FutureReady

What's on this Page

Current Draft Proposal

Proposal Development Timeline

Opportunities to Get Involved

Resources to Learn More

Submit FutureReady Public Comment

Questions about FutureReady can be directed to:

Colton Kaltenfeldt, Communications Manager

Current Proposal

The proposal is designed to create graduation requirements that give every student the opportunity to explore their interests, build real-world skills, and prepare for life after high school, while supporting schools in offering relevant, authentic, and interdisciplinary learning opportunities. It also maintains strong academic expectations that keep multiple postsecondary options open as students’ goals evolve.

On August 13, the Board passed a Resolution to Approve the Washington FutureReady State Graduation Requirement Framework. During their September 10 meeting, Board members will consider approval of agency request legislation and proposed rules based on the adopted resolution.

FutureReady Draft Graduation Requirement Framework — FutureReady draft credit framework infographic. Click here to view this image as a PDF.

Better Support Student Postsecondary Planning and Success by Integrating High School and Beyond Plan, Financial Education, and Life Skills Instruction into the Credit Framework

Many students and educators feel that the High School and Beyond Plan is a checkbox exercise that doesn’t give them the time and support to meaningfully explore interests, set goals, and prepare for life after high school. Additionally, students and families have consistently asked for more opportunities to learn financial education and life skills.

The proposal would create a one-credit Personalized Pathway Requirement focused on financial education, High School and Beyond Plan instruction, and life skills.

For this credit, the Board recommends developing a state model curriculum while allowing local school districts flexibility in how they deliver the content. Districts could offer the content as a single integrated course or incorporate it across multiple courses and instructional experiences.

Expand Flexibility Aligned with Postsecondary Goals by Shifting Some Core Requirements into Expanded Personalized Pathway Requirements

Under the proposal, some courses would move into expanded Personalized Pathway Requirements (PPRs), so students have more flexibility to tailor coursework to their interests and postsecondary goals without lowering academic expectations.

The PPRs are default courses that most students would complete. If a student has a clear postsecondary plan documented in their High School and Beyond Plan, they may substitute default PPRs with other courses if the student, in consultation with their family and educators, thinks the substitution would better support that individual student’s goal.

Under this proposal, the following items would be included in the PPRs:

A one-credit Senior Year Quantitative Reasoning course. This would be an algebra-based science course or a math course beyond Algebra 2 taken in a student's senior year.
Two credits of a global language. This would be any two of the same world language, American Sign Language, or Tribal language credits. A student can also meet this requirement by receiving the Washington State Seal of Biliteracy.
Half-credit of Health or Physical Education with a focus on mental health and wellness
Half-credit of Physical Education
A one-credit Financial Education, High School and Beyond Plan, and Life Skills course. As noted above, districts could offer the content as a single integrated course or incorporate it across multiple courses and instructional experiences.

Additionally, at a minimum, one of a student’s 24 credits is expected to be a CTE course(s), either as a standalone course or through a CTE course equivalency. Like a Personalized Pathway Requirement, the CTE credit may be substituted on an individual student basis in alignment with preparation for a clear postsecondary plan documented in the High School and Beyond Plan and in consultation with a student's family and educators.

This approach gives students more time and support to meaningfully explore their interests, set goals, and prepare for life after high school. Students who take all the recommended default courses in the PPRs would remain on track to pursue a wide range of postsecondary options, including four-year colleges, apprenticeships, military service, and workforce training programs.

Streamline the Graduation Framework by Removing Graduation Pathways

Many students, families, educators, and school leaders have told us that graduation pathways are widely regarded as an administrative hurdle that doesn’t effectively check whether a student has the knowledge needed to succeed after graduation. The proposal would simplify the framework by eliminating this requirement and redistributing that time so educators can provide more consistent and thorough individualized guidance to students to help them prepare for life after high school.

Strengthen Math Preparation

The framework strengthens math expectations by requiring all students to complete coursework that prepares them with real-world quantitative skills. The proposal does this in two ways:

Ensure the default math sequence is aligned with college admissions expectations by setting the default third math credit to either Algebra 2 or Integrated Math III. For additional flexibility, a student may also satisfy the third math credit by taking Data Science, Statistics, or Financial Algebra.

Most students would complete a senior year quantitative reasoning course as one of the default PPRs.

Increased Emphasis on Civics

Combine the current half-credit Civics course and half-credit Contemporary World History, Geography, and Problems course into a single one-credit Civics course.

