Text of WA HB 1556 (2022)

AN ACT Relating to equitable competition between students who 1 participate in school athletic activities; amending RCW 28A.600.200 2 and 28A.640.020; and adding a new section to chapter 28A.600 RCW. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON: 4 Sec. 1. RCW 28A.600.200 and 2012 c 155 s 2 are each amended to 5 read as follows: 6 Each school district board of directors is hereby granted and 7 shall, subject to the requirements of this section and section 2 of 8 this act, exercise the authority to control, supervise and regulate 9 the conduct of interschool athletic activities and other interschool 10 extracurricular activities of an athletic, cultural, social or 11 recreational nature for students of the district. A board of 12 directors may delegate control, supervision and regulation of any 13 such activity to the Washington interscholastic activities 14 association or any other voluntary nonprofit entity and compensate 15 such entity for services provided, subject to the following 16 conditions: 17 (1) The voluntary nonprofit entity shall not discriminate in 18 connection with employment or membership upon its governing board, or 19 otherwise in connection with any function it performs, on the basis 20 of race, creed, national origin, sex or marital status((;)). 21 H-1224.2 HOUSE BILL 1556 State of Washington 67th Legislature 2021 Regular Session By Representatives Chase and Klippert p. 1 HB 1556 (2)(a) Any rules and policies adopted and applied by the 1 voluntary nonprofit entity that governs student participation in any 2 interschool activity shall be written; and 3 (b) Such rules and policies shall provide for notice of the 4 reasons and a fair opportunity to contest such reasons prior to a 5 final determination to reject a student's request to participate in 6 or to continue in an interschool activity. 7 (3)(a) The association or other voluntary nonprofit entity is 8 authorized to impose penalties for rules violations upon coaches, 9 school district administrators, school administrators, and students, 10 as appropriate, to punish the offending party or parties; 11 (b) No penalty may be imposed on a student or students unless the 12 student or students knowingly violated the rules or unless a student 13 gained a significant competitive advantage or materially 14 disadvantaged another student through a rule violation; 15 (c) Any penalty that is imposed for rules violations must be 16 proportional to the offense; 17 (d) Any decision resulting in a penalty shall be considered a 18 decision of the school district conducting the activity in which the 19 student seeks to participate or was participating and may be appealed 20 pursuant to RCW 28A.600.205 and 28A.645.010 through 28A.645.030. 21 (4) The school districts, Washington interscholastic activities 22 association districts, and leagues that participate in the 23 interschool extracurricular activities shall not impose more severe 24 penalties for rule violations than can be imposed by the rules of the 25 association or the voluntary nonprofit entity. 26 (5) As used in this section and RCW 28A.600.205, "knowingly" 27 means having actual knowledge of or acting with deliberate ignorance 28 or reckless disregard for the prohibition involved. 29 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.600 30 RCW to read as follows: 31 (1) Rules and policies adopted in accordance with RCW 28A.600.200 32 by a school district board of directors or a voluntary nonprofit 33 entity must: 34 (a) Require students to provide birth certificates as a 35 prerequisite for determining eligibility for athletic activities with 36 separate classifications for male and female students; and 37 p. 2 HB 1556 (b) Prohibit male students from competing with and against female 1 students in athletic activities with separate classifications for 2 male and female students if the athletic activity is: 3 (i) Intended for female students; and 4 (ii) An individual competition sport. 5 (2) For the purposes of this section, "male students" means 6 students whose sex assigned at birth, as evidenced by the student's 7 birth certificate, was male. 8 Sec. 3. RCW 28A.640.020 and 1994 c 213 s 1 are each amended to 9 read as follows: 10 (1) The superintendent of public instruction shall develop 11 regulations and guidelines to eliminate sex discrimination as it 12 applies to public school employment, counseling and guidance services 13 to students, recreational and athletic activities for students, 14 access to course offerings, and in textbooks and instructional 15 materials used by students. 16 (a) Specifically with respect to public school employment, all 17 schools shall be required to: 18 (i) Maintain credential requirements for all personnel without 19 regard to sex; 20 (ii) Make no differentiation in pay scale on the basis of sex; 21 (iii) Assign school duties without regard to sex except where 22 such assignment would involve duty in areas or situations, such as 23 but not limited to a shower room, where persons might be disrobed; 24 (iv) Provide the same opportunities for advancement to males and 25 females; and 26 (v) Make no difference in conditions of employment including, but 27 not limited to, hiring practices, leaves of absence, hours of 28 employment, and assignment of, or pay for, instructional and 29 noninstructional duties, on the basis of sex. 30 (b) Specifically with respect to counseling and guidance services 31 for students, they shall be made available to all students equally. 