Dual credit programs

AN ACT Relating to improving student access to dual credit 1
programs including career and technical education dual credit 2
programs; amending RCW 28B.50.531; adding a new section to chapter 3
28A.600 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.320 RCW; adding a 4
new section to chapter 28A.245 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 5
28A.310 RCW; creating new sections; and providing expiration dates.6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that students 8
who participate in dual credit programs have higher rates of college 9
enrollment, persistence, and completion. Dual credit programs are an 10
important element of economic development for Washington because they 11
equip students with the skills needed for high-skill, high-wage 12
employment and continued education in high-demand sectors.13
(2) Strengthening dual credit programs and transitions from 14
secondary to postsecondary education requires a coordinated statewide 15
approach. This effort requires collaboration and leadership from the 16
state board for community and technical colleges and the office of 17
the superintendent of public instruction to ensure students can 18
engage in all forms of dual credit opportunities that align with 19
their career and academic interests. 20
S-1308.1
SENATE BILL 5724
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Krishnadasan, Boehnke, and Cortes
Read first time 02/11/25. Referred to Committee on Early Learning &
K-12 Education.
p. 1 SB 5724
(3) Career and technical education dual credit is the most 1
commonly accessed form of dual credit in Washington and has 2
significant potential to improve equitable access to postsecondary 3
pathways for students from all backgrounds. However, it lags behind 4
other course-based dual credit programs in ensuring that students 5
receive credit on their transcript while in high school, and that the 6
credit they earn will transfer into the postsecondary institution of 7
their choice. 8
(4) Therefore, the legislature intends to streamline statewide 9
and regional efforts that support students' dual credit access and 10
attainment by increasing the collaboration between state and local 11
partners, studying the feasibility of improving the state's dual 12
credit administrative data management system, creating and 13
encouraging the use of statewide articulation agreements for career 14
and technical education dual credit courses, and receiving 15
recommendations on future amendments to state dual credit policies.16
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.600 17
RCW to read as follows: 18
(1) The state board for community and technical colleges and the 19
office of the superintendent of public instruction shall collaborate 20
with the following entities to streamline statewide and regional 21
efforts that support students' dual credit access and attainment: 22
Educational services districts, participating institutions of higher 23
education, skill centers established under chapter 28A.245 RCW, 24
registered apprenticeship programs approved under chapter 49.04 RCW, 25
public high schools, and school districts operating within the 26
educational service district. 27
(2) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this 28
specific purpose, the statewide and regional efforts required by 29
subsection (1) of this section must include the following activities:30
(a) Developing, and updating annually, a comprehensive catalog of 31
dual credit courses and programs offered to students enrolled in 32
public high schools; 33
(b) Aligning career and technical education dual credit programs 34
with postsecondary credential pathways and apprenticeships leading to 35
in-demand career fields; 36
(c) Providing technical assistance to public high schools and 37
institutions of higher education to improve the accuracy and speed of 38
awarding dual credits and updating transcripts; 39
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(d) Providing professional development for staff of public high 1
schools and institutions of higher education to develop, align, and 2
articulate dual credit courses; and 3
(e) Supporting public high school staff in the following 4
activities: 5
(i) Outreach to prospective students and students who have 6
completed career and technical education dual credit courses and are 7
eligible for postsecondary credit about how to receive and where to 8
apply the credit; 9
(ii) Providing technical assistance in course curriculum 10
alignment for career and technical education dual credit courses;11
(iii) Partnering with institutions of higher education to develop 12
articulation agreements for career and technical education dual 13
credit courses; and 14
(iv) Awarding equipment and supplies grants for career and 15
technical education dual credit courses that meet emerging needs in 16
high-demand, high-paying industries. 17
(3) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions 18
apply: 19
(a) "Institution of higher education" has the same meaning as in 20
RCW 28A.600.287. 21
(b) "Public high school" means a public school as defined in RCW 22
28A.150.010 with any of grades nine through 12. 23
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The state board for community and 24
technical colleges shall develop a plan for improving or replacing 25
its online, statewide enrollment and reporting system for career and 26
technical education dual credit.27
(2) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this 28
specific purpose, the plan must include an estimated timeline and 29
cost estimates, including the cost of technical assistance and 30
training, technology updates, and ongoing maintenance requirements, 31
that may be needed to, among other things: 32
(a) Improve cross-system compatibility with the community and 33
technical college administrative system, as well as the comprehensive 34
education data and research system of the office of the 35
superintendent of public instruction; 36
(b) Create tracking of, and alerts for, articulation agreement 37
updates and expiration dates; 38
(c) Create searchable fields for course titles;39
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(d) Improve student account verification; and 1
(e) Add data validation features. 2
(3) In developing the plan, the state board for community and 3
technical colleges shall: 4
(a) Review its June 2022, Washington career and technical 5
education dual credit final report, including the interim report and 6
appendices; 7
(b) Conduct a cost-benefit analysis of moving to a single, 8
statewide system for administering either all dual credit programs or 9
only the career and technical education dual credit program; and10
(c) Consult with other states that have adopted a single, 11
statewide system for administering one or more dual credit programs.12
(4) By October 1, 2026, and in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, the 13