Civic knowledge and engagement are essential for success in today's democracy. Combining these subjects creates a more cohesive learning experience while giving students additional time to explore contemporary world history, geography, and problems content through a civics lens.

Add Interdisciplinary Learning for Technology and Media Literacy

The proposal would add a requirement for districts that instruction on technology and media literacy shall be provided at all grade levels in an interdisciplinary way through English Language Arts, science, the social studies, and other appropriate areas. Currently, schools are only required to provide students with access to the state computer science learning standards, and provide access to an elective computer science course.

These requirements will help prepare students to use technology thoughtfully throughout their lives, think critically about technology and information, and adapt to the ways emerging technologies, including AI, will continue to shape society and the workforce.

Rebalance Health & Fitness Requirements

Update the health and physical education requirements to give students more opportunities to receive health education while providing greater flexibility in how they meet the requirements.

Under the proposal, 0.5 credit of Health and 0.5 credit of Physical Education would remain core requirements that all students must complete. The remaining 1.0 credit would become part of the Personalized Pathway Requirements (PPRs) and would be divided into two 0.5-credit requirements:

0.5 credit of Physical Education
0.5 credit of Health or Physical Education focused on mental health and wellness

This gives students more flexibility to tailor coursework based on their High School and Beyond Plan if needed, while still ensuring they receive important instruction that supports long-term well-being.

Expand CTE Opportunities and Flexibility

Career and Technical Education (CTE) gives students opportunities to explore careers and develop practical skills while earning high school credit. The proposal would strengthen access to CTE while giving students more flexibility to choose coursework that aligns with their goals.

Under the proposal, one of a student’s 24 credits is expected to be a CTE course(s), either as a standalone course or through a CTE course equivalency. This could be a standalone CTE course(s) or a CTE course equivalency. A student could substitute another course if, in consultation with their family and educators, the student's High School and Beyond Plan shows that another course better supports their postsecondary goals.

The proposal also includes two policy changes to CTE:

Ensure consistent student access to CTE preparation opportunities by requiring school districts to offer at least one CTE course sequence that meets the state's criteria for preparatory CTE programs as noted in RCW 28A.700.030.
Encourage districts to utilize existing flexibility in CTE course equivalencies by allowing students to earn two credits when a CTE course provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate competency in both the CTE standards and academic course standards. Refer to our FAQ section on CTE for more information.

Together, these changes are intended to give students more opportunities to explore careers, earn credit through hands-on learning, and connect their high school coursework to their goals after graduation.

Create Consistent Statewide Policy for Flexible Credit Options

Students consistently express a desire for more hands-on learning experiences and greater flexibility in how they earn credits. While state law already allows school districts to adopt policies that meet this need—including competency-based crediting and Career Technical Education (CTE) course equivalencies—implementation and access vary considerably from district to district.

The Board’s proposal would address these concerns in two ways:

Establish consistent statewide policies for how students can earn competency-based credit, PE excusals tied to athletic participation outside school, and obtaining language credits as a multilingual learner. Creating statewide policies ensures that a student's location is no longer the determining factor in whether they can benefit from these policies.

Encourage districts to utilize existing flexibility in CTE course equivalencies by allowing students to earn two credits when a CTE course provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate competency in both the CTE standards and academic course standards. Under the current system, students can sometimes meet two subject-area requirements while earning only one credit, limiting flexibility within the 24-credit framework. This change would give students more opportunities to meet graduation requirements through meaningful, career-connected learning experiences.

Definitions:

Core Courses: Must be completed by all students in order to earn a diploma. School districts must offer all requirements on a schedule that ensures students can complete the requirements within four-years during the regular school day.

Personalized Pathway Requirements: Courses most students are expected to take that keep all postsecondary options open. Courses may be substituted on an individual student basis in alignment with preparation for a clear postsecondary plan documented in the High School and Beyond Plan and in consultation with a student's family and educators. School districts must offer all requirements on a schedule that ensures students can complete the requirements within four-years during the regular school day.

Elective Credits: Any courses that allow a student to explore their interests and help reach 24 credits. Districts may waive up to two elective credits for individual student circumstances.

A Process Shaped by the Voices of Students, Educators, and Community Members

FutureReady was intentionally designed to be different from traditional policy-development processes. Rather than developing recommendations first and seeking feedback later, FutureReady was designed to foster a collaboration of ideas between the Board and community members. We made a particular effort to include voices that have historically been underrepresented in education policy conversations, including students with disabilities, multilingual families, migrant families, youth in foster care, and other underserved communities.

