AN ACT
Relating to education; amending RCW 28A.230.090 and 28B.80.350; and reenacting
and amending RCW 28A.410.010.
BE IT
ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec.
1. RCW
28A.230.090 and 1990 1st ex.s. c 9 s 301 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:
SUBJECT
CREDITS
English 3
Mathematics 2
Social
Studies
United
States history
and
government 1
Washington state
history
and government 1/2
Contemporary world
history,
geography,
and
problems 1
Science (1
credit
must be
in
laboratory science) 2
Occupational
Education 1
Physical
Education 2
Electives 5
1\2
Total
18
(2)
For the purposes of this section one credit is equivalent to one year of study.
(3)
The Washington state history and government requirement may be fulfilled by
students in grades seven or eight or both. Students who have completed the
Washington state history and government requirement in grades seven or eight or
both shall be considered to have fulfilled the Washington state history and
government requirement.
(4) A
candidate for graduation must have in addition earned a minimum of 18 credits
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.
(5) 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.
(6)
Pursuant to any foreign language requirement 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
shall be considered to have satisfied the state or local school district
foreign language graduation requirement.
(7) If
requested by the student and his or her family, a student who has completed
high school courses while in seventh and eighth grade 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 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 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.
(8)
Students who have taken and successfully completed high school courses under
the circumstances in subsection (7) of this section shall not be required to
take an additional competency examination or perform any other additional
assignment to receive credit. Subsection (7) of this section shall also apply
to students enrolled in high school on April 11, 1990, who took the courses
while they were in seventh and eighth grade.
Sec.
2. RCW
28A.410.010 and 1988 c 172 s 3 and 1988 c 97 s 1 are each reenacted and amended
to read as follows:
The
state board of education shall establish, publish, and enforce rules and
regulations determining eligibility for and certification of personnel employed
in the common schools of this state, including certification for emergency or
temporary, substitute or provisional duty and under such certificates or
permits as the board shall deem proper or as otherwise prescribed by law.
Except for applicants who are applying for certificates which restrict the
holder of the certificate to the teaching of students who are sixteen years of
age or older, the rules shall require that the initial application for
certification shall require a background check of the applicant through the
Washington state patrol criminal identification system at the applicant's
expense.
In
establishing rules pertaining to the qualifications of instructors of American
sign language the state board shall consult with the national association of
the deaf, "sign instructors guidance network" (s.i.g.n.), and the
Washington state association of the deaf for evaluation and certification of
sign language instructors.
The
superintendent of public instruction shall act as the administrator of any such
rules and regulations and have the power to issue any certificates or permits
and revoke the same in accordance with board rules and regulations.
Sec.
3. RCW
28B.80.350 and 1988 c 172 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
The
board shall coordinate educational activities among all segments of higher
education taking into account the educational programs, facilities, and other
resources of both public and independent two and four-year colleges and
universities. The four-year institutions and the state board for community
college education shall coordinate information and activities with the board.
The board shall have the following additional responsibilities:
(1)
Promote interinstitutional cooperation;
(2)
Establish minimum admission standards for four-year institutions, including a
requirement that coursework in American sign language shall satisfy any
foreign language requirement the board or the institutions may establish as a
general undergraduate admissions requirement;
(3)
Establish transfer policies;
(4)
Adopt rules implementing statutory residency requirements;
(5)
Develop and administer reciprocity agreements with bordering states and the
province of British Columbia;
(6)
Review and recommend compensation practices and levels for administrative
employees, exempt under chapter 28B.16 RCW, and faculty using comparative data
from peer institutions;
(7)
Monitor higher education activities for compliance with all relevant state
policies for higher education;
(8) Arbitrate
disputes between and among four-year institutions or between and among
four-year institutions and community colleges at the request of one or more of
the institutions involved, or at the request of the governor, or from a
resolution adopted by the legislature. The decision of the board shall be
binding on the participants in the dispute;
(9)
Establish and implement a state system for collecting, analyzing, and
distributing information;
(10)
Recommend to the governor and the legislature ways to remove any economic
incentives to use off-campus program funds for on-campus activities; and
(11)
Make recommendations to increase minority participation, and monitor and report
on the progress of minority participation in higher education.
