BILL REQ. #:  S-4297.2 

READ FIRST TIME 02/07/14.   

     AN ACT Relating to improving student success by modifying instructional hour and graduation requirements; amending RCW 28A.700.070, 28A.230.097, 28A.150.220, and 28A.230.090; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature recognizes that preparing students to be successful in postsecondary education, gainful employment, and citizenship requires increased rigor and achievement, including attaining a meaningful high school diploma with the opportunity to earn twenty-four credits. The legislature finds that an investment was made in the 2013-2015 omnibus appropriations act to implement an increase in instructional hours in the 201420-15 school year. School districts informed the legislature that the funding as provided in the 2013-2015 omnibus appropriations act would result in only a few minutes being added onto each class period and would not result in a meaningful increase in instruction that would have the positive impact on student learning that the legislature expects. The school districts suggested that it would be a better educational policy to use the funds to implement the requirement of twenty-four credits for high school graduation, which will result in a meaningful increase of instructional hours. Based on input from school districts across the state, the legislature recognizes the need to provide flexibility for school districts to implement the increase in instructional hours while still moving towards an increase in the high school graduation requirements. Therefore, the legislature intends to shift the focus and intent of the investments from compliance with the minimum instructional hours offering to assisting school districts to provide an opportunity for students to earn twenty-four credits for high school graduation and obtain a meaningful diploma, beginning with the graduating class of 2019.

Sec. 101   RCW 28A.700.070 and 2008 c 170 s 201 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall support school district efforts under RCW 28A.230.097 to adopt course equivalencies for career and technical courses by:
     (a) Recommending career and technical curriculum suitable for course equivalencies;
     (b) Publicizing best practices for high schools and school districts in developing and adopting course equivalencies; and
     (c) In consultation with the Washington association for career and technical education, providing professional development, technical assistance, and guidance for school districts seeking to expand their lists of equivalent courses.
     (2) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall provide professional development, technical assistance, and guidance for school districts to develop career and technical course equivalencies that also qualify as advanced placement courses.
     (3) The office of the superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with one or more technical working groups convened for this purpose, shall develop curriculum frameworks for a selected list of career and technical courses that may be offered by high schools or skill centers whose content in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics is considered equivalent in full or in part to science or mathematics courses that meet high school graduation requirements. The content of the courses must be aligned with state essential academic learning requirements in mathematics as adopted by the superintendent of public instruction in July 2011 and the essential academic learning requirements in science as adopted in October 2013, and industry standards. The office shall submit the list of equivalent career and technical courses and their curriculum frameworks to the state board of education for review, an opportunity for public comment, and approval. The first list of courses under this subsection must be developed and approved before the 2015-16 school year. Thereafter, the office may periodically update or revise the list of courses using the process in this subsection.
     (4) Subject to funds appropriated for this purpose, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall allocate grant funds to school districts to increase the integration and rigor of academic instruction in career and technical courses. Grant recipients are encouraged to use grant funds to support teams of academic and technical teachers using a research-based professional development model supported by the national research center for career and technical education. The office of the superintendent of public instruction may require that grant recipients provide matching resources using federal Carl Perkins funds or other fund sources.

Sec. 102   RCW 28A.230.097 and 2013 c 241 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Each high school or school district board of directors shall adopt course equivalencies for career and technical high school courses offered to students in high schools and skill centers. A career and technical course equivalency may be for whole or partial credit. Each school district board of directors shall develop a course equivalency approval procedure. Boards of directors must approve AP computer science courses as equivalent to high school mathematics or science, and must denote on a student's transcript that AP computer science qualifies as a math-based quantitative course for students who take the course in their senior year. In order for a board to approve AP computer science as equivalent to high school mathematics, the student must be concurrently enrolled in or have successfully completed algebra II. Beginning no later than the 2015-16 school year, a school district board of directors must, at a minimum, grant academic course equivalency in mathematics or science for a high school career and technical course, if the course is offered, from the list of courses approved by the state board of education under RCW 28A.700.070, but is not limited to the courses on the list. If the list of courses is revised after the 2015-16 school year, the school district board of directors must grant academic course equivalency based on the revised list beginning with the school year immediately following the revision.
     (2) Career and technical courses determined to be equivalent to academic core courses, in full or in part, by the high school or school district shall be accepted as meeting core requirements, including graduation requirements, if the courses are recorded on the student's transcript using the equivalent academic high school department designation and title. Full or partial credit shall be recorded as appropriate. The high school or school district shall also issue and keep record of course completion certificates that demonstrate that the career and technical courses were successfully completed as needed for industry certification, college credit, or preapprenticeship, as applicable. The certificate shall be either part of the student's high school and beyond plan or the student's culminating project, as determined by the student. The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall develop and make available electronic samples of certificates of course completion.

