Graduation Requirements—Overview. To qualify for graduation from a public high school in Washington, students must satisfy course and credit requirements established by the State Board of Education (SBE), meet any locally established requirements, complete a high school and beyond plan (HSBP), and meet the requirements of at least one graduation pathway option.
High School and Beyond Plan. All high school students must have a HSBP. Each HSBP must be initiated in seventh- or eighth-grade with a career interest and skills inventory. The plan must be updated to reflect high school assessment results, and must identify available interventions and academic support for students who are not on track to graduate.
All plans must include, among other items, an identification of career and educational goals, identification of dual credit opportunities, information on certain scholarship opportunities, and a four-year plan for course taking. Decisions on whether a student has met HSBP requirements are made at the local level.
Student Learning Plans. Districts are required to prepare student learning plans for eighth-grade students who were not successful on any or all of the content areas of the state assessment in the previous school year, or who are not on track to graduate due to credit deficiencies or absences.
Student learning plans must contain certain information, including assessment results, credit deficiencies, attendance rates, academic progress, remediation strategies, and programs available to help meet graduation requirements.
High School and Beyond Plan Requirements. In addition to existing HSBP requirements, beginning in the seventh-grade, each student must be administered a career interest and skills inventory which is intended to be used to inform eighth-grade course taking and development of an HSBP. No later than either grade, each student must have an HSBP that includes a proposed plan for first-year high school courses aligned with graduation requirements and secondary and postsecondary goals.
School districts are to provide students who have not met standards on state assessments or are behind in requirements, with opportunities to access certain interventions, academic supports, and courses, with parental notification.
An HSBP must be provided in a language that the student and parents or legal guardians understand, and in accordance with the school district's language access policy and procedures. HSBPs must also include information on the potential impacts of a student's course selection on postsecondary opportunities, and information on opportunities for partial credit accrual, including mastery-based credit.
Statewide Online High School and Beyond Plan Platform. OSPI must facilitate the transition to and adoption of a common statewide online platform for the HSBP, and develop an inventory of existing vendors. OSPI must submit an inventory of existing vendors and associated costs to the Governor and education policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature by January 1, 2024, and must include an estimated transition timeline for statewide implementation that does not exceed two years.
The statewide online platform must meet certain requirements, including the incorporation of career exploration opportunities, accessibility options, the ability to develop support and recovery plans, and other provisions.
OSPI must develop or adopt a universal HSBP planning tool by June 1, 2024. Within two years of adoption, school districts must transition to the adopted universal platform, with technical assistance provided by OSPI. In carrying out these requirements, OSPI shall seek input from various groups and organizations.
Proposed Legislation Establishing a New High School and Beyond Plan. After selection of the vendor for a universal HSBP platform, OSPI must develop proposed legislation that establishes a new HSBP that, in addition to existing criteria:
The proposed legislation shall be submitted to the Governor and the Education committees of the Legislature by November 1, 2024.
Student Learning Plans. Provisions relating to student learning plans are repealed.
PRO: HSBPs vary widely by districts, including how meaningful they are in the counseling process. A universal HSBP platform could lead to a more customized plan with assistance and input from educators from around the state. Utilizing a statewide platform would help to spread positive work throughout the state. A uniform platform would allow parents and educators to access plans and would allow students to continue to use their plan if they change schools.
CON: It is not always clear how it is determined that students have met the standards required by law.
OTHER: Good platform options already exist for HSBP. Switching platforms can lead to additional training and support. Many districts have invested resources in their current platforms.
PRO: High school and beyond plans are often not useful working documents and are not known about by parents. The current ratio of students to counselors is 400:1. There is no way for counselors to know every student and their aspirations. This planning should begin in 5th grade and be an exploratorium. This plan will eliminate language barriers and promote accessibility. The committee should consider some additional aspects that would strengthen the bill including adding a high school and beyond coordinator, that running start students are integrated, and review of these plans.
OTHER: This bill will be excellent for consistency, however the implementation timeline is too fast for a full transition and it is unclear how funding will be provided.