SENATE BILL REPORT
2SHB 1316
As of March 31, 2023
Title: An act relating to expanding access to dual credit programs.
Brief Description: Expanding access to dual credit programs.
Sponsors: House Committee on Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives Paul, Ortiz-Self, Stonier, Bergquist, Lekanoff, Ramel, Santos, Reed, Pollet, Leavitt, Timmons, Chapman and Ormsby).
Brief History: Passed House: 3/4/23, 60-36.
Committee Activity: Early Learning & K-12 Education: 3/13/23, 3/22/23 [DPA-WM, w/oRec].
Ways & Means: 3/31/23.
Brief Summary of Amended Bill
  • Requires public schools to allow eligible students to participate in Running Start.
  • Allows high school graduates with ten or fewer college credits to earn before meeting associate degree requirements to continue participation in the summer academic term following graduation.
  • Allows Running Start students to be funded up to a combined maximum enrollment of 1.2 FTE.
  • Allows funding for Running Start students up to a combined maximum enrollment of 1.4 FTE for students who participate in Running Start during a summer academic term.
  • Directs the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to adopt rules to fund student enrollment in running start courses during the summer academic term up to a maximum of five college credits per student per summer academic term.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EARLY LEARNING & K-12 EDUCATION
Majority Report: Do pass as amended and be referred to Committee on Ways & Means.
Signed by Senators Wellman, Chair; Nobles, Vice Chair; Wilson, C., Vice Chair; Hawkins, Ranking Member; Hunt, Mullet and Pedersen.
Minority Report: That it be referred without recommendation.
Signed by Senators Dozier and McCune.
Staff: Benjamin Omdal (786-7442)
SENATE COMMITTEE ON WAYS & MEANS
Staff: Kayla Hammer (786-7305)
Background:

Running Start.  Running Start allows eleventh- and twelfth-grade high school students to take courses at community colleges, technical colleges, and various four-year institutions of higher education.  Upon completion of a course, students earn both high school and college credit.
 
Students in Running Start do not pay tuition, but do pay for educational materials, mandatory fees, and transportation costs.  Public institutions of higher education must make fee waivers available for low-income Running Start students. 
 
Enrollment Limits.  The state's operating budget specifies that students participating in Running Start programs may be funded up to a combined maximum enrollment of 1.2 full-time equivalents (FTEs), including school district and institution of higher education enrollment.  When calculating the combined 1.2 FTEs, the operating budget allows the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to average a Running Start student's September through June enrollment to account for differences in the start and end dates for courses provided by the high school and institutions of higher education. 
 
The operating budget directs OSPI, in consultation with the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, the Washington Student Achievement Council, and the Education Research and Data Center, to annually track and report to the Legislature on the combined FTE experience of students participating in Running Start, including course load analyses at both the high school and community and technical college system.
 
Summer Pilot Program.  In 2020, legislation was enacted that created a two-year Running Start Summer School Pilot Program (Pilot) to evaluate interest in and barriers to expanding Running Start to include the summer academic term.  Three community colleges participated in the Pilot.  In addition to students eligible for Running Start, people who graduated from a participating high school in the current school year and who had five or fewer college credits to earn before meeting associate degree requirements were eligible to earn a maximum of five college credits through the Pilot. 
 
A required report to the Legislature, due in November 2022, included recommendations related to full and consistent Running Start funding; funding to support summer staff at the high schools; student eligibility; and integrated electronic tracking and reporting.
 
The 2022 supplemental operating budget directed OSPI to adopt rules to fund a participating Running Start student's enrollment in Running Start courses during the summer term.
 
The 2022 supplemental operating budget also appropriated $3 million for OSPI to distribute after-exit Running Start grants to school districts that identify Running Start students that have exceeded maximum enrollment under Running Start formulas and high school graduates who have 15 or fewer college credits to earn before meeting associate degree requirements.  The high school graduates who meet these requirements may receive funds to earn up to 15 college credits during the summer academic term following their high school graduation.
Summary of Amended Bill:

Every school district, charter school, and state-tribal education compact school must allow eligible students to participate in Running Start.
 
Students participating in Running Start may be funded up to a combined maximum enrollment of 1.2 FTEs, including school district and institution of higher education enrollment, with an exception for students participating in Running Start during a summer academic term

 

Students participating in Running Start during a summer academic term may be funded up to a combined 1.4 FTE.  OSPI must adopt rules to fund student enrollment in Running Start courses during the summer academic term up to a maximum of five college credits per student per summer academic term.
 
