Current through Register Vol. 24-06, March 15, 2024
The statewide subject areas and credits required for high
school graduation, beginning July 1, 2015, for students who enter the ninth
grade or begin the equivalent of a four-year high school program (the class of
2019), shall total twenty-four as required in this section, except as otherwise
provided in subsections (12) and (13) of this section. All credits are to be
aligned with the state's learning standards developed under
RCW
28A.655.070 for the subject. The content of
any course shall be determined by the local school district.
(1) Four English
credits.
(2) Three
mathematics credits that satisfy the requirements set forth in (a)
through (c) of this subsection:
(a) Unless
otherwise provided for in (b) of this subsection, the three mathematics credits
required under this section must include:
(i)
Algebra 1 or integrated mathematics I;
(ii) Geometry or integrated mathematics II;
and
(iii) A third credit of high
school mathematics, aligning with the student's interests and high school and
beyond plan, with agreement of the student's parent or guardian. The high
school and beyond plan must be provided to the student's parents or guardians
in their native language if that language is one of the two most frequently
spoken non-English languages of students in the district (RCW
28A.230.090 ). Districts are encouraged to
provide plans to parents and guardians in additional languages as needed, to
the extent feasible. If the parent or guardian is unavailable or does not
indicate a preference for a specific course, the school counselor or principal
may provide agreement with the plan.
(b) A student who prior to ninth grade
successfully completes one or more high school level math courses with a
passing grade that is automatically transcribed on the student's high school
transcript in accordance with
RCW
28A.230.090 and WAC
180-51-030, or a student who
demonstrates mastery in high school math subjects and has received credit for
them, may use these credits to meet their math graduation requirements. Refer
to WAC 180-51-030 for information about
opting out of credits and numerical grades. Upon completion of algebra 1 or
integrated math I, geometry or integrated math II, and a third credit of high
school level math that aligns with the student's high school and beyond plan,
the student should be encouraged to consider additional math courses, which
align with the student's education and career goals in their high school and
beyond plan.
(c) A student who
prior to ninth grade successfully completes one or more high school level math
courses with a passing grade and opts to receive no high school credit for such
course(s) in accordance with
RCW
28A.230.090 and WAC
180-51-030, or a student who
demonstrated mas-tery in these subjects but did not receive high school
credits, may either:
(i) Repeat the course(s)
for credit in high school; or
(ii)
Earn three credits of high school mathematics in different math subjects than
those completed before high school. The student must take algebra 1 or
integrated mathematics I and geometry or integrated math II in high school if
the student did not complete these courses at a high school level prior to high
school, but the student does not need to repeat courses if the student already
took the courses at a high school level.
(3) Three science credits, at
least two of which must be in laboratory science as provided in subsection
(17)(a) of this section. A student may choose the content of the third credit
of science, based on the student's interests and high school and beyond plan,
with agreement of the student's parent or guardian. The high school and beyond
plan must be provided to the student's parents or guardians in their native
language if that language is one of the two most frequently spoken non-English
languages of students in the district (RCW 28A.230.-090). Districts are
encouraged to provide plans to parents and guardians in additional languages as
needed, to the extent feasible. If the parent or guardian is unavailable or
does not indicate a preference for a specific course, agreement may be provided
by the school counselor or principal.
(4) Three social studies credits
(two credits prescribed courses, plus a one credit social studies elective) and
a non-credit requirement. The social studies requirement shall consist of the
following mandatory courses or equivalencies:
(a) One credit shall be required in United
States history.
(b) Successful
completion of Washington state history and government shall be required,
subject to the provisions of
RCW
28A.230.170,
28A.230.090,
28A.320.170
and WAC 392-410-120, and shall include
information on the cultures, histories, and governments of the American Indian
peoples who are the first inhabitants of the state. Successful completion of
Washington state history must be noted on each student's transcript. The
Washington state history and government requirement may be waived by the
principal for individual students who:
(i)
Have successfully completed a state history and government course of study in
another state; or
(ii) Are in
eleventh or twelfth grade and who have not completed a course of study in
Washington's history and state government because of previous residence outside
the state or because emergency school closure, or other circumstance due to an
emergency, prevented the student from having the opportunity to fulfill this
requirement.
(c)
One-half credit shall be required in contemporary world history, geography, and
problems. Courses in economics, sociology, civics, political science,
international relations, or related courses with emphasis on contemporary world
problems may be accepted as equivalencies.
(d) One-half credit shall be required in
civics and include at a minimum the content listed in RCW
28A.230.093.
(5)
One-half credit in health.
(6) One and one-half in physical
education. Students may be excused from the physical education
requirement under
RCW
28A.230.050. Such excused students shall be
required to demonstrate mastery of the knowledge portion of the fitness
requirement, in accordance with written district policy. Such policies should
be based upon addressing health and physical education learning standards as
well as alternative means of engaging in physical activities, as directed in
RCW
28A.210.365.
(7) Two arts credits. The
essential content in this subject area may be satisfied in the visual or
performing arts. One of the two arts credits may be replaced with a
personalized pathway requirement as provided in subsection (17)(c) of this
section.
