This bill creates a new section in chapter 28A.320 RCW and amends RCW 28A.320.155 and RCW 28A.400.303 to change how schools handle background checks for parents, grandparents, guardians, and legal custodians who seek volunteer positions. It is primarily a procedural change: it requires schools to tell volunteer applicants how to submit "criminal innocence or rehabilitation-related documents," sets rules for when a conviction may not be used to deny a volunteer application, and requires schools to notify applicants within five days of approval or denial with stated reasons and an appeal process. The superintendent of public instruction must adopt appeal rules under chapter 34.05 RCW. The bill specifies that if a parent has submitted documents addressing each conviction (for example expungement, pardon, vacation, annulment, certificate of rehabilitation, or a certificate of restoration of opportunity) and signs a statement that no convictions have occurred since that document was issued, the school may not deny the volunteer application based on that conviction. If such documents are not provided, schools must consider the length of time since the last conviction and whether any conviction involved a minor victim; schools may also consider the applicant’s age at the time of the conviction, prior state agency approvals for unsupervised access, or limiting unsupervised access while allowing meaningful involvement. The amendments allow schools to request copies of qualifying background checks done within the previous two years or a signed release, permit conditional placement pending completion of fingerprint checks, allow waivers when a recent check exists, authorize acceptance of a portable background check clearance card by submitting WSP and FBI report copies to OSPI, and make entities that share criminal history information immune from civil and criminal liability for that sharing. The bill also specifies which fees must be paid for record checks and defines key terms including the new class of documents, "parent," "school," and "unsupervised" (with a cross-reference to RCW 28A.400.303 for that definition). Affected entities include school districts, educational service districts, state special schools, charter and compact schools, contractors, OSPI, and parents/guardians who volunteer. The bill was prefiled 01/07/25 and read for the first time 01/13/25. The extracted text does not include a timeline for the superintendent’s rulemaking or full appeal procedures beyond the requirement that rules be adopted under chapter 34.05 RCW, and some implementation details depend on cross-referenced statutes not fully reproduced here.

If enacted, the law will make it easier for parents, grandparents, guardians, or legal custodians with prior convictions to serve as volunteers by giving them a clear way to submit documents showing expungement, pardon, rehabilitation, or a finding of innocence; if they provide those documents for each conviction and swear they have had no later convictions, schools generally cannot deny them for those past convictions. Schools will have to tell applicants how to submit those documents, run or accept recent background checks (including portable clearance reports), notify applicants of approval or denial within five days with reasons and an appeal path, and may obtain or share criminal history information with legal immunity for the sharers. The groups most affected are school districts, charter and tribal-compact schools, special schools (deaf, blind), their contractors, and OSPI, which must adopt appeal rules; these entities will need to change volunteer screening and communications, handle additional background check and administrative fees (WSP and FBI fees, an OSPI fee, fingerprint fees), and manage appeals. Parents with convictions gain a clearer route to volunteer but must obtain and present specific legal documents and sign attestations; it remains unclear in this excerpt exactly how OSPI will structure the appeal process, who ultimately pays all costs in every case, and some operational details tied to rulemaking timelines are not specified.