32 All certificated personnel shall be required to stress access to all 33 career and vocational opportunities to students without regard to 34 sex. 35 (c) Specifically with respect to recreational and athletic 36 activities, they shall be offered to all students without regard to 37 sex, subject to the requirements of RCW 28A.600.200 and section 2 of 38 this act. Schools may provide separate teams for each sex. Schools 39 p. 3 HB 1556 which provide the following shall do so with no disparities based on 1 sex: Equipment and supplies; medical care; services and insurance; 2 transportation and per diem allowances; opportunities to receive 3 coaching and instruction; laundry services; assignment of game 4 officials; opportunities for competition, publicity and awards; 5 scheduling of games and practice times including use of courts, gyms, 6 and pools: PROVIDED, That such scheduling of games and practice times 7 shall be determined by local administrative authorities after 8 consideration of the public and student interest in attending and 9 participating in various recreational and athletic activities. Each 10 school which provides showers, toilets, or training room facilities 11 for athletic purposes shall provide comparable facilities for both 12 sexes. Such facilities may be provided either as separate facilities 13 or shall be scheduled and used separately by each sex. 14 The superintendent of public instruction shall also be required 15 to develop a student survey to distribute every three years to each 16 local school district in the state to determine student interest for 17 male/female participation in specific sports. 18 (d) Specifically with respect to course offerings, all classes 19 shall be required to be available to all students without regard to 20 sex: PROVIDED, That separation is permitted within any class during 21 sessions on sex education or gym classes. 22 (e) Specifically with respect to textbooks and instructional 23 materials, which shall also include, but not be limited to, reference 24 books and audiovisual materials, they shall be required to adhere to 25 the guidelines developed by the superintendent of public instruction 26 to implement the intent of this chapter: PROVIDED, That this 27 subsection shall not be construed to prohibit the introduction of 28 material deemed appropriate by the instructor for educational 29 purposes. 30 (2)(a) By December 31, 1994, the superintendent of public 31 instruction shall develop criteria for use by school districts in 32 developing sexual harassment policies as required under (b) of this 33 subsection. The criteria shall address the subjects of grievance 34 procedures, remedies to victims of sexual harassment, disciplinary 35 actions against violators of the policy, and other subjects at the 36 discretion of the superintendent of public instruction. Disciplinary 37 actions must conform with collective bargaining agreements and state 38 and federal laws. The superintendent of public instruction also shall 39 supply sample policies to school districts upon request. 40 p. 4 HB 1556 (b) By June 30, 1995, every school district shall adopt and 1 implement a written policy concerning sexual harassment. The policy 2 shall apply to all school district employees, volunteers, parents, 3 and students, including, but not limited to, conduct between 4 students. 5 (c) School district policies on sexual harassment shall be 6 reviewed by the superintendent of public instruction considering the 7 criteria established under (a) of this subsection as part of the 8 monitoring process established in RCW 28A.640.030. 9 (d) The school district's sexual harassment policy shall be 10 conspicuously posted throughout each school building, and provided to 11 each employee. A copy of the policy shall appear in any publication 12 of the school or school district setting forth the rules, 13 regulations, procedures, and standards of conduct for the school or 14 school district. 15 (e) Each school shall develop a process for discussing the 16 district's sexual harassment policy. The process shall ensure the 17 discussion addresses the definition of sexual harassment and issues 18 covered in the sexual harassment policy. 19 (f) "Sexual harassment" as used in this section means unwelcome 20 sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, sexually motivated 21 physical contact, or other verbal or physical conduct or 22 communication of a sexual nature if: 23 (i) Submission to that conduct or communication is made a term or 24 condition, either explicitly or implicitly, of obtaining an education 25 or employment; 26 (ii) Submission to or rejection of that conduct or communication 27 by an individual is used as a factor in decisions affecting that 28 individual's education or employment; or 29 (iii) That conduct or communication has the purpose or effect of 30 substantially interfering with an individual's educational or work 31 performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive 32 educational or work environment. 33 --- END --- p. 5 HB 1556