H-3009.1
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2130
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By House Education (originally sponsored by Representatives Pollet,
Couture, Reed, Callan, Orwall, Paul, Caldier, Doglio, Reeves, and
Kloba)
READ FIRST TIME 01/31/24.
1 AN ACT Relating to extending special education services to
2 students with disabilities until the end of the school year in which
3 the student turns 22; amending RCW 28A.155.020, 28A.150.220,
4 28A.155.170, 28A.155.220, 28A.190.030, 28A.225.160, 28A.225.230,
5 28A.225.240, 72.40.040, and 72.40.060; creating new sections; and
6 providing an expiration date.
7 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
8 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that students
9 eligible for special education services may uniquely benefit from
10 extra individualized education and related services. For that reason,
11 the legislature intends to extend eligibility for special education
12 services to the end of the school year in which a student eligible
13 for special education services turns 22 years of age. The legislature
14 does not intend for this extension of special education services to
15 reduce or supplant any other services a student with disabilities is
16 eligible for.
17 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) By October 30, 2024, the office of the
18 superintendent of public instruction, the department of social and
19 health services, the department of services for the blind, and any
20 other state agency working with individuals with disabilities must
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1 collaborate to develop an implementation plan for extending special
2 education services to the end of the school year in which students
3 with disabilities turn 22 years of age. In developing the
4 implementation plan, the state agencies must consult with nonprofit
5 providers of high school transition services and advocates for
6 students with individualized education programs.
7 (2) This section expires August 1, 2025.
8 Sec. 3. RCW 28A.155.020 and 2015 c 206 s 2 are each amended to
9 read as follows:
10 There is established in the office of the superintendent of
11 public instruction an administrative section or unit for the
12 education of children with disabilities who require special
13 education.
14 Students with disabilities are those children whether enrolled in
15 school or not who through an evaluation process are determined
16 eligible for special education due to a disability.
17 In accordance with part B of the federal individuals with
18 disabilities education improvement act and any other federal or state
19 laws relating to the provision of special education services, the
20 superintendent of public instruction shall require each school
21 district in the state to insure an appropriate educational
22 opportunity for all ((children with disabilities between the ages of
23 three and twenty-one, but when the twenty-first birthday occurs
24 during the school year, the educational program may be continued
25 until the end of that school year)) students with disabilities
26 beginning at three years of age and concluding at the end of the
27 school year in which the student turns 22 years of age. The
28 superintendent of public instruction, by rule, shall establish for
29 the purpose of excess cost funding, as provided in RCW 28A.150.390,
30 28A.160.030, and 28A.155.010 through 28A.155.160, functional
31 definitions of special education, the various types of disabling
32 conditions, and eligibility criteria for special education programs
33 for children with disabilities, including referral procedures, use of
34 positive behavior interventions, the education curriculum and
35 statewide or district-wide assessments, parent and district requests
36 for special education due process hearings, and procedural
37 safeguards. For the purposes of RCW 28A.155.010 through 28A.155.160,
38 an appropriate education is defined as an education directed to the
39 unique needs, abilities, and limitations of the children with
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 1 disabilities who are enrolled either full time or part time in a
2 school district. School districts are strongly encouraged to provide
3 parental training in the care and education of the children and to
4 involve parents in the classroom.
5 Nothing in this section shall prohibit the establishment or
6 continuation of existing cooperative programs between school
7 districts or contracts with other agencies approved by the
8 superintendent of public instruction, which can meet the obligations
9 of school districts to provide education for children with
10 disabilities, or prohibit the continuation of needed related services
11 to school districts by the department of social and health services.
12 This section shall not be construed as in any way limiting the
13 powers of local school districts set forth in RCW 28A.155.070.
14 Sec. 4. RCW 28A.150.220 and 2017 3rd sp.s. c 13 s 506 are each
15 amended to read as follows:
16 (1) In order for students to have the opportunity to develop the
17 basic education knowledge and skills under RCW 28A.150.210, school
18 districts must provide instruction of sufficient quantity and quality
19 and give students the opportunity to complete graduation requirements
20 that are intended to prepare them for postsecondary education,
21 gainful employment, and citizenship. The program established under
22 this section shall be the minimum instructional program of basic
23 education offered by school districts.
