FINAL BILL REPORT

SHB 1472

C 241 L 13

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Providing initiatives to improve and expand access to computer science education.

Sponsors: House Committee on Education (originally sponsored by Representatives Hansen, Habib, Freeman and Magendanz).

House Committee on Education

House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Education

Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education

Senate Committee on Ways & Means

Background:

According to data maintained by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), 35 high schools in the state are approved to offer Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science, and just under 700 students were enrolled in AP Computer Science courses in 2011-12.

Although computer science is a career and technical education (CTE) course, school districts have been directed to examine their credit-granting policies and award academic credit for CTE courses that are determined to be equivalent to an academic course. The OSPI has developed a course equivalency toolkit to assist districts in making these determinations. School districts are encouraged to consider computer programming as equivalent to a mathematics course. There is no data collected on district credit-granting policies.

To meet state high school graduation requirements, students must take Algebra I and Geometry in order to pass the state end-of-course assessments in those subjects. The State Board of Education has established Algebra II as the third credit of mathematics required for graduation, but students may select an alternative course based on their High School and Beyond Plan. Two credits of science are required for graduation, one of which must be a laboratory science. One of the minimum admissions requirements for public four-year institutions of higher education is that students take a math-based quantitative course in their senior year.

Summary:

School districts must approve AP Computer Science as equivalent to a high school mathematics or science course, and must denote on a student's transcript that AP Computer Science qualifies as a math-based quantitative course for students who take it in their senior year. For AP Computer Science to be equivalent to high school mathematics, a student must be enrolled in or have completed Algebra II.

Votes on Final Passage: