CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1658
Chapter 154, Laws of 2023
68th Legislature
2023 Regular Session
HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT FOR PAID WORK EXPERIENCE
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 23, 2023
Passed by the House March 2, 2023 CERTIFICATE
Yeas 93 Nays 4
I, Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk of the
House of Representatives of the
LAURIE JINKINS State of Washington, do hereby
Speaker of the House of certify that the attached is
Representatives SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1658 as
passed by the House of
Representatives and the Senate on
the dates hereon set forth.
Passed by the Senate April 7, 2023
Yeas 44 Nays 5
BERNARD DEAN
DENNY HECK Chief Clerk
President of the Senate
Approved April 20, 2023 2:53 PM FILED
April 21, 2023
Secretary of State
JAY INSLEE State of Washington
Governor of the State of Washington
 SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1658
Passed Legislature - 2023 Regular Session
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2023 Regular Session
By House Education (originally sponsored by Representatives Shavers,
Santos, Morgan, Ramel, Taylor, and Ormsby)
READ FIRST TIME 02/16/23.
1 AN ACT Relating to authorizing public high school students to
2 earn elective credit for paid work experience; adding a new section
3 to chapter 28A.600 RCW; and creating a new section.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
5 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The purpose of a high school diploma as
6 established in RCW 28A.230.090 is to declare that a student is ready
7 for success in postsecondary education, gainful employment, and
8 citizenship, and is equipped with the skills to be a lifelong
9 learner.
10 As directed by the legislature, the mastery-based learning work
11 group developed a profile of a graduate, which was accepted without
12 modification by the state board of education and subsequently
13 submitted to the legislature. The profile is designed to clarify the
14 skills, knowledge, attributes, and competencies indicating that a
15 student is ready to transition successfully to life after high
16 school. These indicators include: Effective communication in multiple
17 modes and to multiple audiences; interdisciplinary application of
18 core academic concepts and principles; critical and creative
19 reasoning and problem solving; and navigation and exercise of life
20 and civic responsibilities.
p. 1 SHB 1658.SL
 1 The legislature finds that paid work experiences can provide
2 students with an opportunity to demonstrate the ability to cultivate
3 personal growth and knowledge by setting personally meaningful goals
4 and applying learning in new contexts as well as to master essential
5 life skills and exercise self-agency by developing competence in
6 personal finance and in taking initiative. The legislature recognizes
7 that worksite learning and mastery-based learning options provide
8 opportunities for students to earn academic credit through work, and
9 intends to authorize the elective high school credit through paid
10 work experience provided in section 2 of this act as a third option
11 for earning academic credit through work.
12 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.600
13 RCW to read as follows:
14 (1) Beginning in the 2023-24 school year and in accordance with
15 the requirements of this section, public high school students age 16
16 years and older may earn elective high school credit through paid
17 work experience.
18 (2) Proposals for earning elective high school credit through
19 paid work experience must:
20 (a) Be approved in advance and in writing by: The applicable
21 school counselor, principal, or designee of the principal; and a
22 work-based sponsor who will serve as the point of contact for the
23 employer and participate in supervising the student during the
24 student's employment;
25 (b) Be reflected in the student's high school and beyond plan
26 required by RCW 28A.230.090;
27 (c) Include a student narrative describing how the paid work
28 experience will enable the student to develop the knowledge and
29 skills necessary to meet the goals of basic education, including and
30 in particular those essential to understanding the importance of work
31 and finance and how performance, effort, and decisions directly
32 affect future career and educational opportunities as provided in RCW
33 28A.150.210(4); and
34 (d) Include provisions for demonstrating or otherwise assessing
35 the student's:
36 (i) Grade-level proficiencies on the state financial education
37 learning standards for employment and income or financial decisions
38 as provided in the state financial education learning standards
39 adopted in RCW 28A.300.469; and
p. 2 SHB 1658.SL
 1 (ii) Growth in proficiency in meeting the state financial
2 education learning standards that occurred between prework and
3 postwork experiences.
4 (3) One-half elective high school credit will be awarded for each
5 180 hours of paid and verified work experience to students who, as
6 determined by the appropriate school official, meet the requirements
7 of this section. High school credit may not be awarded for paid work
8 experiences occurring before the approval required by subsection (2)
9 of this section. No student may earn more than two elective high
10 school credits under this section.
11 (4) Proposals for earning elective high school credit through
12 paid work experience may only be approved at high schools that
13 provide students with the opportunity to learn and master the state
14 financial education learning standards adopted in RCW 28A.300.469.
15 (5) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall
16 adopt and may periodically revise rules to implement this section.
17 The rules must permit school districts to award credit to students in
18 accordance with the requirements of this section for work occurring
19 outside of the regular school calendar. No school may approve a
20 student's proposal for earning elective high school credit through
21 paid work experience under this section before rules required by this
22 subsection have been adopted.
Passed by the House March 2, 2023.
Passed by the Senate April 7, 2023.
Approved by the Governor April 20, 2023.
Filed in Office of Secretary of State April 21, 2023.
--- END ---
p. 3 SHB 1658.SL