BILL REQ. #:  H-3182.1 

Prefiled 12/15/11. Read first time 01/09/12.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     AN ACT Relating to changing compulsory school attendance requirements for children six and seven years of age; amending RCW 28A.225.010, 28A.225.020, 28A.225.025, 28A.225.030, 28A.225.035, 28A.225.090, and 28A.200.010; and repealing RCW 28A.225.015.

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

Sec. 1   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)) six 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) 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, 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; 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) 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) 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) of this section relating to the nature and quantity of instructional and related educational activities shall be liberally construed.

Sec. 2   RCW 28A.225.020 and 2009 c 266 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) If a child required to attend school under RCW 28A.225.010 fails to attend school without valid justification, the public school in which the child is enrolled shall:
     (a) Inform the child's custodial parent, parents, or guardian by a notice in writing or by telephone whenever the child has failed to attend school after one unexcused absence within any month during the current school year. School officials shall inform the parent of the potential consequences of additional unexcused absences. If the custodial parent, parents, or guardian is not fluent in English, the preferred practice is to provide this information in a language in which the custodial parent, parents, or guardian is fluent;
     (b) Schedule a conference or conferences with the custodial parent, parents, or guardian and child at a time reasonably convenient for all persons included for the purpose of analyzing the causes of the child's absences after two unexcused absences within any month during the current school year. If a regularly scheduled parent-teacher conference day is to take place within thirty days of the second unexcused absence, then the school district may schedule this conference on that day; and
     (c) Take steps to eliminate or reduce the child's absences. These steps shall include, where appropriate, adjusting the child's school program or school or course assignment, providing more individualized or remedial instruction, providing appropriate vocational courses or work experience, referring the child to a community truancy board, if available, requiring the child to attend an alternative school or program, or assisting the parent or child to obtain supplementary services that might eliminate or ameliorate the cause or causes for the absence from school. If the child's parent does not attend the scheduled conference, the conference may be conducted with the student and school official. However, the parent shall be notified of the steps to be taken to eliminate or reduce the child's absence.
     (2) For purposes of this chapter, an "unexcused absence" means that a child:
     (a) Has failed to attend the majority of hours or periods in an average school day or has failed to comply with a more restrictive school district policy; and
     (b) Has failed to meet the school district's policy for excused absences.
     (3) If a child transfers from one school district to another during the school year, the receiving school or school district shall include the unexcused absences accumulated at the previous school or from the previous school district for purposes of this section((,)) and RCW 28A.225.030((, and 28A.225.015)).

Sec. 3   RCW 28A.225.025 and 2009 c 266 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) For purposes of this chapter, "community truancy board" means a board composed of members of the local community in which the child attends school. Juvenile courts may establish and operate community truancy boards. If the juvenile court and the school district agree, a school district may establish and operate a community truancy board under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. Juvenile courts may create a community truancy board or may use other entities that exist or are created, such as diversion units. However, a diversion unit or other existing entity must agree before it is used as a truancy board. Duties of a community truancy board shall include, but not be limited to, recommending methods for improving school attendance such as assisting the parent or the child to obtain supplementary services that might eliminate or ameliorate the causes for the absences or suggesting to the school district that the child enroll in another school, an alternative education program, an education center, a skill center, a dropout prevention program, or another public or private educational program.
     (2) The legislature finds that utilization of community truancy boards, or other diversion units that fulfill a similar function, is the preferred means of intervention when preliminary methods of notice and parent conferences and taking appropriate steps to eliminate or reduce unexcused absences have not been effective in securing the child's attendance at school. The legislature intends to encourage and support the development and expansion of community truancy boards and other diversion programs which are effective in promoting school attendance and preventing the need for more intrusive intervention by the court. Operation of a school truancy board does not excuse a district from the obligation of filing a petition within the requirements of RCW ((28A.225.015(3))) 28A.225.030.

