Class of 2016 Faces Rule Revisions to State Graduation Requirements

Change is coming to Washington state high schools – but not just yet.

On Nov. 10, the Washington State Board of Education approved multiple changes to the state’s high-school graduation requirements. The Class of 2016 will be required to take more English and social studies classes.

That translates to an additional year, or credit, of English and an extra half-credit in social studies.

The added credits bring Washington more in line with other states’ high-school graduation requirements. Prior to the rule revision, 45 states required more English and 39 states, more social studies than Washington. The state’s graduating classes through 2015 are required to take three credits of English and 2.5 credits of social studies.

Superintendent Debbie LeBeau said that the rule revisions will not have a huge impact on the Clover Park School District.

“We already had most of the requirements,” she said, adding that the major change will be the social-studies requirement.

CPSD currently offers a Civics class as a half-credit elective at . In order for it to become a requirement, the school board will have to approve it and then change the grade levels at which it is offered. The district will also need to purchase additional instruction materials.

“We have to change our graduation policy,” LeBeau said. “That’s not a huge deal, but we do have to take it through the board.”

LeBeau said that whenever the state changes the requirements, it does present some challenges.

“They say there is no cost associated, but there is,” she said. “We have to buy additional materials; we have to make some changes across the district.”

Additionally, with four years of English and three years of math now required, that could mean that some students are taking both during all four years of high school if they do not pass the latter.

“(The) vote is the culmination of years of diligent and thoughtful work,” said Board Chair Jeff Vincent in a news release. “We are confident that these new requirements will result in more students graduating better prepared for the challenges ahead.”

The state has mandated that districts be allowed to receive a two-year extension from the new requirements in order to give them additional time to plan for and implement the required changes.

LeBeau said that while some of the changes the state makes – namely regarding assessments – do not give them much time, she appreciates that these requirements come with what she called “lead time.”

“As next year’s ninth-graders come in, you have to be ready for this,” she said. “You can’t just implement new requirements when kids are (already) in high school.”

Per the rule revisions, students are now able to take Washington State History in middle school and have it count toward graduation as a non-credit requirement. Students also may take a Career and Technical Education course and have it satisfy two requirements, such as CTE and fine arts.

LeBeau said that when the state changed the state-history requirement so students who transfer to a Washington high school do not have to take it to graduate, it was helpful for CPSD, which has a high concentration of military families.

“It is important to know about Washington state, but if they move around a lot, it can be unrealistic for it to be a graduation requirement,” she said. “That was a big problem for us.”

Now, she said, CPSD will have to figure out how to transition students from other states if Civics is not a requirement until 12th grade.