H-1671.1

HOUSE BILL 2045

ByRepresentatives Kilduff, Leavitt, and Thai

AN ACT Relating to considering the location of a parent or guardian's residence in interdistrict student transfer requests; and amending RCW 28A.225.220.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 28A.225.220 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 18 s 510 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Any board of directors may make agreements with adults choosing to attend school, and may charge the adults reasonable tuition.

(2) A district is strongly encouraged to honor the request of a parent or guardian for his or her child to attend a school in another district or the request of a parent or guardian for his or her child to transfer as a student receiving home-based instruction.

(3) A district shall release a student to a nonresident district that agrees to accept the student if:

(a) A financial, educational, safety, or health condition affecting the student would likely be reasonably improved as a result of the transfer; ((or))

(b) Attendance at the school in the nonresident district is more accessible to the parent(('s))or guardian's residence or place of work or, to the location of child care; ((or))

(c) There is a special hardship or detrimental condition; or

(d) The purpose of the transfer is for the student to enroll in an online course or online school program offered by an online provider approved under RCW 28A.250.020.

(4) A district may deny the request of a resident student to transfer to a nonresident district if the release of the student would adversely affect the district's existing desegregation plan.

(5) For the purpose of helping a district assess the quality of its education program, a resident school district may request an optional exit interview or questionnaire with the parents or guardians of a child transferring to another district. No parent or guardian may be forced to attend such an interview or complete the questionnaire.

(6) ((Beginning with the 1993-94 school year,))School districts may not charge transfer fees or tuition for nonresident students enrolled under subsection (3) of this section and RCW 28A.225.225. Reimbursement of a high school district for cost of educating high school pupils of a nonhigh school district shall not be deemed a transfer fee as affecting the apportionment of current state school funds.

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