Sec. 201   RCW 28A.150.220 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 9 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) In order for students to have the opportunity to develop the basic education knowledge and skills under RCW 28A.150.210, school districts must provide instruction of sufficient quantity and quality and give students the opportunity to complete graduation requirements that are intended to prepare them for postsecondary education, gainful employment, and citizenship. The program established under this section shall be the minimum instructional program of basic education offered by school districts.
     (2) Each school district shall make available to students the following minimum instructional offering each school year:
     (a) Beginning in the 2015-16 school year, for students enrolled in grades one through ((twelve)) eight, at least a district-wide annual average of one thousand instructional hours, ((which shall be increased to at least one thousand eighty instructional hours)) and for students enrolled in ((each of)) grades ((seven)) nine through twelve ((and)), at least a district-wide annual average of one thousand eighty instructional hours ((for students in each of grades one through six according to an implementation schedule adopted by the legislature, but not before the 2014-15 school year)) all of which may be calculated as a district-wide annual average of instructional hours; and
     (b) For students enrolled in kindergarten, at least four hundred fifty instructional hours, which shall be increased to at least one thousand instructional hours according to the implementation schedule under RCW 28A.150.315.
     (3) The instructional program of basic education provided by each school district shall include:
     (a) Instruction in the essential academic learning requirements under RCW 28A.655.070;
     (b) Instruction that provides students the opportunity to complete twenty-four credits for high school graduation, ((subject to a phased-in implementation of the twenty-four credits as established by the legislature)) beginning with the graduating class of 2019. Course distribution requirements may be established by the state board of education under RCW 28A.230.090;
     (c) If the essential academic learning requirements include a requirement of languages other than English, the requirement may be met by students receiving instruction in one or more American Indian languages;
     (d) Supplemental instruction and services for underachieving students through the learning assistance program under RCW 28A.165.005 through 28A.165.065;
     (e) Supplemental instruction and services for eligible and enrolled students and exited students whose primary language is other than English through the transitional bilingual instruction program under RCW 28A.180.010 through 28A.180.080;
     (f) The opportunity for an appropriate education at public expense as defined by RCW 28A.155.020 for all eligible students with disabilities as defined in RCW 28A.155.020; and
     (g) Programs for highly capable students under RCW 28A.185.010 through 28A.185.030.
     (4) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to require individual students to attend school for any particular number of hours per day or to take any particular courses.
     (5)(a) Each school district's kindergarten through twelfth grade basic educational program shall be accessible to all students who are five years of age, as provided by RCW 28A.225.160, and less than twenty-one years of age and shall consist of a minimum of one hundred eighty school days per school year in such grades as are conducted by a school district, and one hundred eighty half-days of instruction, or equivalent, in kindergarten, to be increased to a minimum of one hundred eighty school days per school year according to the implementation schedule under RCW 28A.150.315. ((However,))
     (b) Schools administering the Washington kindergarten inventory of developing skills may use up to three school days at the beginning of the school year to meet with parents and families as required in the parent involvement component of the inventory. ((In addition, effective May 1, 1979,))
     (c) In the case of students who are graduating from high school, a school district may schedule the last five school days of the one hundred ((and)) eighty day school year for noninstructional purposes ((in the case of students who are graduating from high school,)) including, but not limited to, the observance of graduation and early release from school upon the request of a student((, and)). All such students may be claimed as a full-time equivalent student to the extent they could otherwise have been so claimed for the purposes of RCW 28A.150.250 and 28A.150.260. Any hours scheduled by a school district for noninstructional purposes during the last five school days for such students shall count toward the instructional hours requirement in subsection (2)(a) of this section.
     (6) Nothing in this section precludes a school district from enriching the instructional program of basic education, such as offering additional instruction or providing additional services, programs, or activities that the school district determines to be appropriate for the education of the school district's students.
     (7) The state board of education shall adopt rules to implement and ensure compliance with the program requirements imposed by this section, RCW 28A.150.250 and 28A.150.260, and such related supplemental program approval requirements as the state board may establish.

