READ FIRST TIME 02/21/11.   

     AN ACT Relating to the opportunity to earn postsecondary credit during high school; amending RCW 28A.230.130; adding a new section to chapter 28B.10 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28B.76 RCW; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that approximately thirty-five percent of seniors in Washington high schools take less than a full load of classes during their senior year. The legislature further finds that many high schools provide students opportunities to take advanced courses in career and technical or academic fields that give students a head start when they begin their career or enter a technical training program or a college or university. The legislature also finds that since each individual institution of higher education adopts its own rules for awarding credit for advanced high school work, students can encounter unanticipated barriers to advancing their dreams. Students can also be discouraged from putting in that extra effort in high school if they are not certain whether their extra work will be appropriately credited toward a certificate or degree.
     The legislature intends to help students progress from high school to a certificate or degree by increasing opportunities and providing a clear pathway. Twelfth grade will truly be the launch year as high schools increase the opportunities for students to take more advanced classes. In addition, this act provides for community and technical colleges and four-year institutions of higher education to publish a list of high school courses and adopt uniform scores for proficiency exams or competency requirements that will be given credit toward certificate or degree requirements.

Sec. 2   RCW 28A.230.130 and 2009 c 212 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) All public high schools of the state shall provide a program, directly or in cooperation with a community college or another school district, for students whose educational plans include application for entrance to a baccalaureate-granting institution after being granted a high school diploma. The program shall help these students to meet at least the minimum entrance requirements under RCW 28B.10.050.
     (2) All public high schools of the state shall provide a program, directly or in cooperation with a community or technical college, a skills center, an apprenticeship committee, or another school district, for students who plan to pursue career or work opportunities other than entrance to a baccalaureate-granting institution after being granted a high school diploma. These programs may:
     (a) Help students demonstrate the application of essential academic learning requirements to the world of work, occupation-specific skills, knowledge of more than one career in a chosen pathway, and employability and leadership skills; and
     (b) Help students demonstrate the knowledge and skill needed to prepare for industry certification, and/or have the opportunity to articulate to postsecondary education and training programs.
     (3) Within existing resources, all public high schools in the state shall:
     (a) Work towards the goal of offering a sufficient number of high school courses that give students the opportunity to earn the equivalent of a year's worth of postsecondary credit towards a certificate, apprenticeship program, technical degree, or associate or baccalaureate degree. These high school courses are those advanced courses that have accompanying proficiency exams or demonstrated competencies that are used to demonstrate postsecondary knowledge and skills; and
     (b) Inform students and their families, emphasizing communication to underrepresented groups, about the program offerings and the opportunities to take courses that qualify for postsecondary credit through demonstrated competencies or if the student earns the qualifying score on the proficiency exam. This information shall encourage students to use the twelfth grade as the launch year for an advance start on their career and postsecondary education.
     (4) A middle school that receives approval from the office of the superintendent of public instruction to provide a career and technical program in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics directly to students shall receive funding at the same rate as a high school operating a similar program. Additionally, a middle school that provides a hands-on experience in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics with an integrated curriculum of academic content and career and technical education, and includes a career and technical education exploratory component shall also qualify for the career and technical education funding.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 28B.10 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) By December 1, 2011, and by June of each odd-numbered year thereafter, the institutions of higher education shall collaboratively develop a master list of postsecondary courses that can be fulfilled by taking the advanced placement, international baccalaureate, or other recognized college-level proficiency examinations and meeting the qualifying examination score or demonstrated competencies for lower division general education requirements or postsecondary professional technical requirements. The master list of postsecondary courses fulfilled by proficiency examinations or demonstrated competencies are those that fulfill lower division general education requirements or career and technical education requirements and qualify for postsecondary credit. From the master list, each institution shall create and publish a list of its courses that can be satisfied by successful proficiency examination scores or demonstrated competencies for lower division general education requirements or postsecondary professional technical requirements. The qualifying examination scores and demonstrated competencies shall be included in the published list. The requirements to develop a master list under this section do not apply if an institution has a clearly published policy of awarding credit for the advanced placement, international baccalaureate, or other recognized college-level placement exams and does not require those credits to meet specific course requirements but generally applies those credits towards degree requirements.
     (2) To the maximum extent possible, institutions of higher education shall agree on examination qualifying scores and demonstrated competencies for the credits or courses under subsection (3) of this section, with scores equivalent to qualified or well-qualified. Nothing in this subsection shall prevent an institution of higher education from adopting policies using higher scores for additional purposes.
     (3) Each institution of higher education, in designing its certificate, technical degree program, two-year academic transfer program, or freshman and sophomore courses of a baccalaureate program or baccalaureate degree, must recognize the equivalencies of at least one year of course credit and maximize the application of the credits toward lower division general education requirements that can be earned through successfully demonstrating proficiency on examinations, including but not limited to advanced placement and international baccalaureate examinations. The successful completion of the examination and the award of credit shall be noted on the student's college transcript.
     (4) Each institution of higher education must clearly include in its admissions materials and on its web site the credits or the institution's list of postsecondary courses that can be fulfilled by proficiency examinations or demonstrated competencies and the agreed-upon examination scores and demonstrated competencies that qualify for postsecondary credit. Each institution must provide the information to the higher education coordinating board and state board for community and technical colleges in a form that the superintendent of public instruction is able to distribute to school districts.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 28B.76 RCW to read as follows:
     The higher education coordinating board shall annually publish on its web site the agreed-upon list of high school courses qualifying for postsecondary credit under section 3 of this act and examination qualifying scores and demonstrated competencies meeting the postsecondary requirements for a certificate or technical degree, a two-year academic transfer degree, or the lower division requirements for a baccalaureate degree.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   This act may be known and cited as the launch year act.