ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5410 - Higher Education Credit - Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Cambridge International Exams - Effective Date July 28, 2019

Oct 23, 2026

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ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5410 establishes a systemwide higher-education credit policy for students earning minimum scores on Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Cambridge International exams. The legislation directs institutions to create coordinated, evidence-based processes for granting undergraduate college credits, including elective and course-equivalent credit where appropriate. It requires publication of credit policies on campus websites, retroactive awarding for students first enrolled in 2018-19, biennial reviews, and legislative reporting. Effective July 28, 2019.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time10 min

AccessFree to download

Certification of Enrollment

Higher Education Credit Policy Provisions

Sec. 1 Systemwide Credit Policy

Sec. 2 Amendments to RCW 28B.10.054

Sec. 3 Repeal of Prior Credit Policies

CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5410 Chapter 316, Laws of 2019 66th Legislature 2019 Regular Session HIGHER EDUCATION CREDIT--ADVANCED PLACEMENT, INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE, AND CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL EXAMS EFFECTIVE DATE: July 28, 2019 Passed by the Senate April 23, 2019 Yeas 47 Nays 0 CYRUS HABIB | President
Passed by Yeas 98 | of the Senate
the House April 16, 2019 Nays 0
FRANK CHOPP | | --- | --- | Speaker of the House of Representatives CERTIFICATE I, Brad Hendrickson, Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5410 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth . BRAD HENDRICKSON Secretary Approved May 8, 2019 4:20 PM FILED May 13, 2019 JAY INSLEE Governor of the State of Washington Secretary of State State of Washington ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5410 AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE Passed Legislature - 2019 Regular Session State of Washington 66th Legislature 2019 Regular Session By Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development (originally sponsored by Senators Mullet, Rivers, Palumbo, Liias, and Wilson, C . ) READ FIRST TIME 02/07/19 . 1 AN ACT Relating to a systemwide credit policy regarding advanced 2 placement, international baccalaureate, and Cambridge international 3 exams; amending RCW 28B .10 .054 ; creating a new section; and repealing 4 RCW 28B .10 .051 . 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON: 6 NEW SECTION . Sec . 1. The legislature finds that advanced 7 placement, international baccalaureate, and Cambridge international 8 coursework prepares students for postsecondary success and provides 9 opportunities for them to earn college credit or secure placement in 10 advanced courses . 11 The legislature feels strongly that students who have earned 12 minimum scores of three on advanced placement exams, four on 13 standard-level and higher-level international baccalaureate exams, or 14 scores of E (e) or higher on A and AS level Cambridge international 15 exams deserve to receive undergraduate college credit, including 16 elective credit and, where appropriate, course equivalent credit, for 17 their work . 18 The legislature finds it necessary to develop a systemwide credit 19 policy that allows those students to easily understand in advance 20 whether institutions of higher education will award them credit, as p . 1 ESSB 5410 .SL 1 well as which type of credit students will receive and the rationale 2 for the institution of higher education's determination . 3 The legislature further encourages institutions of higher 4 education to establish a policy favoring the award of course 5 equivalent credit for the successful completion of standardized and 6 commonly required courses . 7 Sec . 2. RCW 28B .10 .054 and 2017 c 179 s 2 are each amended to 8 read as follows : 9 (1) The institutions of higher education must establish a 10 coordinated, evidence-based policy for granting as many undergraduate 11 college credits , as possible and appropriate, to students who have 12 earned minimum scores of three on ((~~AP~~ )) advanced placement exams 13 ((~~ as possible and appropriate~~ )) , four on standard-level and higher- 14 level international baccalaureate exams, or scores of E (e) or higher 15 on A and AS level Cambridge international exams . 16 (2) Each institution of higher education must create a process 17 for retroactively awarding international baccalaureate exam 18 undergraduate college credits under the terms of this section to 19 students who first enrolled in the institution of higher education in 20 the 2018-19 academic year . 21 (3) Credit ((~~policy~~ )) policies regarding all ((~~AP~~ )) advanced 22 placement and international baccalaureate exams must be posted on 23 campus web site

FAQs

What exams and minimum score criteria does ESSB 5410 cover for awarding college credit?

The bill covers Advanced Placement exams with minimum scores of three, International Baccalaureate exams with four or higher on standard-level and higher-level exams, and Cambridge International exams with E(e) or higher on A and AS level exams.

What actions must higher education institutions take regarding credit decisions and transparency?

Institutions must establish coordinated, evidence-based policies for granting as many appropriate undergraduate credits as possible, create processes for retroactive awarding for eligible students first enrolled in 2018-19, and post credit policies on campus websites for the relevant academic terms.

How does the law handle reviews and reporting of credit policies?

Institutions must conduct biennial reviews of their advanced placement, International Baccalaureate, and Cambridge International credit policies and report noncompliance to appropriate legislative committees by the specified deadline each biennium.

Oct 23, 2026

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