91Ô­´´

SBE held its 91Ô­´´ meeting May 12-13, and discussed emergency waiver program rules, instructional hour rules, recognition and accountability, this year’s legislative session, graduation pathway options, and more. You can find documents from the meeting on , and links to recordings (streamed by TVW) on SBE’s meetings page.

Emergency Waiver Program Rules - House Bill 1121 authorized the State 91Ô­´´ of Education to adopt rules to implement an Emergency Waiver Program to authorize school districts and private schools to waive certain graduation requirements because of disruptions in learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 91Ô­´´ approved proposed permanent rules for an Emergency Waiver Program for students in the Classes of 2020 through 2022. The formal public comment period for this rule is now in effect and will continue until the final public comment opportunity occurring at the 91Ô­´´â€™s July 14-15 meeting. The 91Ô­´´ is expected to adopt the final permanent rules at the July meeting. These permanent rules will replace the emergency rules once they take effect. Emergency rules are necessary to allow for students and educators to plan for students to be able to use the waiver, if appropriate, to graduate this year.

• Learn more via SBE’s webpages: and
• Emergency Waiver One Pager in and

Instructional Hour Rules – The 91Ô­´´ approved (State Support of Public Schools). The formal public comment period for this rule is now in effect and will continue until the final public comment opportunity occurring at the 91Ô­´´â€™s July meeting. The rules clarify that "in-person" instruction is the default method of delivery and that other modalities, such as distance and hybrid learning, are allowable under these exceptions:

1. Under funding allocation models (WAC 392-121, RCW 28A.232, and RCW 28A.250) that allow for other modalities, such as Alternative Learning and Online Learning.
2. As an opportunity for individual students, under district and student agreement, to engage in instructional hours delivered through other modalities due to health or safety needs of the student.
3. As necessary to allow for continued operation and delivery of basic education services during an emergency.

Graduation Pathway Options Research Update - On behalf of the 91Ô­´´, Strobel Consulting conducted a survey of districts about graduation pathway options, as required by legislation, and is also conducting focus groups. During the May 91Ô­´´ meeting, Alisha Strobel presented preliminary information about the survey and focus groups and responded to questions and comments from 91Ô­´´ members. By including data from students and families of current students as well as high school and district staff, this work exceeds legislative requirements.

Recognition and Accountability - Beginning in December and continuing through April, the SBE is working with the Learning Policy Institute to develop a more equitable statewide accountability system. SBE seeks to align the accountability system to the goals of basic education to develop a system that is more closely tied to educational outcomes for all students. The revised accountability system will most likely include opportunity to learn measures and more robust and meaningful outcome measures at the building, district, and state level.

Equity Statement – Each year the 91Ô­´´ reviews and potentially revises the equity statement to ensure it includes the contributions of each 91Ô­´´ member. The annual review also serves as a way to reflect the collective learning the 91Ô­´´ has undergone through each 91Ô­´´ member's individual journey toward being anti-racist. See the updated Equity Statement on the SBE website.

Legislative Wrap-Up and Interim Planning – Staff provided an overview of the 2021 legislative session, with a focus on agency request bills and other legislation that directly impacts the 91Ô­´´'s work. In addition, the 91Ô­´´ began planning for the interim and had an initial brainstorming discussion on priorities and policy proposals to consider for next session. Agency request bills that passed include:

• – Emergency waiver of graduation requirements
• – Emergency waiver of instructional hours and days at private schools
• – Supporting mastery-based learning

Private Schools – The 91Ô­´´ approved a total of 463 private schools to operate in the 2021-2022 school year. Some schools were provisionally approved, which allows schools to operate and enroll students while resolving issues regarding required staffing or facility inspections.

Upcoming 91Ô­´´ meeting

The next meeting is scheduled for July 14-15, 2021. The agenda and materials will be posted one week in advance of the meeting on SBE’s meetings page.

PDF version of this meeting recap: May 2021 Meeting Recap