Current through Register Vol. 24-06, March 15, 2024
(1) Each student
must have a high school and beyond plan informed by a career interest and
skills inventory administered by seventh grade to inform eighth grade
course-taking. By the end of the eighth grade, each student will have begun a
high school and beyond plan that includes a plan for course-taking in the first
year of high school that aligns with graduation requirements and the student's
high school and post-high school goals.
(2) Beginning in the 2020-21 school year,
each school district must have an electronic high school and beyond plan
platform available to all students who are required to have a high school and
beyond plan. Within two years of completion of a universal online high school
and beyond plan platform in alignment with the requirements in
RCW
28A.230.215, school districts must provide
students with access to the adopted universal platform.
(3) Required elements of all high school and
beyond plans must at minimum include:
(a)
Identification of career goals and interests aided by a skills and interest
assessment.
(b) Identification of
secondary and postsecondary education and training goals.
(c) A four-year plan for courses taken in
high school that satisfies state and local graduation requirements and aligns
with students' secondary and postsecondary goals that may include education,
training, and career preparation.
(d) Identification of options for satisfying
state and local graduation requirements, including:
(i) Available advanced course sequences per
the school district's academic acceleration policy, as described in
RCW
28A.320.195.
(ii) Dual credit courses.
(iii) Career and technical education courses
and programs, including career and technical education equivalency courses that
can satisfy core subject area graduation requirements under
RCW
28A.230.097.
(iv) Work-based learning opportunities that
can lead to technical college certifications and apprenticeships.
(v) Mastery-based credit opportunities,
including options for earning the Seal of Biliteracy.
(vi) If applicable, opportunities for credit
recovery and acceleration, including partial and mastery-based credit accrual
to eliminate barriers for on-time grade level progression and graduation per
RCW
28A.320.192.
(e) A current resume or activity log that
provides a written compilation of the student's education, any work experience,
and any community service, and how the district recognizes community service
pursuant to
RCW
28A.320.193.
(f) Evidence that the student has received
information on federal and state financial aid programs that help pay for the
costs of post-secondary programs, including evidence that the student has
received information about the following:
(i)
The college bound scholarship program established in chapter 28B.118 RCW, the
Washington college grant created in
RCW
28B.92.200, and other scholarship
opportunities.
(ii) Documentation
necessary for completing financial aid applications, including at a minimum the
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the Washington application
for state financial aid (WASFA).
(iii) Application and submission
deadlines.
(iv) The importance of
submitting applications early.
(v)
Information specific to students who are or have been the subject of a
dependency proceeding pursuant to chapter 13.34 RCW.
(vi) Information specific to students who
are, or are at risk of, experiencing homelessness.
(vii) Information specific to students whose
family member or guardians will be required to provide financial and tax
information necessary to complete the application.
(viii) Opportunities to participate in
sessions that assist students and, when necessary, their family members or
guardians, in filling out financial aid applications.
(ix) A sample financial aid letter and a link
to the financial aid calculator created in
RCW
28B.77.280.
(x) Information provided on the Washington
student achievement council website concerning each of the state and federal
financial aid applications in this subsection, in accordance with
RCW
28A.300.815.
(g) As established by
RCW
28A.230.097, if a student completes a career
and technical education equivalency course that is transcribed as a core
subject area course to meet graduation requirements, then a record showing that
the career and technical education course was used to meet a core course must
be retained in the student's high school and beyond plan. This record may be
useful if the student pursues education, training, or a career in the same or
related field as the career and technical education course.
(4) High school and beyond plan
process and development.
(a) By seventh grade,
each student must be administered a career interest and skills inventory that
will help inform the student's eighth grade course taking and initial
identification of their education and career goals.
(b) By eighth grade, each student must have
begun development of a high school and beyond plan that includes a proposed
plan for first-year high school courses aligned with graduation requirements
and secondary and postsecondary goals.
(c) Seventh and eighth grade students must be
informed of the college bound scholarship program established in chapter
28B.118 RCW. Students who are or have been the subject of a dependency
proceeding pursuant to chapter 13.34 RCW, students who are or who are at risk
of experiencing homelessness, and ninth grade students who may be eligible must
also be provided with information on the program. Students in the college bound
scholarship program should be reminded about program requirements to remain
eligible and provided with information about filling out a financial aid
application in their senior year.
