H-2235

AN ACT Relating to cooperation between courts and schools regarding juveniles; amending RCW 13.40.020, 13.04.145, 28A.190.010, 13.40.150, and 13.40.480; adding a new section to chapter 13.40 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 13.40.020 and 1997 c 338 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:

For the purposes of this chapter:

(1) "Community-based rehabilitation" means one or more of the following: Employment; attendance of information classes; literacy classes; counseling, outpatient substance abuse treatment programs, outpatient mental health programs, anger management classes, education or outpatient treatment programs to prevent animal cruelty, or other services; or attendance at school or other educational programs appropriate for the juvenile as determined by the school district. Placement in community-based rehabilitation programs is subject to available funds;

(2) Community-based sanctions may include one or more of the following:

(a) A fine, not to exceed five hundred dollars;

(b) Community service not to exceed one hundred fifty hours of service;

(3) "Community service" means compulsory service, without compensation, performed for the benefit of the community by the offender as punishment for committing an offense. Community service may be performed through public or private organizations or through work crews;

(4) "Community supervision" means an order of disposition by the court of an adjudicated youth not committed to the department or an order granting a deferred disposition. A community supervision order for a single offense may be for a period of up to two years for a sex offense as defined by RCW 9.94A.030 and up to one year for other offenses. As a mandatory condition of any term of community supervision, the court shall order the juvenile to refrain from committing new offenses. As a mandatory condition of community supervision, the court shall order the juvenile to comply with the mandatory school attendance provisions of chapter 28A.225 RCW and to inform the school of the existence of this requirement. As a condition of any term of community supervision, except for community supervision under an order granting a deferred disposition, the court may order the juvenile to comply with reporting requirements for the purposes of monitoring the juvenile's reading skills, as provided under section 2 of this act. Community supervision is an individualized program comprised of one or more of the following:

(a) Community-based sanctions;

(b) Community-based rehabilitation;

(d) Posting of a probation bond;

(5) "Confinement" means physical custody by the department of social and health services in a facility operated by or pursuant to a contract with the state, or physical custody in a detention facility operated by or pursuant to a contract with any county. The county may operate or contract with vendors to operate county detention facilities. The department may operate or contract to operate detention facilities for juveniles committed to the department. Pretrial confinement or confinement of less than thirty-one days imposed as part of a disposition or modification order may be served consecutively or intermittently, in the discretion of the court;

(6) "Court," when used without further qualification, means the juvenile court judge(s) or commissioner(s);

(7) "Criminal history" includes all criminal complaints against the respondent for which, prior to the commission of a current offense:

(a) The allegations were found correct by a court. If a respondent is convicted of two or more charges arising out of the same course of conduct, only the highest charge from among these shall count as an offense for the purposes of this chapter; or

(b) The criminal complaint was diverted by a prosecutor pursuant to the provisions of this chapter on agreement of the respondent and after an advisement to the respondent that the criminal complaint would be considered as part of the respondent's criminal history. A successfully completed deferred adjudication that was entered before July 1, 1998, or a deferred disposition shall not be considered part of the respondent's criminal history;

(8) "Department" means the department of social and health services;

(9) "Detention facility" means a county facility, paid for by the county, for the physical confinement of a juvenile alleged to have committed an offense or an adjudicated offender subject to a disposition or modification order. "Detention facility" includes county group homes, inpatient substance abuse programs, juvenile basic training camps, and electronic monitoring;

(10) "Diversion unit" means any probation counselor who enters into a diversion agreement with an alleged youthful offender, or any other person, community accountability board, or other entity except a law enforcement official or entity, with whom the juvenile court administrator has contracted to arrange and supervise such agreements pursuant to RCW 13.40.080, or any person, community accountability board, or other entity specially funded by the legislature to arrange and supervise diversion agreements in accordance with the requirements of this chapter. For purposes of this subsection, "community accountability board" means a board comprised of members of the local community in which the juvenile offender resides. The superior court shall appoint the members. The boards shall consist of at least three and not more than seven members. If possible, the board should include a variety of representatives from the community, such as a law enforcement officer, teacher or school administrator, high school student, parent, and business owner, and should represent the cultural diversity of the local community;

