Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

H-1121.2
                           SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1273
     State of Washington         68th Legislature       2023 Regular Session
     By House Education (originally sponsored by Representatives Berg,
     Reed, and Pollet; by request of Superintendent of Public Instruction)
     READ FIRST TIME 02/13/23.
     AN ACT Relating to high school and beyond planning; amending RCW
 28A.230.090, 28A.230.215, 28A.230.091, 28A.230.310, and 28A.230.320;
 adding new sections to chapter 28A.230 RCW; creating a new section;
 and repealing RCW 28A.655.270.
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
     NEW SECTION.   Sec. 1.  (1) The legislature finds that promoting
 career awareness, exploration, and preparation is important for all
 students as they progress through their educational experiences. This
 promotion is consistent with ongoing legislative efforts to create an
 education system focused on individualized student learning that is
 relevant and culturally responsive to Washington's diverse student
 population, and empowers students to make progress towards their own
 education and career goals.
     (2) The legislature finds also that the promotion of a consistent
 and equitable continuum of career development supports is fostered by
 a system that helps to guide each student's career and college
 exploration and preparation efforts. This system should include
 access to an online course and goal planning platform that allows
 each student to work with teachers, parents or guardians, school
 counselors, and other adults who support their academic progress and
 career   development.  This  platform   should  allow   students,  in
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 partnership with these supportive adults, to develop meaningful high
 school and beyond plans that promote the attainment of their career
 and college goals.
     (3) The legislature recognizes the need for a uniform, online
 high school and beyond plan platform that enables students and others
 to understand the steps needed to meet graduation requirements and to
 prepare for postsecondary education and training. A statewide high
 school and beyond plan platform can also ensure that qualified adults
 who support students can have access to applicable information as
 they guide students' high school experiences and assist in preparing
 students   for  postsecondary   education  or   training  and  career
 engagement.
     (4) The legislature, therefore, intends to revise and strengthen
 high school and beyond plan requirements and to direct the office of
 the superintendent of public instruction to facilitate the transition
 to and adoption of a statewide online platform for high school and
 beyond plans to guide students' secondary education experiences and
 ensure preparation for their postsecondary plans.
     Sec. 2. RCW 28A.230.090 and 2021 c 307 s 2 are each amended to
 read as follows:
     (1) The state board of education shall establish high school
 graduation requirements or equivalencies for students, except as
 provided in RCW 28A.230.122 and 28A.655.250 and except those
 equivalencies established by local high schools or school districts
 under RCW 28A.230.097. The purpose of a high school diploma is to
 declare that a student is ready for success in postsecondary
 education, gainful employment, and citizenship, and is equipped with
 the skills to be a lifelong learner.
     (a) Any course in Washington state history and government used to
 fulfill high school graduation requirements shall consider including
 information on the culture, history, and government of the American
 Indian peoples who were the first inhabitants of the state.
     (b) Except as provided otherwise in this subsection, the
 certificate   of   academic   achievement   requirements   under  RCW
 28A.655.061 or the certificate of individual achievement requirements
 under RCW 28A.155.045 are required for graduation from a public high
 school but are not the only requirements for graduation. The
 requirement to earn a certificate of academic achievement to qualify
 for graduation from a public high school concludes with the
                                     p. 2                         SHB 1273
 graduating class of 2019. The obligation of qualifying students to
 earn a certificate of individual achievement as a prerequisite for
 graduation from a public high school concludes with the graduating
 class of 2021.
     (c)(((i))) Each student must have a high school and beyond plan
 to guide the student's high school experience and inform course
 taking that is aligned with the student's goals for education or
 training and career after high school((.
     (ii)(A) A high school and beyond plan must be initiated for each
 student during the seventh or eighth grade. In preparation for
 initiating that plan, each student must first be administered a
 career interest and skills inventory.
     (B) For students with an individualized education program, the
 high school and beyond plan must be developed in alignment with their
 individualized education program. The high school and beyond plan
 must be developed in a similar manner and with similar school
 personnel as for all other students.
     (iii)(A) The high school and beyond plan must be updated to
 reflect high school assessment results in RCW 28A.655.070(3)(b) and
 to review transcripts, assess progress toward identified goals, and
 revised as necessary for changing interests, goals, and needs. The
 plan must identify available interventions and academic support,
 courses, or both, that are designed for students who are not on track
 to graduate, to enable them to fulfill high school graduation
 requirements. Each student's high school and beyond plan must be
 updated to inform junior year course taking.
