Section 3
Running Start Program: Questions & Answers

Eligibility

EQ-1: May a school district condition a student’s eligibility for enrollment of a student in the Running Start Program upon a determination by school district personnel that the student is academically qualified to take college or university course work?

Ans: No. The determination of whether or not a student is competent to profit from college or university course work is within the jurisdiction and authority of the college or university to make.

EQ-2: May a school district condition a student's eligibility for enrollment in the Running Start Program upon the maintenance of a particular grade point average?

Ans: No. The eligibility requirements for participation in the Running Start Program are set forth in statute and rule to the exclusion of any GPA requirement. Nothing in statute or rule implies any authority for school districts to impose additional requirements or conditions upon a student who meets the minimum requirements imposed by law.

EQ-3: May a second year senior enroll in the Running Start Program?
(WAC 392-169-055)

Ans: A second year senior is generally understood as being a student who has failed to meet high-school graduation requirements as of the end of the student’s 12th grade academic year. A second year senior may enroll in the Running Start Program, but may enroll only for those specific courses needed to graduate from high school.

EQ-4: May a high school deny Running Start participation to students under the age of 21?

Ans: No, not if the student meets eligibility requirements.

EQ-5: How is junior/senior standing determined?

Ans: It is the responsibility of the common school district to establish junior/senior standing. Any criteria used to establish grade placement must be applied uniformly to all students.

EQ-6: May home schooled and private schooled students enroll in the Running Start Program?

Ans: Yes. The students must enroll through the local public high school and have obtained junior or senior standing. The home school student so enrolled does not have to attend classes in the public high school in order to participate in Running Start.

EQ-7: How is junior/senior standing determined for private schools and home schooled students who wish to participate in running start? (WAC 28A-200-010)

Ans: It is the responsibility of the common school district to establish grade placement criteria. Some schools consider age appropriateness; others review credits and prior learning. In other cases, a standardized achievement test may be used in the absence of adequate documentation of a student's home-based education.

EQ-8: Are Running Start students subject to the compulsory attendance laws

Ans: Yes, Running Start students are subject to the compulsory attendance law, as set out in RCW 28A.225.010.

EQ-9: May a student expelled from high school for a serious offense enroll in Running Start?

Ans: Yes. Each institution handles the violation of student conduct rules separately. That is to say, a student could be expelled by a high school and continue to participate in college classes. The reverse is also true.

EQ-10: If a currently enrolled Running Start student moves out of the high school district, can the student continue Running Start through the original district?

Ans: Yes. A Running Start student who changes his or her school district of residence, following enrollment in Running Start, solely for the purpose of attending an institution of higher education , shall be deemed to have retained his or her residence in the school district of initial Running Start enrollment for high school graduation, funding, and other purposes under the Running Start Program.

EQ-11: May a district require that a student attend the high school for the purpose of completing a culminating requirements project?

Ans: Yes, if the project is required for high school graduation and the requirement cannot be met otherwise. See the answer to EQ-12 below.

EQ-12: Do Running Start students need to meet the new graduation requirements including the cumulating project and high school plus education plan?

Ans: Yes, otherwise the student does not qualify for a high school diploma.

EQ-13: May a Running Start student be enrolled full-time at the college or university and also enroll in classes at the high school?

Ans: Yes. A student may be counted up to two FTEs between the high school and the college or university with a maximum of one FTE at each institution. This change was to accommodate the student who was jointly enrolled for a total of 1.2 or 1.3 FTEs, for example. This requires very close counseling and agreement by representatives of both institutions. The student is reported on the high school's enrollment report, as well as the enrollment report at the college or university.

EQ-14: May Running Start students be excused from the statewide junior testing required by OSPI because the testing conflicts with college classes?

Ans: Generally speaking, no. Arrangements should be made at the college to accommodate the student who is taking the high school test required by the state.

EQ-15: If a Running Start student withdraws from the college, can the high school prohibit the student from returning to the high school?

Ans: No. It is the duty of the high school to provide an education for students residing in the district.

EQ-16: How do potential Running Start students learn about the program?

Ans: The school district is required to inform all 10th and 11th graders and their parents/guardians about the program.

EQ-17: Who determines which college or technical school the students will attend?

Ans: The student and their parents. Normally the student will attend the institution closest to their high school district.

EQ-18: Is a school district required to provide transportation to a student with disabilities who wants to take classes through Running Start?

Ans: A school district would be responsible for necessary transportation of a Running Start student to and from college if the student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) provides for Running Start enrollment in an institution of higher education.

EQ-19: Can a school district deny a student from applying for Running Start enrollment if the student does not want a diploma from the district or the high school?

Ans: Under current rules, the answer is no. If the student meets all eligibility requirements, the school district cannot keep a student from participating.

EQ-20: Is there any legal authority that allows a community college to limit the proportion of Running Start students in any individual class?

Ans: A policy placing a blanket restriction on Running Start enrollment to a fixed percentage of any class is unlikely to fit within authorized community or technical college enrollment restrictions. The burden would be on the college to establish a sufficient rationale for any policy adopted to limit Running Start enrollment. Any such policy: 1) must be generally applicable; and 2) must be related to: physical facility limitations, or operating funds limitations, or academically efficient class size, or a student’s ability to benefit from a particular class, course or program.

EQ-21: Can a school district impose a registration deadline for Running Start?

Ans: No. However, the college can impose a registration deadline. It is recommended that the high schools and colleges work together to define a mutually agreeable deadline for registration.

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