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On April 27, 2025, the Legislature adjourned after passing its final budget, which was signed by the governor in May. As highlighted in the Superintendent Reykdal’s April 28 press release, the Legislature made some important investments while ensuring maintenance-level funding in K-12 education.
In reconciling a $12 billion state budget shortfall, however, over $135 million in agency funding was eliminated or reallocated for the 2025-2027 biennium. Included in the cuts was over $4.89 million a year in support for dual credit programs.
Consequently, state funding for Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Cambridge International exam fee subsidies and the Consolidated Equity and Sustainability Dual Credit Grant (FP 154) will not be available for the 2025-27 school years.
The College Board will continue to offer AP exams at a reduced cost for Free and Reduced Price Lunch (FRPL) eligible students, but the balance will not be subsidized. Currently, neither Cambridge nor International Baccalaureate offer a discounted rate.
In May, OSPI increased Consolidated Equity and Sustainability grants by almost $500,000 to ensure that schools and districts could directly benefit from this fiscal year’s available funding. As the 2026 legislative session approaches, we will investigate options for recovering fiscal support for dual credit programs. Schools and districts may reach out to their legislators to share the impacts of these cuts and advocate for the resources they need to support their students, families, and communities.
If you have questions about the suspension of dual credit exam fee subsidies or the Consolidated Equity and Sustainability Grant for the 2025-2027 biennium, please contact Tim McClain at tim.mcclain@k12.wa.us.
For seniors who postponed graduation to access Summer Running Start, how and when should districts officially graduate them if the college’s summer term ends after the district’s new academic year begins?
Seniors who’ve met high school graduation requirements before the summer Running Start term but choose to postpone their graduation to access summer classes should still be counted as 2025 and on-time graduates even when there’s a slight overlap in high school and college calendars. To complete the graduation process and maintain seniors’ status as members of their graduating class, districts may establish a graduation date for these students just before the first day of the new academic year.
- For instance, if the new school year begins on Monday, August 25, the students may be officially graduated on Friday, August 22.
Since the Running Start classes these seniors are taking are not satisfying high school graduation requirements nor impacting their eligibility to graduate, final summer term grades may be retroactively applied to the high school transcript. Students must understand that final/official transcripts may not be generated until after the grades have been added.
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Important note: Using the early graduation date is not permitted for seniors who are enrolled in summer Running Start to satisfy unmet high school graduation requirements. These students may not be graduated until final grades are received and should be reflected as 2026 graduates.
What happens when a graduated senior submits a signed RSEVF and enrolls for summer Running Start?
Districts cannot receive nor pass through state funds for officially graduated seniors to attend Running Start; it would be considered a gift of public funds to pay for their enrollment. Students who were officially graduated and still enrolled in summer Running Start must either pay for the course(s) or withdraw unless the college is willing to waive or reduce their tuition/fees. Even if the summer RSEVF was signed or the district failed to delay the student’s graduation, districts do not have the authority to send funding to the colleges that they cannot receive. As some have asked, it should be noted that this is not the same as an error in FTE calculation on the RSEVF, which a district can correct or address by reducing a student’s high school FTE so that their combined FTE does not exceed 1.40 FTE. Districts are not permitted to re-enroll graduated students to generate the funding needed to reimburse colleges for Running Start.
Next year, we will update the summer RSEVF to add a checkbox for students who intend to delay graduation and include an additional step of providing evidence that the appropriate steps have been taken to do so. For this summer, students who did not complete any process to delay their graduation will need to withdraw or pay for this summer’s courses. It is important for college staff to verify with the district that the student was officially graduated in CEDARS, as many students may not understand that walking in a graduation ceremony or receiving a diploma is not the same as being graduated in CEDARS. They may think they graduated because they participated in a ceremony but may still have an open record allowing them to continue Running Start. If it is not possible to confirm the student’s status, colleges must decide whether to request payment or waive or reduce their tuition, ideally prior to the withdrawal date so students can drop their class(es) if they cannot pay.
General questions about summer Running Start may be directed to Tim McClain at tim.mcclain@k12.wa.us.
Questions about summer Running Start enrollment and billing may be directed to Becky McLean at becky.mclean@k12.wa.us.
Questions about CEDARS, transcription, and graduation may be directed to Lisa Ireland at lisa.ireland@k12.wa.us.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Contact...
Dual Credit Program Supervisor
Tim McClain
Tim.McClain@k12.wa.us
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