AN ACT Relating to school attendance; amending RCW 28A.27.010, 28A.27.020, 28A.27.022, 28A.27.040, 28A.27.100, and 28A.27.110; and creating a new section.

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

Sec. 1. Section 2, chapter 10, Laws of 1972 ex. sess. as last amended by section 1, chapter 441, Laws of 1985 and RCW 28A.27.010 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.02.201(4);

(b) The child is receiving home-based instruction as provided in subsection (4) of this section; or

(c) 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, 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.41.130 and 28A.41.140, as now or hereafter amended, and shall not affect school district compliance with the provisions of RCW 28A.58.754, as now or hereafter amended;

(d) The child is fifteen years of age or older and:

(i) The school district superintendent determines that such child has already attained a reasonable proficiency in the branches required by law to be taught in the first nine grades of the public schools of this state;

(ii) The child is regularly and lawfully engaged in a useful or remunerative occupation;

(iii) The child has already met graduation requirements in accordance with state board of education rules and regulations; or

(iv) The child has received a certificate of educational competence under rules and regulations established by the state board of education under RCW 28A.04.135.

(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 shall be one approved under regulations established by the state board of education pursuant to RCW 28A.04.120 as now or hereafter amended.

(4) For the purposes of this chapter, 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.02.201 and 28A.02.240 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 shall be a person certified under chapter 28A.70 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. Section 1, chapter 201, Laws of 1979 ex. sess. and RCW 28A.27.020 are each amended to read as follows:

If a juvenile required to attend school under the laws of the state of Washington fails to attend school without valid justification recurrently or for an extended period of time, the juvenile's school, where appropriate, shall:

(1) Inform the juvenile's custodial parent, parents or guardian by a notice in writing in English and, if different, in the primary language of the custodial parent, parents or guardian and by other means reasonably necessary to achieve notice of the fact that the juvenile has failed to attend school without valid justification recurrently or for an extended period of time;

(2) Schedule a conference or conferences with the custodial parent, parents or guardian and juvenile at a time and place reasonably convenient for all persons included for the purpose of analyzing the causes of the juvenile's absences; and

(3) Take steps to eliminate or reduce the juvenile's absences((~~, including~~)). These steps shall include, where appropriate, adjusting the juvenile's school program or school or course assignment, providing more individualized or remedial instruction, preparing the juvenile for employment with specific vocational courses or work experience, or both, ((or)) and assisting the parent or student to obtain supplementary services that might eliminate or ameliorate the cause or causes for the absence from school.

Sec. 3. Section 2, chapter 201, Laws of 1979 ex. sess. and RCW 28A.27.022 are each amended to read as follows:

If action taken by a school pursuant to RCW 28A.27.020 is not successful in substantially reducing a student's absences from school, any of the following actions may be taken: (1) The attendance officer of the school district through its attorney may petition the juvenile court to assume jurisdiction under this chapter for the purpose of alleging a violation of RCW 28A.27.010 by the parent; or (2) a petition alleging a violation of RCW 28A.27.010 by a child may be filed with the juvenile court by the parent of such child or by the attendance officer of the school district through its attorney at the request of the parent. If the court assumes jurisdiction in such an instance, the provisions of this chapter, except where otherwise stated, shall apply.

Sec. 4. Section 28A.27.040, chapter 223, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. as last amended by section 56, chapter 275, Laws of 1975 1st ex. sess. and RCW 28A.27.040 are each amended to read as follows:

To aid in the enforcement of RCW 28A.27.010 through 28A.27.130, attendance officers shall be appointed and employed as follows: In incorporated city districts the board of directors shall annually appoint one or more attendance officers. In all other districts the educational service district superintendent shall appoint one or more attendance officers or may act as such himself.

The compensation of attendance officer in city districts shall be fixed and paid by the board appointing him. The compensation of attendance officers when appointed by the educational service district superintendents shall be paid by the respective districts. An educational service district superintendent shall receive no extra compensation if acting as attendance officer.

Any sheriff, constable, city marshal or regularly appointed policeman may be appointed attendance officer.

The attendance officer shall be vested with police powers, the authority to make arrests and serve all legal processes contemplated by RCW 28A.27.010 through 28A.27.130, and shall have authority to enter all places in which children may be employed, for the purpose of making such investigations as may be necessary for the enforcement of RCW 28A.27.010 through 28A.27.130. The attendance officer is authorized to take into custody the person of any child eight years of age and not over fourteen years of age, who may be a truant from school, and to conduct such child to his parents, for investigation and explanation, or to the school which he should properly attend. The attendance officer shall institute proceedings against any officer, parent, guardian, person, company or corporation violating any provisions of RCW 28A.27.010 through 28A.27.130, and shall otherwise discharge the duties prescribed in RCW 28A.27.010 through 28A.27.130, and shall perform such other services as the educational service district superintendent or the superintendent of any school or its board of directors may deem necessary. However, the attendance officer shall not institute proceedings against the child under RCW 28A.27.022 except as set forth under RCW 28A.27.022.

The attendance officer shall keep a record of his transactions for the inspection and information of any school district board of directors, the educational service district superintendent or the city superintendent, and shall make a detailed report to the city superintendent or the educational service district superintendent as often as the same may be required.

Sec. 5. Section 28A.27.100, chapter 223, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. as amended by section 6, chapter 201, Laws of 1979 ex. sess. and RCW 28A.27.100 are each amended to read as follows:

Any person violating any of the provisions of either RCW 28A.27.010 or 28A.27.090 shall be fined not more than twenty-five dollars for each day of unexcused absence from school. However, a child found to be in violation of RCW 28A.27.010 shall be required to attend school and shall not be fined. Failure by a child to comply with an order issued under this section shall not be punishable by detention for a period greater than that permitted pursuant to a contempt proceeding against a child under chapter 13.32A RCW. It shall be a defense for a ((~~person~~)) parent charged with violating RCW 28A.27.010 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 juvenile's school did not perform its duties as required in RCW 28A.27.020. Any fine imposed pursuant to this section may be suspended upon the condition that a ((~~person~~)) parent charged with violating RCW 28A.27.010 shall participate with the school and the juvenile in a supervised plan for the juvenile's attendance at school or upon condition that the ((~~person~~)) parent attend a conference or conferences scheduled by a school for the purpose of analyzing the causes of a child's absence.

Attendance officers shall make complaint for violation of the provisions of RCW 28A.27.010 through 28A.27.130 ((~~by any person eighteen years of age or over~~)) to a justice of the peace, justice court judge or to a judge of the superior court.

Sec. 6. Section 28A.27.110, chapter 223, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. as amended by section 7, chapter 201, Laws of 1979 ex. sess. and RCW 28A.27.110 are each amended to read as follows:

The county prosecuting attorney or the attorney for the school district shall act as attorney for the complainant in all court proceedings relating to the compulsory attendance of children as required by RCW 28A.27.010 through 28A.27.130 except for those petitions filed against a child by the parent without the assistance of the school district.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The school district attendance officer shall report biannually to the educational service district superintendent, in the instance of petitions filed alleging a violation by a child under RCW 28A.27.022:

(1) The number of petitions filed by a school district or by a parent;

(2) The frequency of each action taken under RCW 28A.27.020 prior to the filing of such petition;

(3) When deemed appropriate under RCW 28A.27.020, the frequency of delivery of supplemental services; and

(4) Disposition of cases filed with the juvenile court, including the frequency of contempt orders issued to enforce a court's order under RCW 28A.27.100.

The educational service district superintendent shall compile such information and report annually to the superintendent of public instruction. The superintendent of public instruction shall compile such information and report to the committees of the house of representatives and the senate by January 1, 1988.