Under a new state proposal, every Washington high school senior will know how to complete a résumé and financial aid research in a mandatory yearlong class.
State Superintendent Chris Reykdal announced the "Postsecondary Launch Course" on July 7. The required senior-year class would cover résumé-building, voter registration, job and college applications, and financial aid.
Students who pass would earn a half-credit in financial literacy and postsecondary readiness plus a half-credit in civics, fulfilling an existing graduation requirement.
"Students are graduating from the K-12 system without consistent access to the tools needed to support their independence," Reykdal said. "Young people are taking on loans and credit card debt without knowledge of the implications."
Washington has required high schools to offer financial literacy since 2015, but the class is optional and uptake is low. Legislative attempts to mandate it have failed four times since 2024. Sen. Adrian Cortes, D-Battle Ground, sponsored the most recent bill, Senate Bill 5849, which stalled in committee.
Only 37% of high school students correctly answered at least three of five basic financial literacy questions in a 2023 SPARK Institute survey.
The course would not take effect until the 2030-31 school year, OSPI spokesperson Katy Payne confirmed. The State Board of Education must first adopt a draft resolution at its mid-August meeting, then submit the proposal to state lawmakers for the 2027 legislative session. The earliest affected students would be the Class of 2031.
At Cleveland STEM, 45.5% of the 904 students qualify for free or reduced lunch in the 2025-26 school year, 13.5% are English language learners, and head counselor Napsiyah Sallee guides 220 seniors through postsecondary planning. Cleveland's Class of 2025 posted a 59% four-year and 34% two-year college acceptance rate.
Rainier Beach High Schoolrequires seniors to complete a High School and Beyond Plan that includes building a résumé and researching financial aid, components that overlap with Reykdal's proposal. Whether a new mandatory course would require additional staffing at south end schools is unclear. SPS does not publicly report school-level counselor-to-student ratios.
SPS, led by Acting Superintendent Fred Podesta, has not publicly commented on the proposal. The seven-member Seattle School Board has not taken a position. The district is separately transitioning to a new college and career planning tool called SchooLinks beginning fall 2026.
The State Board of Education is also weighing whether to cut required credits in career and technical education, the arts, and health and physical education. Reykdal urged the board to keep those requirements.
Seattle Schools Week Ahead
- Wednesday, July 8, 6–7:30 p.m. — State Board of Education public webinar on draft graduation requirement changes. Microsoft Teams. Register at sbe.wa.gov/our-work/futureready.
- Thursday, July 9, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m. — Second SBE public webinar, same topic. Microsoft Teams. Register at sbe.wa.gov/our-work/futureready.
