Graduation Requirements

The Kennewick School District has both credit and non-credit graduation requirements.

Credit Requirements

A total of twenty-one (21) credits in grades 9 through 12 are required for graduation from high school in the Kennewick School District.  A student who successfully completes a semester of work in a course earns one-half (0.5) credit in that course.  Each earned credit is accumulated into specific graduation requirement categories.  Credit will not be granted in any course in which a student receives a semester grade of F, U, INC, NC, NG, AUD, W, or WF.  A student may be denied credit, at the discretion of the teacher, in any course in which the student has accumulated 12 or more non-school related absences during the semester.  Such credit-denial decisions may be appealed to the Principal.

Non-Credit Requirements

The non-credit graduation requirements include satisfying computer competence, culminating project, Navigatin 101, and Washington State History provisions; and demonstrating basic skill proficiency in reading, writing, mathematics, and science (science applies to students in the Class of 2015 and beyond) by passing the HSPE/WASL/EOC assessments or state-approved alternatives.  Students must satisfy all credit and non-credit graduation requirements in order to participate in the district’s commencement exercises.  Students transferring into the Kennewick School District during their Junior or Senior year may, when applicable, be allowed to satisfy requirements of their previous school district in order to obtain a diploma from the Kennewick School District.

Waivers of Graduation Requirements

Waivers of graduation requirements are designed to assist students who desire to pursue a specific career-oriented and/or challenging course of study, allowing them to meet graduation requirements while taking a full schedule of courses.  Graduation requirements may be waived following policies and procedures provided in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW), Washington Administrative Code (WAC), and Kennewick School Board Policy.  State-mandated graduation requirements cannot be waived.  To obtain a waiver of an eligible graduation requirement, the student must follow the Kennewick School District waiver request procedures and timelines established for the specific waiver requested. Except in extraordinary or emergency situations, waiver requests must be applied for prior to the student’s Senior year of high school.  Students in the Class of 2014 and beyond wanting to waive all or part of the 1.5 credit physical education graduation requirement under the “other good clause” of state law must demonstrate competency by passing an assessment in physical fitness, cognitive knowledge, and physical skills.  The assessment is administered by Kennewick School District P.E. teachers.  Students may waive only 0.5 credits of the physical education graduation requirement annually.