OSPI Reports to the Legislature

In 2020, the Legislature directed OSPI to convene the African American Studies Workgroup to develop recommendations for integrating African American history, examinations of racism, and the history of the civil rights movement into existing social studies curriculum provided to students in grades seven through twelve. This report provides recommendations for professional development supports, policy development, and pedagogical considerations for teaching African American studies in Washington.

The two-year Children's Regional Behavioral Health Pilot Program was established in 2017 to investigate the benefits of having a Behavioral Health System Navigator at each of the nine regional educational service districts. As part of the pilot, Navigator positions were created at two of the state's educational service districts. The benefits proved tangible, and the report concludes with recommendations for next steps to build upon the successes of the pilot.

While the number of youth being incarcerated has been steadily declining over the past 10 years, the acuity of needs has increased dramatically. In 2019, the Legislature directed OSPI, in collaboration with the Department of Children, Youth, & Families (DCYF), to create a comprehensive plan for the education of students in DCYF Juvenile Rehabilitation (JR). This report focuses on the long-term juvenile institutions operated by DCYF as well as the JR Community Facilities that offer classroom instruction.

In 2019, the Legislature passed comprehensive school safety legislation (House Bill 1216). The bill included a data collection and monitoring component to ensure school district compliance related to comprehensive school safety planning; planning for recognition, screening, and responding to emotional or behavioral distress in students; and school-based threat assessment programs. This report outlines plans for and barriers to implementation of data collection and monitoring, which is set to begin in the 2021–22 school year.

In 2019, the Legislature passed comprehensive school safety legislation (House Bill 1216). The bill defined a School Resource Officer (SRO) Program and included training requirements for school districts that have an SRO, including a requirement for OSPI to provide training materials. This report includes an update on implementation of the requirements.

In 2019, at the direction of the Legislature, OSPI created the School Safety and Student Well-Being Advisory Committee to advise the State Superintendent and our state's public and private schools on all matters related to comprehensive school safety and student well-being. This report includes an overview of the Committee's work in 2019–20, as well as four recommendations to the Legislature to improve school safety and student well-being in Washington.

In 2018, the Legislature shifted responsibility of certain school waiver applications from the State Board of Education (SBE) to OSPI. Consistent with that authority, OSPI is required to annually report waiver applications to SBE and the House and Senate Education Committees.

The Student Transportation Allocation Determination Legislative Report outlines the method used in determining transportation allocations for school districts.

Every year on January 16, Washington's public schools participate in "Temperance and Good Citizenship Day." On this day, social studies teachers who teach seniors provide time for students to register to vote. Between May of 2019 and February of 2020, Washington state registered nearly 62,000 young people to vote, exceeding the goal of 50,000.

Career and technical education (CTE) course equivalencies are courses that provide students the opportunity to meet standard in core subject areas through CTE courses. Since the prior year, the number of high school state and local equivalency courses offered, as well as the number of students who participated, both increased during the 2019–20 school year. This report includes data from the 2019–20 school year.

Online learning continues to grow in Washington state, with more representation from some student groups. The overall online course success rate decreased slightly from 2017–18 to 2018–19, and the success rate for non-online courses increased slightly from 2017–18 to 2018–19.

Safety Net funding is available to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) that demonstrate need for additional special education funding. Applicants must show need beyond state and federal funding already available to the LEA. The Legislature requires OSPI to annually survey LEAs about their satisfaction with the Safety Net process. The survey is used to consider feedback from LEAs to improve the Safety Net process.

English learners (ELs) are students whose primary language is not English and are eligible for English language development services through the Transitional Bilingual Instruction Program (TBIP). Eligible ELs receive TBIP services until they become proficient in English. During the 2018–19 school year, 134,763 students were identified as ELs, a 0.6% increase from 2017–18.

The Seal of Biliteracy is an award earned by graduating seniors who meet certain proficiency standards in both English and a second language. Students may also earn competency-based credits in high school if they are proficient in a second language. In 2019–20, 3,403 high school seniors earned the Seal and 5,269 high school students earned world languages competency-based credits.