AN ACT Relating to citizenship education; amending RCW 28A.05.060 and 28A.58.754; and adding new sections to Title 28A RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to Title 28A RCW to read as follows:

The board of directors of each school district shall adopt a comprehensive plan by September 1, 1988, to include citizenship education in the curriculum of the school district including instruction in each of the following areas:

(1) Academic disciplines such as history, social studies, or political science;

(2) Values education such as character education or ethics and morals education. Instruction in values education shall include teaching the concepts of courage, conviction, generosity, kindness, helpfulness, honesty, honor, justice, tolerance, freedom to choose, freedom to speak, industry, discipline, and compassion;

(3) Societal education such as social problems, consumer education, law-related education, or international or multi-ethnic education; and

(4) Experiential citizenship education including community service, leadership training, foreign exchange programs, or cocurricular service activities.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to Title 28A RCW to read as follows:

A citizenship education advisory committee shall be appointed by the board of directors for each first class school district. The committee shall include members representing teachers, administrators, parents, the school district board of directors, and members of local government. It is the duty of the committee to advise the board in the development of the citizenship education plan and to review the plan annually and make recommendations for change to the board of directors by July 1st of each year beginning in 1989.

Sec. 3. Section 6, chapter 278, Laws of 1984 as amended by section 2, chapter 384, Laws of 1985 and RCW 28A.05.060 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:

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@h2 English!tl3

Mathematics!tl2

Social Studies

!sc ,3United States history

!sc ,5and government!tl1

!sc ,3Washington state

!sc ,5history and government!tl1/2

!sc ,3Contemporary world

!sc ,5history, geography,

!sc ,5and problems!tl1

Science (1 credit

!sc ,3must be in

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Occupational Education!tl1

Physical Education!tl2

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@la (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) Up to one-half credit for contemporary world history, geography, and problems may be earned by a student participating in a community service project so long as the project does not involve a political campaign election or religious activity and the school district's board of directors has adopted a policy or procedure identifying the criteria and process for credit approval.

Sec. 4. Section 3, chapter 359, Laws of 1977 ex. sess. as last amended by section 1, chapter 158, Laws of 1982 and RCW 28A.58.754 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) For the purposes of this section and RCW 28A.41.130 and 28A.41.140, each as now or hereafter amended:

(a) The term "total program hour offering" shall mean those hours when students are provided the opportunity to engage in educational activity planned by and under the direction of school district staff, as directed by the administration and board of directors of the district, inclusive of intermissions for class changes, recess and teacher/parent-guardian conferences which are planned and scheduled by the district for the purpose of discussing students' educational needs or progress, and exclusive of time actually spent for meals.

(b) "Instruction in work skills" shall include instruction in one or more of the following areas: Industrial arts, home and family life education, business and office education, distributive education, agricultural education, health occupations education, vocational education, trade and industrial education, technical education and career education.

(2) Satisfaction of the basic education goal identified in RCW 28A.58.752 shall be considered to be implemented by the following program requirements:

(a) Each school district shall make available to students in kindergarten at least a total program offering of four hundred fifty hours. The program shall include reading, arithmetic, language skills and such other subjects and such activities as the school district shall determine to be appropriate for the education of the school district's students enrolled in such program;

(b) Each school district shall make available to students in grades one through three, at least a total program hour offering of two thousand seven hundred hours. A minimum of ninety-five percent of the total program hour offerings shall be in the basic skills areas of reading/language arts (which may include foreign languages), mathematics, social studies which may include citizenship education, science, music, art, health and physical education. The remaining five percent of the total program hour offerings may include such subjects and activities as the school district shall determine to be appropriate for the education of the school district's students in such grades;

(c) Each school district shall make available to students in grades four through six at least a total program hour offering of two thousand nine hundred seventy hours. A minimum of ninety percent of the total program hour offerings shall be in the basic skills areas of reading/language arts (which may include foreign languages), mathematics, social studies which may include citizenship education, science, music, art, health and physical education. The remaining ten percent of the total program hour offerings may include such subjects and activities as the school district shall determine to be appropriate for the education of the school district's students in such grades;