     (B) For students with an individualized education program, the
 high school and beyond plan must be updated in alignment with their
 school to postschool transition plan. The high school and beyond plan
 must be updated in a similar manner and with similar school personnel
 as for all other students.
     (iv) School districts are encouraged to involve parents and
 guardians in the process of developing and updating the high school
 and beyond plan, and the plan must be provided to the students'
 parents or guardians in their native language if that language is one
 of the two most frequently spoken non-English languages of students
 in the district. Nothing in this subsection (1)(c)(iv) prevents
 districts from providing high school and beyond plans to parents and
 guardians in additional languages that are not required by this
 subsection.
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     (v) All high school and beyond plans must, at a minimum, include
 the following elements:
     (A) Identification of career goals, aided by a skills and
 interest assessment;
     (B) Identification of educational goals;
     (C) Identification of dual credit programs and the opportunities
 they create for students, including eligibility for automatic
 enrollment in advanced classes under RCW 28A.320.195, career and
 technical education programs, running start programs, AP courses,
 international baccalaureate programs, and college in the high school
 programs;
     (D) Information about the college bound scholarship program
 established in chapter 28B.118 RCW;
     (E) A four-year plan for course taking that:
     (I) Includes information about options for satisfying state and
 local graduation requirements;
     (II) Satisfies state and local graduation requirements;
     (III) Aligns with the student's secondary and postsecondary
 goals, which can include education, training, and career;
     (IV) Identifies course sequences to inform academic acceleration,
 as described in RCW 28A.320.195 that include dual credit courses or
 programs and are aligned with the student's goals; and
     (V) Includes information about the college bound scholarship
 program, the Washington college grant, and other scholarship
 opportunities;
     (F) Evidence that the student has received the following
 information on federal and state financial aid programs that help pay
 for the costs of a postsecondary program:
     (I) Information about the documentation necessary for completing
 the applications; application timeliness and submission deadlines;
 the importance of submitting applications early; information specific
 to students who are or have been in foster care; information specific
 to students who are, or are at risk of being, homeless; information
 specific to students whose family member or guardians will be
 required to provide financial and tax information necessary to
 complete applications; and
     (II) Opportunities to participate in sessions that assist
 students and, when necessary, their family members or guardians, fill
 out financial aid applications; and
                                     p. 4                         SHB 1273
     (G) By the end of the twelfth grade, a current resume or activity
 log that provides a written compilation of the student's education,
 any work experience, and any community service and how the school
 district has recognized the community service pursuant to RCW
 28A.320.193.))
     (((d) Any decision on whether a student has met the state board's
 high school graduation requirements for a high school and beyond plan
 shall remain at the local level. Effective with the graduating class
 of 2015, the state board of education may not establish a requirement
 for students to complete a culminating project for graduation. A
 district may establish additional, local requirements for a high
 school and beyond plan to serve the needs and interests of its
 students and the purposes of this section.
     (e))) that meets the requirements established in section 3 of
 this act.
     (d)(i) The state board of education shall adopt rules to
 implement the career and college ready graduation requirement
 proposal adopted under board resolution on November 10, 2010, and
 revised on January 9, 2014, to take effect beginning with the
 graduating class of 2019 or as otherwise provided in this subsection
 (1)(((e))) (d). The rules must include authorization for a school
 district to waive up to two credits for individual students based on
 a student's circumstances, provided that none of the waived credits
 are identified as mandatory core credits by the state board of
 education.   School  districts  must  adhere  to   written  policies
 authorizing the waivers that must be adopted by each board of
 directors of a school district that grants diplomas. The rules must
 also provide that the content of the third credit of mathematics and
 the content of the third credit of science may be chosen by the
 student based on the student's interests and high school and beyond
 plan with agreement of the student's parent or guardian or agreement
 of the school counselor or principal, or as provided in RCW
 28A.230.300(4).
