Any compliance reporting requirements as a result of laws in this chapter that apply to second-class districts may be submitted in accordance with RCW 28A.330.250.
[ 2011 c 45 § 49; ]
The work-integrated learning initiative is established. The purpose of the initiative is to promote work-integrated learning experiences for students by providing:
An opportunity for students to engage in work-based academic programs with public and private sector employers, such as internships, externships, and registered apprenticeships; and
A framework for the development and replication of successful work-integrated learning programs throughout the state.
Local applicant schools receiving funding through participation in the initiative must:
Provide academic curricula in a work-integrated and career-contextualized manner and include an external mentor for each student in the program;
Demonstrate collaboration with and input from students, parents or guardians, local employers, community members, a workforce development council, and a labor organization. Evidence of local collaborations may include but are not limited to partnerships with a dropout reengagement organization, an apprenticeship sponsor, a community and technical college, a STEM network, or a homeless youth service organization;
Reflect local circumstances, including local industries, employers, and labor markets;
Comply with graduation requirements established by the state board of education; and
Align the high school and beyond plans of participating students to reflect opportunities that may be available through the initiative.
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Local applicant schools selected to participate in the work-integrated learning initiative must, in accordance with this section and RCW 28A.300.196, submit to the work-integrated learning advisory committee created in RCW 28A.300.196 an interim and an end-of-project report that includes numeric and other data summarizing the effects of their work-integrated learning project programs on high school graduation rates, state test scores, and community partnerships, including partnerships with local employers and industries.
In complying with this subsection (3), local applicant schools must also provide other data and information as requested by the work-integrated learning advisory committee in accordance with RCW 28A.300.196.
For the purposes of this section and RCW 28A.300.195 and 28A.300.196, "work-integrated learning" includes but is not limited to early, frequent, and systematic learning experiences that are essential for preparing Washington youth for high-demand, family-wage jobs in Washington state, and that engage students in grades five through twelve or through high school dropout reengagement plans.
[ 2018 c 206 § 1; ]
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Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the office of the superintendent of public instruction must administer the regional educator recruitment program. Grant awards of up to one hundred thousand dollars each must be awarded to the three educational service districts whose school districts have the least access to alternative route teacher certification programs under chapter 28A.660 RCW.
Beginning September 1, 2019, the educational service districts in the program must employ a person with the duties and characteristics specified in RCW 28A.310.235. The educational service districts in the program must collaborate with the office of the superintendent of public instruction and the Washington association of educational service districts to prepare the report required in (c) of this subsection.
By December 1, 2021, and in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, the office of the superintendent of public instruction, in collaboration with the Washington association of educational service districts, must evaluate the program and submit a report to the appropriate committees of the legislature. At a minimum, the report must: Summarize the activities of the educational service districts in the program with regard to educator recruitment, including the activities described in RCW 28A.310.235, in comparison to the educator recruitment activities of the educational service districts not participating in the program; include any relevant outcome data that is available; and recommend whether the program should be modified, expanded to all educational service districts, or discontinued.
This section expires July 1, 2022.
[ 2019 c 295 § 103; ]
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Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the Washington professional educator standards board shall distribute grants to an educational service district that volunteers to pilot an alternative route teacher certification program, under chapter 28A.660 RCW. The purpose of the grant is to provide financial assistance to teacher candidates enrolled in the educational service district's alternative route teacher certification program with the intent to pursue an initial teacher certificate. The Washington professional educator standards board must provide a grant sufficient to provide up to five thousand dollars of financial assistance for up to twenty teacher candidates in the 2019-20 school year and for up to thirty teacher candidates in the 2020-21 school year.
In piloting the program, the educational service district must:
Engage retired or practicing teachers and administrators who are knowledgeable and experienced classroom teachers to inform the development and curriculum of the program;
Provide extended support and mentoring through the first three years of a teacher's career, using the components of the beginning educator support team, under RCW 28A.415.265;
Support school districts in developing school staff and community members to become teachers, so that the district's teachers better reflect the region's demographics, values, and interests; and
Provide opportunities for classified staff to become teachers.
By November 1, 2024, the volunteer educational service district must report to the Washington professional educator standards board with the outcomes of the pilot and any recommendations for implementing alternative route teacher certification programs in other educational service districts. The report must include the following data: (a) The number of teacher candidates applying for, and completing, the alternative route teacher certification program; (b) the number of program completers who are hired as teachers, both in the educational service district and elsewhere in the state; and (c) the retention of teachers in the educational service district before and after implementation of the pilot. The data must be disaggregated by race and ethnicity, gender, type of endorsement, and school. The report must also include feedback from school principals and teachers in the local school districts on the quality of the teacher candidates they worked with during the pilot.
By December 1, 2024, and in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, the Washington professional educator standards board must submit the educational service district's report, required under subsection (2) of this section, to the appropriate committees of the legislature, with recommendations for whether the pilot program should be expanded, modified, or terminated.
This section expires August 1, 2025.
