SUPERINTENDENT OF

PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

Reviser's note: The brackets and enclosed material in the text above occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appear in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.

The following definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter:

(1) "Agency" means an educational service district, nonprofit community-based organization, or public entity other than a college.

(2) "Annual average full-time equivalent (AAFTE)" means the total ((student)) monthly full-time equivalent (FTE) reported for each enrolled student in a school year divided by ten.

(3) "Attendance period requirement" is defined as, at minimum, two hours of face-to-face interaction with a designated program staff for the purpose of instruction, academic counseling, career counseling, or case management contact aggregated over the prior month.

(4) "CEDARS" refers to comprehensive educational data and research system, the statewide longitudinal data system of educational data for K-12 student information.

(5) "College" means college or technical college pursuant to chapters 28B.20 through 28B.50 RCW.

(6) "Consortium" means a regional group of organizations that will consist of districts, and agencies and/or colleges who agree to work together to create and operate a program that will serve students from multiple districts and reduce the administrative burden on districts.

(7) "Consortium agreement" means the agreement that is signed by the authorized consortium lead and all district superintendents or their authorized officials which are part of the consortium and agree to refer eligible students to the consortium's program. This agreement will clearly outline the responsibilities of the consortium lead and those of the referring districts.

(8) "Consortium lead" means the lead organization in a consortium that will assume the responsibilities outlined in WAC 392-700-042(3).

(9) "Count day" is the instructional day that is used to claim a program's enrollment for state funding pursuant to WAC 392-121-033. For September, the count day is the fourth instructional day. For the remaining months, the count day is the first instructional day.

(10) "Credential" is identified as one of the following:

(a) High school equivalency certificate;

(b) High school diploma;

(c) College certificate received after completion of a college program requiring at least forty hours of instruction;

(d) College degree; or

(e) Industry recognized certificate of completion of training or licensing received after completion of a program requiring at least forty hours of instruction.

(11) "Enrolled student" is an eligible student whose enrollment and attendance meets the criteria ((adopted by the office of superintendent of public instruction (OSPI) specifically for the program and)) outlined in WAC 392-700-035 and 392-700-160, and is reported as an FTE for state funding.

(12) "ERDC" refers to education research and data center, which conducts analyses of early learning, K-12, and higher education programs and education issues across the P-20 system that collaborates with legislative evaluation and accountability program and other statutory partner agencies.

(13) "Full-time equivalent (FTE)" is the measurement of enrollment that an enrolled student can be claimed on a monthly basis with the maximum being 1.0 FTE per month for each student enrolled in a program.

(14) "Indicator of academic progress" means standard academic benchmarks that ((are measures of)) demonstrates academic performance ((which are)) attained by reengagement students. These indicators will be tracked and reported by the program and district for each student and for programs as a whole using definitions and procedures outlined by OSPI. Indicators of academic progress will be reported when a student does one of the following:

(a) Passes one or more high school equivalency certificate measures (each measure may only be claimed once per enrolled student), or other state assessment;

(b) Earns high school credit or college credit;

(c) Makes a significant gain in math and/or reading skills level based on the assessment tool's determination of significant gain (may be claimed multiple times in a year per enrolled student);

(d) Completes approved college readiness course work with documentation of competency attainment;

(e) Completes job search and job retention course work with documentation of competency attainment;

(f) Successfully completes a paid or unpaid work based learning experience of at least forty-five hours. This experience must meet the requirements of WAC 392-410-315(2);

(g) Enrolls in a college level class other than adult basic education (ABE), high school equivalency certificate, or English as a second language (ESL) class; or

(h) Transitions from an ESL class to ABE or high school equivalency certificate class;

(i) Transitions from ABE or high school equivalency certificate class to a below one hundred level math or English class;

(j) Transitions from a below one hundred level math or English class to the next below one hundred level math or English class or from a below one hundred level math or English class to college level math or English class; and

(k) Transitions from ABE or high school equivalency certificate class to a college level class (other than English or math).

(15) "Instructional staff" means the following:

(a) For programs operated by a district, the instructional staff is a certificated instructional staff pursuant to WAC 392-121-205;

(b) For programs operated by a college, the instructional staff is one who is employed or appointed by the college whose required credentials are established by the college; and

(c) For programs operated by an agency, the instructional staff is one who is employed or appointed by the agency whose required credentials are established by the agency.

(16) "Letter of intent" means the document signed by the district, college or lead agency authorized official that specifically outlines to OSPI the required elements of a program that the district, college, or agency agree to implement.

(17) "Noninstructional staff" is any person employed in a position that is not an instructional staff as defined under subsection (13) of this section.

(18) "OSPI" means the office of superintendent of public instruction.

(19) "Program" means a statewide dropout reengagement program approved by OSPI, pursuant to RCW 28A.175.105.

(20) (("School week" means any seven-day calendar period starting with Sunday and continuing through Saturday.

(21))) "School year" is the twelve-month period that begins September 1st and ends August 31st during which instruction is provided and FTE is reported.

