Background:

Academic Acceleration Policy.

School districts are encouraged to adopt an academic acceleration policy for high school students. Under an academic acceleration policy, the district automatically enrolls any student who meets the state standard on the high school statewide student assessment into the next most rigorous level of advanced courses offered by the high school. Students who successfully complete the advanced course are then enrolled in the next most rigorous level of advanced course, with the objective that students will eventually be automatically enrolled in dual credit courses that offer students the opportunity to earn post-secondary course credit while also earning credit toward high school graduation. Districts adopting an academic acceleration policy must provide parents or guardians with an opportunity to opt out of the policy and to enroll students in an alternative course.

The subject matter of the advanced courses in which the student is automatically enrolled depends on the content area or areas of the statewide student assessment where the student has met the state standard. Students who meet the state standard on both end-of-course mathematics assessments, assessments that will be discontinued after the graduating class of 2018, are considered to have met the state standard for high school mathematics. Students who meet the state standard in both reading and writing are eligible for enrollment in advanced courses in English, social studies, humanities, and other related subjects.

Academic Acceleration Incentive Program.

In 2013 the Legislature established the Academic Acceleration Incentive Program (Program) with the intent of having funds awarded through the Program used for supporting teacher training, curriculum, technology, examination fees, textbook fees, and other costs associated with offering dual credit courses to high school students.

Under the Program, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is required to allocate one-half of the legislatively appropriated Program funds as competitive one-time grants for high schools to expand the availability of dual credit courses. To be eligible for a grant, the applicable school district must have adopted an academic acceleration policy. In making grant awards, the OSPI must give priority to grants for high schools with a high proportion of low-income students, and for high schools seeking to develop new capacity for dual credit courses rather than high schools proposing a marginal expansion of current capacity.

The other half of the appropriated Program funds must be awarded to school districts as an incentive award for each student who, in accordance with specified requirements, earned dual high school and college credit for courses offered by the district's high schools in the previous school year. School districts must distribute the award to the high schools that generated the funds.

Learning Assistance Program.

Established by the Legislature in 2004, the Learning Assistance Program (LAP) is part of the state's program of basic education. The LAP is designed to: promote the use of data when developing programs to assist students who are not meeting academic standards and to reduce disruptive behaviors in the classroom; and guide school districts in providing the most effective and efficient practices when implementing supplemental instruction and services. As defined in provisions governing the LAP, "students who are not meeting academic standards" means students with the greatest academic deficits in basic skills as identified by statewide, school, or district assessments or other performance measurement tools.

School districts implementing a LAP must focus first on addressing the needs of students in kindergarten through fourth grade, and who are deficient in reading or reading readiness skills for the purpose of improving reading literacy.

The OSPI publishes a state menu of best practices and strategies for reading and literacy improvement, and use in the LAP to assist struggling students in English language arts and mathematics, and to reduce disruptive behaviors in the classroom.

To the extent included on the state menu or an approved alternative, specified services and activities may be supported by the LAP. Examples of these include:

extended learning time opportunities;
defined professional development activities;
consultant teachers;
tutoring support for students; and
outreach and support for parents.

Additionally, up to 5 percent of a district's state-allocated LAP funds may be used for the development of partnerships with community-based organizations, educational service districts, and other local agencies to deliver academic and nonacademic supports.

The state provides two types of funding allocations for the LAP: one is a distribution formula based on the percentage of students enrolled in the school district who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals (FRPM) in the prior school year; and the second is a school-based allocation for schools with at least 50 percent of students eligible for FRPMs. All funds appropriated for the LAP must be expended for specific LAP purposes.

Summary of Bill:

Academic Acceleration Policies.

Additional categories of advanced courses that students may be enrolled in through an academic acceleration policy are established. Students who meet the state standard on the tenth grade mathematics assessment, rather than the end-of course mathematic assessments that will be discontinued after 2018, are considered to have met the state standard for high school mathematics and are eligible for advanced courses in mathematics, science, or computer science.

Academic Acceleration Incentive Program.

Legislative intent provisions for the Academic Acceleration Incentive Program (Program) are modified to specify that an additional authorized use of Program funds is to increase equitable access to dual credit opportunities.

Grant provisions for the Program are also modified to allow one-time grants to high schools to be renewed for an additional year. In making grant awards, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) must give priority to grants for high schools that:

have not previously received grant funds through the Program;
have a high proportion of low-income students;
are identified as having high disproportionality in their dual credit enrollment data; or
are seeking to develop new capacity for dual credit courses rather than proposing marginal expansion of current capacity.

High schools in districts that have not adopted academic acceleration policies are made eligible to apply for Program grants if, in practice, they follow the academic acceleration policy requirements in statute and comply with Program requirements.

Regarding incentive awards provided with Program funds, school districts remain obligated to distribute the award to the high schools that generated the funds, but the award funds must be used in ways that increase equitable access to dual credit.

Authorization for Additional Expanded Learning Assistance Program Expenditures.

Additional allowable uses of the Learning Assistance Program (LAP) allocations provided by the state to school districts are established. During the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years, school districts may expend a portion of their LAP allocations to develop a dropout early warning and intervention data system. A "dropout early warning an intervention data system" is defined as a student information system that provides the data needed to conduct a universal screening to identify students who are at risk of dropping out, catalog student interventions, and monitor student progress towards graduation. The data systems must also include "the data specified in section 203 of this act."

During the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years, the OSPI may retain up to one-half of one percent of LAP allocation funds generated by middle and high school students to support districts in meeting "the requirements of section 203 of this act," including data collection and reporting, and providing professional development and technical assistance. The OSPI is encouraged to work with educational service districts to provide these services.

Additionally, school districts may expend a portion of their LAP allocations on interventions for students identified as being at risk of not graduating according to the dropout early warning and intervention data system and "the data specified in section 203 of this act."