Out-of-District Credits for First Time Credit

A. Conditions

Section I of this procedure outlines the process by which first time credit to fulfill graduation requirements will be granted for student learning that occurs outside of Seattle Public Schools for students actively enrolled in Seattle Public Schools. Out-of-District courses include courses taken through public schools outside of the Seattle School District, private schools, OSPI approved online providers, postsecondary institutions, or other educational activities and opportunities. Credit toward high school graduation may be granted for learning experiences outside Seattle Public Schools for first time credit from an accredited institution under the following conditions:

• Approval for credit has been obtained from student’s school administrator prior to enrollment and/or participation in the equivalency course of study.
• The learning experience meets OSPI standards: (Uhttp://www.k12.wa.us/CurriculumInstruct/default.aspx).
• The letter grade earned will not be posted to the Seattle Public Schools transcript. Instead, student will receive a “P” for passing or an “N” for not passing, which will be posted to the Seattle Public Schools transcript.
• Families who wish to partially enroll their children in programs or courses offered through another school district must meet with enrollment services and complete the inter-district enrollment process. Students may not exceed the maximum FTE allowed by OSPI.
• Seattle Public Schools is not responsible for NCAA Clearinghouse information for courses taken outside of Seattle Public Schools’ oversight. Not all courses meet NCAA standards. It is up to each family to determine whether or not a particular course meets NCAA standards.
• Seattle Public Schools does not guarantee that postsecondary institutions will recognize or accept out-of-district courses when evaluating student applications to those institutions. It is up to each family to determine whether or not any course meets the standards for postsecondary institutions of interest to the student.
• Seattle Public Schools is not responsible for costs or fees. In special circumstances, a school may pay for costs and fees if funding is available, pending approval by Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction.

B. Process

• Families must complete the Equivalency of Study for First Time Credit Form and provide the form and course information to the student’s school administrator prior to taking the course.
• Administrator will evaluate the course based on the Decision Tree for Out-of- District Credits, (per subsection D below).
• Administrator will inform the student/family of the decision in a timely manner.
  • If the request is approved, the student will complete the course, then submit a sealed official transcript to his/her school for addition to the Seattle Public Schools transcript. Note that the credit will be recorded as pass/no pass, not as a letter grade.
  • If the request is not approved, the student may still take the course, but credit for the course will not be issued on the Seattle Public Schools transcript. The student may choose to independently submit the out-of- district credit to colleges or programs.

C. Limitations

Students may take no more than four out-of-district online learning credits towards graduation purposes while enrolled in Seattle Public Schools high schools. If there are extenuating circumstances, schools may appeal to the Department of College and Career Readiness for permission to allow a student to apply additional online credits towards graduation.

D. Decision Tree for Out-of-District Credits

Principals must answer the following questions when deciding whether or not to allow students to take out-of-district courses for first time credit:

1. Is the student a middle school student or high school student?
   • Middle school students may not take out-of-district courses for high school credit. Students entering 9th grade are considered high school students when their academic records are transferred to their high school. If the student is in high school, proceed to the next question. If the student is not in high school, deny the request.
2. What institution is providing the course?
   • Generally, courses must be taught by one of the following approved providers (please see the exceptions section below for more information):
     • OSPI approved online course provider;
     • Accredited community college, technical college, or university in Washington State;
     • Approved private school in Washington State. All private schools in Washington must be approved in order to operate, so any private school where a student might take a course is approved;
     • High school or online school in a school district in Washington State.
     • If the course is provided by one of the above institutions, proceed to the next question. If not, deny the request.
3. Does the course meet a graduation requirement for the student?
   • If the course meets a graduation requirement, proceed to the next question. If the student cannot apply this course towards graduation, deny the request.
4. Does the student’s school offer this course, and is there room in the class for the student to register (please see the exceptions section below for more information)?
   • If the course is not offered and/or there is no room in the class, approve the request. If the course is offered at the school and the student can register, proceed to the next question.
5. Would taking the requested course help the student get on track to access college preparatory classes such as AP, IB, or the equivalent during the student’s junior or senior year of high school?
   • If the course would help the student get on track to access college preparatory courses, approve the request. If not, deny the request.
     • Examples of how to answer this question:
       • Approve the request if the student failed Algebra 1A as a first semester freshman, and then subsequently passed it second semester, and wants to take Algebra 1B out-of- district over the summer, in order to take Geometry sophomore year, Algebra 2 junior year, and Precalculus or IB math senior year.
       • Deny the request if the student is already enrolled in grade level courses, and will be able to access AP, IB, and equivalent courses during junior or senior year without taking the requested out-of-district course.