(((22))) (21) "Scope of work" means the document signed by district superintendent or their authorized official and the authorized official of a program to be included in a contracted services agreement when the program is operated by a provider on behalf of the district and will receive compensation in accordance with WAC 392-700-165. The scope of work will specifically outline all the required elements of a program that the provider and the district agree to implement.

(((23))) (22) "Weekly status check" means individual communication from a designated program staff to a student. Weekly status check:

(a) Can be accomplished in person or through the use of telephone, e-mail, instant messaging, interactive video communication, or other means of digital communication;

(b) Must be for the purposes of instruction, academic counseling, career counseling, or case management;

(c) Must be documented; and

(d) Must occur at least once ((during a school week)) every week that has at least three days of instruction.

(1) Students are eligible to enroll in a program when they meet the following criteria:

(a) Under twenty-one years of age, but at least sixteen years of age, as of September 1st;

(b) Have not yet met the high school graduation requirements of either the district, or the college under RCW 28B.50.535; and

(c) Are significantly behind in credit as outlined below:

(i) Students who, based on their expected graduation date, participated or could have participated in up to two full years of high school must have an earned to attempted credit ratio that is sixty-five percent or less; or

(ii) Students who, based on their expected graduation date, participated or could have participated in more than two full years of high school must have an earned to attempted ratio that is seventy-five percent or less.

(2) If not credit deficient as outlined in subsection (1)(c) of this section, have been:

(a) Recommended for enrollment by case managers from the department of social and health services, the juvenile justice system, district approved school personnel, or staff from community agencies which provide educational advocacy services;

(b) Are not currently enrolled in any high school or other educational program, excluding an approved skill center program, a jobs for Washington's graduate program, or running start program, receiving state basic education funding; and

(c) Released from their district of residence and accepted by the serving district, if the program is operated by a different district.

(3) Once determined eligible for enrolling in the program, a student will retain eligibility, regardless of breaks in enrollment, until the student does one of the following:

(a) Earns a high school diploma;

(b) Earns an associate degree;

(c) Becomes ineligible because of age which occurs when a student is twenty-one years of age as of September 1st.

(4) A student's eligibility does not guarantee enrollment or continued enrollment in specific programs if the program determines that the student does not meet the program's enrollment criteria or if, after enrollment, a student's academic performance or conduct does not meet established program guidelines.

(1) For programs operated by districts and agencies, high school credit will be awarded for all course work in which students are enrolled, including high school equivalency certificate preparation, in accordance with the following:

(a) Determination of credit will take place on a quarterly basis with quarters defined as follows:

(i) September through November;

(ii) December through February;

(iii) March through May; and

(iv) June through August.

(b) Credit will be awarded at the end of each quarter, in accordance with the following guidelines, if the student has been enrolled for at least one month of the quarter:

(i) A maximum of 0.5 high school elective credits will be awarded when a student passes one or more standardized high school equivalency certificate pretests during the quarter and the instructional staff has assessed student learning and determined that a course of study has been successfully completed.

(ii) A 0.5 high school elective credit will be awarded when a student makes a statistically significant standardized assessment post-test gain in a specific subject area during the quarter and the following conditions are met:

(A) The student's standardized skills assessment score at the beginning of the quarter demonstrated high school level skills; and

(B) The instructional staff has assessed student learning and determined that a course of study has been successfully completed. A maximum of 1.0 credit may be awarded for such subject gains in a quarter.

(iii) High school elective credit ranging from at least 0.1 credits to no more than 0.25 credits will be awarded for completion of a work readiness or college readiness curriculum in which the student has demonstrated mastery of specific competencies. The district and the agency will determine the amount of credit to be awarded for each course of study based on the competencies to be attained.

(iv) For students taking part in district approved subject-specific credit recovery course work, the amount and type of credit to be awarded will be defined by the district.

(v) The district ((may elect to)) must award credit for ((other)) course work provided by the agency with amount of credit to be awarded determined in advance, based on the agency's instructional staff's recommendation and on a district review of the curriculum and intended learning outcomes. Credit will only be awarded when:

(A) The student's standardized skills assessment score at the start of the quarter demonstrates high school level skills; and

(B) The instructional staff has assessed student learning and determined that the course of study has been successfully completed.

(2) For programs operated by colleges, high school credit will be awarded for course work in which students are enrolled, in accordance with the following:

(a) The district and the college will determine whether the high school diploma will be awarded by the district or by the college as part of the college's high school completion program.

(b) If the college is awarding the diploma:

(i) 1.0 high school credit will be awarded for successful completion of every five quarter or three semester hours of college course work at or above the one hundred level. The college will determine the type of credit;

(ii) 1.0 high school credit will be awarded for successful completion of every five quarter or three semester hours of below one hundred level course work at a college but has been determined by the college to be at the ninth grade level or higher. The college will determine the type of credit. College based high school equivalency certificate and adult basic education (ABE) classes will not be included in this category;

(iii) 0.5 elective credits will be awarded for successful completion of every five quarter or three semester hours of high school equivalency certificate course work; and

(iv) ABE courses or other college courses that have been determined to be below the ninth grade level that does not generate high school credit will be counted as part of the program's instructional programming for the purposes of calculating FTE.

