Truancy

Washington State law, commonly referred to as the Becca Bill, requires children from age 8 to 18 to attend a public school, private school, or to receive home-based instruction. The law established a venue for school districts to compel youth to attend school by requiring school districts to file petitions with the juvenile court. The Legislature passed House Bill 2449, which became effective June 9, 2016 and House Bill 1170, which became effective on July 23, 2017 that reformed the Becca Bill.  House Bill 2449 and House Bill 1170 directs school districts to focus on engaging youth and families in order to discover the underlying causes of truant behavior and to work collaboratively with them to develop internal motivation to graduate from school with a partnership with the community and juvenile courts.