E. Exceptions

• Participation in a district approved education program, e.g. Upward Bound or LEEP, does not require approval via the Equivalency of Study for First Time Credit Form. Students may participate in these programs beginning the summer between their 8th and 9th grade year, and will receive high school credit for successfully completing the programs.
• Per question 2 in the Decision Tree, students are to take out-of-district courses with approved providers. However, students/families may appeal to take a course with a non-approved provider if the course is not being offered by an approved provider. It is the responsibility of the student/family to provide course materials for district review. Principals are directed to provide the appealing student/family with a district waiver, collect the completed waiver, and forward it on to the Department of College and Career Readiness for review. Note that the appeal will only be considered by the district if all other conditions under the Decision Tree have been met, as determined by the student’s high school, and the appeal is submitted at least 60 days prior to the start of the requested out-of-district course.
• Per question 4 in the Decision Tree, students are to take courses at their high school if those courses are offered and there is room for the students in those courses. However, a student/family may appeal to take a course out-of-district when the course is offered at the school and there is room in the course under the following circumstances:
  • Student is in the class of 2020-2023 and has already planned a high school course of study that does not leave room for the course in question, or;
  • Extenuating circumstances necessitate the student missing one or more periods of the school day throughout a marking period.
• Principals are directed to provide the appealing student/family with a district waiver, collect the completed waiver, and forward it on to the Department of College and Career Readiness for review. Note that the appeal will only be considered by the district if all other conditions under the Decision Tree have been met, as determined by the student’s high school, and the appeal is submitted at least 60 days prior to the start date of the requested out-of-district course.
• Exceptions to this section of the procedure may apply to students with individual education plans or 504 supports. Please see procedures 2161SP and 2162SP for more information.

Credit Recovery

Credit recovery is a course-specific, skill-based, extended learning opportunity for students who have previously been unsuccessful in mastering the content or skills required to receive course credit or earn promotion. The primary purpose of this procedure is to address the needs of students who have failed courses needed for their graduation. The Superintendent is authorized to develop a program through which students may recover credits, in compliance with Washington State regulations.

Students should enroll in credit recovery courses supervised by Seattle Public Schools. If there are extenuating circumstances preventing students from accessing credit recovery through Seattle Public Schools, they may be granted permission to enroll in out-of-district credit recovery, per subsection II(I) of this procedure.

A. Student Eligibility

Students may be eligible for credit recovery if they meet the following criteria:

• The student’s parent or legal guardian gives written consent for the student to enroll in the proposed credit recovery course. Parents/guardians should be informed that not all postsecondary institutions will accept credit recovery courses for credit and that the NCAA Clearinghouse will not accept some credit recovery courses for credit.
• The student has previously taken an initial, regular section of the proposed course and received an E or no credit.
• If the credit recovery course is an online course, the student has earned fewer than eight online credit recovery credits. Students may take no more than eight online credit recovery credits towards graduation purposes while enrolled in Seattle Public Schools high schools.

B. Credit Recovery Options

Seattle Public Schools will offer a variety of credit recovery options. Credit recovery will be delivered by a certified teacher.

Credit recovery may be delivered as follows:

• Credit recovery may be delivered through summer school offerings.
• Credit recovery may be delivered by an OSPI approved computer based program facilitated and sponsored by a Seattle Public Schools staff member.
• Credit recovery may be delivered through district created and taught courses.
• Credit recovery may be delivered by an OSPI approved computer based program and taught by state certified teachers.
• Credit recovery may be delivered through district approved assistive instructional technology under the supervision of trained staff after approval by appropriate budget and departmental review (such as 504 or Special Education).