(11) "Foster care" means temporary physical care in a foster family home or group care facility as defined in RCW 74.15.020 and licensed by the department, or other legally authorized care;

(12) "Institution" means a juvenile facility established pursuant to chapters 72.05 and 72.16 through 72.20 RCW;

(13) "Intensive supervision program" means a parole program that requires intensive supervision and monitoring, offers an array of individualized treatment and transitional services, and emphasizes community involvement and support in order to reduce the likelihood a juvenile offender will commit further offenses;

(14) "Juvenile," "youth," and "child" mean any individual who is under the chronological age of eighteen years and who has not been previously transferred to adult court pursuant to RCW 13.40.110 or who is otherwise under adult court jurisdiction;

(15) "Juvenile offender" means any juvenile who has been found by the juvenile court to have committed an offense, including a person eighteen years of age or older over whom jurisdiction has been extended under RCW 13.40.300;

(16) "Local sanctions" means one or more of the following: (a) 0‑30 days of confinement; (b) 0‑12 months of community supervision; (c) 0‑150 hours of community service; or (d) $0‑$500 fine;

(17) "Manifest injustice" means a disposition that would either impose an excessive penalty on the juvenile or would impose a serious, and clear danger to society in light of the purposes of this chapter;

(18) "Monitoring and reporting requirements" means one or more of the following: Curfews; requirements to remain at home, school, work, or court-ordered treatment programs during specified hours; restrictions from leaving or entering specified geographical areas; requirements to report to the probation officer as directed and to remain under the probation officer's supervision; and other conditions or limitations as the court may require which may not include confinement;

(19) "Offense" means an act designated a violation or a crime if committed by an adult under the law of this state, under any ordinance of any city or county of this state, under any federal law, or under the law of another state if the act occurred in that state;

(20) "Probation bond" means a bond, posted with sufficient security by a surety justified and approved by the court, to secure the offender's appearance at required court proceedings and compliance with court-ordered community supervision or conditions of release ordered pursuant to RCW 13.40.040 or 13.40.050. It also means a deposit of cash or posting of other collateral in lieu of a bond if approved by the court;

(21) "Respondent" means a juvenile who is alleged or proven to have committed an offense;

(22) "Restitution" means financial reimbursement by the offender to the victim, and shall be limited to easily ascertainable damages for injury to or loss of property, actual expenses incurred for medical treatment for physical injury to persons, lost wages resulting from physical injury, and costs of the victim's counseling reasonably related to the offense if the offense is a sex offense. Restitution shall not include reimbursement for damages for mental anguish, pain and suffering, or other intangible losses. Nothing in this chapter shall limit or replace civil remedies or defenses available to the victim or offender;

(23) "Secretary" means the secretary of the department of social and health services. "Assistant secretary" means the assistant secretary for juvenile rehabilitation for the department;

(24) "Services" means services which provide alternatives to incarceration for those juveniles who have pleaded or been adjudicated guilty of an offense or have signed a diversion agreement pursuant to this chapter;

(25) "Sex offense" means an offense defined as a sex offense in RCW 9.94A.030;

(26) "Sexual motivation" means that one of the purposes for which the respondent committed the offense was for the purpose of his or her sexual gratification;

(27) "Surety" means an entity licensed under state insurance laws or by the state department of licensing, to write corporate, property, or probation bonds within the state, and justified and approved by the superior court of the county having jurisdiction of the case;

(28) "Violation" means an act or omission, which if committed by an adult, must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and is punishable by sanctions which do not include incarceration;

(29) "Violent offense" means a violent offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 13.40 RCW to read as follows:

(1) When a court enters a disposition order for an adjudicated juvenile committed to the department, or a disposition order containing community supervision, the court may include as part of the disposition order or community supervision a requirement that the juvenile demonstrate, within a time specified by the court, an improvement in the juvenile's reading skills and provisions for monitoring the juvenile's reading level if the juvenile is at least twelve years old and is unable to read at a sixth grade level. The court may consider any relevant information, including but not limited to the following:

(a) The juvenile's educational records and any existence of an individualized education program. A juvenile's individualized education program may be provided to the court by the school, juvenile, parent, or juvenile's guardian;

(b) Whether the juvenile is mentally or physically incapable of achieving an adequate literacy level;

(d) The court's reasonable judgment based on an informal in-court assessment of the juvenile's reading skills.