Sec. 4   RCW 28A.225.030 and 1999 c 319 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) If a child is required to attend school under RCW 28A.225.010 and is eight years old or older and if the actions taken by a school district under RCW 28A.225.020 are not successful in substantially reducing ((an)) the enrolled student's absences from public school, not later than the seventh unexcused absence by such a child within any month during the current school year or not later than the tenth unexcused absence during the current school year the school district shall file a petition and supporting affidavit for a civil action with the juvenile court alleging a violation of RCW 28A.225.010: (a) By the parent; (b) by the child; or (c) by the parent and the child. Except as provided in this subsection, no additional documents need be filed with the petition.
     (2) The district shall not later than the fifth unexcused absence in a month by a child eight years old or older:
     (a) Enter into an agreement with ((a)) the student and parent that establishes school attendance requirements;
     (b) Refer ((a)) the student to a community truancy board, if available, as defined in RCW 28A.225.025. The community truancy board shall enter into an agreement with the student and parent that establishes school attendance requirements and take other appropriate actions to reduce the child's absences; or
     (c) File a petition under subsection (1) of this section.
     (3) The petition may be filed by a school district employee who is not an attorney.
     (4) If the school district fails to file a petition under this section, the parent of a child who is eight years old or older with five or more unexcused absences in any month during the current school year or upon the tenth unexcused absence during the current school year may file a petition with the juvenile court alleging a violation of RCW 28A.225.010.
     (5) Petitions filed under this section may be served by certified mail, return receipt requested. If such service is unsuccessful, or the return receipt is not signed by the addressee, personal service is required.

Sec. 5   RCW 28A.225.035 and 2009 c 266 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) A petition for a civil action under RCW 28A.225.030 ((or 28A.225.015)) shall consist of a written notification to the court alleging that:
     (a) The child has unexcused absences during the current school year;
     (b) Actions taken by the school district have not been successful in substantially reducing the child's absences from school; and
     (c) Court intervention and supervision are necessary to assist the school district or parent to reduce the child's absences from school.
     (2) The petition shall set forth the name, date of birth, school, address, gender, race, and ethnicity of the child and the names and addresses of the child's parents, and shall set forth whether the child and parent are fluent in English and whether there is an existing individualized education program.
     (3) The petition shall set forth facts that support the allegations in this section and shall generally request relief available under this chapter and provide information about what the court might order under RCW 28A.225.090.
     (4) When a petition is filed under RCW 28A.225.030 ((or 28A.225.015)), the juvenile court shall schedule a hearing at which the court shall consider the petition, or if the court determines that a referral to an available community truancy board would substantially reduce the child's unexcused absences, the court may refer the case to a community truancy board under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.
     (5) If a referral is made to a community truancy board, the truancy board must meet with the child, a parent, and the school district representative and enter into an agreement with the petitioner and respondent regarding expectations and any actions necessary to address the child's truancy within twenty days of the referral. ((If the petition is based on RCW 28A.225.015, the child shall not be required to attend and the agreement under this subsection shall be between the truancy board, the school district, and the child's parent. The court may permit the truancy board or truancy prevention counselor to provide continued supervision over the student, or parent if the petition is based on RCW 28A.225.015.))
     (6) If the truancy board fails to reach an agreement, or the parent or student does not comply with the agreement, the truancy board shall return the case to the juvenile court for a hearing.
     (7)(a) Notwithstanding the provisions in subsection (4) of this section, a hearing shall not be required if other actions by the court would substantially reduce the child's unexcused absences. When a juvenile court hearing is held, the court shall:
     (i) Separately notify the child, the parent of the child, and the school district of the hearing. If the parent is not fluent in English, the preferred practice is for notice to be provided in a language in which the parent is fluent;
     (ii) Notify the parent and the child of their rights to present evidence at the hearing; and
     (iii) Notify the parent and the child of the options and rights available under chapter 13.32A RCW.
     (b) If the child is not provided with counsel, the advisement of rights must take place in court by means of a colloquy between the court, the child ((if eight years old or older)), and the parent.
     (8) The court may require the attendance of the child ((if eight years old or older)), the parents, and the school district at any hearing on a petition filed under RCW 28A.225.030.
     (9) A school district is responsible for determining who shall represent the school district at hearings on a petition filed under RCW 28A.225.030 ((or 28A.225.015)).
     (10) The court may permit the first hearing to be held without requiring that either party be represented by legal counsel, and to be held without a guardian ad litem for the child under RCW 4.08.050. At the request of the school district, the court shall permit a school district representative who is not an attorney to represent the school district at any future hearings.
     (11) If the child is in a special education program or has a diagnosed mental or emotional disorder, the court shall inquire as to what efforts the school district has made to assist the child in attending school.
     (12) If the allegations in the petition are established by a preponderance of the evidence, the court shall grant the petition and enter an order assuming jurisdiction to intervene for the period of time determined by the court, after considering the facts alleged in the petition and the circumstances of the juvenile, to most likely cause the juvenile to return to and remain in school while the juvenile is subject to this chapter. In no case may the order expire before the end of the school year in which it is entered.
     (13) If the court assumes jurisdiction, the school district shall regularly report to the court any additional unexcused absences by the child.
     (14) Community truancy boards and the courts shall coordinate, to the extent possible, proceedings and actions pertaining to children who are subject to truancy petitions and at-risk youth petitions in RCW 13.32A.191 or child in need of services petitions in RCW 13.32A.140.
     (15) If after a juvenile court assumes jurisdiction in one county the child relocates to another county, the juvenile court in the receiving county shall, upon the request of a school district or parent, assume jurisdiction of the petition filed in the previous county.

