March Meeting Recap

SBE held its latest Board meeting March 9-10, and discussed private schools rules, graduation data, emergency waivers, graduation requirements alignment, legislative session, and more. Find documents from the meeting and links to TVW’s live stream on SBE’s meeting page.

Private Schools Rules - The Board adopted permanent rules for Chapter 180-90 WAC for private schools. The permanent rules make clarifications to emergency rules

currently in effect through April 12, 2022. The rules add procedural elements to an earlier emergency rule adopted in September 2021 that was focused on the clarification of the applicability of health and safety regulations. Changes in rule clarify the procedural steps for rescission, ensure there is an opportunity to appoint a third party to act as hearing officer, and clarify definitions in response to public feedback.

Class of 2021 Graduation Data - the Board heard an update on graduation data from the Class of 2021. The four-year adjusted graduation cohort rate was 82.5 percent, which was 0.4 percentage points lower than the corresponding rate for the previous graduation class. Of the 70,009 graduates in the class of 2021, 8,737 individual students (12.5 percent of the graduates in the final adjusted graduation cohort) were granted a credit waiver and/or a graduation pathway waiver. Students from lower income households, students with a disability, English learners, and students of color accessed waivers of graduation requirements at rates higher than their representation in the final adjusted graduation cohort. View the SBE PPT.

Graduation Requirement Emergency Waiver Program - The Board discussed whether the program should be extended to students graduating in 2023 and subsequent classes, and what changes, if any, should be made. The current rules allow for up to two credits to be waived, provided that a student graduates with no fewer than a total of 20 credits. The waived credits should be limited to classes impacted by disruptions due to the pandemic, and the district should prioritize supporting students in completing the coursework most closely related to a student's High School and Beyond Plan.

Waived credit may be core or flexible subject area credits, provided that no more than one credit in each core subject area is waived. The Board approved proposed rules that would extend the same waivers to the Class of 2023. The proposed rules would limit the waiver to one credit that could be waived for the Class of 2024. The proposed rules will be available for public comment prior to a hearing to be scheduled in April and possible final adoption by the Board at the May meeting.

Graduation Requirements Alignment - Staff gave an overview of a plan to align graduation requirements with the Washington Profile of a Graduate. Board members discussed the consensus statements and approach to the work. Equity Committee members shared their recommendations for the scope of the work. View the SBE PPT. The Board plans on reaching out to partners and the public to engage in this work starting with listening sessions in April. For more information about the alignment work and ways to participate with the Board on this initiative, visit sbe.wa.gov/alignment.

Legislative Session – Staff provided an overview of legislation from the 2022 session, with a focus on agency request bills and other bills and budgetary items that align with the Board’s priorities or directly impact the Board's work. Then the Board previewed the interim plan for developing priorities and policy proposals to consider for next legislative session.

Upcoming Board Meeting
The next meeting is scheduled for May 11-12, 2022. The agenda and materials will be posted one week in advance of the meeting on SBE’s meetings page.