HB 1715 — Removing school districts' ability to withhold pupils' grades and transcripts.

H-1826.2SUBSTITUTEZ-0224.1HOUSE HOUSE BILL 1715State of Washington66th Legislature2019 Regular SessionByHouseSessionByRepresentatives Education (originally sponsored by Representatives Entenman, Boehnke, Jinkins, Ortiz-Self, Bergquist, and Pollet;

by request of State Board for Community and Technical Colleges)READCollegesRead FIRSTfirst TIMEtime 02/22/19.AN01/29/19.Referred to Committee on Education.AN ACT Relating to removing the ability of school districts to withhold grades and transcripts of pupils;

and amending RCW 28A.635.06028A.635.060.BE and 28A.325.050.BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:Sec.

If any property of the school district, a contractor of the district, an employee, or another student has been lost or willfully cut, defaced, or injured, the school district may withhold the grades,((grades,)) diploma,diploma((, and transcriptstranscripts)) of the pupil responsible for the damage or loss until the pupil or the pupil's parent or guardian has paid for the damages,damages. except that the school district must release the pupil's grades and transcripts five years after the pupil exits the school district.

When the pupil and parent or guardian are unable to pay for the damages, the school district shall provide a program of ((voluntaryvoluntary work))communitywork service opportunities for the pupil ((inin lieu))insteadlieu of the payment of monetary damages.

Upon completion of ((voluntaryvoluntary work))communitywork service the grades,((grades,)) diploma,diploma((, and transcriptstranscripts)) of the pupil shall be released.

The parent or guardian of such pupil shall be liable for damages as otherwise provided by law.(2) WhenBefore informingany eitherpenalties theare pupilassessed orunder thethis pupil'ssection, parenta orschool guardiandistrict thatboard theof pupil'sdirectors grades,shall diploma,adopt orprocedures transcriptswhich areinsure beingthat withheldpupils' asrights allowedto underdue subsectionprocess (1)are ofprotected.(3) thisIf section,the adepartment schoolof districtsocial mustand providehealth theservices followingor information:(a)a Thechild-placing schoolagency districtlicensed mayby waive the paymentdepartment ofhas thebeen monetarygranted damagecustody inof parta orchild, inthat full;(b)child's Therecords, pupilif mayrequested makeby the paymentdepartment ofor monetaryagency, damages;(c)are Thenot pupilto maybe participatewithheld infor anonpayment program of communityschool servicefees opportunitiesor forany theother pupilreason.--- insteadEND of--- the payment of monetary damages;

and(d) The school district must release the pupil's grades and transcripts five years after the pupil exits the school district.

When the pupil has already exited the school district, the school district must inform the pupil of the date on which the school district is obligated to release the pupil's grades and transcripts.(3) Before any penalties are assessed under this section, a school district board of directors shall adopt procedures which insure that pupils' rights to due process are protected.(((3)))(4) If the department of social and health services or a child-placing agency licensed by the department has been granted custody of a child, that child's records, if requested by the department or agency, are not to be withheld for nonpayment of school fees or any other reason.Sec.

2.

RCW 28A.325.050 and 2014 c 211 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:(1) Each school district that has an associated student body program fund must publish the following information about the fund on its web site:(a) The fund balance at the beginning of the school year;(b) Summary data about expenditures and revenues occurring over the course of the school year;

and(c) The fund balance at the end of the school year.(2) Each school district that has an associated student body must publish the following information on its web site:

How many former students who were enrolled in the school district within the previous five years are subject to the withholding of their grades, diplomas, or transcripts as permitted under RCW 28A.635.060;

and how many of these former students were eligible for the federal free or reduced-price meals program in their last year of enrollment in the school district.(3) The information under this section must be published for each associated student body of the district and each account within the associated student body program fund.(((3)))(4) If the school district web site contains separate web sites for schools in the district, the information under this section must be published on the web site of the applicable school of the associated student body.(((4)))(5) No later than August 31, 2014, school districts must publish the information under this section on their web sites for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years.

School districts must add updated annual information to their web sites by each August 31st, except that school districts are only required to maintain the information on the web site from the previous five years.--- END ---