CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
SENATE BILL 5299
Chapter 307, Laws of 2021
67th Legislature
2021 Regular Session
HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION—USE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE CREDITS
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 25, 2021
Passed by the Senate April 15, 2021 CERTIFICATE
Yeas 46 Nays 2
I, Brad Hendrickson, Secretary of
the Senate of the State of
DENNY HECK Washington, do hereby certify that
President of the Senate the attached is SENATE BILL 5299 as
passed by the Senate and the House
of Representatives on the dates
hereon set forth.
Passed by the House April 5, 2021
Yeas 75 Nays 23
BRAD HENDRICKSON
LAURIE JINKINS Secretary
Speaker of the House of
Representatives
Approved May 13, 2021 11:54 AM FILED
May 13, 2021
Secretary of State
JAY INSLEE State of Washington
Governor of the State of Washington
 SENATE BILL 5299
AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
Passed Legislature - 2021 Regular Session
State of Washington 67th Legislature 2021 Regular Session
By Senators Wellman, Kuderer, Hunt, Mullet, Nguyen, and Wilson, C.
Read first time 01/20/21. Referred to Committee on Early Learning &
K-12 Education.
1 AN ACT Relating to the use of computer science credits for the
2 purpose of graduation requirements; and amending RCW 28A.230.300 and
3 28A.230.090.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
5 Sec. 1. RCW 28A.230.300 and 2019 c 180 s 2 are each amended to
6 read as follows:
7 (1) Beginning no later than the 2022-23 school year, each school
8 district that operates a high school must, at a minimum, provide an
9 opportunity to access an elective computer science course that is
10 available to all high school students. School districts are
11 encouraged to consider community-based or public-private partnerships
12 in establishing and administering a course, but any course offered in
13 accordance with this section must be aligned to the state learning
14 standards for computer science or mathematics.
15 (2) In accordance with the requirements of this section,
16 beginning in the 2019-20 school year, school districts may award
17 academic credit for computer science to students based on student
18 completion of a competency examination that is aligned with the state
19 learning standards for computer science or mathematics and course
20 equivalency requirements adopted by the office of the superintendent
21 of public instruction to implement this section. Each school district
p. 1 SB 5299.SL
 1 board of directors in districts that award credit under this
2 subsection shall develop a written policy for awarding such credit
3 that includes:
4 (a) A course equivalency approval procedure;
5 (b) Procedures for awarding competency-based credit for skills
6 learned partially or wholly outside of a course; and
7 (c) An approval process for computer science courses taken before
8 attending high school under RCW 28A.230.090 (4) and (5).
9 (3) Prior to the use of any competency examination under this
10 section that may be used to award academic credit to students, the
11 office of the superintendent of public instruction must review the
12 examination to ensure its alignment with:
13 (a) The state learning standards for computer science or
14 mathematics; and
15 (b) Course equivalency requirements adopted by the office of the
16 superintendent of public instruction to implement this section.
17 (4)(a) For purposes of meeting graduation requirements under RCW
18 28A.230.090, a student may substitute a computer science course
19 aligned to state computer science learning standards as an
20 alternative to a third year mathematics or third year science course
21 if:
22 (i) Prior to the substitution, the school counselor provides the
23 student and the student's parent or guardian with written
24 notification of the consequences of the substitution on postsecondary
25 opportunities;
26 (ii) The student, the student's parent or guardian, and the
27 student's school counselor or principal agree to the substitution;
28 and
29 (iii) The substitution is aligned with the student's high school
30 and beyond plan.
31 (b) A substitution permitted under this subsection (4) may only
32 be used once per student.
33 Sec. 2. RCW 28A.230.090 and 2020 c 307 s 6 are each amended to
34 read as follows:
35 (1) The state board of education shall establish high school
36 graduation requirements or equivalencies for students, except as
37 provided in RCW 28A.230.122 and 28A.655.250 and except those
38 equivalencies established by local high schools or school districts
39 under RCW 28A.230.097. The purpose of a high school diploma is to
p. 2 SB 5299.SL
 1 declare that a student is ready for success in postsecondary
2 education, gainful employment, and citizenship, and is equipped with
3 the skills to be a lifelong learner.
