6600-S.E AMH ED H5330.1

6600-S.E AMH ED H5330.1

ESSB 6600 - H COMM AMD NOT ADOPTED 3-06-98

By Committee on Education

Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 28A.150 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The legislature finds that the state is not required to provide basic or special education through the common schools to juveniles in adult correctional facilities of the department of corrections or local governments. The legislature intends to provide some education services to these inmates as part of their correctional services, doing so under difficult circumstances in an adult penal system because these inmates chose to commit crimes that cause society to treat them as adults.

(2) School districts shall not be required to provide any education services to inmates of local adult correctional facilities or department of corrections facilities even when the inmates are under age twenty-one.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 72.09 RCW to read as follows:

(1) To the extent the department is required or chooses to provide education services to juvenile inmates of its adult correctional facilities under RCW 72.09.460(2) and to the extent funds are appropriated, the department may contract with school districts, educational service districts, community and technical colleges, or private vendors to provide those educational programs. If a contract is not entered into with a willing and capable education provider, the department shall operate and staff its own educational programs.

(2) The department may consult with the superintendent of public instruction, the state board for community and technical colleges, and others, in finding willing and capable education providers and in designing programs to provide access to education services at its facilities.

(3) School districts shall not be required to provide any education services to inmates of department of corrections adult correctional facilities even when the inmates are under age twenty-one.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 70.48 RCW to read as follows:

(1) To the extent a local adult correctional facility chooses or is required to provide education services to juvenile inmates of its facilities, the local facility may, if the local school district chooses not to provide education services upon request of the facility, request that the local educational service district provide educational services. The educational service district may deny the request or may choose to provide education services and may request funds under section 4 of this act. The local adult correctional facility also may choose to provide the education services itself.

(2) The education services provided under this section necessarily may be limited services because the juvenile is housed at the facility generally for less than a year, there may be few juveniles at that facility, and the facility may be remote. The legislature intends to provide these limited education services to help enable the juvenile to make some educational progress while confined for a year or less, and help to resume his or her education in more traditional methods upon release from the facility.

(3) The services may include some special education services to inmates as may be required by federal law.

(4) School districts shall not be required to provide any education services to inmates of local adult correctional facilities even when the inmates are under age twenty-one.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 28A.305 RCW to read as follows:

To the extent funds are appropriated for the purposes of section 3(1) of this act, the superintendent of public instruction shall provide funds to educational service districts that have been requested by a local adult correctional facility to provide education services for its juvenile inmates.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) The department of corrections, with the assistance of the superintendent of public instruction and the administrator for the courts, shall conduct a study to determine the educational needs of inmates under the age of twenty-one incarcerated in jail and prison, the impact of providing educational services to those inmates on the security and penological interests of the correctional institutions that incarcerate those inmates, and the ability of local school districts, the community and technical colleges, private vendors, juvenile detention centers, and the correctional institutions to provide those educational services.

(2) The department, the superintendent of public instruction, and the administrator for the courts shall consult with the following groups:

(a) The Washington association of school administrators;

(b) The individual school districts and educational service districts in which the department or a county jail may operate a school for inmates under age twenty-one;

(d) The state board for community and technical colleges;

(e) The higher education coordinating board;

(f) The United States department of education office of special education programs and the office for civil rights;

(g) The juvenile rehabilitation administration's residential school programs;

(h) The juvenile court administrators;

(i) The attorney general;

(j) The Washington association of prosecuting attorneys;

(k) The school districts that provide educational services to juvenile offenders incarcerated in state juvenile residential schools; and

(l) Any other person or association that in the opinion of the department, the superintendent of public instruction, or the administrator for the courts may assist in the study.

(3) No later than May 1, 1998, the department and the superintendent of public instruction shall provide to the house of representatives and senate committees on education, the house of representatives committee on criminal justice and corrections, the senate committee on human services and corrections, and the house of representatives and senate fiscal committees, a profile of all offenders under the age of twenty-one who are incarcerated in a department of corrections facility. The profile shall identify the offenders individually by the following:

(a) Age;

(b) Offense or offenses of commitment;

(d) Anticipated length of stay;

(e) The number of serious infractions committed by the offender during incarceration and the number of times, if any, the offender has been placed in an intensive management unit;

(f) The offender's custody level;

(g) Whether the offender has a high school diploma or a GED;

(h) The last grade the offender completed;

(i) Whether the offender, in the educational placement before incarceration, was identified as a child with a disability or had an individualized education program;

(j) Whether the offender would qualify for transition planning and services under 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1414(d)(6);

(k) Whether the department has security or penological interests that warrant modification of an existing individualized education program or placement as provided by 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1414(d)(6);

(l) Whether the offender has participated in any educational programs offered by the department; and

(m) Whether the offender may be in need of special education and related services. This subsection (3)(m) does not require the department or the superintendent to evaluate an offender to determine if the offender is a child with disabilities in need of special education and related services.

