Text of WA HB 1207 (2023)

AN ACT Relating to preventing and responding to harassment, 1 intimidation, bullying, and discrimination in schools by requiring 2 distribution of related policies and complaint procedures, 3 designation of a primary contact for compliance with 4 nondiscrimination laws, and changing a prejudicial student discipline 5 term; amending RCW 28A.300.042 and 28A.600.015; adding a new section 6 to chapter 28A.300 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.642 RCW; 7 and creating a new section. 8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON: 9 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 10 RCW to read as follows: 11 (1) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall 12 develop, and periodically update, model student handbook language 13 that includes information about policies and complaint procedures 14 related to discrimination, including sexual harassment, and 15 information about policies and complaint procedures related to 16 harassment, intimidation, and bullying, as well as the overlap 17 between the policies and complaint procedures. The model student 18 handbook language must be posted publicly on the office of the 19 superintendent of public instruction's website beginning July 1, 20 2024. 21 H-0042.3 HOUSE BILL 1207 State of Washington 68th Legislature 2023 Regular Session By Representatives Senn and Rude p. 1 HB 1207 (2) Beginning with the 2024-25 school year, each school district 1 must include the model student handbook language developed under 2 subsection (1) of this section in any student, parent, employee, and 3 volunteer handbook that it or one of its schools publishes and on the 4 school district's website, and any school's website, if a school or 5 the school district maintains a website. If a school district neither 6 publishes a handbook nor maintains a website, it must provide the 7 model student handbook language developed under subsection (1) of 8 this section to each student, parent, employee, and volunteer at 9 least annually. 10 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.642 11 RCW to read as follows: 12 Each school district shall designate one person in the school 13 district as the primary contact regarding school district compliance 14 with this chapter. In addition to any other duties required by law 15 and the school district, the primary contact must: 16 (1) Ensure that complaints of discrimination communicated to the 17 school district are promptly investigated and resolved; and 18 (2) Communicate with the primary contact regarding the school 19 district's policy and procedure prohibiting harassment, intimidation, 20 and bullying under RCW 28A.600.477, and the primary contact regarding 21 the school district's policies and procedures related to transgender 22 students under RCW 28A.642.080. 23 NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The legislature recognizes that public 24 schools have the authority to immediately remove a student from 25 school if the student poses an immediate and continuing danger to 26 other students or to school staff, or if the student poses an 27 immediate and continuing threat of material and substantial 28 disruption of the education process. The legislature acknowledges 29 that emergency expulsion is limited to 10 consecutive school days, 30 the school must provide an opportunity for the student to receive 31 educational services during the emergency expulsion, and both the 32 emergency expulsion and any suspension or expulsion that the 33 emergency expulsion is converted to can be appealed. However, the 34 legislature finds that emergency expulsion tarnishes a student's 35 reputation and self-image, which can result in school staff, fellow 36 students, or the student's families making assumptions about the 37 student, and, in some cases, these assumptions result in harassment, 38 p. 2 HB 1207 intimidation, or bullying of the student. Therefore, the legislature 1 intends to discontinue the use of the prejudicial term "emergency 2 expulsion," and replace it with the term "emergency removal," which 3 is a more accurate description of the temporary removal of a student 4 from school to assess and properly respond to an emergent situation 5 involving the student. 6 (2) As soon as possible after the effective date of this section, 7 the office of the superintendent of public instruction must publish a 8 bulletin to notify school districts and public schools that the term 9 "emergency removal" must be used instead of the term "emergency 10 expulsion" in the context of student discipline and as required by 11 sections 4 and 5 of this act. The legislature's intent as described 12 in subsection (1) of this section must be included in the bulletin. 13 The bulletin must also include guidance about student discipline data 14 collection and historical data comparison. 15 Sec. 4. RCW 28A.300.042 and 2016 c 72 s 501 are each amended to 16 read as follows: 17 (1) Beginning with the 2017-18 school year, and using the phase- 18 in provided in subsection (2) of this section, the superintendent of 19 public instruction must collect and school districts must submit all 20 student-level data using the United States department of education 21 2007 race and ethnicity reporting guidelines, including the subracial 22 and subethnic categories within those guidelines, with the following 23 modifications: 24 (a) Further disaggregation of the Black category to differentiate 25 students of African origin and students native to the United States 26 with African ancestors; 27 (b) Further disaggregation of countries of origin for Asian 28 students; 29 (c) Further disaggregation of the White category to include 30 subethnic categories for Eastern European nationalities that have 31 significant populations in Washington; and 32 (d) For students who report as multiracial, collection of their 33 racial and ethnic combination of categories. 