     (ii) School districts may apply to the state board of education
 for a waiver to implement the career and college ready graduation
 requirement proposal beginning with the graduating class of 2020 or
 2021 instead of the graduating class of 2019. In the application, a
 school district must describe why the waiver is being requested, the
 specific impediments preventing timely implementation, and efforts
 that will be taken to achieve implementation with the graduating
                                     p. 5                         SHB 1273
 class proposed under the waiver. The state board of education shall
 grant a waiver under this subsection (1)(((e))) (d) to an applying
 school district at the next subsequent meeting of the board after
 receiving an application.
     (((iii) A school district must update the high school and beyond
 plans for each student who has not earned a score of level 3 or level
 4 on the middle school mathematics assessment identified in RCW
 28A.655.070 by ninth grade, to ensure that the student takes a
 mathematics course in both ninth and tenth grades. This course may
 include career and technical education equivalencies in mathematics
 adopted pursuant to RCW 28A.230.097.))
     (2)(a) In recognition of the statutory authority of the state
 board of education to establish and enforce minimum high school
 graduation   requirements,   the  state   board  shall   periodically
 reevaluate the graduation requirements and shall report such findings
 to the legislature in a timely manner as determined by the state
 board.
     (b) The state board shall reevaluate the graduation requirements
 for students enrolled in vocationally intensive and rigorous career
 and technical education programs, particularly those programs that
 lead to a certificate or credential that is state or nationally
 recognized. The purpose of the evaluation is to ensure that students
 enrolled in these programs have sufficient opportunity to ((earn a
 certificate of academic achievement,)) complete the program and earn
 the program's certificate or credential, and complete other state and
 local graduation requirements.
     (c) The state board shall forward any proposed changes to the
 high school graduation requirements to the education committees of
 the legislature for review. The legislature shall have the
 opportunity to act during a regular legislative session before the
 changes are adopted through administrative rule by the state board.
 Changes that have a fiscal impact on school districts, as identified
 by a fiscal analysis prepared by the office of the superintendent of
 public instruction, shall take effect only if formally authorized and
 funded by the legislature through the omnibus appropriations act or
 other enacted legislation.
     (d) The state board of education may not require students to
 complete a culminating project as a graduation prerequisite.
     (3) Pursuant to any requirement for instruction in languages
 other than English established by the state board of education or a
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 local school district, or both, for purposes of high school
 graduation, students who receive instruction in American sign
 language or one or more American Indian languages shall be considered
 to have satisfied the state or local school district graduation
 requirement for instruction in one or more languages other than
 English.
     (4) Unless requested otherwise by the student and the student's
 family, a student who has completed high school courses before
 attending high school shall be given high school credit which shall
 be applied to fulfilling high school graduation requirements if:
     (a) The course was taken with high school students, if the
 academic level of the course exceeds the requirements for seventh and
 eighth grade classes, and the student has successfully passed by
 completing the same course requirements and examinations as the high
 school students enrolled in the class; or
     (b) The academic level of the course exceeds the requirements for
 seventh and eighth grade classes and the course would qualify for
 high school credit, because the course is similar or equivalent to a
 course offered at a high school in the district as determined by the
 school district board of directors.
     (5) Students who have taken and successfully completed high
 school courses under the circumstances in subsection (4) of this
 section shall not be required to take an additional competency
 examination or perform any other additional assignment to receive
 credit.
     (6) At the college or university level, five quarter or three
 semester hours equals one high school credit.
     NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 28A.230
 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) This section establishes the school district, content, and
 other substantiative requirements for the high school and beyond plan
 required by RCW 28A.230.090.
     (2)(a)   Beginning  in   grade  seven,   each  student  must   be
 administered a career interest and skills inventory that is intended
 to inform grade eight course taking and the development of a high
 school and beyond plan. No later than grade eight, each student must
 have a high school and beyond plan that includes a proposed plan for
 first-year high school courses aligned with graduation requirements
 and secondary and postsecondary goals.
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     (b) For each student who has not earned a score of level 3 or 4
 on the middle school mathematics assessment identified in RCW
 28A.655.070 by grade nine, the high school and beyond plan must be
 updated to ensure that the student takes a mathematics course in
 grades nine and 10. These courses may include career and technical
 education equivalencies in mathematics adopted pursuant to RCW
 28A.230.097.
     (3) Students, with staff support, must update their high school
 and beyond plan annually, at a minimum, to review academic progress
 and inform f