Earlier this month, Governor Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5048 into law making College in the High School (CHS) courses free to all public high school students in Washington. Sponsored by Senator Mark Mullet, the bill passed the Senate and House unanimously after many years of legislative effort and will be in effect for the 2023-24 school year.
For more than 40 years, the UW has partnered with high schools across Washington to offer official UW courses to students in their high school classrooms. UW in the High School (UWHS) courses are taught by high school teachers approved and trained by UW faculty and the credits earned in these courses can be put toward a degree at the UW or transferred to other colleges or universities across the U.S.
Until now, CHS courses were paid for by the high school students and their families, which created inequities for low-income students who could not afford the fees. Senate Bill 5048 remedied this by eliminating the cost to high school students for CHS programs. The legislation also aims to encourage more Washington students to pursue postsecondary education.
On May 20, almost 200 high school teachers attended the UWHS Teacher Training Day to learn from UW professors and prepare for the upcoming school year. Senator Mullet also joined to connect with the teachers and faculty members, observe the training, and celebrate the passage of Senate Bill 5048.
For more information, check out the UW Continuum College’s recent post Expanding Access to UW in the High School.