34 (2) Beginning with the 2017-18 school year, school districts 35 shall collect student-level data as provided in subsection (1) of 36 this section for all newly enrolled students, including transfer 37 students. When the students enroll in a different school within the 38 district, school districts shall resurvey the newly enrolled students 39 p. 3 HB 1207 for whom subracial and subethnic categories were not previously 1 collected. School districts may resurvey other students. 2 (3) All student data-related reports required of the 3 superintendent of public instruction in this title must be 4 disaggregated by at least the following subgroups of students: White, 5 Black, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, Pacific 6 Islander/Hawaiian Native, low income, transitional bilingual, 7 migrant, special education, and students covered by section 504 of 8 the federal rehabilitation act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. Sec. 9 794). 10 (4) All student data-related reports prepared by the 11 superintendent of public instruction regarding student suspensions 12 and expulsions as required under this title are subject to 13 disaggregation by subgroups including: 14 (a) Gender; 15 (b) Foster care; 16 (c) Homeless, if known; 17 (d) School district; 18 (e) School; 19 (f) Grade level; 20 (g) Behavior infraction code, including: 21 (i) Bullying; 22 (ii) Tobacco; 23 (iii) Alcohol; 24 (iv) Illicit drug; 25 (v) Fighting without major injury; 26 (vi) Violence without major injury; 27 (vii) Violence with major injury; 28 (viii) Possession of a weapon; and 29 (ix) Other behavior resulting from a short-term or long-term 30 suspension, expulsion, or interim alternative education setting 31 intervention; 32 (h) Intervention applied, including: 33 (i) Short-term suspension; 34 (ii) Long-term suspension; 35 (iii) Emergency ((expulsion)) removal; 36 (iv) Expulsion; 37 (v) Interim alternative education settings; 38 (vi) No intervention applied; and 39 p. 4 HB 1207 (vii) Other intervention applied that is not described in this 1 subsection (4)(h); 2 (i) Number of days a student is suspended or expelled, to be 3 counted in half or full days; and 4 (j) Any other categories added at a future date by the data 5 governance group. 6 (5) All student data-related reports required of the 7 superintendent of public instruction regarding student suspensions 8 and expulsions as required in RCW 28A.300.046 are subject to cross- 9 tabulation at a minimum by the following: 10 (a) School and district; 11 (b) Race, low income, special education, transitional bilingual, 12 migrant, foster care, homeless, students covered by section 504 of 13 the federal rehabilitation act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. Sec. 14 794), and categories to be added in the future; 15 (c) Behavior infraction code; and 16 (d) Intervention applied. 17 (6) The K-12 data governance group shall develop the data 18 protocols and guidance for school districts in the collection of data 19 as required under this section, and the office of the superintendent 20 of public instruction shall modify the statewide student data system 21 as needed. The office of the superintendent of public instruction 22 shall also incorporate training for school staff on best practices 23 for collection of data on student race and ethnicity in other 24 training or professional development related to data provided by the 25 office. 26 Sec. 5. RCW 28A.600.015 and 2016 c 72 s 105 are each amended to 27 read as follows: 28 (1) The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt and 29 distribute to all school districts lawful and reasonable rules 30 prescribing the substantive and procedural due process guarantees of 31 pupils in the common schools. Such rules shall authorize a school 32 district to use informal due process procedures in connection with 33 the short-term suspension of students to the extent constitutionally 34 permissible: PROVIDED, That the superintendent of public instruction 35 deems the interest of students to be adequately protected. When a 36 student suspension or expulsion is appealed, the rules shall 37 authorize a school district to impose the suspension or expulsion 38 temporarily after an initial hearing for no more than ((ten)) 10 39 p. 5 HB 1207 consecutive school days or until the appeal is decided, whichever is 1 earlier. Any days that the student is temporarily suspended or 2 expelled before the appeal is decided shall be applied to the term of 3 the student suspension or expulsion and shall not limit or extend the 4 term of the student suspension or expulsion. An expulsion or 5 suspension of a student may not be for an indefinite period of time. 6 (2) Short-term suspension procedures may be used for suspensions 7 of students up to and including, ((ten)) 10 consecutive school days. 8 (3) Emergency ((expulsions)) removals must end or be converted to 9 another form of corrective action within ten school days from the 10 date of the emergency removal from school. Notice and due process 11 rights must be provided when an emergency ((expulsion)) removal is 12 converted to another form of corrective action. 13 (4) School districts may not impose long-term suspension or 14 expulsion as a form of discretionary discipline. 15 (5) Any imposition of discretionary and nondiscretionary 16 discipline is subject to the bar on suspending the provision of 17 educational services pursuant to subsection (8) of this section. 18 (6) As used in this chapter, "discretionary discipline" means a 19 disciplinary action taken by a school district for student behavior 20 that violates rules of student conduct adopted by a school district 21 board of directors under RCW 28A.600.010 and this section, but does 22 not constitute action taken in response to any of the following: 23 (a) A violation of RCW 28A.600.420; 24 (b) An offense in RCW 13.04.155; 25 (c) Two or more violations of RCW 9A.46.120, 9.41.280, 26 28A.600.455, 28A.635.020, or 28A.635.060 within a three-year period; 27 or 28 (d) Behavior that adversely impacts the health or safety of other 29 students or educational staff. 