Ordinance
106 - Attendance
1. PURPOSE
The purpose
of this Ordinance is twofold: First, to provide a vehicle whereby the
Tribes may directly intervene to provide assistance to any student covered
by this Ordinance, and second, to create a mechanism whereby the Tribes
work cooperatively with schools and school districts that are located
in whole or part on the Tulalip Indian Reservation or who educate students
covered by this Ordinance in order to improve the attendance and behavior
of students covered by this Ordinance.
2. COVERAGE
This Ordinance,
and its provisions, shall apply to all enrolled members of the Tulalip
Tribes of the Tulalip Reservation, to all members of recognized Indian
tribes who have significant ties to the Tulalip Tribes and, in addition,
to all students of Indian descent and their parents or guardians (to
the extent not otherwise covered) who consent to be covered by the terms
and conditions of this Ordinance, and any cooperative agreement entered
into with a school district.
Referrals
of students who are non-Tulalip tribal members shall be accepted only
when the student and the student’s parent or guardian consents
to the referral and agree to participate with the Tribes pursuant to
the referral and be bound by this Ordinance for the remainder of the
school year.
3. ATTENDANCE MANDATORY
a. All
parents or legal guardians or custodial agencies or custodial adults
of any student six years of age and under eighteen years of age, and
covered by this Ordinance, shall cause such student to attend school
as provided herein, and such student shall have the responsibility
to and therefore shall attend school for the full time when such school
may be in session.
b. As
used in this Section, “school” shall include the following:
1)
The state supported public school district within which the student
resides; or
2)
A private school or extension program approved either under tribal
or state law; or
3)
Tulalip Montessori School; or
4)
A home-based instructional program as authorized pursuant to RCW
28A.27.010(4), (5), or approved under tribal law designed to allow
the student and parent to administer to the unique needs of the
student.
4. EXCEPTION TO ATTENDANCE PROVIDED
A student
and his or her parent shall be excused from the requirements of this
Ordinance and shall not subject to the penalties set out herein if:
a. The
school attended by the student has excused such student from attendance
because the student is physically or mentally unable to attend school
and the school is providing all legal required services in a home-based
or other approved program, is attending a residential school operated
by the Tribes, other Indian education agency or the Department of
Social and Health Services, or has been temporarily excused upon the
request of his or her parents for purposes agreed upon by the school
authorities and parent. Such excused absences shall not permitted
if deemed to cause a serious adverse effect upon the students’
educational progress.
b. The
student is at least eighteen years of age and if,
1)
The school attended by the student determines that such student
has already attained a reasonable proficiency in the branches required
by law to be taught in the first 12 grades of schooling; or
2)
The student is regularly and lawfully engaged in a useful or remunerative
occupation; or
3)
The student has already met graduation requirements in accordance
with the Tulalip Tribal or State Board of Education; or
4)
The student has received a certificate of educational competence
under rules and regulations established by the Tulalip Tribal or
State Board of Education; or
5)
The student has already met graduation requirements, if any, that
are lawfully imposed by the Tulalip Tribes and that preempt state
requirements.
c. A
parent for the purpose of this Ordinance means a parent, guardian,
caregiver, or person having legal custody of a student.
5. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT WITH STATE SCHOOL DISTRICT
a. The
Tulalip Tribes of the Tulalip Reservation may by acting through the
Tulalip Board of Directors enter into cooperative agreements with
any school operating in whole or in part on the Tulalip Indian Reservation
for purposes of increasing and improving the attendance of students
who are covered by this Ordinance or for addressing behavioral problems
that could lead to a student covered by an agreement being removed
from school.
b. All
agreements authorized under this section shall be in writing and shall
be approved by the Tulalip Board of Directors. No agreement shall
authorize the expenditures of any funds by the Tribes, unless approved
by the full Tulalip Board of Directors; nor shall any agreement waive
the sovereign immunity of the Tribes, its agencies, employees or agents.
c. Every
agreement entered into under the authority of this Section shall contain
the following provisions:
1)
The cooperating school shall refer to the Family Advocate, designated
under the Agreement, all enrolled students covered by the Agreement
who have failed without valid justification recurrently, or in excess
of three days per month, to attend school; and
2)
The cooperating school may refer to the Family Advocate students
who are discipline problems and/or not achieving academically; and
3)
The cooperating school shall agree not to suspend or expel a student
referred under a cooperative agreement as allowed under this Ordinance
after the referral to the appropriate Tulalip Tribes agency(ies)
provided under the Agreement, unless suspension or expulsion is
required because the student creates a danger to himself and/or
others, or the school; and
4)
The Tribes shall agree to enforce the provisions of this Ordinance
with respect to each student referred by a school to the Tribes.
