RCW 28A.655.260 Graduation pathway options—Report and survey.

(1) The superintendent of public instruction shall collect the following information from school districts: Which of the graduation pathways under RCW 28A.655.250 are available to students at each of the school districts; and the number of students using each graduation pathway for graduation purposes. This information shall be reported annually to the education committees of the legislature beginning January 10, 2021. To the extent feasible, data on student participation in each of the graduation pathways shall be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and receipt of free or reduced-price lunch.

(2) Beginning August 1, 2019, the state board of education shall conduct a survey of interested parties regarding what additional graduation pathways should be added to the existing graduation pathways identified in RCW 28A.655.250 and whether modifications should be made to any of the existing pathways. Interested parties shall include at a minimum: Representatives from the state board for community and technical colleges and four-year higher education institutions; representatives from the apprenticeship and training council; associations representing business; members of the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee; and associations representing educators, school board members, school administrators, superintendents, and parents. The state board of education shall provide a report to the education committees of the legislature by August 1, 2020, summarizing the information collected in the surveys.

(3) Using the data reported by the superintendent of public instruction under subsection (1) of this section, the state board of education shall survey a sampling of the school districts unable to provide all of the graduation pathways under RCW 28A.655.250 in order to identify the types of barriers to implementation school districts have. Using the survey results from this subsection and the survey results collected under subsection (2) of this section, the state board of education shall review the existing graduation pathways, suggested changes to those graduation pathways, and the options for additional graduation pathways, and shall provide a report to the education committees of the legislature by December 10, 2022, on the following:

(a) Recommendations on whether changes to the existing pathways should be made and what those changes should be;

(b) The barriers school districts have to offering all of the graduation pathways and recommendations for ways to eliminate or reduce those barriers for school districts;

(c) Whether all students have equitable access to all of the graduation pathways and, if not, recommendations for reducing the barriers students may have to accessing all of the graduation pathways; and

(d) Whether additional graduation pathways should be included and recommendations for what those pathways should be.

[ 2019 c 252 § 202.]

NOTES:

Intent—2019 c 252: See note following RCW 28A.655.250.