(2) In determining whether the juvenile has complied with the reading requirement of the disposition order or community supervision under this section, the court may require that the juvenile submit to informal reading assessments at a school within reasonable proximity of the juvenile. In enforcing the reading requirement of the disposition order or community supervision under this section, the court may use sanctions that do include detention or incarceration.

(3) For the purposes of monitoring the juvenile's reading skills, the court's jurisdiction over the juvenile may be extended until:

(a) The juvenile achieves a sixth grade reading level;

(b) The juvenile demonstrates substantial improvement in reading skills to the satisfaction of the court;

(c) The court determines that the juvenile is not mentally or physically capable of achieving a sixth grade reading level or significantly improving his or her reading skills;

(d) The court determines that there are no appropriate educational resources available to the juvenile or the juvenile is not able to access appropriate educational resources to assist in raising his or her reading level; or

(e) The juvenile has reached his or her eighteenth birthday.

(4) In no case may the juvenile court's jurisdiction extend beyond the juvenile's eighteenth birthday for the purposes of monitoring the juvenile's reading skills. This section does not apply to juveniles granted deferred disposition.

Sec. 3. RCW 13.04.145 and 1990 c 33 s 551 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) A program of education shall be provided for by the several counties and school districts of the state for common school age persons confined in each of the detention facilities staffed and maintained by the several counties of the state under this chapter and chapters 13.16 and 13.20 RCW. The division of duties, authority, and liabilities of the several counties and school districts of the state respecting the educational programs is the same in all respects as set forth in RCW 28A.190.030 through 28A.190.060 respecting programs of education for state residential school residents. For the purposes of this section, the terms "department of social and health services," "residential school" or "schools," and "superintendent or chief administrator of a residential school" as used in RCW 28A.190.030 through 28A.190.060 shall be respectively construed to mean "the several counties of the state," "detention facilities," and "the administrator of juvenile court detention services." Nothing in this section shall prohibit a school district from utilizing the services of an educational service district subject to RCW 28A.310.180.

(2) As part of the program of education under subsection (1) of this section, emphasis should be placed on raising the reading skills of each confined juvenile who is at least twelve years old to at least the sixth grade reading level, unless there has been a determination that the juvenile is mentally or physically incapable of reading at that level.

Sec. 4. RCW 28A.190.010 and 1996 c 84 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) A program of education shall be provided for by the department of social and health services and the several school districts of the state for common school age persons who have been admitted to facilities staffed and maintained or contracted pursuant to RCW 13.40.320 by the department of social and health services for the education and treatment of juveniles who have been diverted or who have been found to have committed a juvenile offense. The division of duties, authority, and liabilities of the department of social and health services and the several school districts of the state respecting the educational programs shall be the same in all respects as set forth in RCW 28A.190.030 through 28A.190.060 respecting programs of education for state residential school residents. For the purposes of this section, the term "residential school" or "schools" as used in RCW 28A.190.030 through 28A.190.060 shall be construed to mean a facility staffed and maintained by the department of social and health services or a program established under RCW 13.40.320, for the education and treatment of juvenile offenders on probation or parole. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a school district from utilizing the services of an educational service district subject to RCW 28A.310.180.

Sec. 5. RCW 13.40.150 and 1998 c 86 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) In disposition hearings all relevant and material evidence, including oral and written reports, may be received by the court and may be relied upon to the extent of its probative value, even though such evidence may not be admissible in a hearing on the information. The youth or the youth's counsel and the prosecuting attorney shall be afforded an opportunity to examine and controvert written reports so received and to cross-examine individuals making reports when such individuals are reasonably available, but sources of confidential information need not be disclosed. The prosecutor and counsel for the juvenile may submit recommendations for disposition.

