BILL REQ. #:  H-3538.1 

Read first time 01/13/2004.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     AN ACT Relating to decreasing truancy and dropouts; amending RCW 28A.225.010, 28A.200.010, and 28A.200.020; adding a new section to chapter 28A.150 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that graduating from high school is an important indicator of how students will fare later in life. High school graduates are almost twice as likely as dropouts to be gainfully employed. Salaries of working graduates are nearly twice as high as those enjoyed by dropouts who work. Students who fail to graduate from high school are also significantly more likely to become single parents and have children at young ages. Students who do not graduate from high school are significantly more likely to rely upon public assistance or be in prison.
     The legislature finds that there is a correlation between the dropout rates of youth and the rate of truancy within the educational system. The state must have as a priority the reduction in the rates of truancy and dropouts in the state educational system. The state must encourage the districts to adopt policies which reduce the rates of truancy and dropouts within the schools in their districts.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28A.150 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) A school district may choose to utilize the procedure set out in subsection (2) of this section to increase the district's funding allocated under RCW 28A.150.250, 28A.150.260, and 28A.150.350.
     (2) A school district shall receive increased funding under RCW 28A.150.250, 28A.150.260, and 28A.150.350 if the district increases its attendance percentage. For every percentage increase in attendance percentage for the prior school year compared to the attendance percentage for the school year immediately preceding the prior school year, the allocation received by the district under RCW 28A.150.250, 28A.150.260, and 28A.150.350 shall be increased by one-half of one percent. For every percentage decrease in the attendance percentage for the prior school year compared to the year immediately preceding the prior school year, the district's allocation under RCW 28A.150.250, 28A.150.260, and 28A.150.350 shall be decreased by one-half of one percent except that in no case shall the adjustment under this subsection result in an allocation that is less than the allocation under RCW 28A.150.250, 28A.150.260, and 28A.150.350.
     (3) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
     (a) Average daily attendance means the aggregate attendance of a district during a school year divided by the number of days a district is in session.
     (b) Average daily enrollment means the aggregate enrollment of a district during a school year divided by the number of days a district is in session.
     (c) Attendance percentage means the average daily attendance divided by the average daily enrollment.

Sec. 3   RCW 28A.225.010 and 1998 c 244 s 14 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))) (5) of this section;
     (c) The child is attending an education center as provided in chapter 28A.205 RCW;
     (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((,));
     (e) The child is incarcerated in an adult correctional facility((, 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));
     (f) The child's absence qualifies under one of the following excused absences and, if the absence qualifies, a student shall be allowed one makeup day for each day of absence:
     (i) Participation in school-approved activity is excused if this absence is authorized by a staff member and the affected teacher is notified prior to the absence unless it is clearly impossible to do so;
     (ii) An absence due to illness, health condition, or family emergency is excused if the parent notifies the school office on the morning of the first day of the absence and sends a signed note of explanation with the student upon his or her return to school unless the parent is unable to comply with this requirement. Students over eighteen and students who have been emancipated by court action shall notify the school office of their absences with a signed note of explanation;
     (iii) An absence for religious purposes is excused if a parent requests that a student be excused from attending school in observance of a religious holiday. In addition, a student, upon the request of his or her parent, may be excused for a portion of a school day to participate in religious instruction provided such is not conducted on school property;
     (iv) An absence for parental-approved activities is excused if it is agreed to by the principal and the parent. An absence may not be approved if it causes a serious adverse effect on the student's educational progress. In participation-type classes, including certain music and physical education classes, the student may not be able to achieve the objectives of the unit of instruction as a result of absence from class. In such a case, a parent-approved absence would have an adverse effect on the student's educational progress which would ultimately be reflected in the grade for such a course;
     (v) An absence resulting from disciplinary actions, or short-term suspensions;
     (vi) An absence due to an extended illness or health condition; or
     (((e))) (g) 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 child's absence from school is unexcused if it does not meet the definition of an excused absence in this section.
     (3) A parent for the purpose of this chapter means a parent, guardian, or person having legal custody of a child.
     (((3))) (4) 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))) (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.200.010 and 1995 c 52 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     Each parent whose child is receiving home-based instruction under RCW 28A.225.010(((4))) (5) shall have the duty to:
     (1) File annually a signed declaration of intent that he or she is planning to cause his or her child to receive home-based instruction. The statement shall include the name and age of the child, shall specify whether a certificated person will be supervising the instruction, and shall be written in a format prescribed by the superintendent of public instruction. Each parent shall file the statement by September 15 of the school year or within two weeks of the beginning of any public school quarter, trimester, or semester with the superintendent of the public school district within which the parent resides or the district that accepts the transfer, and the student shall be deemed a transfer student of the nonresident district. Parents may apply for transfer under RCW 28A.225.220;
     (2) Ensure that test scores or annual academic progress assessments and immunization records, together with any other records that are kept relating to the instructional and educational activities provided, are forwarded to any other public or private school to which the child transfers. At the time of a transfer to a public school, the superintendent of the local school district in which the child enrolls may require a standardized achievement test to be administered and shall have the authority to determine the appropriate grade and course level placement of the child after consultation with parents and review of the child's records; and
     (3) Ensure that a standardized achievement test approved by the state board of education is administered annually to the child by a qualified individual or that an annual assessment of the student's academic progress is written by a certificated person who is currently working in the field of education. The state board of education shall not require these children to meet the student learning goals, master the essential academic learning requirements, to take the assessments, or to obtain a certificate of mastery pursuant to RCW ((28A.630.885)) 28A.655.060. The standardized test administered or the annual academic progress assessment written shall be made a part of the child's permanent records. If, as a result of the annual test or assessment, it is determined that the child is not making reasonable progress consistent with his or her age or stage of development, the parent shall make a good faith effort to remedy any deficiency.
     Failure of a parent to comply with the duties in this section shall be deemed a failure of such parent's child to attend school without valid justification under RCW 28A.225.020. Parents who do comply with the duties set forth in this section shall be presumed to be providing home-based instruction as set forth in RCW 28A.225.010(((4))) (5).

Sec. 5   RCW 28A.200.020 and 1990 c 33 s 179 are each amended to read as follows:
     The state hereby recognizes that parents who are causing their children to receive home-based instruction under RCW 28A.225.010(((4))) (5) shall be subject only to those minimum state laws and regulations which are necessary to insure that a sufficient basic educational opportunity is provided to the children receiving such instruction. Therefore, all decisions relating to philosophy or doctrine, selection of books, teaching materials and curriculum, and methods, timing, and place in the provision or evaluation of home-based instruction shall be the responsibility of the parent except for matters specifically referred to in this chapter.