H-2199.1
HOUSE BILL 2005
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By Representatives McClintock, Couture, Waters, Reed, Cheney, and
Sandlin
Prefiled 12/21/23. Read first time 01/08/24. Referred to Committee
on Education.
1 AN ACT Relating to including weighted grade point averages on
2 high school transcripts; amending RCW 28A.230.125; and creating a new
3 section.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
5 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature recognizes that its
6 numerous policy and financial supports provide public school students
7 with an education that is intended to prepare them for the challenges
8 of postsecondary education, employment, active citizenship, and a
9 lifelong interest in learning.
10 (2) The legislature recognizes also that, in some instances, the
11 K-12 and higher education systems do not align to properly meet the
12 aspirations and needs of students and families. One example of this
13 is evidenced through the western undergraduate exchange, an agreement
14 by which public and private colleges and universities provide
15 significant tuition reductions to students from western states.
16 (3) However, because Washington does not use weighted grade point
17 averages on high school transcripts to recognize accelerated
18 coursework, Washington students seeking admission at institutions
19 participating in the western undergraduate exchange are placed at a
20 disadvantage for scholarship determinations in comparison to students
21 from other western states that use transcripts with weighted grade
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1 point averages. The result of this policy choice is that higher
2 education costs can be thousands of dollars higher for hardworking
3 students and families.
4 (4) The legislature, therefore, in recognition of the many
5 benefits for students and families that can result from the use of
6 high school transcripts that acknowledge more rigorous coursework,
7 intends to direct K-12 and higher education partners to jointly
8 develop a standardized high school transcript with a weighted grade
9 point average for use in the K-12 system.
10 Sec. 2. RCW 28A.230.125 and 2019 c 252 s 111 are each amended to
11 read as follows:
12 (1) The superintendent of public instruction, in consultation
13 with the four-year institutions ((as defined in RCW 28B.76.020)), the
14 state board for community and technical colleges, and the workforce
15 training and education coordinating board, shall develop for use by
16 all public school districts a standardized high school transcript.
17 The superintendent shall establish clear definitions for the terms
18 "credits" and "hours" so that school programs operating on the
19 quarter, semester, or trimester system can be compared.
20 (2) The standardized high school transcript may include a
21 notation of whether the student has earned the Washington state seal
22 of biliteracy established under RCW 28A.300.575.
23 (3) By May 1, 2025, the office of the superintendent of public
24 instruction, in consultation with the four-year institutions, the
25 state board for community and technical colleges, the workforce
26 training and education coordinating board, the Washington state
27 school directors' association, and an association representing school
28 counselors, shall develop for use by all public school districts a
29 revised standardized high school transcript with a weighted grade
30 point average to recognize accelerated coursework. The revised
31 standardized high school transcript must be available for school
32 districts in the 2025-26 school year and, beginning in the 2027
33 school year, used by all school districts.
34 (4) For the purposes of this section, "four-year institutions"
35 has the same meaning as in RCW 28B.76.020.
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Statutes affected:
Original Bill: 28A.230.125