(4) No later than September 1, 1998, the department of corrections, the superintendent of public instruction, and the administrator for the courts shall provide to the committees identified in subsection (3) of this section a profile of inmates under the age of twenty-one confined in county jails between the effective date of this section and August 1, 1998. The profile shall identify the inmates' characteristics as listed in subsection (3) of this section and shall include all inmates detained in a county correctional facility whether arrested, charged, pending trial, or convicted. The department, the superintendent of public instruction, and the administrator for the courts shall assist the counties in gathering this information.

(5) No later than September 1, 1998, the department, the superintendent of public instruction, and the administrator for the courts shall make a preliminary report to the committees listed in subsection (3) of this section, identifying the educational needs of inmates under the age of twenty-one in adult correctional facilities, the impact of providing educational services to those inmates on the security and penological interests of the correctional institutions that incarcerate those inmates, and the ability of local school districts, the community and technical colleges, private vendors, juvenile detention centers, and the correctional institutions to provide those educational services. The department and the superintendent, in consultation with the office of financial management, shall estimate the various capital and operating costs of providing educational services equivalent to a basic education or basic skills education to offenders under age twenty-one, and special education and related services to all inmates under age twenty-one or to only those inmates under age eighteen and between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one who were identified as a child with a disability or had an individualized education program in the educational placement before incarceration in an adult correctional facility. The department and the superintendent of public instruction shall inform the committees as to which educational entity or entities are able and willing to provide those educational services.

(6) No later than November 1, 1998, the department, the superintendent of public instruction, and the administrator for the courts shall make final recommendations to the legislative committees identified in subsection (3) of this section.

Sec. 6. RCW 72.09.460 and 1997 c 338 s 43 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The legislature intends that all inmates be required to participate in department-approved education programs, work programs, or both, unless exempted under subsection (4) of this section. Eligible inmates who refuse to participate in available education or work programs available at no charge to the inmates shall lose privileges according to the system established under RCW 72.09.130. Eligible inmates who are required to contribute financially to an education or work program and refuse to contribute shall be placed in another work program. Refusal to contribute shall not result in a loss of privileges. The legislature recognizes more inmates may agree to participate in education and work programs than are available. The department must make every effort to achieve maximum public benefit by placing inmates in available and appropriate education and work programs.

(2)(a) The department shall provide a program of education to all offenders who are under the age of eighteen and who have not met high school graduation or general equivalency diploma requirements. The program of education established by the department for offenders under the age of eighteen must provide each offender a ((~~choice of~~)) curriculum that will assist the inmate in achieving a high school diploma or general equivalency diploma; the department shall determine the most appropriate path depending on age, education history, inmate preference, and other considerations. The program of education may be coordinated with prevocational training, work ethic skills, conflict resolution counseling, substance abuse intervention, and anger management counseling. The curriculum may balance these and other rehabilitation, work, and training components.

(b) Access to special education in connection with education programs under (a) of this subsection may be provided for those under the age of twenty-two to the extent required by federal law.

(3) The department shall, to the extent possible and considering all available funds, prioritize its resources to meet the following goals for inmates in the order listed:

(a) Achievement of basic academic skills through obtaining a high school diploma or its equivalent and achievement of vocational skills necessary for purposes of work programs and for an inmate to qualify for work upon release;

(b) Additional work and education programs based on assessments and placements under subsection (5) of this section; and

(4) The department shall establish, by rule, objective medical standards to determine when an inmate is physically or mentally unable to participate in available education or work programs. When the department determines an inmate is permanently unable to participate in any available education or work program due to a medical condition, the inmate is exempt from the requirement under subsection (1) of this section. When the department determines an inmate is temporarily unable to participate in an education or work program due to a medical condition, the inmate is exempt from the requirement of subsection (1) of this section for the period of time he or she is temporarily disabled. The department shall periodically review the medical condition of all temporarily disabled inmates to ensure the earliest possible entry or reentry by inmates into available programming.

