Z-772                 _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1184

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1985 Regular Session

By Representatives Ebersole and Betrozoff; by Superintendent of Public Instruction, State Board of Education request

Read first time 2/8/85 and referred to Committee on Education.

AN ACT Relating to high school graduation requirements; and amending RCW 28A.05.060.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

        Sec. 1.  Section 6, chapter 278, Laws of 1984 and RCW 28A.05.060 are each amended to read as follows:

          (1) The state board of education shall establish high school graduation requirements or equivalencies for students who commence the ninth grade subsequent to July 1, 1985, that meet or exceed the following:

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@h0!tm10,10,4,4,1 !sc ,4@bcsubject@ec!tj1!tc@bccred!ttits*@ec!tc@bc((ye!ttars*))@ec

@h2 English!tl((9)) 3**!tl((3**))

Mathematics!tl((6)) 2**!tl((2**))

Social Studies

!sc ,3United States history

!sc ,5and government!tl((3)) 1!tl((1))

!sc ,3Washington state

!sc ,5history and government!tl((1!sc ,0011/2)) 1/2***!tl((1/2))

!sc ,3Contemporary world

!sc ,5history, geography,

!sc ,5and problems!tl((3)) 1!tl((1))

Science (3 credits must be

!sc ,3in laboratory science)!tl((6)) 2**!tl((2**))

Occupational Education!tl((3)) 1!tl((1))

Physical Education!sc ,002!tr(((See RCW 28A.05.040 for

!tlphysical!sc ,1education

!tlrequirements.)***)) 2

Electives!tl((16!sc ,0011/2)) 5 1/2

Total!tl((48)) 18

@h3

@id!tr*!sc ,1((Credit means 60 hours of instruction including normal class change passing time.  Three credits are)) A credit means a minimum of one hundred fifty hours of planned instruction, excluding class-change passing time.  One credit is the equivalent to a one-year course.

@id!tr**!sc ,1No more than ((1)) 1/3 credit per trimester or ((1)) 1/2 credit((s)) per semester or ((3)) 1 credit((s)) per year may be applied toward graduation requirements in these subjects.  Additional credits in these subjects may be counted as electives.

@id!tr***!sc ,1((The state board of education shall establish through rules and regulations clearly defined physical education requirements for the purpose of minimum high school graduation requirements under RCW 28A.05.040.)) The Washington state history and government requirement may be fulfilled by students, in whole or in part, in grades seven and eight.  A minimum of 2 1/2 credits in social studies is required of students in grades nine through twelve.

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          A candidate for graduation must have in addition earned a minimum of ((48)) 18 credits ((and fulfilled the physical education requirement)) including all required courses.  These credits shall consist of the state requirements listed above and such additional requirements and electives as shall be established by each district.

          (2) The state board of education shall develop and establish procedures for students to meet equivalencies for courses required for graduation in subsection (1) of this section.  Such procedures may include provisions for competency testing in lieu of such courses.

          (3) The state board of education shall establish procedures for establishing high school graduation requirements for students with special educational needs, in accord with limitations on their ability to fulfill these high school graduation requirements.

          (4) The local school districts shall consider the relevance of vocational and applied courses in fulfilling these high school graduation requirements.

          (5)  The state board of education, upon request from local school districts, shall be authorized to grant temporary exemptions from the graduation requirements in subsection (1) of this section for reasons relating to school district size and availability of staff authorized to teach required subjects.  The state board of education may adopt reasonable and necessary rules regarding exemptions for students who transfer between districts.

          (6) 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.