OLYMPIA — The Washington House has approved a bill that would waive some graduation requirements for individual students during a state of emergency.
The measure, which passed the chamber on a 85-11 vote Wednesday, is an effort to help some students who may have struggled during the last year of online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It now heads to the Senate for consideration.
The Spokesman-Review reported that the bill is a more permanent extension of a measure passed last session, which allowed school districts to provide temporary waivers for students in the class of 2020 who were on track to graduate before the pandemic disrupted their learning.
It allows school districts to apply through the State Board of Education to provide emergency waivers from testing requirements or credit requirements if a local, state or national emergency causes significant disruption to a student’s schooling.
