2006 Legislative Summary
CHN makes history!
CHN made history
by introducing the first House Resolution (HR 4676) to honor the success of Home Education. We were greatly encouraged by
the many who attended. Resolutions are not law, but this one sends a message to others that validates the legitimacy and success
of home education.
Thank you to all
who came to show their support and dedication to home education. If you could not attend this year, we hope to see you next
year! Please remember to thank Rep. Quall, sponsor of the resolution, as well as Reps. Kretz, McDonald, and Talcott, who spoke
at the presentation in the Rotunda. Also a special thanks to Senators Benson, Benton, Schmidt, Stevens, and Zarelli, and Rep.
Curtis for speaking to some of the small groups afterwards.
Without your support,
we would not have been able to accomplish all that we have been able to do so far. CHN continues to work with other state
homeschool leaders and groups to insure unity and maximum effectiveness in maintaining the homeschool freedoms that are so
important to all of us.
2006 Legislative Summary
CHN stops a bill that would have amended the homeschool law. SB 6744- Creating the guaranteed opportunities scholarship program.
This bill would
have created a scholarship program for academically successful high school students from low and middle-income families. It
would replace the Promise Scholarship program, which was taken out of the budget last session. This bill would allow for only
the passage of the WASL to qualify for this scholarship, which is a change from the requirements necessary to receive a Promise
Scholarship.
Though it sounds like a great idea, the bill would have amended the homeschool law RCW 28A.200 and add the following
language: to allow home-based students to take the WASL from an educational services
district for the purpose of qualifying for this scholarship. This language is unnecessary since the part-time attendance
law already allows for testing services under ancillary services, which includes taking the WASL.
Our position: Concerned. We do not support amending the homeschool law. Second, we do not want the current requirement
to qualify for the scholarship changed for home-based students. Home-based students are not required to take the WASL nor
is the WASL on the list of required tests for home-based students. Remember: the WASL is not a standardized test. Furthermore,
it is based on public school curriculum, goals, and standards, which home educators are not required by law to follow. This
bill could open the door to requiring passage of the WASL to compete for scholarships, college entrance, Running Start, etc.
STATUS: Bill died
in committee. We expect to see this bill next session.
SB 5360- Create a study of performance
and funding of Running Start students.
This bill was introduced last session by Senator Brandland. The original bill would have required passage of the WASL
to participate in Running Start. CHN was able to have this changed to exempt home-based students. The Senate Education Committee
changed the bill into a study. The study will compare the college performance of public school students who pass the WASL
and those who do not. The bill passed the Senate but did not meet the deadline in the House. Our sources and experience tell
us that this bill will show up again next session. If it does, we will continue to monitor it.
Bills we worked on that did not pass into law
CHN monitored several
bills involving parental rights. Due to our limited resources, the extent of our work on these bills was to send out e-alerts
and ask for a few favors. Thankfully, none of these bills passed into law.
HB2711 / SB6683 and SB6316 An act which would allow grandparents to petition courts for visitations.
POSITION: Opposed
STATUS: Neither
bill made it to the floor for a vote
HB3148 An act concerning investigations
of child abuse. If passed into law, this bill would exempt social workers from "civil liability for any act or omission to
act during an investigation of child abuse or neglect." Additionally, this bill requires the interest of a child to be raised
above the parent's interest.
POSITION: Opposed
STATUS: Did not
make it to the floor for a vote
HB3153 An act relating to retention
of records regarding child abuse and neglect.
Any time the Department
of Social and Health Services (DSHS) decided an investigation of abuse or neglect was "inconclusive" or there was not "sufficient
evidence to make a determination," it would remain on your record for 20 years. Whether the report was true or not does
not make any difference.
POSITION: Opposed
STATUS: Died in
appropriations committee
We expect to see
some of these bills next session. CHN has more information on these bills on our web site.
Update on bills we worked on in the 2005 session which became law
The following are
bills we worked on in the 2005 session that passed into law. CHN worked several months after the session to insure that these
bills were implemented correctly and that homeschoolers were advised of the changes. Currently we are monitoring these new
laws and trying to ensure that homeschoolers have the correct information.
Protecting homeschoolers in the Running Start program (SB 5289):
CHN proactively
saw the need to protect homeschoolers enrolling in the Running Start program and sought to amend current law in order to do
so.
The new law simply
states that a student receiving home-based instruction and enrolling in a public high school for the sole purpose of participating
in Running Start shall not be counted by the school district in any required state or federal accountability reporting. Nor
will the student be required to meet any of the education reform standards such as: obtaining a certificate of academic achievement,
passing the WASL, completing a senior project, etc. The student is still under the home-based instruction law and the parent
is still responsible for graduation requirements and transcripts.
The law went into
effect July 24, 2005. CHN worked with the State Superintendent’s Office and the Washington Homeschool Organization to
design a form for homeschool parents to complete prior to enrollment in Running Start.
To ensure proper statewide implementation of the new law and form, OSPI agreed to send a bulletin explaining the new
enrollment procedure and Home-Based Running Start form to all school districts. Some school districts are not complying and
are using their own form instead. Unfortunately, ignoring OPSI is very common, though improper. CHN has posted enrollment
instructions and the correct form on our web site and we suggest that homeschoolers use this information and form when enrolling
in the program.
Protecting the homeschool movement from “virtual schools” (SB 5828):
This law allowed
for digital learning programs to continue to operate and allowed for-profit “virtual schools” to operate. Many of these programs have been marketing heavily to the homeschool community, such
as: Washington
Virtual Academy (K-12), Insight
School, Digital Learning
Commons, and Connections
Academy. State law requires these programs to give all parents a written
full disclosure form declaring the difference between this program and home-based instruction. This was to ensure that parents
would be provided with all the necessary information to make an informed decision and to make certain that there would be
no confusion between public school at-home programs and home-based instruction.
However, many of
these programs are not complying with the law or providing the full disclosure form to parents. CHN has posted the full disclosure
form on our website for your use. Also, some programs claim that parents can access the program on a part-time basis. They
claim that if a child takes 4 of 6 courses through their program that the child would be considered part-time and fall under
the home-based instruction law (assuming that 6 classes is full-time enrollment). The home-based instruction law was designed
to allow parents to teach their children at home. The home-based instruction law was not intended to allow for others to provide
the majority of the instruction or for the child’s education to be supervised by the public school. We are concerned
that public school officials are misusing the homeschool law and have complained to the proper authorities.
Strengthening Parental Rights (SB5922):
This was the first bill CHN introduced in a legislative session and it passed into law at our first attempt!
This law changes
procedures for investigations of child abuse or neglect. CHN introduced this bill to insure proper implementation of the Federal
CAPTA law which HSLDA drafted, lobbied for, and helped to pass into federal law. CAPTA requires Social Services workers to
be trained in Fourth Amendment rights and advise parents of the allegations against them at first contact.
Under SB 5922, a social services worker is required to notify the individual under investigation of the allegations
against him or her at the initial time of contact. We often find that social services demands to enter a home and interview
the children before providing the family with basic information about the allegations against them. Now, social workers in
Washington will have to specifically identify the allegations
at the very beginning of an investigation, increasing families' ability to carefully determine a response and enabling HSLDA
to resolve these situations sooner.
(Schmidt, Thomas
J. “Across the States: Washington.” The Homeschool Court Report September/October 2005. Full article
can be viewed at: http://www.hslda.org/courtreport/v21n5/v21n5wa.asp>.)
Note: The bill was
later named the Justice and Raiden Act in memory of the two young children that starved to death in Kent due to their mother’s drinking problem.
Be prepared for the next legislative session
The legislative hotline number is: 1-800-562-6000.
