CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5243
Chapter 271, Laws of 2023
68th Legislature
2023 Regular Session
HIGH SCHOOL AND BEYOND PLANNING—VARIOUS PROVISIONS
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 23, 2023
Passed by the Senate April 14, 2023 CERTIFICATE
Yeas 45 Nays 0
I, Sarah Bannister, Secretary of
the Senate of the State of
DENNY HECK Washington, do hereby certify that
President of the Senate the attached is ENGROSSED SECOND
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5243 as
passed by the Senate and the House
of Representatives on the dates
Passed by the House April 7, 2023 hereon set forth.
Yeas 97 Nays 0
SARAH BANNISTER
LAURIE JINKINS
Secretary
Speaker of the House of
Representatives
Approved May 4, 2023 10:49 AM FILED
May 4, 2023
Secretary of State
JAY INSLEE State of Washington
Governor of the State of Washington
 ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5243
AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
Passed Legislature - 2023 Regular Session
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2023 Regular Session
By Senate Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Wellman,
Hunt, Kuderer, Nobles, and C. Wilson; by request of Superintendent of
Public Instruction)
READ FIRST TIME 02/22/23.
1 AN ACT Relating to high school and beyond planning; amending RCW
2 28A.230.090, 28A.230.215, 28A.230.091, 28A.230.310, 28A.230.320,
3 28A.300.900, and 28A.655.250; adding a new section to chapter 28A.230
4 RCW; creating new sections; repealing RCW 28A.655.270; and providing
5 an expiration date.
6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
7 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature recognizes that the
8 high school and beyond plan is both a graduation requirement and a
9 critical component in our education system. However, the practices
10 and technologies that school districts employ for facilitating high
11 school and beyond plans vary significantly. These variances can
12 create inequities for students and families, and do not reflect the
13 legislature's vision for the role of the high school and beyond plan
14 in promoting student success in secondary and postsecondary
15 endeavors.
16 (2) A universal online high school and beyond plan platform that
17 can be readily accessed by students, parents, teachers, and others
18 who support academic progress will alleviate equity issues and create
19 new opportunities for students to develop and curate plans that align
20 with their needs and interests. With the assistance of a flexible,
21 portable, and expandable platform, all students with high school and
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 1 beyond plans will be able to easily personalize and revise their
2 plans, explore education options of relevance and interest, and
3 receive supports that will help them make informed choices about
4 their education and career objectives.
5 (3) The legislature, therefore, intends to revise and strengthen
6 high school and beyond plan requirements and to direct the office of
7 the superintendent of public instruction to facilitate the transition
8 to a universal online high school and beyond plan platform to guide
9 students' secondary education experiences and ensure preparation for
10 their postsecondary goals.
11 Sec. 2. RCW 28A.230.090 and 2021 c 307 s 2 are each amended to
12 read as follows:
13 (1) The state board of education shall establish high school
14 graduation requirements or equivalencies for students, except as
15 provided in RCW 28A.230.122 and 28A.655.250 and except those
16 equivalencies established by local high schools or school districts
17 under RCW 28A.230.097. The purpose of a high school diploma is to
18 declare that a student is ready for success in postsecondary
19 education, gainful employment, and citizenship, and is equipped with
20 the skills to be a lifelong learner.
21 (a) Any course in Washington state history and government used to
22 fulfill high school graduation requirements shall consider including
23 information on the culture, history, and government of the American
24 Indian peoples who were the first inhabitants of the state.
25 (b) Except as provided otherwise in this subsection, the
26 certificate of academic achievement requirements under RCW
27 28A.655.061 or the certificate of individual achievement requirements
28 under RCW 28A.155.045 are required for graduation from a public high
29 school but are not the only requirements for graduation. The
30 requirement to earn a certificate of academic achievement to qualify
31 for graduation from a public high school concludes with the
32 graduating class of 2019. The obligation of qualifying students to
33 earn a certificate of individual achievement as a prerequisite for
34 graduation from a public high school concludes with the graduating
35 class of 2021.
36 (c)(((i))) Each student must have a high school and beyond plan
37 to guide the student's high school experience and inform course
38 taking that is aligned with the student's goals for education or
39 training and career after high school((.
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 1 (ii)(A) A high school and beyond plan must be initiated for each
2 student during the seventh or eighth grade. In preparation for
3 initiating that plan, each student must first be administered a
4 career interest and skills inventory.