state board for community and technical colleges shall report to the 14
appropriate committees of the legislature with the plan and 15
recommendations for improving dual credit administrative data 16
management, with particular focus on the management of administrative 17
data for career and technical education dual credit programs.18
(5) This section expires August 1, 2027. 19
Sec. 4. RCW 28B.50.531 and 2008 c 170 s 108 are each amended to 20
read as follows: 21
(1) It is the legislature's intent to recognize and support the 22
work of community and technical colleges, high schools, and skill 23
centers in creating articulation and dual credit agreements for 24
career and technical education students, in part by codifying current 25
practice. 26
(2) Community and technical colleges shall create agreements with 27
high schools and skill centers to offer dual high school and college 28
credit for secondary career and technical courses. Agreements shall 29
be subject to approval by the chief instructional officer of the 30
college and the principal and the career and technical education 31
director of the high school or the executive director of the skill 32
center. 33
(3) Community and technical colleges may create dual credit 34
agreements with high schools and skill centers that are located 35
outside the college district boundary or service area.36
(4) If a community or technical college has created an agreement 37
with a high school or skill center to offer college credit for a 38
secondary career and technical course, all community and technical 39
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colleges shall accept the course for an equal amount of college 1
credit. 2
(5)(a) The college board shall create, and publish on its 3
website, articulation agreements for statewide career and technical 4
education dual credit courses. A multiyear work plan must be 5
published on its website and updated biannually. These activities 6
must be conducted in collaboration with the office of the 7
superintendent of public instruction and other relevant stakeholders.8
(b) The statewide articulation agreements for the five most 9
common career and technical education dual credit courses in high-10
demand program areas must be created and published by December 1, 11
2026.12
(c) Community and technical colleges, high schools, and skill 13
centers are strongly encouraged to use available statewide 14
articulation agreements.15
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) In compliance with RCW 43.01.036, the 16
state board for community and technical colleges, in consultation 17
with the office of the superintendent of public instruction, shall 18
jointly report to the appropriate committees of the legislature on 19
the implementation of this act and with recommendations for 20
additional improvements to state dual credit policies. The 21
preliminary report is due by June 30, 2025, and the final report is 22
due by December 10, 2026.23
(2) One or both reports must include the following information:24
(a) Findings regarding the initial streamlining of regional 25
efforts to support dual credit access and attainment as required 26
under section 2 of this act; 27
(b) Findings regarding the creation of statewide articulation 28
agreements as required under RCW 28B.50.531; 29
(c) Findings on costs related to career and technical education 30
dual credit, including the costs to both students and districts 31
associated with the fees for transcription and administration 32
currently charged by colleges, including the identification of 33
individual fees, consortia fees, and total costs; and34
(d) Recommendations to the legislature and relevant state 35
agencies for: 36
(i) Improving career and technical education course articulation 37
and for the development of statewide articulation agreements;38
(ii) Improving data collection and reporting methods;39
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(iii) Credit transcription and transfer processes;1
(iv) Ensuring college and career counseling for high school 2
students includes robust and accurate information about dual credit 3
pathways, including career and technical education dual credit, and 4
their alignment to postsecondary credential and apprenticeship 5
opportunities; 6
(v) Aligning career and technical education dual credit with 7
career-connected learning, apprenticeship, and credential pathways; 8
and 9
(vi) Identifying additional priority career and technical 10
education dual credit courses for statewide articulation including, 11
but not limited to, the targeted industry sectors under RCW 12
43.330.090. 13
(3) The final report must provide recommendations for future 14
changes to state dual credit policies. These recommendations must 15
include: 16
(a) Potential statutory changes; 17
(b) Suggestions for administrative rule improvements;18
(c) Strategies to offset the costs to students, including the 19
cost of required examination or testing fees associated with 20
obtaining state or industry certification in the student's career and 21
technical education program; 22
(d) Further approaches for supporting equitable student access to 23
a variety of dual credit programs statewide; and 24
(e) Further approaches for supporting the effectiveness of a 25
variety of dual credit programs statewide. 26
(4) This section expires August 1, 2027. 27
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 28A.320 28
RCW to read as follows: 29
School districts and public high schools shall collaborate with 30
the state board for community and technical colleges, office of the 31
superintendent of public instruction, educational service districts, 32
and other specified entities to streamline statewide and regional 33
efforts that support students' dual credit access and attainment as 34
required by section 2 of this act. 35
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. A new section is added to chapter 28A.245 36
RCW to read as follows: 37
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The skill centers shall collaborate with the state board for 1
community and technical colleges, office of the superintendent of 2
public instruction, and other specified entities to streamline 3
statewide and regional efforts that support students' dual credit 4
access and attainment as required by section 2 of this act.5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. A new section is added to chapter 28A.310 6
RCW to read as follows: 7
The educational service districts shall collaborate with the 8
state board for community and technical colleges, office of the 9
superintendent of public instruction, and other specified entities to 10
streamline statewide and regional efforts that support students' dual 11
credit access and attainment as required by section 2 of this act.12
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