BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to church schools; amending RCW 28A.195.010, 28A.225.010, and 28A.195.060; and adding a new section to chapter 28A.195 RCW.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 28A.195.010 and 1993 c 336 s 1101 are each amended to read as follows:

The legislature hereby recognizes that private schools should be subject only to those minimum state controls necessary to insure the health and safety of all the students in the state and to insure a sufficient basic education to meet usual graduation requirements. The legislature also recognizes the right of parents to place their children in church schools that more closely meet the needs and educational desires of the parents and students. The state, any agency or official thereof, shall not restrict or dictate any specific educational or other programs for private schools except as hereinafter in this section provided.

Principals of private schools or superintendents of private school districts shall file each year with the state superintendent of public instruction a statement certifying that the minimum requirements hereinafter set forth are being met, noting any deviations. After review of the statement, the state superintendent will notify schools or school districts of those deviations which must be corrected. In case of major deviations, the school or school district may request and the state board of education may grant provisional status for one year in order that the school or school district may take action to meet the requirements. Minimum requirements shall be as follows:

(1) The minimum school year for instructional purposes shall consist of no less than one hundred eighty school days or the equivalent in annual minimum program hour offerings as prescribed in RCW 28A.150.220.

(2) The school day shall be the same as that required in RCW 28A.150.030 and 28A.150.220, except that the percentages of total program hour offerings as prescribed in RCW 28A.150.220 for basic skills, work skills, and optional subjects and activities shall not apply to private schools or private sectarian schools.

(3) All classroom teachers shall hold appropriate Washington state certification except as follows:

(a) Teachers for religious courses or courses for which no counterpart exists in public schools shall not be required to obtain a state certificate to teach those courses.

(b) In exceptional cases, people of unusual competence but without certification may teach students so long as a certified person exercises general supervision. Annual written statements shall be submitted to the office of the superintendent of public instruction reporting and explaining such circumstances.

(4) An approved private school may operate an extension program for parents, guardians, or persons having legal custody of a child to teach children in their custody. The extension program shall require at a minimum that:

(a) The parent, guardian, or custodian be under the supervision of an employee of the approved private school who is certified under chapter 28A.410 RCW;

(b) The planning by the certified person and the parent, guardian, or person having legal custody include objectives consistent with this subsection and subsections (1), (2), (5), (6), and (7) of this section;

(c) The certified person spend a minimum average each month of one contact hour per week with each student under his or her supervision who is enrolled in the approved private school extension program;

(d) Each student's progress be evaluated by the certified person; and

(e) The certified employee shall not supervise more than thirty students enrolled in the approved private school's extension program.

(5) Appropriate measures shall be taken to safeguard all permanent records against loss or damage.

(6) The physical facilities of the school or district shall be adequate to meet the program offered by the school or district: PROVIDED, That each school building shall meet reasonable health and fire safety requirements. However, the state board shall not require private school students to meet the student learning goals, obtain a certificate of mastery to graduate from high school, to master the essential academic learning requirements, or to be assessed pursuant to RCW 28A.630.885. However, private schools may choose, on a voluntary basis, to have their students master these essential academic learning requirements, take these assessments, and obtain certificates of mastery. A residential dwelling of the parent, guardian, or custodian shall be deemed to be an adequate physical facility when a parent, guardian, or person having legal custody is instructing his or her child under subsection (4) of this section.

(7) Private school curriculum shall include instruction of the basic skills of occupational education, science, mathematics, language, social studies, history, health, reading, writing, spelling, and the development of appreciation of art and music, all in sufficient units for meeting state board of education graduation requirements.

(8) Each school or school district shall be required to maintain up-to-date policy statements related to the administration and operation of the school or school district.

All decisions of policy, philosophy, selection of books, teaching material, curriculum, except as in subsection (7) above provided, school rules and administration, or other matters not specifically referred to in this section, shall be the responsibility of the administration and administrators of the particular private school involved.

(9) Except for subsection (6) of this section, this section shall not apply to church schools. Church schools shall not be required to obtain approval for their programs from the state board of education.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.195 RCW to read as follows:

(1) As used in this chapter, "church school" means a private school that offers instruction in grades K-12, or any combination thereof including the kindergarten, elementary, or secondary level, or a single grade school, and is operated as a ministry of a local church, group of churches, denomination, religiously affiliated nonprofit organization, or association of churches on a nonprofit basis, and does not receive any state or federal funding.

(2) Any student enrolled in a church school whose parent or legal guardian chooses to access services for special excess cost aid programs authorized under RCW 28A.155.010 through 28A.155.100, services provided by educational service associates, or other educational services, shall only be eligible to receive such services at a public school.

Sec. 3. 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 or a church 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)~~)) (5) 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, 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) A church school for the purposes of this chapter is a school defined in section 2 of this act.

(5) 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)~~)) (6) 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)~~)) (5) of this section relating to the nature and quantity of instructional and related educational activities shall be liberally construed.

Sec. 4. RCW 28A.195.060 and 1975 1st ex.s. c 275 s 70 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) It shall be the duty of the administrative or executive authority of every private school in this state to report to the educational service district superintendent on or before the thirtieth day of June in each year, on a form to be furnished, such information as may be required by the superintendent of public instruction, to make complete the records of education work pertaining to all children residing within the state.

(2) This section shall not apply to church schools.