5 (B) For students with an individualized education program, the
6 high school and beyond plan must be developed in alignment with their
7 individualized education program. The high school and beyond plan
8 must be developed in a similar manner and with similar school
9 personnel as for all other students.
10 (iii)(A) The high school and beyond plan must be updated to
11 reflect high school assessment results in RCW 28A.655.070(3)(b) and
12 to review transcripts, assess progress toward identified goals, and
13 revised as necessary for changing interests, goals, and needs. The
14 plan must identify available interventions and academic support,
15 courses, or both, that are designed for students who are not on track
16 to graduate, to enable them to fulfill high school graduation
17 requirements. Each student's high school and beyond plan must be
18 updated to inform junior year course taking.
19 (B) For students with an individualized education program, the
20 high school and beyond plan must be updated in alignment with their
21 school to postschool transition plan. The high school and beyond plan
22 must be updated in a similar manner and with similar school personnel
23 as for all other students.
24 (iv) School districts are encouraged to involve parents and
25 guardians in the process of developing and updating the high school
26 and beyond plan, and the plan must be provided to the students'
27 parents or guardians in their native language if that language is one
28 of the two most frequently spoken non-English languages of students
29 in the district. Nothing in this subsection (1)(c)(iv) prevents
30 districts from providing high school and beyond plans to parents and
31 guardians in additional languages that are not required by this
32 subsection.
33 (v) All high school and beyond plans must, at a minimum, include
34 the following elements:
35 (A) Identification of career goals, aided by a skills and
36 interest assessment;
37 (B) Identification of educational goals;
38 (C) Identification of dual credit programs and the opportunities
39 they create for students, including eligibility for automatic
40 enrollment in advanced classes under RCW 28A.320.195, career and
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 1 technical education programs, running start programs, AP courses,
2 international baccalaureate programs, and college in the high school
3 programs;
4 (D) Information about the college bound scholarship program
5 established in chapter 28B.118 RCW;
6 (E) A four-year plan for course taking that:
7 (I) Includes information about options for satisfying state and
8 local graduation requirements;
9 (II) Satisfies state and local graduation requirements;
10 (III) Aligns with the student's secondary and postsecondary
11 goals, which can include education, training, and career;
12 (IV) Identifies course sequences to inform academic acceleration,
13 as described in RCW 28A.320.195 that include dual credit courses or
14 programs and are aligned with the student's goals; and
15 (V) Includes information about the college bound scholarship
16 program, the Washington college grant, and other scholarship
17 opportunities;
18 (F) Evidence that the student has received the following
19 information on federal and state financial aid programs that help pay
20 for the costs of a postsecondary program:
21 (I) Information about the documentation necessary for completing
22 the applications; application timeliness and submission deadlines;
23 the importance of submitting applications early; information specific
24 to students who are or have been in foster care; information specific
25 to students who are, or are at risk of being, homeless; information
26 specific to students whose family member or guardians will be
27 required to provide financial and tax information necessary to
28 complete applications; and
29 (II) Opportunities to participate in sessions that assist
30 students and, when necessary, their family members or guardians, fill
31 out financial aid applications; and
32 (G) By the end of the twelfth grade, a current resume or activity
33 log that provides a written compilation of the student's education,
34 any work experience, and any community service and how the school
35 district has recognized the community service pursuant to RCW
36 28A.320.193.
37 (d))) as provided for under section 3 of this act and RCW
38 28A.230.215. Any decision on whether a student has met the state
39 board's high school graduation requirements for a high school and
40 beyond plan shall remain at the local level. Effective with the
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 1 graduating class of 2015, the state board of education may not
2 establish a requirement for students to complete a culminating
3 project for graduation. A district may establish additional, local
4 requirements for a high school and beyond plan to serve the needs and
5 interests of its students and the purposes of this section.
6 (((e))) (d)(i) The state board of education shall adopt rules to
7 implement the career and college ready graduation requirement
8 proposal adopted under board resolution on November 10, 2010, and
9 revised on January 9, 2014, to take effect beginning with the
10 graduating class of 2019 or as otherwise provided in this subsection
11 (1)(((e))) (d). The rules must include authorization for a school
12 district to waive up to two credits for individual students based on
13 a student's circumstances, provided that none of the waived credits
14 are identified as mandatory core credits by the state board of
15 education. School districts must adhere to written policies
16 authorizing the waivers that must be adopted by each board of
17 directors of a school district that grants diplomas. The rules must
18 also provide that the content of the third credit of mathematics and
19 the content of the third credit of science may be chosen by the
20 student based on the student's interests and high school and beyond
21 plan with agreement of the student's parent or guardian or agreement
22 of the school counselor or principal, or as provided in RCW
23 28A.230.300(4).