(d) Each school district shall make available to students in grades seven through eight, at least a total program hour offering of one thousand nine hundred eighty hours. A minimum of eighty-five percent of the total program hour offerings shall be in the basic skills areas of reading/language arts (which may include foreign languages), mathematics, social studies which may include citizenship education, science, music, art, health and physical education. A minimum of ten percent of the total program hour offerings shall be in the area of work skills. The remaining five percent of the total program hour offerings may include such subjects and activities as the school district shall determine to be appropriate for the education of the school district's students in such grades;

(e) Each school district shall make available to students in grades nine through twelve at least a total program hour offering of four thousand three hundred twenty hours. A minimum of sixty percent of the total program hour offerings shall be in the basic skills areas of language arts, foreign language, mathematics, social studies which may include citizenship education, science, music, art, health and physical education. A minimum of twenty percent of the total program hour offerings shall be in the area of work skills. The remaining twenty percent of the total program hour offerings may include traffic safety or such subjects and activities as the school district shall determine to be appropriate for the education of the school district's students in such grades, with not less than one-half thereof in basic skills and/or work skills: PROVIDED, That each school district shall have the option of including grade nine within the program hour offering requirements of grades seven and eight so long as such requirements for grades seven through nine are increased to two thousand nine hundred seventy hours and such requirements for grades ten through twelve are decreased to three thousand two hundred forty hours.

(3) In order to provide flexibility to the local school districts in the setting of their curricula, and in order to maintain the intent of this legislation, which is to stress the instruction of basic skills and work skills, any local school district may establish minimum course mix percentages that deviate by up to five percentage points above or below those minimums required by subsection (2) of this section, so long as the total program hour requirement is still met.

(4) Nothing contained in subsection (2) of this section shall be construed to require individual students to attend school for any particular number of hours per day or to take any particular courses.

(5) Each school district's kindergarten through twelfth grade basic educational program shall be accessible to all students who are five years of age, as provided by RCW 28A.58.190, and less than twenty-one years of age and shall consist of a minimum of one hundred eighty school days per school year in such grades as are conducted by a school district, and one hundred eighty half-days of instruction, or equivalent, in kindergarten: PROVIDED, That effective May 1, 1979, a school district may schedule the last five school days of the one hundred and eighty day school year for noninstructional purposes in the case of students who are graduating from high school, including, but not limited to, the observance of graduation and early release from school upon the request of a student, and all such students may be claimed as a full time equivalent student to the extent they could otherwise have been so claimed for the purposes of RCW 28A.41.130 and 28A.41.140, each as now or hereafter amended.

(6) The state board of education shall adopt rules to implement and ensure compliance with the program requirements imposed by this section, RCW 28A.41.130 and 28A.41.140, each as now or hereafter amended, and such related supplemental program approval requirements as the state board may establish: PROVIDED, That each school district board of directors shall establish the basis and means for determining and monitoring the district's compliance with the basic skills and work skills percentage and course requirements of this section. The certification of the board of directors and the superintendent of a school district that the district is in compliance with such basic skills and work skills requirements may be accepted by the superintendent of public instruction and the state board of education.

(7) Handicapped education programs, vocational-technical institute programs, state institution and state residential school programs, all of which programs are conducted for the common school age, kindergarten through secondary school program students encompassed by this section, shall be exempt from the basic skills and work skills percentage and course requirements of this section in order that the unique needs, abilities or limitations of such students may be met.

(8) Any school district may petition the state board of education for a reduction in the total program hour offering requirements for one or more of the grade level groupings specified in this section. The state board of education shall grant all such petitions that are accompanied by an assurance that the minimum total program hour offering requirements in one or more other grade level groupings will be exceeded concurrently by no less than the number of hours of the reduction.