AN ACT Relating to parents' rights in education; and adding a new chapter to Title 28A RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) It is the responsibility of the parents to provide for and insure the health, education, and general well-being of their children. This act is to reaffirm that responsibility and to define the rights of parents to decide, through their duly elected representatives, what the pupils learn and how they are taught in common schools.

(2) This act defines the roles and responsibilities of parents, guardians, school officials and administrators, teachers, school personnel, and schools to provide for better cooperation between the school system and the parents, to encourage mutual understanding and confidence in an effort to secure a better education for all children enrolled in the public schools of this state, to otherwise assist the parents in the discharge of their parental responsibility to the children, and to assist the school system in the discharge of its responsibility to the parents.

(3) The term "parents" shall be deemed to be one or both parents, and shall include a legal guardian.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The parents shall have the right to know what their children are being taught.

(1) The board of directors of a school district shall make available for inspection to requesting parents any educational or other program of the district and all instructional materials relating thereto, including teacher manuals, textbooks, films, tapes, supplementary material, or computer programs. Before any school district shall make available a course or program relating to the use of alcoholic stimulants, controlled substances, human sexuality, suicide education, death education, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome education, the district shall notify parents of pupils that all instructional materials relating thereto are available for public inspection and upon objection by a parent to any such materials shall excuse their child from attendance at any such course or program.

(2) No child shall be placed in an experimental, special, or pilot program within a school district without prior consultation by school personnel with and written consent of the parent. All instructional material to be used in such programs, including teacher manuals, films, tapes, supplementary material, or computer programs shall be available for review by parents upon request prior to any child being enrolled in such program. As used in this section, "experimental" or "pilot program" is defined as any program designed to explore or develop new or unproven teaching methods or techniques. As used in this section, "special" class or program is defined as a class or program of limited application to a selected group of students.

(3) Classes shall be held on school property, except for such field trips as are deemed to have a beneficial and broadening effect and are related to the educational program of the student, which are afforded to all members of the class equally, and then only with the knowledge and written consent of the parents.

(4) Employees of a school or persons brought into a school shall not subvert morality and patriotism as set forth in RCW 28A.67.110.

(5) Employees of a school shall not instruct or encourage students to withhold instructional materials or information concerning classroom activities, tests, discussions, or programs from their parents.

(6) Employees of a school shall not use the classroom or school property to promote contemporary candidates for public elective office. Employees of a school shall not circulate petitions for candidates or solicit signatures for petitions on external political issues on school property.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The parents and the child shall have the right to privacy.

(1) Pupils may only be tested for intelligence quotient, or proficiency in basic skills and academic subject matter. Any testing or investigation pertaining to pupil attitudes, parental attitudes, or personal information pertaining to the pupil and the pupil's family, or as concerns their habits or values, including personality inventories, value appraisals, psychological inventories, or diagnostic tests shall be given only after consultation by school personnel with written permission from the parents for such tests. Any such tests shall be made available to the parents upon request, and the results thereof must be made available to the parents if permission for testing is given.

(2) All records kept on a pupil must be shown to the parent upon request, and copies thereof provided at cost and paid by the parent, if specifically requested. No records shall be maintained on the pupil which are not germane to academic achievement, save for disciplinary action which record shall be separately maintained.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The parents shall have the right to expect that education be academically oriented.

(1) Parents shall have the right to expect their children to receive a basic education including, but not limited to, reading, writing, United States and world history, geography, mathematics, and economics, and such basic education shall have priority over other and additional courses. Reading and writing shall include a phonetic approach to reading, stress on correct spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, and good handwriting. The teaching of history shall include as a minimum the study of the declaration of independence, the United States Constitution, the federalist papers, and the Washington state Constitution. Mathematics shall include and stress addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division and shall employ the memorization process. The teaching of economics shall include as a priority item, a thorough and sympathetic explanation of the free enterprise system.

The basic education courses as prescribed in this subsection shall be deemed the courses of primary importance in the education of the children of this state, and such courses shall be in addition to such other required courses as provided for.

(2) Material which is outside the curriculum subject matter may not be offered under any guise.

(3) Teachers, school employees, or persons brought into the school shall not use psycho-therapeutic techniques such as group therapy or sensitivity training. As used in this section, "group therapy" and "sensitivity training" are defined as group processes where the student's intimate and personal feelings, emotions, values, or beliefs are openly exposed to the group or where emotions, feelings, or attitudes are directed by one or more members of the group toward another member of the group, or where roles are assigned to pupils for the purpose of classifying, controlling, or predicting behavior.

(4) No school shall have the authority to use guidance counseling in the areas of social, emotional, mental, or personal problems without prior consultation with the parents and written permission. Parental consent is not to be construed as continuing beyond the specific subject of discussion during consultation, unless permission to expand the scope of counseling is in writing.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The parents have the right to be informed of student progress. Parents shall be apprised no less than three times during each school year, in writing, by the teacher or principal, of a pupil's progress in the basic skills. Parents shall be apprised at least annually of the pupil's progress in such basic skills as measured against standard grade level norms. Such information as standing in the class and standing in relation to national norms shall also be provided to the parents upon request.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The parents shall have the right to redress.

(1) Parental charges of violation of any provision of this act shall first be presented in writing to the school principal or designee and to the school district superintendent for corrective action.

(2) Any parental charges not resolved to the satisfaction of the parent by the school principal, the school district superintendent, or their designees, within ten days, shall be presented by the superintendent to the board of directors of the school district for consideration and action at the next regularly scheduled board meeting or at a special meeting of the director's called to consider the charges. These meetings shall take place not more than thirty days after the charge is presented to the school principal and superintendent.

(3) Continued willful neglect or failure on the part of any public school officer or employee to observe and comply with the provisions of this act shall be sufficient cause for dismissal or removal of the person from his or her position, and for civil action. After exhausting the remedies provided in subsections (1) and (2) of this section, jurisdiction shall lie in the superior court of the county wherein the school district, or any part thereof, lies against the parties involved, including school administrators and members of the district board of directors, and the recovery allowed shall include all costs and expenses, including attorneys' fees, incurred by the parent. Available relief shall include, but not be limited to, both equitable and legal remedies, including extraordinary writs, or decertification of the violator.

(4) Any right set forth by the provisions of this act which attaches to a student may be asserted by the parent for and on behalf of the student.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) This act shall be liberally construed to protect and enforce the rights this act creates and reaffirms.

(2) This act shall have precedence over any now existing law to the contrary. State board of education rules as well as the rules of the superintendent of public instruction shall be deemed amended by this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. Sections 1 through 7 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 28A RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.