ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5849

BySenate Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Wellman, Nobles, Boehnke, Frame, Hasegawa, Hunt, Kuderer, Nguyen, Shewmake, Trudeau, and C. Wilson)

AN ACT Relating to a computer science competency graduation requirement; amending RCW 28A.655.070; adding a new section to chapter 28A.230 RCW; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 28A.230 RCW to read as follows:

(1)(a) Beginning with the 2029 graduating class, all students shall be required to show competency in the high school learning standards related to computer science in order to graduate from high school. Students may demonstrate this computer science competency graduation requirement through:

(i) Completion of a stand-alone computer science course aligned to the state learning standards;

(ii) Completion of a different subject matter course where the state computer science learning standards are embedded with other learning standards; or

(iii) A demonstration of competency of the foundational skills established in the computer science state learning standards.

(b) For purposes of (a)(iii) of this subsection, demonstration of competency could include completion of a competency examination as established in RCW 28A.230.300 or any of the options allowed by the rules adopted by the state board of education under RCW 28A.230.090 that address mastery-based crediting, such as: (i) Completing a locally established portfolio or culminating project; (ii) participating in supervised work experience or other outside school experience; (iii) taking career and technical education classes; (iv) taking courses offered by regional or community centers or programs; (v) receiving credits earned at a postsecondary institution; or (vi) providing documentation of a prior learning activity that demonstrates proficiency of the identified learning standards. Any of the options used must include evidence that the student meets or exceeds the computer science state learning standards.

(c) Consideration of seat time or instructional hours is not required to demonstrate competency for purposes of this section.

(d) Students must be allowed to present multiple types of evidence for the demonstration of competency.

(2) Students in grade 12 who have not been able to show computer science competency because of previous residence outside the state may have the requirement of this section waived by their principal.

(3) Nothing in this section increases the number of high school credits required for graduation as established by the state board of education under RCW 28A.230.090.

(4)(a) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall collect relevant disaggregated demographic data on the student completion of the computer science competency graduation requirement created under this section to assess if the requirement has created any negative impacts on any class of students including, but not limited to, students who are currently struggling in school, low-income, person of color, experiencing homelessness, or enrolled in a school or a school district with high rates of these students.

(b) Beginning December 1, 2029, and annually thereafter, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall submit a report to the education committees of the legislature summarizing the data collected under this subsection.

(2) The state board of education shall collect information from school districts about the courses and other learning opportunities currently offered in computer science for high school students in their district, how the district already assesses or plans to assess competency of the computer science state learning standards, and what the district may need in order to ensure that students are ready for the graduation requirement established under section 1 of this act. The data collection required by this subsection may be conducted concurrently with other oversight and monitoring activities conducted by the state board of education. The state board of education shall report a summary of the information collected to the legislature by October 31, 2025, and shall include any recommendations on what actions the legislature could take to assist school districts in meeting the needs identified by school districts, including whether exploring options for increasing the number of educators endorsed to teach computer science is necessary.

(3) This section expires July 1, 2026.

Sec. 3. RCW 28A.655.070 and 2019 c 252 s 119 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The superintendent of public instruction shall develop state learning standards that identify the knowledge and skills all public school students need to know and be able to do based on the student learning goals in RCW 28A.150.210, develop student assessments, and implement the accountability recommendations and requests regarding assistance, rewards, and recognition of the state board of education.

(2) The superintendent of public instruction shall:

(a) Periodically revise the state learning standards, as needed, based on the student learning goals in RCW 28A.150.210. Goals one and two shall be considered primary. To the maximum extent possible, the superintendent shall integrate ((goal four))technology literacy and fluency from goal three and the knowledge and skill areas in the other goals in the state learning standards; and

(b) Review and prioritize the state learning standards and identify, with clear and concise descriptions, the grade level content expectations to be assessed on the statewide student assessment and used for state or federal accountability purposes. The review, prioritization, and identification shall result in more focus and targeting with an emphasis on depth over breadth in the number of grade level content expectations assessed at each grade level. Grade level content expectations shall be articulated over the grades as a sequence of expectations and performances that are logical, build with increasing depth after foundational knowledge and skills are acquired, and reflect, where appropriate, the sequential nature of the discipline. The office of the superintendent of public instruction, within seven working days, shall post on its website any grade level content expectations provided to an assessment vendor for use in constructing the statewide student assessment.

