The authority for this chapter is RCW 28A.600.070 which authorizes the superintendent of public instruction to develop rules and regulations for the establishment and administration of the Washington state honors award program.

The purpose of this chapter is to set forth the policies and procedures for the administration of the Washington state honors award program.

The Washington state honors award program shall recognize the top ten percent of the students in the state in each year's public and private high school graduating class who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement. Outstanding academic achievement shall be determined by the following criteria:

(1) The office of superintendent of public instruction shall identify the top 10 percent of students in the state using the cumulative high school grade point average (calculated as provided in WAC 180-57-055) including, but not limited to, the academic core subjects of English, mathematics, science, social studies, the arts, and languages other than English which may include American Indian languages;

(2) For students with a grade point average (GPA) in the top 10 percent in the state, high schools shall use at least one of the assessments available for students, which can include the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), the American College Test (ACT), the statewide English language arts and mathematics assessments, or local assessments to evaluate students' academic achievement;

(3) Completion of at least 75 percent of the graduation requirements for the high school in which the candidate is enrolled; and

(4) Enrollment in at least three academic core subjects in grade 12.

All participating high schools shall use the eligibility criteria to identify the qualifying students for the award on or before the date provided by the superintendent of public instruction.

Commencing with the ninth grade, and each year thereafter, each participating high school shall provide each enrolled student with a copy of the eligibility criteria for the Washington state honors award.

The superintendent of public instruction shall prepare annually for each honors award recipient a suitable certificate which shall describe the purposes of the award, indicate the year in which the award was given, and be signed by the superintendent of public instruction. The certificate for each honors award recipient shall be delivered to the participating high school principal on or before May 30 of each school year.

The principal of each participating school shall encourage local businesses and community organizations to recognize the accomplishments of the Washington honors award recipients.