SB 6255 — Supporting access to child care for parents who are attending high school or working toward completion of a high school equivalency certificate.

S-5887.1SUBSTITUTEZ-0744.2SENATE SENATE BILL 6255State of Washington66th Legislature2020 Regular SessionBySenateSessionBySenators Early Learning & K-12 Education (originally sponsored by Senators Wilson, C., Randall, Darneille, Lovelett, Das, Hasegawa, Kuderer, Nguyen, Van De Wege, and Hunt;

by request of Office of Financial Management)READManagementRead FIRSTfirst TIMEtime 02/03/20.AN01/14/20.Referred to Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education.AN ACT Relating to supporting access to child care for parents who are attending high school or working toward completion of a high school equivalency certificate;

and adding a new section to chapter 28A.160 RCW;RCW.BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:NEW SECTION.  Sec.

and adding a new section to chapter 28A.640 RCW.BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:NEW SECTION.  Sec.

A new section is added to chapter 43.216 RCW to read as follows:(1)(a)follows:(1) A parent who is attending high school is eligible to receive working connections child care.(b) A parent age twenty-one years or younger who is working toward completing a high school equivalency certificate is eligible to receive working connections child care.(2) When determining consumer eligibility and copayment under this section, the department:(a) Must treat the parent as his or her own household when determining household income;(b) Must, within existing resources, authorize full-day subsidized child care during the school year in cases where:(i) The parent is participating in one hundred ten hours of approved activities per month;(ii) The household income of the parent does not exceed eighty-five percent of the state median income at the time of application;

and(iii) The parent meets all other program eligibility requirements;(b)requirements;(c) May not consider the availability of the other biological parent when authorizing care;

and(c)and(d) May not require a copayment.NEW SECTION.  Sec.

This insurance may be provided without cost to the persons notwithstanding the provisions of RCW 28A.400.350.If the transportation of children or elderly persons is arranged for by contract of the district with some person, the board may require such contractor to procure such insurance as the board deems advisable.NEWadvisable.--- SECTION.  Sec.END ---

4.

A new section is added to chapter 28A.640 RCW to read as follows:(1) The Washington state school directors' association, in collaboration with the office of the superintendent of public instruction, must develop a model policy and procedure that supports the educational success of pregnant students and parenting students.

The model policy and procedure must be posted on the Washington state school directors' association's web site by September 1, 2020.

At a minimum, the model policy and procedure must:(a) Incorporate the office of the superintendent of public instruction's rules and guidelines developed under RCW 28A.640.020 to eliminate discrimination in Washington public schools on the basis of sex;(b) Identify procedures to anticipate and provide for student absences due to pregnancy or childbirth and allow students to return to school after pregnancy and, if applicable, participate in extracurricular activities, athletic programs, and educational opportunities;(c) Identify voluntary and alternative methods to keep pregnant students and parenting students in school if needed such as allowing coursework to be accessed at home or accommodating tutoring visits, online courses, or a similar supplement to classroom attendance;(d) Address how the district will provide students with a convenient, sanitary, safe, and private location, other than a restroom, allowing privacy for breastfeeding or expressing breast milk;(e) Establish a procedure for schools that do not have a child care provider located on school premises to assist parenting students by identifying nearby early care and education programs;

and(f) Address transportation for parenting students who are transporting an infant, as described in section 2 of this act.(2) By the beginning of the 2021-22 school year, each school district is encouraged to adopt or amend if necessary a policy and procedure that supports the educational success of pregnant students and parenting students that incorporates the model policy and procedure described in subsection (1) of this section.--- END ---