CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5249

67TH LEGISLATURE

2021 REGULAR SESSION

SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5249

BySenate Early Learning & K-12 Education (originally sponsored by Senators Wellman, Nobles, Das, Dhingra, Hasegawa, Kuderer, Nguyen, Saldaña, and Wilson, C.; by request of State Board of Education)

AN ACT Relating to supporting mastery-based learning; amending RCW 28A.655.260; amending 2019 c 252 s 301 (uncodified); creating a new section; providing an effective date; providing expiration dates; and declaring an emergency.

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

Sec. 1. 2019 c 252 s 301 (uncodified) is amended to read as follows:

(1) By August 1, 2019, the state board of education shall convene a work group to inform the governor, the legislature, and the public about barriers to mastery-based learning in Washington state whereby:

(a) Students advance upon demonstrated mastery of content;

(b) Competencies include explicit, measurable, transferable learning objectives that empower students;

(c) Assessments are meaningful and a positive learning experience for students;

(d) Students receive rapid, differentiated support based on their individual learning needs; and

(e) Learning outcomes emphasize competencies that include application and creation of knowledge along with the development of important skills and dispositions.

(2) The work group shall examine opportunities to increase student access to relevant and robust mastery-based academic pathways aligned to personal career goals and postsecondary education. The work group shall also review the role of the high school and beyond plan in supporting mastery-based learning. The work group shall consider:

(a) Improvements in the high school and beyond plan as an essential tool for mastery-based learning;

(b) Development of mastery-based pathways to the earning of a high school diploma;

(c) The results of the competency-based pathways previously approved by the state board of education under RCW 28A.230.090 as a learning resource; and

(d) Expansion of mastery-based credits to meet graduation requirements.

(3) As part of this work group, the state board of education, in collaboration with the office of the superintendent of public instruction, shall develop enrollment reporting guidelines to support schools operating with waivers issued under RCW 28A.230.090.

(4) By December 10, 2021, the work group shall develop a Washington state profile of a graduate describing the cross-disciplinary skills a student should have developed by the time they graduate high school. In developing the profile, the work group shall consult with students, families, and educators who have been underserved by the education system, examples of which include communities of color, English language learners, and students with disabilities. The work group shall seek guidance from the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee regarding how to meaningfully engage with these communities. In addition, the work group shall consult with representatives from postsecondary education and training programs, labor, and industry, and seek input from the council of presidents and the Washington association of colleges for teacher education.

(5) The work group must include the following members:

(a) Four legislators: One from each of the two largest caucuses in the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house; and one from each of the two largest caucuses in the senate, appointed by the president of the senate;

(b) Two students as selected by the association of Washington student leaders;

(c) One representative from the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee as selected by the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee;

(d) One high school principal as selected by the association of Washington school principals;

(e) One high school certificated teacher as selected by the Washington education association;

(f) One high school counselor as selected by the Washington education association;

(g) One school district board member or superintendent as selected jointly by the Washington state school directors' association and the Washington association of school administrators;

(h) One representative from the office of the superintendent of public instruction as selected by the superintendent of public instruction; ((and))

(i) One representative from the state board of education as selected by the chair of the state board of education;

(m) One representative from the online learning community as selected by the online learning advisory committee of the office of the superintendent of public instruction.

(((5)))(6) The state board of education shall:

(a) Provide staff support to the work group;

(b) Coordinate work group membership to ensure member diversity, including racial, ethnic, gender, geographic, community size, and expertise diversity; ((and))

(c) Submit an interim report outlining preliminary findings and potential recommendations to the governor and the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate by December 1, 2019, ((and)) a ((final))second interim report, provided to the same recipients, detailing all findings and recommendations related to the work group's purpose and tasks by December 1, 2020, and a final report, provided to the same recipients, on a profile of a graduate developed under subsection (4) of this section and related recommendations for supporting implementation of mastery-based learning by December 10, 2021; and

(d) Submit the final report on a profile of a graduate developed under subsection (4) of this section to the state board of education by December 10, 2021.

(((6)))(7) This section expires ((March 1, 2021))June 30, 2022.

(2)(a) As part of the report developed under subsection (1) of this section, the state board of education may submit recommendations to align graduation requirements under RCW 28A.230.090 and 28A.655.250 with the profile of a graduate. Any recommended additional graduation pathway options or changes to graduation pathway options must be established by statute and cannot be added by rule alone.

(b) In developing the recommendations, the state board of education shall consider:

(i) Whether changes to the core subject area requirements, flexible credits, and noncredit requirements should be made and what those changes should be;

(ii) The relationship between credits and core subject area requirements; and

(iii) How the following components of the high school diploma work together as a system of graduation requirements designed to declare that a student is ready for success in postsecondary education, gainful employment, and civic engagement and is equipped with the skills to be a lifelong learner: The high school and beyond plan and the credit and subject area graduation requirements under RCW 28A.230.090 and the graduation pathway options under RCW 28A.655.250.

(3) This section expires December 31, 2023.

Sec. 3. RCW 28A.655.260 and 2019 c 252 s 202 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The superintendent of public instruction shall collect the following information from school districts: Which of the graduation pathways under RCW 28A.655.250 are available to students at each of the school districts; and the number of students using each graduation pathway for graduation purposes. This information shall be reported annually to the education committees of the legislature beginning January 10, 2021. To the extent feasible, data on student participation in each of the graduation pathways shall be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and receipt of free or reduced-price lunch.

(2) Beginning August 1, 2019, the state board of education shall ((conduct a)) survey ((of)) interested parties regarding what additional graduation pathways should be added to the existing graduation pathways identified in RCW 28A.655.250 and whether modifications should be made to any of the existing pathways. Interested parties shall include at a minimum: ((Representatives))High school students; recent high school graduates; representatives from the state board for community and technical colleges and four-year higher education institutions; representatives from the apprenticeship and training council; associations representing business; members of the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee; and associations representing educators, school board members, school administrators, superintendents, and parents. The state board of education shall provide ((a report))reports to the education committees of the legislature by August 1, 2020, and December 10, 2022, summarizing the information collected in the surveys.

(3) Using the data reported by the superintendent of public instruction under subsection (1) of this section, the state board of education shall survey a sampling of the school districts unable to provide all of the graduation pathways under RCW 28A.655.250 in order to identify the types of barriers to implementation school districts have. Using the survey results from this subsection and the survey results collected under subsection (2) of this section, the state board of education shall review the existing graduation pathways, suggested changes to those graduation pathways, and the options for additional graduation pathways, and shall provide a report to the education committees of the legislature by December 10, 2022, on the following:

(a) Recommendations on whether changes to the existing pathways should be made and what those changes should be;

(b) The barriers school districts have to offering all of the graduation pathways and recommendations for ways to eliminate or reduce those barriers for school districts;

(c) Whether all students have equitable access to all of the graduation pathways and, if not, recommendations for reducing the barriers students may have to accessing all of the graduation pathways; and

(d) Whether additional graduation pathways should be included and recommendations for what those pathways should be.

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