4 (a) Any course in Washington state history and government used to
5 fulfill high school graduation requirements shall consider including
6 information on the culture, history, and government of the American
7 Indian peoples who were the first inhabitants of the state.
8 (b) Except as provided otherwise in this subsection, the
9 certificate of academic achievement requirements under RCW
10 28A.655.061 or the certificate of individual achievement requirements
11 under RCW 28A.155.045 are required for graduation from a public high
12 school but are not the only requirements for graduation. The
13 requirement to earn a certificate of academic achievement to qualify
14 for graduation from a public high school concludes with the
15 graduating class of 2019. The obligation of qualifying students to
16 earn a certificate of individual achievement as a prerequisite for
17 graduation from a public high school concludes with the graduating
18 class of 2021.
19 (c)(i) Each student must have a high school and beyond plan to
20 guide the student's high school experience and inform course taking
21 that is aligned with the student's goals for education or training
22 and career after high school.
23 (ii)(A) A high school and beyond plan must be initiated for each
24 student during the seventh or eighth grade. In preparation for
25 initiating that plan, each student must first be administered a
26 career interest and skills inventory.
27 (B) For students with an individualized education program, the
28 high school and beyond plan must be developed in alignment with their
29 individualized education program. The high school and beyond plan
30 must be developed in a similar manner and with similar school
31 personnel as for all other students.
32 (iii)(A) The high school and beyond plan must be updated to
33 reflect high school assessment results in RCW 28A.655.070(3)(b) and
34 to review transcripts, assess progress toward identified goals, and
35 revised as necessary for changing interests, goals, and needs. The
36 plan must identify available interventions and academic support,
37 courses, or both, that are designed for students who are not on track
38 to graduate, to enable them to fulfill high school graduation
39 requirements. Each student's high school and beyond plan must be
40 updated to inform junior year course taking.
p. 3 SB 5299.SL
 1 (B) For students with an individualized education program, the
2 high school and beyond plan must be updated in alignment with their
3 school to postschool transition plan. The high school and beyond plan
4 must be updated in a similar manner and with similar school personnel
5 as for all other students.
6 (iv) School districts are encouraged to involve parents and
7 guardians in the process of developing and updating the high school
8 and beyond plan, and the plan must be provided to the students'
9 parents or guardians in their native language if that language is one
10 of the two most frequently spoken non-English languages of students
11 in the district. Nothing in this subsection (1)(c)(iv) prevents
12 districts from providing high school and beyond plans to parents and
13 guardians in additional languages that are not required by this
14 subsection.
15 (v) All high school and beyond plans must, at a minimum, include
16 the following elements:
17 (A) Identification of career goals, aided by a skills and
18 interest assessment;
19 (B) Identification of educational goals;
20 (C) Identification of dual credit programs and the opportunities
21 they create for students, including eligibility for automatic
22 enrollment in advanced classes under RCW 28A.320.195, career and
23 technical education programs, running start programs, AP courses,
24 international baccalaureate programs, and college in the high school
25 programs;
26 (D) Information about the college bound scholarship program
27 established in chapter 28B.118 RCW;
28 (E) A four-year plan for course taking that:
29 (I) Includes information about options for satisfying state and
30 local graduation requirements;
31 (II) Satisfies state and local graduation requirements;
32 (III) Aligns with the student's secondary and postsecondary
33 goals, which can include education, training, and career;
34 (IV) Identifies course sequences to inform academic acceleration,
35 as described in RCW 28A.320.195 that include dual credit courses or
36 programs and are aligned with the student's goals; and
37 (V) Includes information about the college bound scholarship
38 program, the Washington college grant, and other scholarship
39 opportunities;
p. 4 SB 5299.SL
 1 (F) Evidence that the student has received the following
2 information on federal and state financial aid programs that help pay
3 for the costs of a postsecondary program:
4 (I) Information about the documentation necessary for completing
5 the applications; application timeliness and submission deadlines;
6 the importance of submitting applications early; information specific
7 to students who are or have been in foster care; information specific
8 to students who are, or are at risk of being, homeless; information
9 specific to students whose family member or guardians will be
10 required to provide financial and tax information necessary to
11 complete applications; and
12 (II) Opportunities to participate in sessions that assist
13 students and, when necessary, their family members or guardians, fill
14 out financial aid applications; and
15 (G) By the end of the twelfth grade, a current resume or activity
16 log that provides a written compilation of the student's education,
17 any work experience, and any community service and how the school
18 district has recognized the community service pursuant to RCW
19 28A.320.193.
