BILL REQ. #:  H-3894.1 

Read first time 01/10/2006.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     AN ACT Relating to the release of student information; and amending RCW 28A.230.180.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 28A.230.180 and 1980 c 96 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, if the board of directors of a school district provides access to the campus and the student information directory to persons or groups which make students aware of occupational or educational options, the board shall provide access on the same basis to official recruiting representatives of the military forces of the state and the United States for the purpose of informing students of educational and career opportunities available in the military.
     (2)(a) It is the intent of the legislature that a school district, in adopting a policy pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, not purposefully exclude any military recruiter from access to information. It is further the intent of the legislature, in the interest of student confidentiality, that school districts minimize the release of student telephone numbers and other directory information in the absence of express parental consent. The legislature finds that the nondisclosure of student telephone numbers and other directory information reduces the possibility of harassment of students and their families by organizations that receive student directory information.
     (b) A school district that requires the parent or guardian of a high school student to provide current emergency information to the student's school of attendance shall include a notice in the request for emergency information that does all of the following:
     (i) Informs the parent or legal guardian and the student of their right to request, pursuant to 20 U.S.C. Sec. 7908(a)(2), that the student's name, address, and telephone listing not be released to military recruiters without the prior written consent of the student's parent or guardian, or the student if the student is eighteen years of age or older; and
     (ii) Allows the parent, legal guardian, or student to indicate on the request form that he or she chooses not to have the student's name, address, and telephone number released to military recruiters.
     (c) A request made pursuant to (b) of this subsection shall not prohibit a high school from releasing student information to postsecondary educational institutions or prospective employers.
     (d) The school district shall provide the notice required by (b) of this subsection in English and whatever other languages the school district uses in its request to parents and guardians for emergency information.