30 (7) Except as provided in RCW 28A.600.420, school districts are 31 not required to impose long-term suspension or expulsion for behavior 32 that constitutes a violation or offense listed under subsection 33 (6)(a) through (d) of this section and should first consider 34 alternative actions. 35 (8) School districts may not suspend the provision of educational 36 services to a student as a disciplinary action. A student may be 37 excluded from a particular classroom or instructional or activity 38 area for the period of suspension or expulsion, but the school 39 p. 6 HB 1207 district must provide an opportunity for a student to receive 1 educational services during a period of suspension or expulsion. 2 (9) Nothing in this section creates any civil liability for 3 school districts, or creates a new cause of action or new theory of 4 negligence against a school district board of directors, a school 5 district, or the state. 6 --- END --- p. 7 HB 1207

CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1207 Chapter 242, Laws of 2023 68th Legislature 2023 Regular Session SCHOOL DISTRICTS—HARASSMENT, INTIMIDATION, BULLYING, AND DISCRIMINATION EFFECTIVE DATE: July 23, 2023 Passed by the House April 13, 2023 Yeas 64 Nays 32 LAURIE JINKINS Speaker of the House of Representatives Passed by the Senate April 5, 2023 Yeas 28 Nays 20 DENNY HECK President of the Senate CERTIFICATE I, Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1207 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth. BERNARD DEAN Chief Clerk Approved May 4, 2023 10:11 AM FILED May 4, 2023 JAY INSLEE Governor of the State of Washington Secretary of State State of Washington AN ACT Relating to preventing and responding to harassment, 1 intimidation, bullying, and discrimination in schools by requiring 2 distribution of related policies and complaint procedures, 3 designation of a primary contact for compliance with 4 nondiscrimination laws, and changing a prejudicial student discipline 5 term; amending RCW 28A.640.020, 28A.600.477, 28A.642.080, 6 28A.600.510, 28A.300.042, and 28A.600.015; adding a new section to 7 chapter 28A.300 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.642 RCW; and 8 adding a new section to chapter 28A.600 RCW. 9 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON: 10 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 11 RCW to read as follows: 12 (1) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall 13 develop, and periodically update, model student handbook language 14 that includes information about policies and complaint procedures 15 related to discrimination, including sexual harassment and addressing 16 transgender students, and information about policies and complaint 17 procedures related to harassment, intimidation, and bullying, as well 18 as the overlap between the policies and complaint procedures. The 19 model student handbook language must also include a description of 20 the services available through the office of the education ombuds and 21 SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1207 AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE Passed Legislature - 2023 Regular Session State of Washington 68th Legislature 2023 Regular Session By House Education (originally sponsored by Representatives Senn, Rude, Fey, Reed, Bergquist, Ramel, Doglio, Callan, Thai, and Pollet) READ FIRST TIME 01/30/23. p. 1 SHB 1207.SL the contact information for the office of the education ombuds. The 1 model student handbook language must be aligned with existing 2 requirements in state law including chapters 28A.640 and 28A.642 RCW 3 and RCW 28A.600.477 and 28A.600.510. The model student handbook 4 language must be jointly developed with the Washington state school 5 directors' association, and in consultation with the office of the 6 education ombuds. The model student handbook language must be posted 7 publicly on the office of the superintendent of public instruction's 8 website beginning July 1, 2024. 9 (2) Beginning with the 2024-25 school year, each school district 10 must include the model student handbook language developed under 11 subsection (1) of this section in any student, parent, employee, and 12 volunteer handbook that it or one of its schools publishes and on the 13 school district's website, and any school's website, if a school or 14 the school district maintains a website. If a school district neither 15 publishes a handbook nor maintains a website, it must provide the 16 model student handbook language developed under subsection (1) of 17 this section to each student, parent, employee, and volunteer at 18 least annually. 19 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.642 20 RCW to read as follows: 21 (1) Each school district shall designate one person in the school 22 district as the primary contact regarding school district compliance 23 with this chapter. In addition to any other duties required by law 24 and the school district, the primary contact must: 25 (a) Ensure that complaints of discrimination communicated to the 26 school district are promptly investigated and resolved; and 27 (b) Communicate with the primary contact regarding the school 28 district's policy and procedure prohibiting harassment, intimidation, 29 and bullying under RCW 28A.600.477, and the primary contact regarding 30 the school district's policies and procedures related to transgender 31 students under RCW 28A.642.080. 32 (2) The primary contact may also serve as the primary contact 33 regarding the school district's policy and procedure prohibiting 34 harassment, intimidation, and bullying under RCW 28A.600.477 and the 35 primary contact regarding the school district's policy and procedure 36 related to transgender students under RCW 28A.642.080. 37 p. 2 SHB 1207.SL Sec. 3. RCW 28A.640.020 and 1994 c 213 s 1 are each amended to 1 read as follows: 2 (1) The superintendent of public instruction shall develop 3 regulations and guidelines to eliminate sex discrimination as it 4 applies to public school employment, counseling and guidance services 5 to students, recreational and athletic activities for students, 6 access to course offerings, and in textbooks and instructional 7 materials used by students. 