Release Date:
The State Board of Education approved its 2025 High School and Beyond Plan Recommendations Report during a meeting on August 14, 2025.
The approval concludes a process that began in 2023 when the Legislature passed Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 5242, which directed the Board to provide recommendations to the Governor and Legislature on how the High School & Beyond Plan (HSBP) can better support student choice and flexibility in meeting graduation requirements. The bill also charged the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction with establishing a universal online platform for the HSBP.
Report Recommendations
The recommendations in this report are grounded in extensive community engagement. The Board partnered with community-based organizations College Success Foundation, Foundation for Tacoma Students, and Rhizome who held listening sessions, focus groups, and student-led conversations. The feedback from those engagement sessions were shared with the Board to inform its recommendations and ensure that community voices shaped its work.
Through this engagement, the Board found a need to make the HSBP more flexible and personalized, ensuring it clearly outlines multiple pathways to graduation and life after high school. Students need regular opportunities to update their plans with support from adults and activities tied to real-world experiences. The report also highlights the importance of expanding career exploration, life skills, and culturally relevant pathways, beginning earlier in students’ education and revisited throughout their K–12 journey.
Making this vision possible will require stronger infrastructure and educator support. This includes providing dedicated time during the school day for HSBP activities, protecting and strengthening counseling roles, investing in professional development for educators, and embedding HSBP work into schoolwide practices. By broadening access, preparing educators, and increasing community involvement, the HSBP can become an equity-driven roadmap that prepares every student for the wide range of opportunities available after high school.
These recommendations complement the broader work being done by the Board to modernize Washington’s overall graduation requirements framework through its FutureReady initiative. In partnership with a cross-sector task force of students, families, educators, postsecondary partners, employers, and policymakers, the Board is working to prepare a set of recommendations for a comprehensive policy proposal anticipated for the 2027 legislative session. You can stay up-to-date on FutureReady's work by subscribing for the FutureReady Newsletter.
| Challenge Shared by Community | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Graduation requirements feel rigid or unclear to many students and families | HSBP should clearly identify flexible options for meeting graduation requirements, including those allowable under local district policy |
| Students struggle to find real-world connections between school and future opportunities | Develop exploration activities and build out platform capabilities that help connect students to opportunities that align to their goals |
| Students wish to share accomplishments and highlight their skills and interests | Add a student portfolio or showcase option to allow students to store their best works and accomplishments |
| HSBP content does not provide enough life skill practice (e.g., research, financial literacy, interview prep.) | Develop a state model HSBP curriculum with grade level-appropriate materials and activities to practice life skills |
| Postsecondary planning feels too focused on four-year college, leaving other pathways underexplored | Promote a more balanced and inclusive approach, with robust exploration activities for a variety of pathways |
| Students don’t feel they have enough time or support to engage meaningfully with their HSBP | Provide regular, structured opportunities for review, reflection, and revision of the HSBP supported by trusted adults and embedded in the regular school day |
| Students lack access to individualized guidance | Continue protecting college and career counseling roles and lower student to counselor ratios |
| Educators are not always equipped to support students meaningfully with HSBP | Invest in professional development to help educators and counselors feel confident in supporting student’s goals |
What is the High School & Beyond Plan?
The High School and Beyond Plan is a graduation requirement for every student. It's a process for students, parents, and teachers to guide students through high school and think about their future. Plans are personalized and designed to help students set, visualize, and work to achieve goals. A High School and Beyond Plan is one of the three components, along with Credit and Subject Area Requirements, and Graduation Pathway Options, that Washington students must complete to achieve a high school diploma. The requirements of the High School and Beyond Plan are described in RCW 28A.230.212 and in WAC 180-51-220.