24 (2) Each school district shall make available to students the
25 following minimum instructional offering each school year:
26 (a) For students enrolled in grades one through twelve, at least
27 a district-wide annual average of one thousand hours, which shall be
28 increased beginning in the 2015-16 school year to at least one
29 thousand eighty instructional hours for students enrolled in grades
30 nine through twelve and at least one thousand instructional hours for
31 students in grades one through eight, all of which may be calculated
32 by a school district using a district-wide annual average of
33 instructional hours over grades one through twelve; and
34 (b) For students enrolled in kindergarten, at least four hundred
35 fifty instructional hours, which shall be increased to at least one
36 thousand instructional hours according to the implementation schedule
37 under RCW 28A.150.315.
38 (3) The instructional program of basic education provided by each
39 school district shall include:
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 1 (a) Instruction in the ((essential academic)) state learning
2 ((requirements)) standards under RCW 28A.655.070;
3 (b) Instruction that provides students the opportunity to
4 complete twenty-four credits for high school graduation, beginning
5 with the graduating class of 2019 or as otherwise provided in RCW
6 28A.230.090. Course distribution requirements may be established by
7 the state board of education under RCW 28A.230.090;
8 (c) If the ((essential academic)) state learning ((requirements))
9 standards include a requirement of languages other than English, the
10 requirement may be met by students receiving instruction in one or
11 more American Indian languages;
12 (d) Supplemental instruction and services for students who are
13 not meeting academic standards through the learning assistance
14 program under RCW 28A.165.005 through 28A.165.065;
15 (e) Supplemental instruction and services for eligible and
16 enrolled students and exited students whose primary language is other
17 than English through the transitional bilingual instruction program
18 under RCW 28A.180.010 through 28A.180.080;
19 (f) The opportunity for an appropriate education at public
20 expense as defined by RCW 28A.155.020 for all eligible students with
21 disabilities as defined in RCW 28A.155.020; and
22 (g) Programs for highly capable students under RCW 28A.185.010
23 through 28A.185.030.
24 (4) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to
25 require individual students to attend school for any particular
26 number of hours per day or to take any particular courses.
27 (5)(a) ((Each)) Except as provided for students with disabilities
28 under RCW 28A.155.020, each school district's kindergarten through
29 twelfth grade basic educational program shall be accessible to all
30 students who are five years of age, as provided by RCW 28A.225.160,
31 and less than twenty-one years of age and shall consist of a minimum
32 of one hundred eighty school days per school year in such grades as
33 are conducted by a school district, and one hundred eighty half-days
34 of instruction, or equivalent, in kindergarten, to be increased to a
35 minimum of one hundred eighty school days per school year according
36 to the implementation schedule under RCW 28A.150.315.
37 (b) Schools administering the Washington kindergarten inventory
38 of developing skills may use up to three school days at the beginning
39 of the school year to meet with parents and families as required in
40 the parent involvement component of the inventory.
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 1 (c) In the case of students who are graduating from high school,
2 a school district may schedule the last five school days of the one
3 hundred eighty day school year for noninstructional purposes
4 including, but not limited to, the observance of graduation and early
5 release from school upon the request of a student. All such students
6 may be claimed as a full-time equivalent student to the extent they
7 could otherwise have been so claimed for the purposes of RCW
8 28A.150.250 and 28A.150.260. Any hours scheduled by a school district
9 for noninstructional purposes during the last five school days for
10 such students shall count toward the instructional hours requirement
11 in subsection (2)(a) of this section.
12 (6) Subject to RCW 28A.150.276, nothing in this section precludes
13 a school district from enriching the instructional program of basic
14 education, such as offering additional instruction or providing
15 additional services, programs, or activities that the school district
16 determines to be appropriate for the education of the school
17 district's students.
18 (7) The state board of education shall adopt rules to implement
19 and ensure compliance with the program requirements imposed by this
20 section, RCW 28A.150.250 and 28A.150.260, and such related
21 supplemental program approval requirements as the state board may
22 establish.
23 Sec. 5. RCW 28A.155.170 and 2019 c 252 s 106 are each amended to
24 read as follows:
25 (1) ((Beginning July 1, 2007, each)) Each school district that
26 operates a high school shall establish a policy and procedures that
27 permit any student who is receiving special education or related
28 services under an individualized education program pursuant to state
29 and federal law ((and who will continue to receive such services
30 between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one)) to participate in the
31 graduation ceremony and activities after four years of high school
32 attendance with his or her age-appropriate peers and receive a
33 certificate of attendance.
