Z-621                 _______________________________________________

 

                                                    HOUSE BILL NO. 369

                        _______________________________________________

 

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1985 Regular Session

 

By Representatives Grimm, Betrozoff, P. King, Smitherman, Addison, Crane, Isaacson, Hastings and Ebersole; by Temporary Committee on Educational Policies, Structure and Management request

 

 

Read first time 1/30/85 and referred to Committee on Education.

 

 


AN ACT Relating to education; amending RCW 28A.05.060 and 28A.03.360; adding a new section to chapter 28A.03 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.04 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.05 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.58 RCW; and making an appropriation.

 

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

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 28A.05 RCW to read as follows:

          All high schools in the state shall provide a curriculum designed to ensure that students graduate with the following core competencies and experiences:  Effective communication, thinking, reasoning, reading, and reference skills; experience and participation in the fine, visual, and performing arts; knowledge of the United States civilization and government and other civilizations and governments; significant experience with at least one language other than English; computation skills and knowledge of mathematics and the ability to use computers; understanding of geography, national and international economics, history, and the physical sciences; job acquisition and retention skills; appreciation of what constitutes good mental and physical health and human growth and development; the ability to assume future roles as parents, consumers, home managers, and active citizens; and an interest in life-long learning and the skills that enable utilization of these competencies.

          The state board of education shall identify and establish educational objectives to carry out this curriculum.  School district boards of directors shall identify courses with content that meet these educational objectives.  Such courses may be applied or theoretical, academic or vocational, if the courses contribute to the acquisition of competency goals, experiences, and objectives described in this section.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 28A.04 RCW to read as follows:

          (1) The state board of education shall prepare and administer a standardized state-wide high school core competency achievement test to measure acquisition of the competencies described under section 1 of this act.  Students may take the test at any point, until passed, in their high school program or until graduation.  Experiences for which testing is not appropriate may be demonstrated by successful completion of relevant course work.  Students with special educational needs may participate in this program to the extent of their capabilities.

          (2) The state board of education shall require a diagnostic test to be given to each high school student who scores below the twenty-fifth percentile in nationally standardized tests in the eighth or tenth grades or who has not passed the test under subsection (1) of this section.  The diagnostic tests shall be used to identify students who need help to remedy deficiencies and the type of assistance required before those students graduate from high school.

 

        Sec. 3.  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!tm10,8,4,3,1 !sc ,4@bcsubject@ec!tj1!tc@bccred!ttits*@ec!tc@bcye!ttars*@ec

 

@h2 English!tl((9)) 12!tl((3**)) 4

Mathematics!tl6!tl2**

Social Studies!tl9!tl3

!sc ,3((United States history

!sc ,5and government!tl3!tl1

!sc ,3Washington state

!sc ,5history and government!tl1!sc ,0011/2!tl1/2

!sc ,3Contemporary world

!sc ,5history, geography,

!sc ,5and problems!tl3!tl1))

!sc ,3Fine, Visual, and

!sc ,5Performing Arts!tl3!tl1

Science (3 credits must be

!sc ,3in laboratory science)!tl6!tl2**

Occupational Education!tl3!tl1

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

!tlphysical!sc ,1education

!tlrequirements.)***

Electives!tl16!sc ,0011/2

Total!tl48

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@id!tr*!sc ,1Credit means 60 hours of instruction including normal class change passing time.  Three credits are the equivalent to a one-year course.

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

@id!tr***!sc ,1The 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.

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          A candidate for graduation must have in addition earned a minimum of 48 credits and fulfilled the physical education requirement.  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.)) The state board of education shall ensure that graduation requirements meet the course content and educational objectives under section 1 of this 1985 act and that consideration be given to the relevance of vocational and applied courses in fulfilling high school graduation requirements under this section.

          (5)  The state board of education((, upon request from local school districts,)) shall ((be authorized to)) not 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 after July 31, 1989.  ((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.

 

        Sec. 4.  Section 1, chapter 98, Laws of 1975-'76 2nd ex. sess. as amended by section 8, chapter 278, Laws of 1984 and RCW 28A.03.360 are each amended to read as follows:

          (1)  Every school district ((is encouraged to)) shall test pupils in grade two ((by)) with an assessment ((device)) instrument designed or selected by the local school districts.  The assessment instrument shall be criterion based.   This test shall be used to help teachers in identifying those pupils in need of assistance in the skills of reading, writing, mathematics, and language arts.  Remediation services  shall be provided to those students needing these services.  The test results are not to be compiled by the superintendent of public instruction, but are only to be used by the local school district.

          (2) The superintendent of public instruction shall prepare and conduct, with the assistance of local school districts, a standardized achievement test to be given annually to all pupils in grade four.  The test shall assess students' skill in reading, mathematics, and language arts and shall focus upon appropriate input variables.  Results of such tests shall be compiled by the superintendent of public instruction, who shall make those results available annually to the legislature, to all local school districts and subsequently to parents of those children tested.  The results shall allow parents to ascertain the achievement levels and input variables of their children as compared with the other students within the district, the state and, if applicable, the nation.

          (3) The superintendent of public instruction shall prepare and conduct, with the assistance of local school districts, an assessment to be administered annually to all grade eight students.  The purposes of the assessment are to assist students, parents, and teachers in the planning and selection of appropriate high school programs and courses for the students and to provide comparisons within the district, the state and, if applicable, the nation.  The assessment shall include but not be limited to tests in reading, mathematics, and language arts and a student interest inventory.  The superintendent of public instruction shall make the results available to all local school districts which shall in turn make them available to students, parents, and teachers in a timely fashion.

          (4) ((The superintendent of public instruction shall test approximately two thousand students distributed throughout the state in the eleventh grade once every two years.  Choice of students shall be based on a statistical random sample of students from this grade level sufficient to generalize about all of the students at the grade level from the state's school districts.  The purpose of the test is to allow the public, the legislature, and school district personnel to evaluate how Washington students in this grade compare to students in the same grade tested in other comparable national achievement surveys))  The superintendent of public instruction shall prepare and conduct, with the assistance of local school districts, a standardized achievement test to be administered annually to all grade ten students.  The test results shall be made available to the members of the legislature and school district personnel to enable them to evaluate the performance of students in this state with the performance of students in the same grade in other states on comparable achievement tests.

          (5) The superintendent of public instruction shall report annually to the legislature on the achievement levels of students in grades four ((and)), eight ((and shall report biennially to the legislature on the achievement levels of students in grade eleven)), and ten.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5.  A new section is added to chapter 28A.03 RCW to read as follows:

          The state board of education shall quantify goals for reduced student-counselor ratios in the schools with the objective of reaching a student-counselor ratio sufficient to provide effective academic and career counseling for every student in grades seven through twelve.

          The superintendent of public instruction shall work with school districts throughout the state for the development of plans to achieve these goals and their implementation.  These plans shall provide for a phased-in implementation, with full implementation by July 1, 1989.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6.  A new section is added to chapter 28A.58 RCW to read as follows:

          By July 1, 1989, every school district shall provide students with the opportunity to have access to computerized information on employment and other opportunities after high school.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7.     The sum of two million two hundred forty-five thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1987, from the general fund to the superintendent of public instruction for the purposes of sections 4 and 5 of this act.