8 (a) Specifically with respect to public school employment, all 9 schools shall be required to: 10 (i) Maintain credential requirements for all personnel without 11 regard to sex; 12 (ii) Make no differentiation in pay scale on the basis of sex; 13 (iii) Assign school duties without regard to sex except where 14 such assignment would involve duty in areas or situations, such as 15 but not limited to a shower room, where persons might be disrobed; 16 (iv) Provide the same opportunities for advancement to males and 17 females; and 18 (v) Make no difference in conditions of employment including, but 19 not limited to, hiring practices, leaves of absence, hours of 20 employment, and assignment of, or pay for, instructional and 21 noninstructional duties, on the basis of sex. 22 (b) Specifically with respect to counseling and guidance services 23 for students, they shall be made available to all students equally. 24 All certificated personnel shall be required to stress access to all 25 career and vocational opportunities to students without regard to 26 sex. 27 (c) Specifically with respect to recreational and athletic 28 activities, they shall be offered to all students without regard to 29 sex. Schools may provide separate teams for each sex. Schools which 30 provide the following shall do so with no disparities based on sex: 31 Equipment and supplies; medical care; services and insurance; 32 transportation and per diem allowances; opportunities to receive 33 coaching and instruction; laundry services; assignment of game 34 officials; opportunities for competition, publicity and awards; 35 scheduling of games and practice times including use of courts, gyms, 36 and pools: PROVIDED, That such scheduling of games and practice times 37 shall be determined by local administrative authorities after 38 consideration of the public and student interest in attending and 39 participating in various recreational and athletic activities. Each 40 p. 3 SHB 1207.SL school which provides showers, toilets, or training room facilities 1 for athletic purposes shall provide comparable facilities for both 2 sexes. Such facilities may be provided either as separate facilities 3 or shall be scheduled and used separately by each sex. 4 The superintendent of public instruction shall also be required 5 to develop a student survey to distribute every three years to each 6 local school district in the state to determine student interest for 7 male/female participation in specific sports. 8 (d) Specifically with respect to course offerings, all classes 9 shall be required to be available to all students without regard to 10 sex: PROVIDED, That separation is permitted within any class during 11 sessions on sex education or gym classes. 12 (e) Specifically with respect to textbooks and instructional 13 materials, which shall also include, but not be limited to, reference 14 books and audiovisual materials, they shall be required to adhere to 15 the guidelines developed by the superintendent of public instruction 16 to implement the intent of this chapter: PROVIDED, That this 17 subsection shall not be construed to prohibit the introduction of 18 material deemed appropriate by the instructor for educational 19 purposes. 20 (2)(a) By December 31, 1994, the superintendent of public 21 instruction shall develop criteria for use by school districts in 22 developing sexual harassment policies as required under (b) of this 23 subsection. The criteria shall address the subjects of grievance 24 procedures, remedies to victims of sexual harassment, disciplinary 25 actions against violators of the policy, and other subjects at the 26 discretion of the superintendent of public instruction. Disciplinary 27 actions must conform with collective bargaining agreements and state 28 and federal laws. The superintendent of public instruction also shall 29 supply sample policies to school districts upon request. 30 (b) By June 30, 1995, every school district shall adopt and 31 implement a written policy concerning sexual harassment. The policy 32 shall apply to all school district employees, volunteers, parents, 33 and students, including, but not limited to, conduct between 34 students. 35 (c) School district policies on sexual harassment shall be 36 reviewed by the superintendent of public instruction considering the 37 criteria established under (a) of this subsection as part of the 38 monitoring process established in RCW 28A.640.030. 39 p. 4 SHB 1207.SL (d) The school district's sexual harassment policy shall be 1 conspicuously posted throughout each school building, and provided to 2 each employee. A copy of the policy shall appear in any publication 3 of the school or school district setting forth the rules, 4 regulations, procedures, and standards of conduct for the school or 5 school district. This requirement as it relates to students, parents, 6 and guardians may be satisfied by using the model student handbook 7 language in section 1 of this act. 8 (e) Each school shall develop a process for discussing the 9 district's sexual harassment policy. The process shall ensure the 10 discussion addresses the definition of sexual harassment and issues 11 covered in the sexual harassment policy. 12 (f) "Sexual harassment" as used in this section means unwelcome 13 sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, sexually motivated 14 physical contact, or other verbal or physical conduct or 15 communication of a sexual nature if: 16 (i) Submission to that conduct or communication is made a term or 17 condition, either explicitly or implicitly, of obtaining an education 18 or employment; 19 (ii) Submission to or rejection of that conduct or communication 20 by an individual is used as a factor in decisions affecting that 21 individual's education or employment; or 22 (iii) That conduct or communication has the purpose or effect of 23 substantially interfering with an individual's educational or work 24 performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive 25 educational or work environment. 