(5) The department shall establish, by rule, standards for participation in department-approved education and work programs. The standards shall address the following areas:

(a) Assessment. The department shall assess all inmates for their basic academic skill levels using a professionally accepted method of scoring reading, math, and language skills as grade level equivalents. The department shall determine an inmate's education history, work history, and vocational or work skills. The initial assessment shall be conducted, whenever possible, within the first thirty days of an inmate's entry into the correctional system, except that initial assessments are not required for inmates who are sentenced to life without the possibility of release, assigned to an intensive management unit within the first thirty days after entry into the correctional system, are returning to the correctional system within one year of a prior release, or whose physical or mental condition renders them unable to complete the assessment process. The department shall track and record changes in the basic academic skill levels of all inmates reflected in any testing or assessment performed as part of their education programming;

(b) Placement. The department shall follow the policies set forth in subsection (1) of this section in establishing criteria for placing inmates in education and work programs. The department shall, to the extent possible, place all inmates whose composite grade level score for basic academic skills is below the eighth grade level in a combined education and work program. The placement criteria shall include at least the following factors:

(i) An inmate's release date and custody level, except an inmate shall not be precluded from participating in an education or work program solely on the basis of his or her release date;

(ii) An inmate's education history and basic academic skills;

(iii) An inmate's work history and vocational or work skills;

(iv) An inmate's economic circumstances, including but not limited to an inmate's family support obligations; and

(v) Where applicable, an inmate's prior performance in department-approved education or work programs;

(c) Performance and goals. The department shall establish, and periodically review, inmate behavior standards and program goals for all education and work programs. Inmates shall be notified of applicable behavior standards and program goals prior to placement in an education or work program and shall be removed from the education or work program if they consistently fail to meet the standards or goals;

(d) Financial responsibility. (i) The department shall establish a formula by which inmates, based on their ability to pay, shall pay all or a portion of the costs or tuition of certain programs. Inmates shall, based on the formula, pay a portion of the costs or tuition of participation in:

(A) Second and subsequent vocational programs associated with an inmate's work programs; and

(B) An associate of arts or baccalaureate degree program when placement in a degree program is the result of a placement made under this subsection;

(ii) Inmates shall pay all costs and tuition for participation in:

(A) Any postsecondary academic degree program which is entered independently of a placement decision made under this subsection; and

(B) Second and subsequent vocational programs not associated with an inmate's work program.

Enrollment in any program specified in (d)(ii) of this subsection shall only be allowed by correspondence or if there is an opening in an education or work program at the institution where an inmate is incarcerated and no other inmate who is placed in a program under this subsection will be displaced; and

(e) Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, an inmate sentenced to life without the possibility of release:

(i) Shall not be required to participate in education programming; and

(ii) May receive not more than one postsecondary academic degree in a program offered by the department or its contracted providers.

If an inmate sentenced to life without the possibility of release requires prevocational or vocational training for a work program, he or she may participate in the training subject to this section.

(6) The department shall coordinate education and work programs among its institutions, to the greatest extent possible, to facilitate continuity of programming among inmates transferred between institutions. Before transferring an inmate enrolled in a program, the department shall consider the effect the transfer will have on the inmate's ability to continue or complete a program. This subsection shall not be used to delay or prohibit a transfer necessary for legitimate safety or security concerns.

(7) Before construction of a new correctional institution or expansion of an existing correctional institution, the department shall adopt a plan demonstrating how cable, closed-circuit, and satellite television will be used for education and training purposes in the institution. The plan shall specify how the use of television in the education and training programs will improve inmates' preparedness for available work programs and job opportunities for which inmates may qualify upon release.

(8) The department shall adopt a plan to reduce the per-pupil cost of instruction by, among other methods, increasing the use of volunteer instructors and implementing technological efficiencies. The plan shall be adopted by December 1996 and shall be transmitted to the legislature upon adoption. The department shall, in adoption of the plan, consider distance learning, satellite instruction, video tape usage, computer-aided instruction, and flexible scheduling of offender instruction.