Sec. 6   RCW 28A.225.090 and 2009 c 266 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) A court may order a child subject to a petition under RCW 28A.225.035 to do one or more of the following:
     (a) Attend the child's current school, and set forth minimum attendance requirements, including suspensions;
     (b) If there is space available and the program can provide educational services appropriate for the child, order the child to attend another public school, an alternative education program, center, a skill center, dropout prevention program, or another public educational program;
     (c) Attend a private nonsectarian school or program including an education center. Before ordering a child to attend an approved or certified private nonsectarian school or program, the court shall: (i) Consider the public and private programs available; (ii) find that placement is in the best interest of the child; and (iii) find that the private school or program is willing to accept the child and will not charge any fees in addition to those established by contract with the student's school district. If the court orders the child to enroll in a private school or program, the child's school district shall contract with the school or program to provide educational services for the child. The school district shall not be required to contract for a weekly rate that exceeds the state general apportionment dollars calculated on a weekly basis generated by the child and received by the district. A school district shall not be required to enter into a contract that is longer than the remainder of the school year. A school district shall not be required to enter into or continue a contract if the child is no longer enrolled in the district;
     (d) Be referred to a community truancy board, if available; or
     (e) Submit to testing for the use of controlled substances or alcohol based on a determination that such testing is appropriate to the circumstances and behavior of the child and will facilitate the child's compliance with the mandatory attendance law and, if any test ordered under this subsection indicates the use of controlled substances or alcohol, order the minor to abstain from the unlawful consumption of controlled substances or alcohol and adhere to the recommendations of the drug assessment at no expense to the school.
     (2) If the child fails to comply with the court order, the court may order the child to be subject to detention, as provided in RCW 7.21.030(2)(e), or may impose alternatives to detention such as community restitution. Failure by a child to comply with an order issued under this subsection shall not be subject to detention for a period greater than that permitted pursuant to a civil contempt proceeding against a child under chapter 13.32A RCW. Detention ordered under this subsection may be for no longer than seven days. A warrant of arrest for a child under this subsection may not be served on a child inside of school during school hours in a location where other students are present.
     (3) Any parent violating any of the provisions of either RCW 28A.225.010((, 28A.225.015,)) or 28A.225.080 shall be fined not more than twenty-five dollars for each day of unexcused absence from school. The court shall remit fifty percent of the fine collected under this section to the child's school district. It shall be a defense for a parent charged with violating RCW 28A.225.010 to show that he or she exercised reasonable diligence in attempting to cause a child in his or her custody to attend school or that the child's school did not perform its duties as required in RCW 28A.225.020. The court may order the parent to provide community restitution instead of imposing a fine. Any fine imposed pursuant to this section may be suspended upon the condition that a parent charged with violating RCW 28A.225.010 shall participate with the school and the child in a supervised plan for the child's attendance at school or upon condition that the parent attend a conference or conferences scheduled by a school for the purpose of analyzing the causes of a child's absence.
     (4) If a child continues to be truant after entering into a court-approved order with the truancy board under RCW 28A.225.035, the juvenile court shall find the child in contempt, and the court may order the child to be subject to detention, as provided in RCW 7.21.030(2)(e), or may impose alternatives to detention such as meaningful community restitution. Failure by a child to comply with an order issued under this subsection may not subject a child to detention for a period greater than that permitted under a civil contempt proceeding against a child under chapter 13.32A RCW.
     (((5) Subsections (1), (2), and (4) of this section shall not apply to a six or seven year-old child required to attend public school under RCW 28A.225.015.))

Sec. 7   RCW 28A.200.010 and 2004 c 19 s 107 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Each parent whose child is receiving home-based instruction under RCW 28A.225.010(4) and is eight years old or older shall have the duty to:
     (a) 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 15th 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;
     (b) 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
     (c) 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 academic achievement or a certificate of individual achievement pursuant to RCW 28A.655.061 and 28A.155.045. 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.
     (2) 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).

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   RCW 28A.225.015 (Attendance mandatory -- Six or seven year olds -- Unexcused absences -- Petition) and 1999 c 319 s 6 are each repealed.