26 Sec. 4. RCW 28A.600.477 and 2019 c 194 s 1 are each amended to 27 read as follows: 28 (1)(a) By January 31, 2020, each school district must adopt or 29 amend if necessary a policy and procedure prohibiting harassment, 30 intimidation, and bullying of any student and that, at a minimum, 31 incorporates the model policy and procedure described in subsection 32 (3) of this section. 33 (b) School districts must share the policy and procedure 34 prohibiting harassment, intimidation, and bullying with parents or 35 guardians, students, volunteers, and school employees in accordance 36 with the rules adopted by the office of the superintendent of public 37 instruction. This requirement as it relates to students, parents, and 38 p. 5 SHB 1207.SL guardians may be satisfied by using the model student handbook 1 language in section 1 of this act. 2 (c)(i) Each school district must designate one person in the 3 school district as the primary contact regarding the policy and 4 procedure prohibiting harassment, intimidation, and bullying. In 5 addition to other duties required by law and the school district, the 6 primary contact must: 7 (A) Ensure the implementation of the policy and procedure 8 prohibiting harassment, intimidation, and bullying; 9 (B) Receive copies of all formal and informal complaints relating 10 to harassment, intimidation, or bullying; 11 (C) Communicate with the school district employees responsible 12 for monitoring school district compliance with chapter 28A.642 RCW 13 prohibiting discrimination in public schools, and the primary contact 14 regarding the school district's policies and procedures related to 15 transgender students under RCW 28A.642.080; and 16 (D) Serve as the primary contact between the school district, the 17 office of the education ombuds, and the office of the superintendent 18 of public instruction on the policy and procedure prohibiting 19 harassment, intimidation, and bullying. 20 (ii) The primary contact from each school district must attend at 21 least one training class as provided in subsection (4) of this 22 section, once this training is available. 23 (iii) The primary contact may also serve as the primary contact 24 regarding the school district's policies and procedures relating to 25 transgender students under RCW 28A.642.080 and the primary contact 26 regarding school district compliance with nondiscrimination laws 27 under section 1 of this act. 28 (2) School districts are encouraged to adopt and update the 29 policy and procedure prohibiting harassment, intimidation, and 30 bullying through a process that includes representation of parents or 31 guardians, school employees, volunteers, students, administrators, 32 and community representatives. 33 (3)(a) By September 1, 2019, and periodically thereafter, the 34 Washington state school directors' association must collaborate with 35 the office of the superintendent of public instruction to develop and 36 update a model policy and procedure prohibiting harassment, 37 intimidation, and bullying. 38 (b) Each school district must provide to the office of the 39 superintendent of public instruction a brief summary of its policies, 40 p. 6 SHB 1207.SL procedures, programs, partnerships, vendors, and instructional and 1 training materials prohibiting harassment, intimidation, and bullying 2 to be posted on the office of the superintendent of public 3 instruction's school safety center website, and must also provide the 4 office of the superintendent of public instruction with a link to the 5 school district's website for further information. The school 6 district's primary contact for harassment, intimidation, and bullying 7 issues must annually by August 15th verify posted information and 8 links and notify the school safety center of any updates or changes. 9 (c) The office of the superintendent of public instruction must 10 publish on its website, with a link to the school safety center 11 website, the revised and updated model policy and procedure 12 prohibiting harassment, intimidation, and bullying, along with 13 training and instructional materials on the components that must be 14 included in any school district policy and procedure prohibiting 15 harassment, intimidation, and bullying. By September 1, 2019, the 16 office of the superintendent of public instruction must adopt rules 17 regarding school districts' communication of the policy and procedure 18 prohibiting harassment, intimidation, and bullying to parents, 19 students, employees, and volunteers. 20 (4) By December 31, 2020, the office of the superintendent of 21 public instruction must develop a statewide training class for those 22 people in each school district who act as the primary contact 23 regarding the policy and procedure prohibiting harassment, 24 intimidation, and bullying as provided in subsection (1) of this 25 section. The training class must be offered on an annual basis by 26 educational service districts in collaboration with the office of the 27 superintendent of public instruction. The training class must be 28 based on the model policy and procedure prohibiting harassment, 29 intimidation, and bullying as provided in subsection (3) of this 30 section and include materials related to hazing and the Washington 31 state school directors' association model transgender student policy 32 and procedure as provided in RCW 28A.642.080. 33 (5) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this 34 section unless the context clearly requires otherwise. 35 (a) "Electronic" means any communication where there is the 36 transmission of information by wire, radio, optical cable, 37 electromagnetic, or other similar means. 