AN ACT Relating to including weighted grade point averages on high school transcripts; amending RCW 28A.230.125; and creating a new section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature recognizes that its numerous policy and financial supports provide public school students with an education that is intended to prepare them for the challenges of postsecondary education, employment, active citizenship, and a lifelong interest in learning.

(2) The legislature recognizes also that, in some instances, the K-12 and higher education systems do not align to properly meet the aspirations and needs of students and families. One example of this is evidenced through the western undergraduate exchange, an agreement by which public and private colleges and universities provide significant tuition reductions to students from western states.

(3) However, because Washington does not use weighted grade point averages on high school transcripts to recognize accelerated coursework, Washington students seeking admission at institutions participating in the western undergraduate exchange are placed at a disadvantage for scholarship determinations in comparison to students from other western states that use transcripts with weighted grade point averages. The result of this policy choice is that higher education costs can be thousands of dollars higher for hardworking students and families.

(4) The legislature, therefore, in recognition of the many benefits for students and families that can result from the use of high school transcripts that acknowledge more rigorous coursework, intends to direct K-12 and higher education partners to jointly develop a standardized high school transcript with a weighted grade point average for use in the K-12 system.

(1) The superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with the four-year institutions ((as defined in RCW 28B.76.020)), the state board for community and technical colleges, and the workforce training and education coordinating board, shall develop for use by all public school districts a standardized high school transcript. The superintendent shall establish clear definitions for the terms "credits" and "hours" so that school programs operating on the quarter, semester, or trimester system can be compared.

(2) The standardized high school transcript may include a notation of whether the student has earned the Washington state seal of biliteracy established under RCW 28A.300.575.

(3) By May 1, 2025, the office of the superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with the four-year institutions, the state board for community and technical colleges, the workforce training and education coordinating board, the Washington state school directors' association, and an association representing school counselors, shall develop for use by all public school districts a revised standardized high school transcript with a weighted grade point average to recognize accelerated coursework. The revised standardized high school transcript must be available for school districts in the 2025-26 school year and, beginning in the 2027 school year, used by all school districts.