(2) For purposes of disposition:

(a) Violations which are current offenses count as misdemeanors;

(b) Violations may not count as part of the offender's criminal history;

(3) Before entering a dispositional order as to a respondent found to have committed an offense, the court shall hold a disposition hearing, at which the court shall:

(a) Consider the facts supporting the allegations of criminal conduct by the respondent;

(b) Consider information and arguments offered by parties and their counsel;

(c) Consider any predisposition reports, including any reports received from the juvenile's school or other educational institution and whether the juvenile has an individualized education program for special education services;

(d) Consult with the respondent's parent, guardian, or custodian on the appropriateness of dispositional options under consideration and afford the respondent and the respondent's parent, guardian, or custodian an opportunity to speak in the respondent's behalf;

(e) Allow the victim or a representative of the victim and an investigative law enforcement officer to speak;

(f) Determine the amount of restitution owing to the victim, if any, or set a hearing for a later date not to exceed one hundred eighty days from the date of the disposition hearing to determine the amount, except that the court may continue the hearing beyond the one hundred eighty days for good cause;

(g) Determine the respondent's offender score;

(h) Consider whether or not any of the following mitigating factors exist:

(i) The respondent's conduct neither caused nor threatened serious bodily injury or the respondent did not contemplate that his or her conduct would cause or threaten serious bodily injury;

(ii) The respondent acted under strong and immediate provocation;

(iii) The respondent was suffering from a mental or physical condition that significantly reduced his or her culpability for the offense though failing to establish a defense;

(iv) Prior to his or her detection, the respondent compensated or made a good faith attempt to compensate the victim for the injury or loss sustained; and

(v) There has been at least one year between the respondent's current offense and any prior criminal offense;

(i) Consider whether or not any of the following aggravating factors exist:

(i) In the commission of the offense, or in flight therefrom, the respondent inflicted or attempted to inflict serious bodily injury to another;

(ii) The offense was committed in an especially heinous, cruel, or depraved manner;

(iii) The victim or victims were particularly vulnerable;

(iv) The respondent has a recent criminal history or has failed to comply with conditions of a recent dispositional order or diversion agreement;

(v) The current offense included a finding of sexual motivation pursuant to RCW 13.40.135;

(vi) The respondent was the leader of a criminal enterprise involving several persons;

(vii) There are other complaints which have resulted in diversion or a finding or plea of guilty but which are not included as criminal history; and

(viii) The standard range disposition is clearly too lenient considering the seriousness of the juvenile's prior adjudications.

(4) The following factors may not be considered in determining the punishment to be imposed:

(a) The sex of the respondent;

(b) The race or color of the respondent or the respondent's family;

(d) The economic or social class of the respondent or the respondent's family; and

(e) Factors indicating that the respondent may be or is a dependent child within the meaning of this chapter.

(5) A court may not commit a juvenile to a state institution solely because of the lack of facilities, including treatment facilities, existing in the community.

Sec. 6. RCW 13.40.480 and 1998 c 269 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Pursuant to RCW 28A.600.475, and to the extent permitted by the family educational and privacy rights act of 1974, 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1232g(b), and in order to serve the juvenile while in detention and to prepare any postconviction services, schools shall make all student records and information, including records of a student's individualized education program necessary for risk assessment, security classification, and placement available to court personnel and the department within three working days of a request under this section.

(2)(a) When a juvenile has one or more prior convictions, a request for records shall be made by the county prosecuting attorney, or probation department if available, to the school not more than ten days following the juvenile's arrest or detention, whichever occurs later, and prior to trial. The request may be made by subpoena.

(b) Where a juvenile has no prior conviction, a request to release records shall be made by subpoena upon the juvenile's conviction. When the request for a juvenile's student records and information is made by subpoena following conviction, the court or other issuing agency shall order the school on which the subpoena is served not to disclose to any person the existence or contents of the subpoena or any information furnished in response to the subpoena. When the court or issuing agency so orders, the school shall not provide notice to the juvenile or his or her parents.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The state shall reimburse counties for costs, if any, associated with implementing the provisions in sections 2 and 3 of this act.