Sec. 202   RCW 28A.230.090 and 2011 c 203 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The state board of education shall establish high school graduation requirements or equivalencies for students, except as provided in RCW 28A.230.122 and except those equivalencies established by local high schools or school districts under RCW 28A.230.097. The purpose of a high school diploma is to declare that a student is ready for success in postsecondary education, gainful employment, and citizenship, and is equipped with the skills to be a lifelong learner.
     (a) Any course in Washington state history and government used to fulfill high school graduation requirements shall consider including information on the culture, history, and government of the American Indian peoples who were the first inhabitants of the state.
     (b) The certificate of academic achievement requirements under RCW 28A.655.061 or the certificate of individual achievement requirements under RCW 28A.155.045 are required for graduation from a public high school but are not the only requirements for graduation.
     (c) Any decision on whether a student has met the state board's high school graduation requirements for a high school and beyond plan shall remain at the local level.
     (d) The state board of education shall adopt rules to implement the career and college ready graduation requirement proposal adopted under board resolution on November 10, 2010, and revised on January 9, 2014, which includes authorization for a school district to waive up to two credits on an individual student basis in accordance with the rules established by the state board of education to take effect beginning with the graduating class of 2019.
     (2)(a) 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.
     (b) The state board shall reevaluate the graduation requirements for students enrolled in vocationally intensive and rigorous career and technical education programs, particularly those programs that lead to a certificate or credential that is state or nationally recognized. The purpose of the evaluation is to ensure that students enrolled in these programs have sufficient opportunity to earn a certificate of academic achievement, complete the program and earn the program's certificate or credential, and complete other state and local graduation requirements.
     (c) The state board shall forward any proposed changes to the high school graduation requirements to the education committees of the legislature for review and to the quality education council established under RCW 28A.290.010. The legislature shall have the opportunity to act during a regular legislative session before the changes are adopted through administrative rule by the state board. Changes that have a fiscal impact on school districts, as identified by a fiscal analysis prepared by the office of the superintendent of public instruction, shall take effect only if formally authorized and funded by the legislature through the omnibus appropriations act or other enacted legislation.
     (3) Pursuant to any requirement for instruction in languages other than English established by the state board of education or a local school district, or both, for purposes of high school graduation, students who receive instruction in American sign language or one or more American Indian languages shall be considered to have satisfied the state or local school district graduation requirement for instruction in one or more languages other than English.
     (4) If requested by the student and his or her family, a student who has completed high school courses before attending high school shall be given high school credit which shall be applied to fulfilling high school graduation requirements if:
     (a) The course was taken with high school students, if the academic level of the course exceeds the requirements for seventh and eighth grade classes, and the student has successfully passed by completing the same course requirements and examinations as the high school students enrolled in the class; or
     (b) The academic level of the course exceeds the requirements for seventh and eighth grade classes and the course would qualify for high school credit, because the course is similar or equivalent to a course offered at a high school in the district as determined by the school district board of directors.
     (5) Students who have taken and successfully completed high school courses under the circumstances in subsection (4) of this section shall not be required to take an additional competency examination or perform any other additional assignment to receive credit.
     (6) At the college or university level, five quarter or three semester hours equals one high school credit.