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Katy Payne she/her
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OLYMPIA—February 28, 2025—In Washington state, K–12 public school graduates are required to have a High School and Beyond Plan (HSBP) in order to earn a diploma. The plan, which students begin in the 7th grade, is designed to help connect students’ career interests with their classes, and their classes with career training or college majors.
Following a request by State Superintendent Chris Reykdal, the 2023 Legislature directed OSPI to facilitate a transition to a universal online HSBP platform. Today, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is announcing the launch of that transition.
Across the state, school districts have been using over a dozen different HSBP platforms, and the platforms vary broadly in the kinds of tools and resources that they offer students, families, and schools. Further, because of differences in the functionality of different platforms, a student's HSBP may not follow them if they move.
“The High School and Beyond Plan is a powerful platform that guides students to resources, course options, and other tools in support of their career and college exploration,” Reykdal said. “Every student needs a postsecondary plan for their success and the success of our state."
“Our goal for this project is to ensure all Washington students have access to a platform that offers the most comprehensive suite of tools and resources, and that provides real-time data and information to students, parents, guardians, and counselors,” Reykdal continued.
In May 2024 following a competitive process, OSPI selected SchooLinks as the vendor for the universal online tool. Students in grades 7–12 will get annual access to SchooLinks to support their progress toward graduation and achieving goals such as entering a college or university, apprenticeship program, industry-standard certificate program, military training, internship, or on-the-job training after high school.
The online platform will equip Washington’s students and their schools with customizable tools to set, track, update, and achieve their postsecondary goals. The platform includes activities related to goal setting, course planning, career exploration, financial aid information, and résumé building. The platform provides access for families and educators and implements high standards of security and privacy to protect sensitive student and school information.
During this initial launch, OSPI will be partnering with SchooLinks to support 156 school districts, technical colleges, state-tribal education compact schools, and charter schools across the state who’ve committed to implementing the SchooLinks platform in the 2025–26 school year. These districts are joining the 45 districts that launched SchooLinks during the 2024–25 school year. The remaining school districts will make the transition in the 2026–27 school year.
“I’m grateful for our pilot school districts’ participation in the initial launch, and for the Legislature’s investment in supporting our students’ postsecondary success in this way,” Reykdal said. “I’m looking forward to building a consistent statewide approach to postsecondary planning. Our students and families will be well served by this innovation.”