38 (b)(i) "Harassment, intimidation, or bullying" means any 39 intentional electronic, written, verbal, or physical act including, 40 p. 7 SHB 1207.SL but not limited to, one shown to be motivated by any characteristic 1 in RCW 28A.640.010 and 28A.642.010, or other distinguishing 2 characteristics, when the intentional electronic, written, verbal, or 3 physical act: 4 (A) Physically harms a student or damages the student's property; 5 (B) Has the effect of substantially interfering with a student's 6 education; 7 (C) Is so severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates an 8 intimidating or threatening educational environment; or 9 (D) Has the effect of substantially disrupting the orderly 10 operation of the school. 11 (ii) Nothing in (b)(i) of this subsection requires the affected 12 student to actually possess a characteristic that is a basis for the 13 harassment, intimidation, or bullying. 14 Sec. 5. RCW 28A.642.080 and 2019 c 194 s 2 are each amended to 15 read as follows: 16 (1)(a) By January 31, 2020, each school district must adopt or 17 amend if necessary policies and procedures that, at a minimum, 18 incorporate all the elements of the model transgender student policy 19 and procedure described in subsection (3) of this section. 20 (b) School districts must share the policies and procedures that 21 meet the requirements of (a) of this subsection with parents or 22 guardians, students, volunteers, and school employees in accordance 23 with rules adopted by the office of the superintendent of public 24 instruction. This requirement as it relates to students, parents, and 25 guardians may be satisfied by using the model student handbook 26 language in section 1 of this act. 27 (c)(i) Each school district must designate one person in the 28 school district as the primary contact regarding the policies and 29 procedures relating to transgender students that meet the 30 requirements of (a) of this subsection. In addition to any other 31 duties required by law and the school district, the primary contact 32 must: 33 (A) Ensure the implementation of the policies and procedures 34 relating to transgender students that meet the requirements of (a) of 35 this subsection; 36 (B) Receive copies of all formal and informal complaints relating 37 to transgender students; 38 p. 8 SHB 1207.SL (C) Communicate with the school district employees responsible 1 for monitoring school district compliance with this chapter, and the 2 primary contact regarding the school district's policy and procedure 3 prohibiting harassment, intimidation, and bullying under RCW 4 28A.600.477; and 5 (D) Serve as the primary contact between the school district, the 6 office of the education ombuds, and the office of the superintendent 7 of public instruction on policies and procedures relating to 8 transgender students that meet the requirements of (a) of this 9 subsection. 10 (ii) The primary contact from each school district must attend at 11 least one training class as provided in RCW 28A.600.477, once this 12 training is available. 13 (iii) The primary contact may also serve as the primary contact 14 regarding the school district's policy and procedure prohibiting 15 harassment, intimidation, and bullying under RCW 28A.600.477 and the 16 primary contact regarding school district compliance with 17 nondiscrimination laws under section 1 of this act. 18 (2) As required by the office of the superintendent of public 19 instruction, each school district must provide to the office of the 20 superintendent of public instruction its policies and procedures 21 relating to transgender students that meet the requirements of 22 subsection (1)(a) of this section. 23 (3)(a) By September 1, 2019, and periodically thereafter, the 24 Washington state school directors' association must collaborate with 25 the office of the superintendent of public instruction to develop and 26 update a model transgender student policy and procedure. 27 (b) The elements of the model transgender student policy and 28 procedure must, at a minimum: Incorporate the office of the 29 superintendent of public instruction's rules and guidelines developed 30 under RCW 28A.642.020 to eliminate discrimination in Washington 31 public schools on the basis of gender identity and expression; 32 address the unique challenges and needs faced by transgender students 33 in public schools; and describe the application of the model policy 34 and procedure prohibiting harassment, intimidation, and bullying, 35 required under RCW 28A.600.477, to transgender students. 36 (c) The office of the superintendent of public instruction and 37 the Washington state school directors' association must maintain the 38 model policy and procedure on each agency's website at no cost to 39 school districts. 40 p. 9 SHB 1207.SL (4)(a) By December 31, 2020, the office of the superintendent of 1 public instruction must develop online training material available to 2 all school staff based on the model transgender student policy and 3 procedure described in subsection (3) of this section and the office 4 of the superintendent of public instruction's rules and guidance as 5 provided under this chapter. 6 (b) The online training material must describe the role of school 7 district primary contacts for monitoring school district compliance 8 with this chapter prohibiting discrimination in public schools, RCW 9 28A.600.477 related to the policies and procedures prohibiting 10 harassment, intimidation, and bullying, and this section related to 11 policies and procedures relating to transgender students. 12 (c) The online training material must include best practices for 13 policy and procedure implementation and cultural change that are 14 guided by school district experiences. 15 (d) The office of the superintendent of public instruction must 16 annually notify school districts of the availability of the online 17 training material. 