Brief Description: Disregarding from federal accountability reporting those students receiving home-based instruction who participate in running start.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Early Learning, K-12 & Higher Education (originally sponsored by Senators McAuliffe, Hargrove, Stevens, Regala, Mulliken and Benton).

Senate Committee on Early Learning, K-12 & Higher Education
House Committee on Education

Background: The Running Start program was established by the Legislature in 1990 as part of the Learning By Choice Act (Chapter 9, Laws of 1990, First Extraordinary Session) to provide students a program option consisting of attendance at institutions of higher education and the earning of dual high school and college/university credit. Under current law, students in the eleventh and twelfth grades who have not yet received their high school diplomas and who meet entrance criteria established by participating colleges and universities may participate in the Running Start program. Students who first enroll in the program in eleventh grade may participate in the program for the coursework equivalent of two academic years. Students who first enroll in the program in grade twelve may participate for the coursework equivalent of one academic year. State rules established by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Higher Education Coordinating Board, and the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges allow a student to continue to participate in the Running Start program beyond grade twelve due to the student's absence, failure of one or more courses, or another similar reason as long as the student takes only the course or courses required to meet high school graduation requirements.

The federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires that the state school districts and high schools report the percentage of students who graduate from high school with a regular diploma in four years as a provision of making Adequate Yearly Progress. The state Academic Achievement and Accountability Commission (A+ Commission) has established state-wide graduation rate performance goals for the state, school districts, and schools.

Summary: A provision is added to the Running Start enrollment criteria to clarify that eleventh and twelfth grade students who meet entrance criteria established by participating colleges and universities are eligible to participate in the Running Start as long as they have not earned the credits required for a high school diploma.

Students receiving home-based instruction who enroll in a public high school for the sole purpose of participating in the Running Start program will not be counted in state and federal accountability reporting as long as the parents or guardians of the students filed a declaration of intent to provide home-based instruction and the students received home-based instruction during the school year before the school year in which the students intend to participate in the Running Start program.

Language is added that supports current law by stating students receiving home-based instruction and attending private schools are not required to take the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, earn a Certificate of Academic Achievement or a Certificate of Individual Achievement to graduate from high school, nor master the Essential Academic Learning Requirements.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate      45   0
House      95   0

Effective: July 24, 2005