At the heart of this work is the FutureReady Task Force, which is made up of students, families, educators, employers, community organizations, and policymakers from across the state. To support meaningful participation of communities least well served by our education system, the Task Force includes six compensated community liaisons who help engage communities across Washington by reducing barriers such as transportation and childcare.

The Task Force meets every other month, typically in odd-numbered months, while the Board discusses FutureReady during its meetings in even-numbered months. This approach has ensured a continuous thread of two-way dialogue, allowing for an iterative process where both groups remain aligned and inform one another’s work.

The Task Force's work is also supported by expert-led subcommittees focused on key topics including math, financial education and life skills, technology and media literacy, implementation supports, and educator development.

You can learn more about the FutureReady Task Force by visiting our Task Force webpage.

In addition to perspectives shared by Task Force members, the Board has received input from hundreds of educators and other school staff across the state through engagement with educator and administrator associations.

To broaden our engagement with community members, the Board has also helped facilitate community listening sessions which have gathered input from hundreds of students and community members across the state. Populations included in these listening sessions include:

Youth who have recently graduated high school and now attend college.

Students from rural school districts

Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)

LGBTQIA+ individuals

Tribal communities

Military-connected families

Families with lower incomes

Migrant families

Multilingual families

Reengaged youth

How We Got Here & What's Next for FutureReady

FutureReady launched in 2025. The initiative is divided into three phases.

Phase I: Visioning & Gap Analysis
(Completed)

The Board launched FutureReady to examine whether Washington's current graduation requirements prepare students for success after high school. Working with the FutureReady Task Force, the Board developed a shared vision for the high school diploma and identified gaps between that vision and the state's current graduation framework.

Phase II: Developing Recommendations
(Completed)

The Board and Task Force collaborated with students, families, educators, employers, community organizations, and subject-matter experts to develop recommendations that address gaps identified in the system.

Phase III: Legislative Proposal Development
(Current Phase)

After reviewing public feedback, the Board will refine its recommendations and develop a legislative proposal for consideration during the 2027 legislative session.

When Will Changes Take Effect and What Students Would Be Impacted?

There are two types of changes in the FutureReady proposal: those that would require legislative approval during the 2027 session and those that can be implemented by the Board using its rulemaking authority. For actions requiring legislative approval, the Board intends to request legislation that would enact the following timeline for implementation:

The Graduation Pathway Requirement would be removed as a requirement to earn a diploma immediately. This means that starting as early as the Class of 2028, a student would no longer need to complete a Graduation Pathway in order to graduate.
All other changes requiring legislative action would, at the earliest, be implemented as a requirement for the Class of 2032 (students entering ninth grade in fall 2028).

For changes that can be implemented through the Board’s rulemaking authority and have no state fiscal impact, as determined by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, most changes would go into effect for the graduating class of 2032 (students entering ninth grade in fall 2028). Some system changes that do not impact credit requirements for students might be implemented earlier based on guidance from stakeholders.

How Can You Get Involved?

Whether you're a student, parent, educator, employer, or community member, your input is invaluable. Here are a few ways you can share your thoughts and stay up-to-date.

Give a Public Comment

Have something you want to say? Comments submitted using this form will be shared with the Board and may be publicly posted.

Provide Public Comment

Subscribe to the FutureReady Newsletter

This is the best way to receive updates on the initiative and be the first to hear about important announcements.

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Want to Learn More?

Listen to our July Informational Webinars on the Draft FutureReady Proposal

In this webinar, Board staff share what they've heard from students, families, educators, employers, Tribes, and community partners. They discuss draft recommendations and talk about what comes next as the Board works to refine recommendations ahead of the 2027 legislative session.

Click here to view a copy of the slide deck used in this presentation.

Read the FutureReady 2025 Interim Report

We are excited to publicly release the FutureReady 2025 Interim Report.

This report summarizes the work the Board and FutureReady Task Force have accomplished during their first year of work. It talks about why we’re updating requirements, our process for determining gaps in current graduation requirements, and what the next steps are as the FutureReady initiative prepares to develop recommendations.

We extend our gratitude to all the individuals and organizations who have supported our work over the last year. We look forward to continuing this work in 2026 as we develop recommendations for a high school diploma that prepares all students for success after high school.

Read the 2025 Interim Report

Other Resources

Download our FutureReady Phase II handout for an overview of the initiative, its timeline, and what kind of topics we're exploring.
Our "What Does FutureReady Change Infographic" compares the current credit requirement framework to the proposed requirement framework and highlights specific changes.
Our FutureReady FAQ section answers many of the questions we've received about the initiative.