24 (ii) School districts may apply to the state board of education
25 for a waiver to implement the career and college ready graduation
26 requirement proposal beginning with the graduating class of 2020 or
27 2021 instead of the graduating class of 2019. In the application, a
28 school district must describe why the waiver is being requested, the
29 specific impediments preventing timely implementation, and efforts
30 that will be taken to achieve implementation with the graduating
31 class proposed under the waiver. The state board of education shall
32 grant a waiver under this subsection (1)(((e))) (d) to an applying
33 school district at the next subsequent meeting of the board after
34 receiving an application.
35 (((iii) A school district must update the high school and beyond
36 plans for each student who has not earned a score of level 3 or level
37 4 on the middle school mathematics assessment identified in RCW
38 28A.655.070 by ninth grade, to ensure that the student takes a
39 mathematics course in both ninth and tenth grades. This course may
p. 5 E2SSB 5243.SL
 1 include career and technical education equivalencies in mathematics
2 adopted pursuant to RCW 28A.230.097.))
3 (2)(a) In recognition of the statutory authority of the state
4 board of education to establish and enforce minimum high school
5 graduation requirements, the state board shall periodically
6 reevaluate the graduation requirements and shall report such findings
7 to the legislature in a timely manner as determined by the state
8 board.
9 (b) The state board shall reevaluate the graduation requirements
10 for students enrolled in vocationally intensive and rigorous career
11 and technical education programs, particularly those programs that
12 lead to a certificate or credential that is state or nationally
13 recognized. The purpose of the evaluation is to ensure that students
14 enrolled in these programs have sufficient opportunity to ((earn a
15 certificate of academic achievement,)) complete the program and earn
16 the program's certificate or credential, and complete other state and
17 local graduation requirements.
18 (c) The state board shall forward any proposed changes to the
19 high school graduation requirements to the education committees of
20 the legislature for review. The legislature shall have the
21 opportunity to act during a regular legislative session before the
22 changes are adopted through administrative rule by the state board.
23 Changes that have a fiscal impact on school districts, as identified
24 by a fiscal analysis prepared by the office of the superintendent of
25 public instruction, shall take effect only if formally authorized and
26 funded by the legislature through the omnibus appropriations act or
27 other enacted legislation.
28 (3) Pursuant to any requirement for instruction in languages
29 other than English established by the state board of education or a
30 local school district, or both, for purposes of high school
31 graduation, students who receive instruction in American sign
32 language or one or more American Indian languages shall be considered
33 to have satisfied the state or local school district graduation
34 requirement for instruction in one or more languages other than
35 English.
36 (4) Unless requested otherwise by the student and the student's
37 family, a student who has completed high school courses before
38 attending high school shall be given high school credit which shall
39 be applied to fulfilling high school graduation requirements if:
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 1 (a) The course was taken with high school students, if the
2 academic level of the course exceeds the requirements for seventh and
3 eighth grade classes, and the student has successfully passed by
4 completing the same course requirements and examinations as the high
5 school students enrolled in the class; or
6 (b) The academic level of the course exceeds the requirements for
7 seventh and eighth grade classes and the course would qualify for
8 high school credit, because the course is similar or equivalent to a
9 course offered at a high school in the district as determined by the
10 school district board of directors.
11 (5) Students who have taken and successfully completed high
12 school courses under the circumstances in subsection (4) of this
13 section shall not be required to take an additional competency
14 examination or perform any other additional assignment to receive
15 credit.
16 (6) At the college or university level, five quarter or three
17 semester hours equals one high school credit.
18 NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 28A.230
19 RCW to read as follows:
20 (1) This section establishes the school district, content, and
21 other substantive requirements for the high school and beyond plan
22 required by RCW 28A.230.090.
23 (2)(a) Beginning by the seventh grade, each student must be
24 administered a career interest and skills inventory which is intended
25 to be used to inform eighth grade course takin