AN ACT Relating to mandatory attendance; and amending RCW 28A.27.010, 28A.27.040, and 28A.27.090.

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 132, Laws of 1986 and RCW 28A.27.010 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.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 and is excused by the school district superintendent of the district where the child resides;

(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 28A.27.040, chapter 223, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. as last amended by section 4, chapter 132, Laws of 1986 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~~)) six years of age and not over ((~~fourteen~~)) eighteen 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. 3. Section 28A.27.090, chapter 223, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. and RCW 28A.27.090 are each amended to read as follows:

Except as otherwise provided in this code, no child under the age of ((~~fifteen~~)) eighteen years shall be employed for any purpose by any person, company or corporation, in this state during the hours which the public schools of the district in which such child resides are in session, unless the said child shall present a certificate from a school superintendent as provided for in RCW 28A.27.010, excusing the said child from attendance in the public schools and setting forth the reason for such excuse, the residence and age of the child, and the time for which such excuse is given. Every owner, superintendent, or overseer of any establishment, company or corporation shall keep such certificate on file so long as such child is employed by him. The form of said certificate shall be furnished by the superintendent of public instruction. Proof that any child under ((~~fifteen~~)) eighteen years of age is employed during any part of the period in which public schools of the district are in session, shall be deemed prima facie evidence of a violation of this section.