34 (2) Participation in a graduation ceremony and receipt of a
35 certificate of attendance under this section does not preclude a
36 student from continuing to receive special education and related
37 services under an individualized education program beyond the
38 graduation ceremony.
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1 (3) A student's participation in a graduation ceremony and
2 receipt of a certificate of attendance under this section shall not
3 be construed as the student's receipt of a high school diploma
4 pursuant to RCW 28A.230.120.
5 Sec. 6. RCW 28A.155.220 and 2022 c 167 s 7 are each amended to
6 read as follows:
7 (1) The office of the superintendent of public instruction must
8 establish interagency agreements with the department of social and
9 health services, the department of services for the blind, and any
10 other state agency that provides high school transition services for
11 special education students. Such interagency agreements shall not
12 interfere with existing individualized education programs, nor
13 override any individualized education program team's decision-making
14 power. The purpose of the interagency agreements is to foster
15 effective collaboration among the multiple agencies providing
16 transition services for individualized education program-eligible
17 special education students from the beginning of transition planning,
18 as soon as educationally and developmentally appropriate, through
19 ((age twenty-one)) the end of the school year in which the student
20 turns 22 years of age, or through high school graduation, whichever
21 occurs first. Interagency agreements are also intended to streamline
22 services and programs, promote efficiencies, and establish a uniform
23 focus on improved outcomes related to self-sufficiency.
24 (2)(a) When educationally and developmentally appropriate, the
25 interagency responsibilities and linkages with transition services
26 under subsection (1) of this section must be addressed in a
27 transition plan to a postsecondary setting in the individualized
28 education program of a student with disabilities.
29 (b) Transition planning shall be based upon educationally and
30 developmentally appropriate transition assessments that outline the
31 student's individual needs, strengths, preferences, and interests.
32 Transition assessments may include observations, interviews,
33 inventories, situational assessments, formal and informal
34 assessments, as well as academic assessments.
35 (c) The transition services that the transition plan must address
36 include activities needed to assist the student in reaching
37 postsecondary goals and courses of study to support postsecondary
38 goals.
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 1 (d) Transition activities that the transition plan may address
2 include instruction, related services, community experience,
3 employment and other adult living objectives, daily living skills,
4 and functional vocational evaluation.
5 (e) When educationally and developmentally appropriate, a
6 discussion must take place with the student and parents, and others
7 as needed, to determine the postsecondary goals or postschool vision
8 for the student. This discussion may be included as part of an annual
9 individualized education program review, high school and beyond plan
10 meeting, or any other meeting that includes parents, students, and
11 educators. The postsecondary goals included in the transition plan
12 shall be goals that are measurable and must be based on appropriate
13 transition assessments related to training, education, employment,
14 and independent living skills, when necessary. The goals must also be
15 based on the student's needs, while considering the strengths,
16 preferences, and interests of the student.
17 (f) As the student gets older, changes in the transition plan may
18 be noted in the annual update of the student's individualized
19 education program.
20 (g) A transition plan required under this subsection (2) must be
21 aligned with a student's high school and beyond plan.
22 (3) To the extent that data is available through data-sharing
23 agreements established by the education data center under RCW
24 43.41.400, the education data center must monitor the following
25 outcomes for individualized education program-eligible special
26 education students after high school graduation:
27 (a) The number of students who, within one year of high school
28 graduation:
29 (i) Enter integrated employment paid at the greater of minimum
30 wage or competitive wage for the type of employment, with access to
31 related employment and health benefits; or
32 (ii) Enter a postsecondary education or training program focused
33 on leading to integrated employment;
34 (b) The wages and number of hours worked per pay period;
35 (c) The impact of employment on any state and federal benefits
36 for individuals with disabilities;
37 (d) Indicators of the types of settings in which students who
38 previously received transition services primarily reside;
39 (e) Indicators of improved economic status and self-sufficiency;
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 1 (f) Data on those students for whom a postsecondary or integrated
2 employment outcome does not occur within one year of high school
3 graduation, including:
4 (i) Information on the reasons that the desired outcome has not
5 occurred;
6 (ii) The number of months the student has not achieved the
7 desired outcome; and
8 (iii) The efforts made to ensure the student achieves the desired
9 outcome.
10 (4) To the extent that the data elements in subsection (3) of
11 this section are available to the education data center through data-
12 sharing agreements, the office of the superintendent of public
13 instruction must prepare an annual report using existing res