HOUSE BILL REPORT

HB 2686

As Reported by House Committee On:

Education

Title: An act relating to high school and beyond plans.

Brief Description: Concerning high school and beyond plans.

Sponsors: Representatives Ortiz-Self, Santos, Dolan, Frame, Bergquist, Doglio, Sells and Ryu.

Brief History:

Committee Activity:

Education: 1/22/18, 1/29/18 [DPS].

Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass. Signed by 15 members: Representatives Santos, Chair; Dolan, Vice Chair; Stonier, Vice Chair; Harris, Ranking Minority Member; Muri, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Bergquist, Caldier, Johnson, Lovick, Ortiz-Self, Senn, Slatter, Steele, Stokesbary and Valdez.

Minority Report: Do not pass. Signed by 2 members: Representatives Hargrove and McCaslin.

Staff: Katie Choate (786-7296) and Ethan Moreno (786-7386).

Background:

The High School and Beyond Plan.

One of the state graduation requirements is the completion of a High School and Beyond Plan (HSBP). Each student must have a HSBP to guide the student's high school experience and prepare him or her for postsecondary education or training and career. A student's plan starts in middle school and is revised each year until graduation.

All HSBPs must, at a minimum, include the following elements:

• identification of career goals, aided by a skills and interest assessment;

• identification of educational goals;

• completion of a four-year course plan that fulfills state and local graduation requirements; and aligns with career and educational goals; and

• completion of a current resume or activity log that provides a written compilation of the student's education, work experience, and community service by the end of twelfth grade.

School districts may also establish additional, local requirements for the HSBPs that serve the needs and interests of the district's students. The content of the plan, and whether a student's plan meets applicable requirements, is determined at the district level. A student's high school transcript must contain a notation as to whether the student met the HSBP requirement.

School districts are encouraged to involve parents and guardians in the process of developing and updating their student's HSBP. The HSBP template created by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is available for students in the following languages: Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian, Khmer, Korean, Punjabi, Chinese, Somali, and Tagalog.

Dual Credit Programs.

Dual credit programs allow students to take college-level courses while still in high school. Students may become eligible for college credit based on exam scores or course completion. Examples of dual credit programs include:

• Career and Technical Education programs;

• Running Start; and

• College in the High School.

College Bound Scholarship Program.

In 2007 the Legislature established the College Bound Scholarship (Scholarship) to provide guaranteed four-year tuition to students from low-income families. The Scholarship covers tuition (at comparable public college rates), some fees, and a small book allowance.

To be eligible to receive the scholarship, students must sign a pledge in the seventh or eighth grades that includes a commitment to graduate from a Washington high school with at least a C average and no felony convictions.

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Summary of Substitute Bill:

School districts must add the following elements as part of the minimum requirements for the HSBPs:

• the identification of dual credit programs and the opportunities they create for students;

• information about the Scholarship program; and

• information about options for satisfying state and local graduation requirements as part of a four-year plan for course taking that aligns with the student's secondary and postsecondary goals.

Each HSBP must be provided to the students' parents or guardians in their native language, if their native language is one of the two most frequently spoken non-English languages of students in the district. In addition, districts are not prevented from providing the HSBPs to parents and guardians in other languages.

Subject to funding, the OSPI must work with school districts, educational service districts, the Washington State School Directors' Association, students, institutions of higher education, and parents and guardians to identify best practices for the HSBPs. The best practices must be in compliance with HSBP minimum requirements and must consider differences in enrollment and other factors that distinguish districts from one another. The identified best practices must be posted on the OSPI website by September 1, 2019, and may be revised as necessary.

Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill:

The substitute bill clarifies that the language regarding the list of dual credit programs identified in provisions governing the HSBPs requirements is not exhaustive.

The requirement to provide the HSBPs to students' parents and guardians in their native language is limited by specifying that the native language must be one of the two most frequently spoken nonEnglish languages of students in the district. In addition it specifies that districts are not prevented from providing the HSBPs to parents and guardians in additional languages.

The substitute bill adds "institutions of higher education" to the list of persons and entities that the OSPI must work with in identifying best practices for the HSBPs that districts and schools may employ.

The substitute bill also requires school districts to add information about the Scholarship as an element that is part of the minimum requirements for the HSBPs.

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Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Requested on January 17, 2018.

Effective Date of Substitute Bill: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

(In support) Stakeholders have been working with districts on the HSBP. The HSBP should be a working document with evolving minimum requirements. Currently parents and students do not know what students get dual credit for; whether that's career and technical education, Running Start, or other dual credit programs. That is a big part of this legislative change.

The parents need to know this information to help their children. Stakeholders are asking for the HSBP to be translated into the parents' native language. Language barriers keep parents from knowing what opportunities are available to their children. Parents describe feeling in the dark about their children's next steps. Like all parents, they want to do everything possible for their children. This will help close the opportunity gap. This change would be for districts with more than 2,000 students. There will be an amendment so that schools are required to provide the HSBP in the top two languages of each school district. Each student should have access and to knowledge of the Scholarship.

The additional elements to the HSBP will further help students in and out of high school. There is a digital HSBP that can be translated in up to 200 languages at little or no cost to districts.

It is critical that parents can maximize the dual credit space and flexibility, and help students reach their 24 credits while making good, informed decisions.

(Opposed) None.

Persons Testifying: Representative Ortiz-Self, prime sponsor; Virginia Barry, Stand for Children; Linda Drake, State Board of Education; Dixie Grunenfelder, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction; and Tim Knue, Washington Association for Career and Technical Education.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.