18 Sec. 6. RCW 28A.600.510 and 2022 c 222 s 2 are each amended to 19 read as follows: 20 (1) Beginning August 1, 2023, public schools must: 21 (a) Provide students and their parents or guardians with a 22 description of the services available through the office of the 23 education ombuds and the contact information for the office of the 24 education ombuds at the time of initial enrollment or admission; and 25 (b) Either: (i) Include on their website a description of the 26 services available through the office of the education ombuds and a 27 link to the website of the office of the education ombuds; or (ii) 28 provide a description of the services available through the office of 29 the education ombuds and the contact information for the office of 30 the education ombuds in existing materials that are shared annually 31 with families, students, and school employees, such as welcome 32 packets, orientation guides, and newsletters. This requirement as it 33 relates to students and families may be satisfied by using the model 34 student handbook language in section 1 of this act. 35 (2) Public schools are encouraged to comply with both subsection 36 (1)(b)(i) and (ii) of this section. 37 (3) By July 1, 2022, the office of the education ombuds must 38 develop a template of the information described in subsection (1) of 39 p. 10 SHB 1207.SL this section. The template must be translated into Spanish and into 1 other languages as resources allow. The template must be made 2 available upon request and updated as needed. 3 (4) For the purposes of this section, "public schools" has the 4 same meaning as in RCW 28A.150.010. 5 NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. A new section is added to chapter 28A.600 6 RCW to read as follows: 7 (1) The legislature recognizes that public schools have the 8 authority to immediately remove a student from school if the student 9 poses an immediate and continuing danger to other students or to 10 school staff, or if the student poses an immediate and continuing 11 threat of material and substantial disruption of the education 12 process. The legislature acknowledges that emergency expulsion is 13 limited to 10 consecutive school days, the school must provide an 14 opportunity for the student to receive educational services during 15 the emergency expulsion, and both the emergency expulsion and any 16 suspension or expulsion that the emergency expulsion is converted to 17 can be appealed. However, the legislature finds that emergency 18 expulsion tarnishes a student's reputation and self-image, which can 19 result in school staff, fellow students, or the student's families 20 making assumptions about the student, and, in some cases, these 21 assumptions result in harassment, intimidation, or bullying of the 22 student. Therefore, the legislature intends to discontinue the use of 23 the prejudicial term "emergency expulsion," and replace it with the 24 term "emergency removal," which is a more accurate description of the 25 temporary removal of a student from school to assess and properly 26 respond to an emergent situation involving the student. 27 (2) As soon as possible after the effective date of this section, 28 the office of the superintendent of public instruction must publish a 29 bulletin to notify school districts and public schools that the term 30 "emergency removal" must be used instead of the term "emergency 31 expulsion" in the context of student discipline and as required by 32 RCW 28A.300.042 and 28A.600.015. The legislature's intent as 33 described in subsection (1) of this section must be included in the 34 bulletin. The bulletin must also include guidance about student 35 discipline data collection and historical data comparison. 36 (3) A student who was emergency expelled between September 1, 37 2019, and the effective date of this section may request that any 38 p. 11 SHB 1207.SL reference to "emergency expulsion" in the student's education record 1 be revised to "emergency removal." 2 Sec. 8. RCW 28A.300.042 and 2016 c 72 s 501 are each amended to 3 read as follows: 4 (1) Beginning with the 2017-18 school year, and using the phase- 5 in provided in subsection (2) of this section, the superintendent of 6 public instruction must collect and school districts must submit all 7 student-level data using the United States department of education 8 2007 race and ethnicity reporting guidelines, including the subracial 9 and subethnic categories within those guidelines, with the following 10 modifications: 11 (a) Further disaggregation of the Black category to differentiate 12 students of African origin and students native to the United States 13 with African ancestors; 14 (b) Further disaggregation of countries of origin for Asian 15 students; 16 (c) Further disaggregation of the White category to include 17 subethnic categories for Eastern European nationalities that have 18 significant populations in Washington; and 19 (d) For students who report as multiracial, collection of their 20 racial and ethnic combination of categories. 21 (2) Beginning with the 2017-18 school year, school districts 22 shall collect student-level data as provided in subsection (1) of 23 this section for all newly enrolled students, including transfer 24 students. When the students enroll in a different school within the 25 district, school districts shall resurvey the newly enrolled students 26 for whom subracial and subethnic categories were not previously 27 collected. School districts may resurvey other students. 28 (3) All student data-related reports required of the 29 superintendent of public instruction in this title must be 30 disaggregated by at least the following subgroups of students: White, 31 Black, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, Pacific 32 Islander/Hawaiian Native, low income, transitional bilingual, 33 migrant, special education, and students covered by section 504 of 34 the federal rehabilitation act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. Sec. 35 794). 