C. Supporting Student Success

The school will provide the following supports to students to help ensure a successful recovery learning experience:

• The counselor, principal, or other school staff member will advise students in selecting and registering for credit recovery learning options to which the school facilitates access.
• Students registered for online credit recovery will be assigned to a school staff member who will serve as a local advisor. The local advisor will check on student attendance and course progress, communicate with parents about student progress, and submit the course grade to student’s counselor.
• Students registered for online credit recovery will be given access to a computer. The school may offer a dedicated class period during the school day in which students may connect to their online course and to their local advisor.

D. Costs/Fees

• Courses offered to students for which the district claims state education funding or that are included as part of the legally required annual minimum instructional hour offering will be paid for by the district. These are courses that are considered part of a school’s master schedule or are otherwise courses offered by the district or by the individual school. Students/families may be responsible for fees as specified by School Board Policy 3520, Board Procedure 3520BP, and Superintendent Procedure 3520SP.
• Courses offered to students for which the district claims no state education funding and that are not included as part of the legally-required annual minimum instructional hour offering will be paid for by students/families, including any course fees.

E. Student Responsibilities

• Adhere to the Basic Rules of Seattle Public Schools and all rules outlined in the Student Rights & Responsibilities Handbook.
• Comply with course participation and completion requirements.
• Notify the district if participation in an online course ceases or changes.
• Maintain agreed-upon levels and kinds of communication with the local advisor throughout the term of the course.
• Participate in an online course orientation if available.

F. Parent or Guardian Responsibilities

• Ensuring that students are making progress towards credit recovery completion.
• Communicating with local advisors or online program team.

G. School Responsibilities

• Inform staff, parents/guardians, and students of the online courses that are available to them.
• Inform staff, parents/guardians, and students of the online course prerequisites, technology requirements, course outlines, syllabi and possible fees.
• Inform staff, parents/guardians and students of how to seek and access technology resources and technological requirements beyond the school day.
• Ensure communication between the student’s local advisor and parent/guardian. The school will inform students and their parent/guardian of rescheduling options or grade impacts in the event a student withdraws from a credit recovery course prior to completion.
• Seattle Public Schools shall track and designate students enrolled in credit recovery courses in compliance with state guidelines.

H. Awarding Credit

• The grade assigned by the teacher of record for the credit recovery course will be added to the official Seattle Public Schools transcript, but the previous grade will remain on the transcript. Grades and credit will not be added to transcripts until an official transcript/grade score has been received.
• The school counselor will determine how much credit will be awarded, based on instructions in the Counseling Manual.

I. Exceptions

• In some circumstances, Seattle Public Schools may not be able to provide credit recovery courses that students need in order to graduate. If this happens, students may be permitted to enroll in out-of-district credit recovery and have any credits earned added to their Seattle Public Schools transcripts, based on the following conditions:
  • Family must request permission by completing and submitting the Equivalency of Study for Out-of-District Credit Recovery Form to the student’s school administrator prior to taking the course. Note that students taking credit recovery through Seattle Public Schools do not need to fill out this form.
  • Principal/school administrator will only approve the request if credit recovery needed is not available through Seattle Public Schools.
  • Course must be provided by:
    • OSPI approved online provider;
    • or accredited community college, technical college or university in Washington State;
    • or approved private school in Washington State;
    • or high school or online school in a school district in Washington State.
  • Upon completion of course, student must submit a sealed official transcript to his/her school. The grade earned through the credit recovery course will be added to the official Seattle Public Schools transcript, but the previous grade will remain on the transcript.
  • Student/family is responsible for all costs and fees associated with the course.
  • Exceptions to this section of the procedure may apply to students with individual education plans or 504 supports. Please see procedures 2161SP and 2162SP for more information.

This procedure is effective July 1, 2019.

Policy Cross References

• 2024 – Out-of-District Credits and Credit Recovery
• 2420 – High School Grade and Credit Marking

Revisions

• June 17, 2019
• May 2019

Approved by the Board

• December 2011