Background:

The Running Start Program (RS Program) allows students in grades 11 and 12 to enroll in college courses at community colleges and other participating institutions of higher education, and to simultaneously earn both high school and college credit. Students choosing to participate in the RS Program are responsible for applying for admission to the institution of higher education. Students in the RS Program do not pay for tuition, but do pay for educational materials, course fees, and transportation costs. Institutions of higher education must make fee waivers available for low-income students in the RS Program.

The pupil's school district is required to transmit to the institution of higher education an amount per each full-time equivalent college student at statewide uniform rates for vocational and nonvocational students.

The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) calculates and allocate moneys appropriated to school districts for RS Program enrollments based upon the estimated statewide annual average per full-time equivalent high school student basic education allocations, excluding small high school enhancements. School districts may retain 7 percent of this amount to offset RS Program costs, but must transmit the remainder to the institution of higher education based on a statewide uniform full-time equivalent (FTE) college student rate.

The OSPI, the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC), and the Washington Student Achievement Council are jointly responsible for developing and adopting rules governing the RS Program.

Summary:

Subject to state funding, the OSPI, in consultation with the SBCTC, must establish the RS Summer School Pilot Program (Pilot Program). The purpose of the Pilot Program is to evaluate interest in and barriers to expanding the RS Program to include the summer term.

The OSPI, in consultation with the SBCTC, must select up to three community colleges that choose to participate in the Pilot Program during the 2021 and 2022 summer academic terms. One community college must be located east of the crest of the Cascade Mountains and another must be located in a county with a population between 115,000 and 150,000. Participating community colleges must establish agreements with the school districts of eligible students about data sharing, credit transfer, funds transfer, and other administrative matters.

Under the Pilot Program, the following people may enroll in a participating community college tuition-free: students attending a participating high school who will be eligible to enroll in grade 11 or 12 in the subsequent school year and people who graduated from a participating high school in the current school year and who have five or fewer college credits to earn before meeting associate degree requirements. High school graduates may enroll for a maximum of five college credits per summer academic term. Participants in the Pilot Program, to the same extent as participants in the RS Program, are responsible for educational materials, course fees, and transportation costs, and low-income participants are eligible for fee waivers.

Requirements for the calculation, allocation, and distribution of funds for the Pilot Program are the same as requirements for the calculation, allocation, and distribution of funds for the RS Program, except that the funds must be appropriated for the purpose of the Pilot Program, rather than for the RS Program.

By November 10, 2022, the OSPI and SBCTC must jointly report to the Legislature with findings and recommendations regarding the Pilot Program, including recommending whether to expand the RS Program to include the summer term.

House	78	19
Senate	49	0