In acting under this provision, the Tribes, and its designated Family
Advocate and appropriate agency shall work with and in cooperation
with the school in order to develop the best program and plan to
correct the attendance or discipline problems of the referred student;
and
5)
The Tribes shall in each cooperative agreement designate a Tribal
employee to act as Family Advocate; and
6. FAMILY ADVOCATE - DUTIES
Whenever
a student is referred to a Tribal Family Advocate pursuant to a cooperative
agreement entered into as provided under this Ordinance, or whenever
a parent of an enrolled student, or a Liaison informs a Tribal Family
Advocate that a student required to attend school fails to attend school
without valid justification recurrently or for an extended period of
time, the Family Advocate, shall, where appropriate, take some or all
of the following actions:
a. Inform
the student’s custodial parent, parents or guardian by a notice
in writing and by other means reasonably necessary to achieve notice
of the fact that the student has failed to attend school without valid
justification recurrently or for an extended period of time; and
b. Schedule
a conference or conferences with the custodial parent, parents or
guardian and student at a time and place reasonably convenient for
all persons included for the purpose of analyzing the causes of the
student’s absences; and
c. Take
steps in coordination with the school that the student is required
to attend to eliminate or reduce the student’s absences. These
steps may include, where appropriate, adjusting the student’s
school program or school or course assignment, providing more individualized
or remedial instruction, preparing the student for employment with
specific vocational courses or work experience, or both, and assisting
the parent or student to obtain supplementary services that might
eliminate or alleviate the cause or causes for the absence from school;
and
d. Provide
additional or continuing counseling for the parent, the student, or
both, and provide any other program that is reasonably designed to
correct the attendance problems of the student; and
e. In
those situations where a school refers a student with discipline problems
to the Family Advocate, the advocate, in cooperation with the school,
shall develop a program that is designed to correct the behavior of
the student, which program can include the student, parent, guardian
or custodian of the student; and
f. Any
parent or student subject to this Ordinance refusing to comply with
the provisions of this section within a reasonable time after being
ordered to comply by the Tribal Court pursuant to an action initiated
pursuant to Section 7, shall be subject to the fines and penalties
set out in Section 9 of this Ordinance.
7. PETITION TO TRIBAL COURT FOR VIOLATIONS BY A PARENT OR STUDENT
APPLICABILITY OF ORDINANCE
If action
taken pursuant to Section 6 is not successful in substantially reducing
a student's absences from school or if the parent or students refuse
to comply voluntarily, any of the following actions may be taken:
a. The
Family Advocate may petition the Tribal Court to assume jurisdiction
under this Ordinance for the purpose of alleging a violation of Section
3 of this Ordinance by the parent or student; or
b. A
petition alleging a violation of Section 3 of this Ordinance by a
student may be filed with the Tribal Court by the parent of such student
or by the Family Advocate at the request of the parent. If the Court
assumes jurisdiction in such an instance, the provisions of this Ordinance,
except where otherwise stated, shall apply.
8. FAMILY ADVOCATE ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY
a. To
aid in the enforcement of this Ordinance, the Family Advocate(s) shall
be appointed by the Tulalip Board of Directors. Appointment may be
from existing staff or new staff authorized by the Tulalip Board of
Directors.
b. the
Family Advocate(s) shall work with Tribal Law Enforcement to make
arrests and serve all legal processes contemplated under this Ordinance,
and shall have authority to enter all places pursuant to law in which
students may reside, may recreate or may be employed, for the purpose
of making such investigations as may be necessary for the enforcement
of this Ordinance.
c. The
Family Advocate is authorized to take into custody any student enrolled
in the Tulalip Tribes, when the student is six years of age and not
over eighteen years of age, when the Family Advocate has reasonable
grounds to believe that the student may be truant from school, and
thereafter to conduct such student to his/her parents, for investigation
and explanation, or to the school which he/she should properly attend.
d. The
Family Advocate shall keep a record of his transactions for the inspection
and information of any school with an agreement with the Tribes and
the Tulalip Board of Directors and shall make a detailed report to
the Tulalip Board of Directors once per month or as often as the same
may be required.
9. PENALTIES IN GENERAL - DEFENSE - COMPLAINTS TO COURT
a. Any
person found by the Tulalip Tribal Court to have violated or to be
violating any of the provisions of this Ordinance shall be subject
to diversionary action. The Tribal Court may order that the parent,
or the student or both comply with the program set out by the Tribal
Family Advocate, or as modified by the Tribal Court. The Tribal Court
may order a parent to pay a penalty of up to $25.00 per day for failure
to comply with a Court order under this Ordinance.
b. It
shall be a defense for a parent charged with violating this Ordinance
to show that he or she exercised reasonable diligence in attempting
to cause a student in his or her custody to attend school or that
the student's school did not perform its duties as required under
the law. A parent charged with violating this Ordinance shall participate
with the Tribes, the school and the student in a supervised plan for
the student’s attendance at school, and shall attend a conference
or counseling scheduled by the Tribal Family Advocate for the purpose
of analyzing the causes of a student’s absence, and shall comply
with any other plan determined by the Court to be appropriate to assist
the student to attend school.
c. Where
the court proceeding involves a student referred for discipline reasons,
the Court may revise the diversionary action if the student agrees
to comply with a plan developed by the Family Advocate, as it may
be modified by the Court.
10. PROSECUTING ATTORNEY OR ATTORNEY FOR DISTRICT TO ACT FOR COMPLAINANT
The Family
Advocate or Tribal prosecuting attorney or an attorney from the School
District may act as attorney for the complainant in all court proceedings
relating to the compulsory attendance of students as required by this
Ordinance except for those petitions filed against any student by the
parent without the assistance of the Family Advocate.
11. REPORTS BY FAMILY ADVOCATE - COMPILATION OF INFORMATION AND
REPORTS
The Family
Advocate shall report monthly to the Tulalip Board of Directors on the
petitions filed alleging a violation by a student under this Ordinance.
The report shall, at a minimum, contain:
a. The
number of petitions filed by a Family Advocate or by a parent;
b. The
frequency of each action taken under this Ordinance prior to the filing
of such petition;
c. Disposition
of cases filed with the Tribal Court, including the frequency of orders
issued to enforce a court's order.
12. USE IN NEED OF CARE PROCEEDING
The failure
to comply with an order of the Tribal Court entered pursuant to this
Ordinance may be grounds for Court action in any action brought pursuant
to Ordinance of the Tribal Law.
--------------------------
Legislative
History
Adopted
by Reso. 00-056, Laws of Feb. 3, 2000.
Approved,
Feb. 23, 2000, Superintendent, Puget Sound Agency.
Back
to Top