Background:

The High School and Beyond Plan.

One of the state graduation requirements for public school students 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 a 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 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 HSBPs. 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.

Summary:

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 and meets other requirements.

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's website by September 1, 2019, and may be revised as necessary.

House	77	21
Senate	37	12