(c) If the district is awarding the diploma:

(i) 1.0 high school credit will be awarded for successful completion of every five quarter or three semester hours of below one hundred level course work at a college. The district will determine the type of credit;

(ii) 0.5 or 1.0 high school credit will be awarded for successful completion of every five quarter or three semester hours of below one hundred level course work at a college but has been determined by the district to be at the ninth grade level or higher. The district will determine the type and amount of credit for each class. College based high school equivalency certificate and ABE classes will not be included in this category;

(iii) 0.5 elective credits will be awarded for successful completion of every five quarter or three semester hours of high school equivalency certificate course work; and

(iv) ABE courses or other college courses that have been determined to be below the ninth grade level will not generate high school credit but the college credits associated with these courses will be included in the total credit count used to calculate and report student FTE.

(3) The district is responsible for reporting all high school credits earned by students in accordance with OSPI regulations. College transcripts and other student records requested by the district will be provided by the college or agency as needed to facilitate this process.

(4) The district will ensure that the process for awarding high school credits under this scope of work is implemented as part of the district's policy regarding award of credits per WAC 180-51-050 (5) and (6).

(1) For all programs, the following will apply when reporting student enrollment for each monthly count day:

(a) Met all eligibility criteria pursuant to WAC 392-700-035;

(b) Been accepted for enrollment by the reporting district or the direct funded technical college;

(c) Enrolled in an approved program pursuant to WAC 392-700-042;

(d) Met the attendance period requirement pursuant to WAC 392-700-015(3);

(e) Met the weekly status check requirement pursuant to WAC 392-700-015(((23))) (22);

(f) Has not withdrawn or been dropped prior to the monthly count day;

(g) Is not enrolled in course work that has been reported by a college for postsecondary funding;

(h) Is not ((enrolled at)) eligible to be counted by a state institution ((on count day and reported by a state institution for funding)) pursuant to WAC 392-122-221.

(i) Is not enrolled in a high school program, including alternative learning experience ((or)), college in the high school, or another reengagement program, excluding jobs for Washington's graduate program.

(j) If concurrently enrolled in a skills center program or running start program, does not exceed the FTE limitation pursuant to WAC 392-121-136;

(k) A student's enrollment in the program is limited to the following:

(i) May not exceed 1.0 FTE in any month (including nonvocational and vocational FTE). If concurrently enrolled in a jobs for Washington's graduates program, the combined FTE does not exceed 1.0 FTE in any month.

(ii) May not exceed 1.00 AAFTE in any school year as defined in WAC 392-700-015(2). If concurrently enrolled in a jobs for Washington's graduates program, the combined AAFTE does not exceed 1.0 AAFTE for the school year.

(2) For all below one hundred level classes, the student enrollment is dependent upon attaining satisfactory progress during any three month period that a student is reported as 1.0 FTE.

(a) Satisfactory progress is defined as the documented attainment of at least one credential identified in WAC 392-700-015(10) and/or of at least one indicator of academic progress identified in WAC 392-700-015(14).

(b) A student who after any three month period of being counted for a 1.0 FTE has not attained a credential or an indicator of academic progress cannot be counted until a credential or an indicator of academic progress is earned.

(i) During this reporting exclusion period, the program may elect to permit the student to continue to attend;

(ii) When the student achieves a credential or an indicator of academic progress, the student ((enrollment may resume to be reported)) may be claimed for funding for the following month. A new three month period for attaining a credential or an indicator of academic progress begins; and

(iii) Rules governing the calculation of the three month period are:

(A) The three month period may occur in two different school years, if the student is enrolled in consecutive school years; and

(B) The three month period is not limited to consecutive months, if there is a break in the student's enrollment.

(3) For below one hundred level classes, student enrollment will be reported as follows:

(a) When the program's total planned hours of instruction pursuant to WAC 392-700-155 for the school year equals or exceeds nine hundred hours:

(i) The program is considered a full-time program; and

(ii) An enrolled student is a full-time student and is reported as 1.0 FTE on each monthly count day.

(b) Enrollment in below one hundred level classes is limited to nonvocational funding and the FTE cannot be claimed as vocational.

(4) For college level classes, student enrollment will be reported as follows:

(a) The FTE is determined by the student's enrolled credits on each monthly count day.

(i) Fifteen college credits equal 1.0 FTE;

(ii) A student enrolled in more than fifteen college credits is limited to be reported as 1.0 FTE for that month; and

(iii) If a student is enrolled for less than fifteen college credits, the FTE is calculated by dividing the enrolled college credits by fifteen.

(b) Enrollment in state approved vocational college level classes and taught by a certified vocational instructor can be claimed for enhanced vocational funding as a vocational FTE.