Brief Summary of Bill

Removes the eligibility requirement that schools must adopt an academic acceleration policy to receive grants from the Academic Acceleration Incentive Program (AAIP).
Adds criteria to AAIP grants that requires that the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) give priority to high schools identified as having high disproportionality in their dual credit enrollment data, and that districts must use grant awards in ways that increase equitable access to dual credit.
Allows AAIP competitive grants to be renewed for one additional year.
Modifies the intent of the Legislature towards academic acceleration programs.
Changes mathematics standards for academic acceleration programs.
Specifies the definition of students receiving dual credits for the purposes of AAIP incentive grants.

Background: Academic Acceleration Policies. School districts in Washington are encouraged to adopt an academic acceleration policy for high school students. Under academic acceleration policies:

districts automatically enroll students who meet state standards on statewide assessments in the next most rigorous level of advanced courses offered by the student's high school
students who successfully complete an advanced course are then enrolled in next most rigorous course, with the eventual goal of being enrolled in a course that offers the opportunity to earn dual credit from both the high school and a college.
The subject matter of the advanced course depends on the subject in which the student attained the state standard:
1. Students who meet the state standard on both end-of-course assessments in mathematics are considered to have met the state standard for high school mathematics. These end-of-course assessments will no longer be used for evaluating mathematics standards after the 2017-2018 school year under RCW 28A.655.061(b).
2. Students who meet state standards in both reading and writing are eligible for enrollment in advanced courses in English, social studies, humanities, and other related subjects.

AAIP. In 2013, the Legislature created the AAIP. The AAIP requires OSPI to create and manage two equally funded grant programs. These programs:

Award grants on a competitive basis to schools to be used to support teacher training, curriculum, technology, and other costs associated with offering dual credit courses to high school students, including proving transportation for running start students. In awarding these grants, OSPI must give priority to schools with a high proportion of low-income students and high schools seeking to develop new capacity for dual credit courses.
Award incentive grants to school districts for each student who earned dual high school and college credit, with the amount for low-income students at 125 percent of the base award for other students. Districts must distribute the award to the high schools that generated the funds.

In the 2016-17 school year, competitive grants up to $10,000 were awarded to 23 high schools in 13 districts, with an average award of $8,406.

Incentive grants were awarded in September 2017 to 486 high schools in 225 districts, with an average award of $977.37 to each high school.

State appropriation for this program for fiscal year 2017 was $1,061,000.

Summary of Bill: Academic Acceleration Policy. School districts are no longer required to adopt an academic acceleration policy in order to be eligible for a grant to expand the availability of dual-credit courses. School districts that receive these grants may renew them for one additional year.

For the purposes of academic acceleration, students are considered to have met the eligibility requirements in mathematics by meeting state standards on the tenth grade mathematics assessment.

Academic Acceleration Incentive Program. The Legislature’s intent for the purpose of AAIP funds is modified to include increasing equitable access to dual-credit opportunities.

In making grand awards to high schools, OSPI must also give priority to schools identified as having high disproportionality in their dual-credit enrollment data.

Districts that receive incentive grants from the AAIP must distribute the awards to high schools to be used in ways that increase equitable access to dual credit.

The definition of students that are considered to have earned dual high school and college credit is modified to include those that have earned credit through a career and technical education dual-credit course.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony: PRO: An academic policy requirement is not enough; schools need to increase development. Renewability of grants will help programs cultivate stability. Reducing the requirement of having an academic acceleration policy will lead to increased access to dual credit opportunities.

CON: Incentives for academic acceleration policies should not be removed as it discourages implementation of policies that can lead to increased access for underprivileged youth.

OTHER: Using the 10th grade assessment as a measure of advanced courses for math, science, and computer science may not be an appropriate measure for purposes of advanced courses.