(8) One credit in
career and technical education.
(a) A career and technical education credit
means a credit resulting from a course in a career and technical education
program or occupational education credit as contained in the career and
technical education program standards of the office of the superintendent of
public instruction. "Occupational education" means credits resulting from a
series of learning experiences designed to assist the student to acquire and
demonstrate mastery of skills under student learning goal four and which skills
are required for success in current and emerging occupations. At a minimum,
these competencies shall align with the definition of an exploratory course as
contained in the career and technical education program standards of the office
of the superintendent of public instruction. Districts are encouraged to offer
career and technical education programs, as defined in
RCW
28A.700.010.
(b) An exception may be made for private
schools as provided in WAC
180-90-160.
(c) A student who earns credit through a
career and technical education course determined by the district or by the
office of the superintendent of public instruction to be equivalent to a
noncareer and technical education core course (RCW
28A.700.070 and subsection (14) of this
section), will not be required to pass a course in the noncareer and technical
education subject to earn a credit in that subject. The student earns one
credit while meeting two graduation requirements, a career and technical
education requirement and the noncareer and technical education subject
requirement. The total number of credits required for graduation remain
unchanged, and the student will need to earn an additional elective
credit.
(9) Two credits
in world languages or personalized pathway requirements. If the
student has chosen a four-year degree pathway under subsection (11) of this
section, the student shall be advised to earn two credits in world
languages.
(10) Four credits of
electives.
(11) Each
student shall have a high school and beyond plan to guide his or
her high school experience, as described in WAC 180-51-220.
(12) A school district wishing to implement
the requirements for high school graduation for students who enter the ninth
grade or begin the equivalent of a four-year high school program on July 1,
2016, or July 1, 2017, rather than July 1, 2015, may apply to the state board
of education for a temporary waiver of the requirements of this section. The
state board of education shall post an application form on its website for use
by districts seeking this waiver.
(a) An
application for a waiver must:
(i) Meet the
requirements of chapter 217, Laws of 2014 (E2SSB 6552), which include
describing why the waiver is being requested, the specific impediments
preventing timely implementation of the high school graduation requirements
established in subsections (1) through (10) of this section, and the efforts
that will be taken to achieve implementation with the graduating class proposed
under the waiver.
(ii) Be
accompanied by a resolution adopted by the district board of directors
requesting the waiver. The resolution must state the entering freshman class or
classes for whom the waiver is requested, and be signed by the board chair or
president and the district superintendent.
(b) A district implementing a waiver shall
continue to be subject to the requirements of WAC
180-51-067 during the school year
or years for which the waiver has been granted.
(c) Nothing shall prevent a district granted
a waiver from electing to implement subsections (1) through (11) of this
section during the term for which the waiver is granted. A district granted a
waiver that elects to implement subsections (1) through (11) of this section
shall provide notification of such decision to the state board of
education.
(d) The state board of
education shall post the application for each waiver on its public
website.
(13) A school
district that grants high school diplomas may waive up to two of the credits
required for graduation under this section for individual students for reason
of a student's circumstances, as defined by the district. Unless otherwise
provided in law, students granted a waiver under this subsection must earn the
seventeen required subject credits in subsections (1) through (7) of this
section, which may be by satisfactory demonstration of competence under WAC
180-51-050. The waiving of
credits for individual students for reason of a student's circumstances must be
in accordance with written policies adopted by resolution of each board of
directors of a district that grants diplomas.
(14) Career and technical education courses
determined by the district or by the office of the superintendent of public
instruction to be equivalent to a noncareer and technical education course in
accordance with
RCW
28A.700.070 can be taken for credit in place
of that course. Equivalencies may be determined for any of the core credit
graduation requirements of subsections (1) through (7) of this
section.
(15) Students who complete
and pass all required International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme courses are
considered to have satisfied state subject and credit requirements for
graduation from a public high school, subject to the provisions of
RCW
28A.230.090,
28A.230.170,
and chapter 28A.230 RCW.
(16) A
student with an individualized education program must be provided the
opportunity to meet graduation requirements that align with the student's high
school and beyond plan pursuant to WAC
180-51-115.
(17) Definitions:
(a) "Laboratory science" means any
instruction that provides opportunities for students to interact directly with
the material world, or with data drawn from the material world, using the
tools, data collection techniques, models and theories of science. A laboratory
science course meeting the requirement of subsection (3) of this section may
include courses conducted in classroom facilities specially designed for
laboratory science, or coursework in traditional classrooms, outdoor spaces, or
other settings which accommodate elements of laboratory science as identified
in this subsection;
(b)
"Personalized pathway" means a locally determined body of coursework identified
in a student's high school and beyond plan that is deemed necessary to attain
the post-secondary career or educational goals chosen by the student;
(c) "Personalized pathway requirements" means
up to three course credits chosen by a student under subsections (7) and (9) of
this section that are included in a student's personalized pathway and prepare
the student to meet specific post-secondary career or educational
goals.