Provisions in the operating budget are modified and codified to specify:

  • when calculating the combined FTEs, OSPI must adopt rules to fund a student's enrollment in Running Start courses provided by the institution of higher education during the summer academic term;
  • OSPI may average the participating student's September through June enrollment to account for differences in the start and end dates for courses provided by the high school and the institution of higher education;
  • OSPI, in consultation with the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, the institutions of higher education, the Washington Student Achievement Council, and the Education Research and Data Center, must annually track, and report to the Legislature, the combined FTE experience of students participating in Running Start programs, including course load analyses and enrollments by high school and institutions of higher education; and
  • high school graduates who have ten or fewer college credits to earn before meeting associate degree requirements may continue in Running Start and earn up to ten college credits during the summer academic term following their high school graduation; and the state funding for these high school graduates must be equivalent to the amounts provided for other Running Start students.

 
It is declared that Running Start programs as a service delivery model, associated funding levels beyond 1.0 FTE per student, and funding for high school graduates enrolled in Running Start courses, are not part of the state's statutory program of basic education.
 
The provision stating that the statutes governing Running Start are in addition to and not intended to adversely affect agreements between school districts and public institutions of higher education in effect on April 11, 1990, no longer applies to agreements in effect in the future.
EFFECT OF EARLY LEARNING & K-12 EDUCATION COMMITTEE AMENDMENT(S):
  • Limits funding for running start students to a combined maximum enrollment of 1.2 FTE instead of 1.6 FTE.
  • Allows funding up to a combined maximum enrollment of 1.4 FTE for students who participate in running start during a summer academic term.
  • Directs OSPI to adopt rules to fund student enrollment in running start courses during the summer academic term up to a maximum of five college credits per student per summer academic term.
  • Allows students who have ten or fewer college credits, rather than 15 or fewer college credits, to earn before meeting associate degree requirements to continue participation in running start and earn up to ten college credits during the summer academic term following their high school graduation.
Appropriation: The bill contains a section or sections to limit implementation to the availability of amounts appropriated for that specific purpose.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Creates Committee/Commission/Task Force that includes Legislative members: No.
Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.
Staff Summary of Public Testimony on Second Substitute House Bill (Early Learning & K-12 Education): 

The committee recommended a different version of the bill than what was heard.  PRO: The recent summer Running Start program (RS) created by the Legislature has been successful.  There is strong evidence that summer RS has the potential to increase degree attainment and student participation.  Summer RS allows students who have faced adversity to gain more credits and participate in accelerated classes.  The bill provides opportunities to low-income and first-time college goers to earn credit. Additional Running Start opportunities are necessary for students to participate in particular programs that require more classes. Running Start costs are the largest barrier for low-income students to obtain further credentials.
Persons Testifying (Early Learning & K-12 Education): PRO: Representative Dave Paul, Prime Sponsor; Jamie Traugott, State Board for Community and Technical Colleges; Brianne Robinson, Student at South Puget Sound Community College; Alexander Oliver, Student at Clover Park Technical College; Kim Reykdal, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction; Sopeara Chay, South Puget Sound Community College; Robert Cox, Centralia College; Aidan Cox; Paige Hill.
OTHER: Michael Uehara-Bingen, Washington State PTA.
Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying (Early Learning & K-12 Education): No one.
Staff Summary of Public Testimony on Bill as Amended by Early Learning & K-12 Education (Ways & Means):

PRO: In support of the bill but would prefer if it maintains the higher FTE enrollment in the underlying bill which allows students to take more credits during the summer. Enrollment is declining in college and dual credit opportunities will help with that. Summer running start programs have helped many students get on track for their future. Having the ability to earn a Running Start AA degree while earning a high school diploma helps students with financial barriers. Certain Associate degree programs require summer quarter participation and this has been a deterrant for some Running Start students to earn technical degrees.
Persons Testifying (Ways & Means): PRO: Lilian Hale; Guadalupe Rodriguez, Lower Columbia College; Elinor Hall; Jamie Traugott, State Board for Community and Technical Colleges; Michele Cruse, Clark College; Sopeara Chay, South Puget Sound Community College; Jason Boatwright, Clover Park Technical College.
Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying (Ways & Means): No one.