(3)(a) In consultation with the state board of education, the superintendent of public instruction shall maintain and continue to develop and revise a statewide academic assessment system in the content areas of reading, writing, mathematics, and science for use in the elementary, middle, and high school years designed to determine if each student has mastered the state learning standards identified in subsection (1) of this section. School districts shall administer the assessments under guidelines adopted by the superintendent of public instruction. The academic assessment system may include a variety of assessment methods, including criterion-referenced and performance-based measures.

(b) Effective with the 2009 administration of the Washington assessment of student learning and continuing with the statewide student assessment, the superintendent shall redesign the assessment in the content areas of reading, mathematics, and science in all grades except high school by shortening test administration and reducing the number of short answer and extended response questions.

(c) By the 2014-15 school year, the superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with the state board of education, shall modify the statewide student assessment system to transition to assessments developed with a multistate consortium, as provided in this subsection:

(i) The assessments developed with a multistate consortium to assess student proficiency in English language arts and mathematics shall be administered beginning in the 2014-15 school year, and beginning with the graduating class of 2020, the assessments must be administered to students in the tenth grade. The reading and writing assessments shall not be administered by the superintendent of public instruction or schools after the 2013-14 school year.

(ii) The high school assessments in English language arts and mathematics in (c)(i) of this subsection shall be used for the purposes of federal and state accountability and for assessing student career and college readiness.

(d) The statewide academic assessment system must also include the Washington access to instruction and measurement assessment for students with significant cognitive challenges.

(4) If the superintendent proposes any modification to the state learning standards or the statewide assessments, then the superintendent shall, upon request, provide opportunities for the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate to review the assessments and proposed modifications to the state learning standards before the modifications are adopted.

(5) The assessment system shall be designed so that the results under the assessment system are used by educators as tools to evaluate instructional practices, and to initiate appropriate educational support for students who have not mastered the state learning standards at the appropriate periods in the student's educational development.

(6) By September 2007, the results for reading and mathematics shall be reported in a format that will allow parents and teachers to determine the academic gain a student has acquired in those content areas from one school year to the next.

(7) To assist parents and teachers in their efforts to provide educational support to individual students, the superintendent of public instruction shall provide as much individual student performance information as possible within the constraints of the assessment system's item bank. The superintendent shall also provide to school districts:

(a) Information on classroom-based and other assessments that may provide additional achievement information for individual students; and

(b) A collection of diagnostic tools that educators may use to evaluate the academic status of individual students. The tools shall be designed to be inexpensive, easily administered, and quickly and easily scored, with results provided in a format that may be easily shared with parents and students.

(8) To the maximum extent possible, the superintendent shall integrate knowledge and skill areas in development of the assessments.

(9) Assessments for goals three and four of RCW 28A.150.210 shall be integrated in the state learning standards and assessments for goals one and two.

(10) The superintendent shall develop assessments that are directly related to the state learning standards, and are not biased toward persons with different learning styles, racial or ethnic backgrounds, or on the basis of gender.

(11) The superintendent shall review available and appropriate options for competency-based assessments that meet the state learning standards. In accordance with the review required by this subsection, the superintendent shall provide a report and recommendations to the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate by November 1, 2019.

(12) The superintendent shall consider methods to address the unique needs of special education students when developing the assessments under this section.

(13) The superintendent shall consider methods to address the unique needs of highly capable students when developing the assessments under this section.

(14) The superintendent shall post on the superintendent's website lists of resources and model assessments in social studies, the arts, and health and fitness.

(15) The superintendent shall integrate financial education skills and content knowledge into the state learning standards pursuant to RCW 28A.300.460(2)(d).

(16)(a) The superintendent shall notify the state board of education in writing before initiating the development or revision of the state learning standards under subsections (1) and (2) of this section. The notification must be provided to the state board of education in advance for review at a regularly scheduled or special board meeting and must include the following information:

(i) The subject matter of the state learning standards;

(ii) The reason or reasons the superintendent is initiating the development or revision; and

(iii) The process and timeline that the superintendent intends to follow for the development or revision.

(b) The state board of education may provide a response to the superintendent's notification for consideration in the development or revision process in (a) of this subsection.

(c) Prior to adoption by the superintendent of any new or revised state learning standards, the superintendent shall submit the proposed new or revised state learning standards to the state board of education in advance in writing for review at a regularly scheduled or special board meeting. The state board of education may provide a response to the superintendent's proposal for consideration prior to final adoption.

(17) The state board of education may propose new or revised state learning standards to the superintendent. The superintendent must respond to the state board of education's proposal in writing.

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