20 (d) Any decision on whether a student has met the state board's
21 high school graduation requirements for a high school and beyond plan
22 shall remain at the local level. Effective with the graduating class
23 of 2015, the state board of education may not establish a requirement
24 for students to complete a culminating project for graduation. A
25 district may establish additional, local requirements for a high
26 school and beyond plan to serve the needs and interests of its
27 students and the purposes of this section.
28 (e)(i) The state board of education shall adopt rules to
29 implement the career and college ready graduation requirement
30 proposal adopted under board resolution on November 10, 2010, and
31 revised on January 9, 2014, to take effect beginning with the
32 graduating class of 2019 or as otherwise provided in this subsection
33 (1)(e). The rules must include authorization for a school district to
34 waive up to two credits for individual students based on a student's
35 circumstances, provided that none of the waived credits are
36 identified as mandatory core credits by the state board of education.
37 School districts must adhere to written policies authorizing the
38 waivers that must be adopted by each board of directors of a school
39 district that grants diplomas. The rules must also provide that the
40 content of the third credit of mathematics and the content of the
p. 5 SB 5299.SL
 1 third credit of science may be chosen by the student based on the
2 student's interests and high school and beyond plan with agreement of
3 the student's parent or guardian or agreement of the school counselor
4 or principal, or as provided in RCW 28A.230.300(4).
5 (ii) School districts may apply to the state board of education
6 for a waiver to implement the career and college ready graduation
7 requirement proposal beginning with the graduating class of 2020 or
8 2021 instead of the graduating class of 2019. In the application, a
9 school district must describe why the waiver is being requested, the
10 specific impediments preventing timely implementation, and efforts
11 that will be taken to achieve implementation with the graduating
12 class proposed under the waiver. The state board of education shall
13 grant a waiver under this subsection (1)(e) to an applying school
14 district at the next subsequent meeting of the board after receiving
15 an application.
16 (iii) A school district must update the high school and beyond
17 plans for each student who has not earned a score of level 3 or level
18 4 on the middle school mathematics assessment identified in RCW
19 28A.655.070 by ninth grade, to ensure that the student takes a
20 mathematics course in both ninth and tenth grades. This course may
21 include career and technical education equivalencies in mathematics
22 adopted pursuant to RCW 28A.230.097.
23 (2)(a) In recognition of the statutory authority of the state
24 board of education to establish and enforce minimum high school
25 graduation requirements, the state board shall periodically
26 reevaluate the graduation requirements and shall report such findings
27 to the legislature in a timely manner as determined by the state
28 board.
29 (b) The state board shall reevaluate the graduation requirements
30 for students enrolled in vocationally intensive and rigorous career
31 and technical education programs, particularly those programs that
32 lead to a certificate or credential that is state or nationally
33 recognized. The purpose of the evaluation is to ensure that students
34 enrolled in these programs have sufficient opportunity to earn a
35 certificate of academic achievement, complete the program and earn
36 the program's certificate or credential, and complete other state and
37 local graduation requirements.
38 (c) The state board shall forward any proposed changes to the
39 high school graduation requirements to the education committees of
40 the legislature for review. The legislature shall have the
p. 6 SB 5299.SL
 1 opportunity to act during a regular legislative session before the
2 changes are adopted through administrative rule by the state board.
3 Changes that have a fiscal impact on school districts, as identified
4 by a fiscal analysis prepared by the office of the superintendent of
5 public instruction, shall take effect only if formally authorized and
6 funded by the legislature through the omnibus appropriations act or
7 other enacted legislation.
8 (3) Pursuant to any requirement for instruction in languages
9 other than English established by the state board of education or a
10 local school district, or both, for purposes of high school
11 graduation, students who receive instruction in American sign
12 language or one or more American Indian languages shall be considered
13 to have satisfied the state or local school district graduation
14 requirement for instruction in one or more languages other than
15 English.
16 (4) Unless requested otherwise by the student and the student's
17 family, a student who has completed high school courses before
18 attending high school shall be given high school credit which shall
19 be applied to fulfilling high school graduation requirements if:
20 (a) The course was taken with high school students, if the
21 academic level of the course exceeds the requirements for seventh and
22 eighth grade classes, and the student has successfully passed by
23 completing the same course requirements and examinations as the high
24 school students enrolled in the class; or
25 (b) The academic level of the course exceeds the requirements for
26 seventh and eighth grade classes and the course would qualify for
27 high school credit, because the course is similar or equivalent to a
28 course offered at a high school in the district as dete