36 (4) All student data-related reports prepared by the 37 superintendent of public instruction regarding student suspensions 38 p. 12 SHB 1207.SL and expulsions as required under this title are subject to 1 disaggregation by subgroups including: 2 (a) Gender; 3 (b) Foster care; 4 (c) Homeless, if known; 5 (d) School district; 6 (e) School; 7 (f) Grade level; 8 (g) Behavior infraction code, including: 9 (i) Bullying; 10 (ii) Tobacco; 11 (iii) Alcohol; 12 (iv) Illicit drug; 13 (v) Fighting without major injury; 14 (vi) Violence without major injury; 15 (vii) Violence with major injury; 16 (viii) Possession of a weapon; and 17 (ix) Other behavior resulting from a short-term or long-term 18 suspension, expulsion, or interim alternative education setting 19 intervention; 20 (h) Intervention applied, including: 21 (i) Short-term suspension; 22 (ii) Long-term suspension; 23 (iii) Emergency ((expulsion)) removal; 24 (iv) Expulsion; 25 (v) Interim alternative education settings; 26 (vi) No intervention applied; and 27 (vii) Other intervention applied that is not described in this 28 subsection (4)(h); 29 (i) Number of days a student is suspended or expelled, to be 30 counted in half or full days; and 31 (j) Any other categories added at a future date by the data 32 governance group. 33 (5) All student data-related reports required of the 34 superintendent of public instruction regarding student suspensions 35 and expulsions as required in RCW 28A.300.046 are subject to cross- 36 tabulation at a minimum by the following: 37 (a) School and district; 38 (b) Race, low income, special education, transitional bilingual, 39 migrant, foster care, homeless, students covered by section 504 of 40 p. 13 SHB 1207.SL the federal rehabilitation act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. Sec. 1 794), and categories to be added in the future; 2 (c) Behavior infraction code; and 3 (d) Intervention applied. 4 (6) The K-12 data governance group shall develop the data 5 protocols and guidance for school districts in the collection of data 6 as required under this section, and the office of the superintendent 7 of public instruction shall modify the statewide student data system 8 as needed. The office of the superintendent of public instruction 9 shall also incorporate training for school staff on best practices 10 for collection of data on student race and ethnicity in other 11 training or professional development related to data provided by the 12 office. 13 Sec. 9. RCW 28A.600.015 and 2016 c 72 s 105 are each amended to 14 read as follows: 15 (1) The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt and 16 distribute to all school districts lawful and reasonable rules 17 prescribing the substantive and procedural due process guarantees of 18 pupils in the common schools. Such rules shall authorize a school 19 district to use informal due process procedures in connection with 20 the short-term suspension of students to the extent constitutionally 21 permissible: PROVIDED, That the superintendent of public instruction 22 deems the interest of students to be adequately protected. When a 23 student suspension or expulsion is appealed, the rules shall 24 authorize a school district to impose the suspension or expulsion 25 temporarily after an initial hearing for no more than ((ten)) 10 26 consecutive school days or until the appeal is decided, whichever is 27 earlier. Any days that the student is temporarily suspended or 28 expelled before the appeal is decided shall be applied to the term of 29 the student suspension or expulsion and shall not limit or extend the 30 term of the student suspension or expulsion. An expulsion or 31 suspension of a student may not be for an indefinite period of time. 32 (2) Short-term suspension procedures may be used for suspensions 33 of students up to and including, ((ten)) 10 consecutive school days. 34 (3) Emergency ((expulsions)) removals must end or be converted to 35 another form of corrective action within ten school days from the 36 date of the emergency removal from school. Notice and due process 37 rights must be provided when an emergency ((expulsion)) removal is 38 converted to another form of corrective action. 39 p. 14 SHB 1207.SL (4) School districts may not impose long-term suspension or 1 expulsion as a form of discretionary discipline. 2 (5) Any imposition of discretionary and nondiscretionary 3 discipline is subject to the bar on suspending the provision of 4 educational services pursuant to subsection (8) of this section. 5 (6) As used in this chapter, "discretionary discipline" means a 6 disciplinary action taken by a school district for student behavior 7 that violates rules of student conduct adopted by a school district 8 board of directors under RCW 28A.600.010 and this section, but does 9 not constitute action taken in response to any of the following: 10 (a) A violation of RCW 28A.600.420; 11 (b) An offense in RCW 13.04.155; 12 (c) Two or more violations of RCW 9A.46.120, 9.41.280, 13 28A.600.455, 28A.635.020, or 28A.635.060 within a three-year period; 14 or 15 (d) Behavior that adversely impacts the health or safety of other 16 students or educational staff. 17 (7) Except as provided in RCW 28A.600.420, school districts are 18 not required to impose long-term suspension or expulsion for behavior 19 that constitutes a violation or offense listed under subsection 20 (6)(a) through (d) of this section and should first consider 21 alternative actions. 22 (8) School districts may not suspend the provision of educational 23 services to a student as a disciplinary action. A student may be 24 excluded from a particular classroom or instructional or activity 25 area for the period of suspension or expulsion, but the school 26 district must provide an opportunity for a student to receive 27 educational services during a period of suspension or expulsion. 28 (9) Nothing in this section creates any civil liability for 29 school districts, or creates a new cause of action or new theory of 30 negligence against a school district board of directors, a school 31 district, or the state. 32 Passed by the House April 13, 2023. Passed by the Senate April 5, 2023. Approved by the Governor May 4, 2023. Filed in Office of Secretary of State May 4, 2023. --- END --- p. 15 SHB 1207.SL