West Valley School District of Yakima

Contempt motions
If a student has been ordered to attend school, but continues to have unexcused absences, the school may ask the court to schedule a contempt hearing to consider imposing consequences.

The district will complete the Motion and Order for Truancy Contempt Hearing . Use current contact information for the student and parents so the process server can get them served.
Copies of attendance records are attached.
The original contempt order will be filed with the Prosecutor’s Office at 1728 Jerome Ave. Yakima , WA 98902 . The prosecutor’s Office will review the contempt order and send it to the Clerk’s office for processing. Contempt Motions with inadequate information will be returned to the school’s Becca coordinator, with an explanation.
When the Clerk’s office receives the contempt order they will set it for a hearing, have the judge sign it and fax it back to the school district. The school district will need to provide the Clerk’s office with a fax number at the top of each contempt order.
Once the school receives their conformed fax from the Clerk’s office they will need to prepare service copies.

3 copies will need to be mailed to Yakima County Juvenile Court for the parent, student (to be served) and Juvenile Courts records. Mailing address is 1728 Jerome Ave. Yakima , WA 98902 , Attn: Becca Coordinator.
1 copy will need to be mailed to the Department of Assigned Counsel. Mailing address is 1728 Jerome Ave. Yakima , WA 98902 Attn: Assigned Counsel.
The school district will need to keep a copy for their records.

At the contempt hearing........
Prior to the contempt hearing, the truancy prosecutor, the student’s attorney and the school representative may meet to discuss the case to determine whether some or all of the facts are agreed.

On the day of court, the case will be presented to the court for fact-finding on any still-disputed facts, and for disposition.

If the court finds that the student did violate order to attend school, the student can be ordered to do community service hours or could be sentenced to detention or other consequences.

If the court finds that the parent did not make reasonable efforts to cause their child to attend school, the parent can be sentenced to community service hours or fined $25 for each day of unexcused absence. Often the fines are initially suspended to give the parent a chance to improve their efforts.

If a hearing is likely to be long or require other witnesses, it might be postponed to another day, upon request.