(9) Following completion of the review required by section 27(3), chapter 19, Laws of 1995 1st sp. sess. the department shall take all necessary steps to assure the vocation and education programs are relevant to work programs and skills necessary to enhance the employability of inmates upon release.

Sec. 7. RCW 28A.155.020 and 1995 c 77 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:

There is established in the office of the superintendent of public instruction an administrative section or unit for the education of children with disabling conditions.

Children with disabilities are those children in school or out of school who are temporarily or permanently retarded in normal educational processes by reason of physical or mental disability, or by reason of emotional maladjustment, or by reason of other disability, and those children who have specific learning and language disabilities resulting from perceptual-motor disabilities, including problems in visual and auditory perception and integration.

Except as provided in section 1 of this act, the superintendent of public instruction shall require each school district in the state to insure an appropriate educational opportunity for all children with disabilities between the ages of three and twenty-one((~~, but~~)). When ((~~the~~)) a child's twenty-first birthday occurs during the school year, the educational program may be continued until the end of that school year. The superintendent of public instruction, by rule, shall establish for the purpose of excess cost funding, as provided in RCW 28A.150.390, 28A.160.030, and 28A.155.010 through 28A.155.100, functional definitions of the various types of disabling conditions and eligibility criteria for special education programs for students with disabilities. For the purposes of RCW 28A.155.010 through 28A.155.100, an appropriate education is defined as an education directed to the unique needs, abilities, and limitations of the children with disabilities. School districts are strongly encouraged to provide parental training in the care and education of the children and to involve parents in the classroom.

Nothing in this section shall prohibit the establishment or continuation of existing cooperative programs between school districts or contracts with other agencies approved by the superintendent of public instruction, which can meet the obligations of school districts to provide education for children with disabilities, or prohibit the continuation of needed related services to school districts by the department of social and health services.

This section shall not be construed as in any way limiting the powers of local school districts set forth in RCW 28A.155.070.

No child shall be removed from the jurisdiction of juvenile court, a local jail, or the department of corrections for training or education under RCW 28A.155.010 through 28A.155.100 without the approval of the superior court of the county.

Sec. 8. RCW 28A.225.010 and 1996 c 134 s 1 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;

(d) 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, is incarcerated in an adult correctional facility of the department of corrections or a local government, 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

(e) The child is sixteen years of age or older and:

(i) The child is regularly and lawfully 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;

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

(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.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. Funding for the education programs in this act for juveniles incarcerated in adult correctional facilities shall be provided in the omnibus appropriations act and shall be considered sufficient for the education needs of juveniles incarcerated in adult correctional facilities."

Correct the title.

EFFECT: The striking amendment replaces the underlying bill with provisions that:

(1) Find that the state is not required to give juveniles in adult correctional facilities basic or special education services through the common schools, and provide that school districts cannot be required to provide any educational services in adult correctional facilities;

(2) Allow DOC, to the extent DOC must or chooses to provide education services to juveniles, to contract with school districts, ESDs, community and technical colleges, & private providers. If a contract is not entered into with a willing and capable provider, DOC provides its own education services. DOC may consult with SPI, community colleges, and others in finding a provider and developing education programs. School districts cannot be required to provide any educational services in DOC facilities;

(3) Allow, to the extent a local adult correctional facility must or chooses to provide education services to juvenile inmates, the local facility to provide the services itself, request that the local school district provide services, or, if the school district chooses not to, ask the ESD to provide the service. If the ESD chooses to provide the service, it may apply for funds from SPI. Education services to these inmates necessarily are limited services, but can include some special education to the extent required by federal law. School districts cannot be required to provide any educational services in local adult correctional facilities;

(4) To the extent funds are appropriated, SPI provide funds to ESDs providing education services to local adult correction facilities;

(5) Create a study of the educational needs of juveniles in adult jails and prisons. The study is to be done by DOC with assistance from SPI and the Administrator for the Courts;

(6) Amend current law to clarify that education services to juveniles in DOC facilities are a part of overall incarceration program for these inmates, provide that DOC chooses whether particular juveniles receive a curriculum to assist in a high school diploma or a GED, and provide that special education services can be provided to those 18 - 22 to the extent required by federal law; and

(7) Provide that funds are to be appropriated for these programs in the budget, and the appropriation is considered sufficient to meet the educational needs of juveniles in adult facilities.