BILL REQ. #:  S-3333.1 

Read first time 01/11/10.   Referred to Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education.

     AN ACT Relating to truancy petition compliance; and amending RCW 28A.225.151.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 28A.225.151 and 1996 c 134 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) As required under subsection (2) of this section, each school shall document the actions taken under RCW 28A.225.030 and report this information to the school district superintendent who shall compile the data for all the schools in the district and prepare an annual school district report for each school year and submit the report to the superintendent of public instruction. The reports shall be made upon forms furnished by the superintendent of public instruction and shall be transmitted as determined by the superintendent of public instruction.
     (2) The reports under subsection (1) of this section shall include:
     (a) The number of enrolled students and the number of unexcused absences;
     (b) Documentation of the steps taken by the school district under each subsection of RCW 28A.225.020 at the request of the superintendent of public instruction. Each year, by May 1st, the superintendent of public instruction shall select ten school districts to submit the report at the end of the following school year. The ten districts shall represent different areas of the state and be of varied sizes. In addition, the superintendent of public instruction shall require any district that fails to keep appropriate records to submit a full report to the superintendent of public instruction under this subsection. All school districts shall document steps taken under RCW 28A.225.020 in each student's record, and make those records available upon request consistent with the laws governing student records;
     (c) The number of enrolled students with ten or more unexcused absences in a school year or five or more unexcused absences in a month during a school year;
     (d) A description of any programs or schools developed to serve students who have had five or more unexcused absences in a month or ten in a year including information about the number of students in the program or school and the number of unexcused absences of students during and after participation in the program. The school district shall also describe any placements in an approved private nonsectarian school or program or certified program under a court order under RCW 28A.225.090; and
     (e) The number of petitions filed by a school district with the juvenile court.
     (3) A report required under this section shall not disclose the name or other identification of a child or parent.
     (4) The superintendent of public instruction shall collect these reports from all school districts and prepare an annual report for each school year to be submitted to the legislature no later than December 15th of each year.
     (5) The school district superintendent of any school district that does not file petitions, as provided in RCW 28A.225.030, on behalf of at least fifty percent of eligible students in a given year, must submit a full report to the superintendent of public instruction by July 15th of the following year as provided under subsection (2)(b) of this section.
     (6) The school district superintendent of any school district that falls in the lowest quartile of petition filing rates among all state of Washington school districts for eligible students in a given year must file with the superintendent of public instruction special attendance reports during the following school year in forty-five school-day increments. If identified for the special attendance report requirement, the school district superintendent must assemble reports detailing number of enrolled students for the forty-five day period, number of excused absences during the period, total number of students newly eligible for a petition for civil action as provided in RCW 28A.225.030 during the period, and number of new petitions filed within the period. The special attendance report must be filed with the superintendent of public instruction no later than ten calendar days following the conclusion of each forty-five day reporting period and made available to the legislature and governor no later than twenty days after the initial filing. The first forty-five school days of the school year constitute the first reporting period. A compilation of the special attendance reports must be included as an appendix to the annual school district report as provided in subsection (1) of this section.
     (7) The superintendent of public instruction may waive the requirements of subsection (5) or (6) of this section for any school district for which it is clearly demonstrated that mitigating circumstances have directly contributed to lower than expected petition filing rates.