(d) With staff support, students must update
their high school and beyond plan annually, at a minimum, to review academic
progress and inform future course-taking, including the potential impact of
course selections on postsecondary opportunities. The review may include
in-school or out-of-school opportunities that would help prepare students for
their career or educational goals, such as summer learning opportunities,
internships, student leadership organizations and clubs, and community
service.
(e) The high school and
beyond plan must be updated in the tenth grade to reflect high school
assessment results in
RCW
28A.655.061, ensure student access to
advanced course options per the district's academic acceleration policy in
RCW
28A.320.195, assess progress toward
identified goals, and revised as necessary for changing interests, goals, and
needs.
(f) School districts shall
involve parents and legal guardians to the greatest extent feasible in the
process of developing and updating the high school and beyond plan. The plan
must be provided to the student and the student's parents or legal guardians in
a language the student and parents or legal guardians understand and in
accordance with the school district's language access policy and procedures as
required under chapter 28A.183 RCW, which may require language assistance for
students and parents or legal guardians with limited-English
proficiency.
(g) School districts
must annually provide students in grades eight through 12 and their parents or
legal guardians with comprehensive information about the graduation pathway
options offered by the district and are strongly encouraged to begin providing
this information in sixth grade. School districts must provide this information
in a manner that conforms with the school district's language access policy and
procedures as required under chapter 28A.183 RCW.
(h) School districts are strongly encouraged
to partner with student-serving, community-based organizations that support
career and college exploration and preparation for postsecondary and career
pathways. Partnerships may include high school and beyond plan coordination and
planning, data sharing agreements, and safe and secure access to individual
students' high school and beyond plans.
(i) Students who have not earned a score of
level 3 or level 4 on the middle school math state assessment must include in
their plan taking a math course in each of ninth and tenth grade. The math
courses may include career and technical education equivalencies in math,
established in
RCW
28A.230.097.
(j) For students who have not earned a level
3 or level 4 on their middle school English language arts exam or their middle
school science exam, districts are encouraged to inform students of supports
and courses that will address students' learning needs and be considered in
students' course-taking plans.
(k)
The high school and beyond plan must be updated annually at a minimum to
address:
(i) High school assessment results
and junior year course-taking.
(ii)
A student's changing interests, goals, and needs, including identification of
the graduation pathway option(s) the student intends to complete to meet their
educational and career goals.
(iii)
Available interventions, academic supports, and courses that will enable
students to meet high school graduation credit requirements and graduation
pathway requirements.
(l) For students meeting graduation
requirements in WAC
180-51-068 and
180-51-210, the students' high
school and beyond plans should be used to guide the choices of the third credit
of high school math and the third credit of high school science. These credits
may be earned through career and technical education courses determined to be
equivalent to math and science courses as established in
RCW
28A.230.097.
(m) A student's high school and beyond plan
must inform the student's choice of their graduation pathway option or options
in accordance with WAC
180-51-230.
(5) For a student with an individualized
education program (IEP), the student's IEP and high school and beyond plan must
align. Students with an IEP transition plan, which begins during the school
year in which they turn 16, may use their transition plan in support of, but
not as a replacement for, their high school and beyond plan. The process for
developing and updating the student's high school and beyond plans must be
similar to and conducted with similar school personnel as for all other
students. The student's high school and beyond plans must be updated in
alignment with the student's school to postschool transition plan.
(6) Any decision on whether a student has met
the state board of education's high school graduation requirements for a high
school and beyond plan shall remain at the local level. A district may
establish additional, local requirements for a high school and beyond plan to
serve the needs and interests of its students and the purposes of
RCW
28A.230.090.
(7) Districts may offer core and elective
courses that embed required elements and processes of high school and beyond
planning and are encouraged to provide annual credit-bearing options for the
delivery and completion of high school and beyond plan elements. Conversely, a
high school and beyond planning course or courses may be counted as core or
elective credit, as defined in WAC
180-51-210, if the learning
standards of the content area are addressed.