[ 2019 c 295 § 109; ]
By December 1, 2019, and in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, the student achievement council, in cooperation with the Washington professional educator standards board-approved teacher preparation programs, the Washington state school directors' association, and the rural education center at Washington State University, must submit a report to the appropriate committees of the legislature. The report must include policy recommendations to encourage or require the Washington professional educator standards board-approved teacher preparation programs to develop relationships with, and provide supervisory support for field placements of student teachers in, school districts that are not in the general geographic area of an approved teacher preparation program.
[ 2019 c 295 § 204; ]
The professional educator standards board and the state board for community and technical colleges, in consultation with the superintendent of public instruction, the state apprenticeship training council, and community colleges, shall adopt rules as necessary under chapter 34.05 RCW to implement the paraeducator associate of arts degree.
As used in this section, a "paraeducator" is an individual who has completed an associate of arts degree for a paraeducator. The paraeducator may be hired by a school district to assist certificated instructional staff in the direct instruction of children in small and large groups, individualized instruction, testing of children, recordkeeping, and preparation of materials. The paraeducator shall work under the direction of instructional certificated staff.
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The training program for a paraeducator associate of arts degree shall include, but is not limited to, the general requirements for receipt of an associate of arts degree and training in the areas of introduction to childhood education, orientation to children with disabilities, fundamentals of childhood education, creative activities for children, instructional materials for children, fine art experiences for children, the psychology of learning, introduction to education, child health and safety, child development and guidance, first aid, and a practicum in a school setting.
Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, by September 1, 2018, the training program for a paraeducator associate of arts degree must incorporate the state paraeducator standards of practice adopted by the paraeducator board under RCW 28A.413.050.
Consideration shall be given to transferability of credit earned in this program to teacher preparation programs at colleges and universities.
[ 2017 c 237 § 17; 2011 1st sp.s. c 11 § 132; 2006 c 263 § 815; 1995 c 335 § 202; 1995 c 77 § 27; 1991 c 285 § 2; 1989 c 370 § 1; ]
Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the office of the superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with the state board for community and technical colleges, shall establish the running start summer school pilot program as described in this section. The purpose of the pilot program is to evaluate interest in and barriers to expanding the running start program to include the summer term.
The office of the superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with the state board for community and technical colleges, must select up to three community colleges that choose to participate in the pilot program during the 2021 and 2022 summer academic terms. One community college must be located east of the crest of the Cascade mountains and another must be located in a county with a population between one hundred fifteen thousand and one hundred fifty thousand.
Participating community colleges must establish agreements with the school districts of eligible students about data sharing, credit transfer, funds transfer, and other administrative matters.
Under the pilot program, an eligible student may enroll in a participating community college tuition-free. Students who are eligible under subsection (7)(a)(ii) of this section may enroll for a maximum of five college credits per summer academic term. Provisions in RCW 28A.600.310 (2) and (3), which describe fees paid by running start students and fee waivers for low-income running start students, apply to eligible students participating in the pilot program.
The school district of an eligible student must transmit to the participating community college an amount per each full-time equivalent college student at statewide uniform rates for vocational and nonvocational students. The superintendent of public instruction shall separately calculate and allocate amounts appropriated for this specific purpose under the omnibus operating appropriations act to school districts for purposes of making such payments and for granting school districts seven percent thereof to offset pilot program related costs. The calculations and allocations must be based upon the estimated statewide annual average per full-time equivalent high school student allocations under RCW 28A.150.260, excluding small high school enhancements, and rules adopted under RCW 28A.600.390. The funds received by the community college from the school district are not tuition or operating fees and may be retained by the community college. A student enrolled under this section must be counted for the purpose of meeting enrollment targets in accordance with terms and conditions specified in the omnibus operating appropriations act.
By November 10, 2022, and in accordance with RCW 43.01.036, the office of the superintendent of public instruction and the state board for community and technical colleges shall jointly report to the appropriate committees of the legislature with findings from and recommendations regarding the pilot program, including recommending whether to expand the running start program to include the summer term.
The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
"Eligible student" means:
A student attending a participating high school who will be eligible to enroll in grade eleven or twelve in the subsequent school year; or
A student who graduated from a participating high school in the current school year and who has five or fewer college credits to earn before meeting associate degree requirements.
"Participating community college" means a community college selected, as described in subsection (2) of this section, to participate in the pilot program.
"Participating high school" means a high school in a school district that has an agreement, as described under subsection (3) of this section, with a participating community college.
"Pilot program" means the running start summer pilot program established in this section.
"Running start program" has the same meaning as in RCW 28A.600.300.
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Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, and unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the requirements established in RCW 28A.600.300 through 28A.600.400 apply to the running start summer school pilot program.
The provisions of RCW 28A.600.310(4) relating to calculation, allocation, and distribution of funds and RCW 28A.600.385 relating to cooperative agreements with community colleges in Oregon and Idaho do not apply to this section.
This section expires December 31, 2022.
