Policy 2420 is not compliant with revisions made by the legislature to RCW 28A.635.060 which states, in part: "... the school district may withhold the diploma, but not the grades or transcripts, of the student responsible for the damage or loss..."
Another recommended change to the policy is based on recognized best practices in grading. Grades are intended to reflect a student's progress toward standards and course outcomes. When students receive a "0" for missed work, their grades are disproportionally negatively impacted. For example, if a student is meeting the benchmark and goals for a course and has seven grades, five of which average to 80% (Typically a "B"), but is missing two assignments for which they receive a 0%, their grade will lower from a "B" to an "E/F." As a result, their grade will not reflect their actual performance toward standards and course goals.
If the lowest score possible is a 50% (which represents an E/F grade) then in the same scenario the "B" Student's score would still go down, but rather than failing a course for which they are demonstrating competency their grade will lower to a C-.
Another change we are recommending is in procedure 2420P. We wish to eliminate the "F" and use "E" instead. It makes sense that we use letters in "alpha-order". The "F" exists because it connotes "Failing." We believe a better frame is to use "E". If any connotation must be attributed, it is that "Extended learning" is needed to meet the course outcomes.