Each school shall document the actions taken under RCW ((~~28A.225.020 and~~)) 28A.225.030 and report this information ((~~at the end of each grading period~~)) to the school district superintendent who shall compile the data for all the schools in the district and prepare an annual school district report for each school year and submit the report to the superintendent of public instruction. The reports shall be made upon forms furnished by the superintendent of public instruction and shall be transmitted as determined by the superintendent of public instruction.

(2) The reports under subsection (1) of this section shall include:

(a) The number of enrolled students ((~~and the number of excused and unexcused absences;~~

~~(b) Documentation of the steps taken by the school district under each subsection of RCW 28A.225.020~~));

((~~(c)~~)) (b) The number of enrolled students with ten or more unexcused absences in a school year or five or more unexcused absences in a month during a school year; and

(((d) Documentation of success by the school district in substantially reducing enrolled student absences for students with five or more absences in any month or ten or more unexcused absences in any school year;

~~(e)~~)) (c) The number of petitions filed by a school district or a parent with the juvenile court((~~; and~~

~~(f) The disposition of cases filed with the juvenile court, including the frequency of contempt orders issued to enforce a court's order under RCW 28A.225.090~~)).

(3) A report required under this section shall not disclose the name or other identification of a child or parent.

(4) The superintendent of public instruction shall collect these reports from all school districts and prepare an annual report for each school year to be submitted to the legislature no later than December 15th of each year.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 2.56 RCW to read as follows:

The administrator for the courts shall prepare a report for each school year to be submitted to the legislature no later than December 15th of each year that summarizes the disposition of petitions filed with the juvenile court under RCW 28A.225.030, including the number of contempt orders issued to enforce a court's order under RCW 28A.225.030.

Sec. 7. RCW 28A.225.025 and 1995 c 312 s 66 are each amended to read as follows:

For purposes of this chapter, "community truancy board" means a board composed of members of the local community in which the child attends school. The local school district boards of directors may create a community truancy board or may use other boards that exist or are created, such as diversion boards. Members of the board shall be selected from representatives of the community. Duties of a community truancy board shall include, but not be limited to, recommending methods for improving school attendance.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. (1) The superintendent of public instruction shall establish an incentive program to encourage the creation of alternative learning schools and programs for students who have been truant, suspended, expelled, or who are subject to other disciplinary actions. Grants may be awarded to individual school districts, school district consortiums, and educational service districts. Funds for the grants may be used for planning and initial program development. Grants shall be awarded no later than November 1, 1996.

(2) This section expires December 31, 1996.