[ 2020 c 348 § 2; ]
The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules as necessary under chapter 34.05 RCW to carry out the provisions of chapter 233, Laws of 1989.
[ 1989 c 233 § 17; ]
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The bridge year pilot program is established. The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall administer the program as described in this section. The purpose of the pilot program is to provide students in the graduating class of 2021 and 2022 an additional year to address the learning loss and missed opportunities in extracurricular activities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Each high school participating in the pilot program shall designate a school staff member as a bridge year liaison to serve as the school's central point of contact for students interested in pursuing a bridge year and for students participating in a bridge year. Nothing in this section requires a school district to hire an individual to serve as a bridge year liaison.
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A bridge year liaison shall develop an individual learning plan for each student pursuing a bridge year, in consultation with the student. The individual learning plan must define academic and cocurricular goals for the bridge year and detail activities and strategies for accomplishing those goals including, but not limited to, counseling, academic support, coursework, and cocurricular or athletic participation.
The credits taken by a student in this program must form a coordinated sequence of academic content that prepares the student for high-skilled, high-wage, or in-demand occupations.
At the conclusion of each term of the bridge year, the host high school shall update the student's high school transcript to reflect any high school credits earned during the bridge year.
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A student who has met all applicable high school graduation requirements in the graduating class of 2021 or the graduating class of 2022 may defer graduation from high school to pursue a bridge year.
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Except as provided in (b)(ii) of this subsection (3), to be eligible to participate in the bridge year pilot program a student must be 19 years of age or younger and must not turn 20 years of age at any time during the bridge year.
A student is eligible to participate in the bridge year pilot program if the student will turn 20 years of age during the bridge year due to services provided pursuant to the student's individualized education program plan.
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During the first term of the student's bridge year, the student must take between two and four high school credits, or the postsecondary equivalent, at the student's host high school, an institution of higher education, or a combination thereof.
During the second term of the student's bridge year, the student must take between nine and 12 quarter credits, or the equivalent, at an institution of higher education or through college in the high school courses.
A student participating in this program must maintain a grade point average of at least 2.0 in order to remain in the bridge year pilot program.
The host high school shall permit students participating in the bridge year pilot program to participate in graduation ceremonies with the graduating class of 2021 or class of 2022, as applicable, but may not issue diplomas to those students until the conclusion of the bridge year. Students that have met all graduation requirements have graduated with their initial graduation cohort for the purpose of calculating the four-year graduation rate for that cohort.
School districts participating in the bridge year pilot program shall expunge from a student's transcript any "D" or "F" grade, or its equivalent, for a course if the student takes the same course during the student's bridge year and completes the course with a higher grade than the grade in the student's transcript.
The institution of higher education at which a student attends under this program shall report at least quarterly to the bridge year liaison at the student's host high school concerning the student's academic progress and performance, in a manner specified by the student's individual learning plan developed under subsection (2) of this section.
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In the event that a student initially decides to pursue a bridge year in the fall term but does not continue in the following term, the student's host high school shall release all final transcripts and other records as necessary and as may be requested.
A student who decides not to continue the bridge year is not eligible to participate in a sports program or other extracurricular activities under this section or section 2 of this act.
For the purposes of this section:
"Host high school" means the high school that a student pursuing a bridge year attended at the beginning of the student's senior year.
"Institutions of higher education" has the same meaning as in RCW 28A.600.300.
Nothing in this section requires a student to pursue a bridge year.
A private school may elect to participate in the bridge year pilot program created under this section.
For purposes of funding allocations and student enrollment, students participating in the bridge year pilot program are running start students participating in the running start program under RCW 28A.600.300.
Students participating in the bridge year pilot program are eligible for college in the high school courses under RCW 28A.600.290.
Students participating in the bridge year pilot program are eligible recipients for funds distributed under chapter 28A.150 RCW.
The office of the superintendent of public instruction may adopt rules necessary for the effective and efficient implementation of this act.
[ 2021 c XXX § 1; ]**
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A student who pursues a bridge year pursuant to this act may participate in activities sanctioned by the Washington interscholastic activities association and extracurricular activities at the student's host high school.
A student participating in a sport or extracurricular activity during the student's bridge year shall pay applicable student athletic and activities fees and be subject to the host high school's student code of conduct, athletic code of conduct, and any other applicable codes, rules, or policies required for student participation in these activities.
Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, nothing in this act supersedes the governance or eligibility rules established by a local, state, or national organization with bona fide authority over a particular extracurricular activity.
For students participating in an interscholastic activity under this section, the Washington interscholastic athletic association shall be requested to waive the applicable consecutive year eligibility rule.
Notwithstanding the provisions of any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, an insurer doing business in the state and issuing liability insurance policies to school districts must provide coverage for students participating in a sport or extracurricular activity under this section as part of a school or school district's liability insurance policy.
For purposes of this section, "host high school" has the same meaning as in section 1 of this act.
[ 2021 c XXX § 2; ]**