Resident cites FOIA data from community colleges and asks whether Edmonds grads are placed in remedial courses

Resident Steven Keeler told the board he had filed Freedom of Information Act requests with Shoreline Community College and Edmonds Community College and summarized the colleges’ responses about Edmonds School District graduate enrollments in lower-level (under-100) community-college courses for fall 2022.

Keeler said Shoreline’s records showed “fewer than 10 students” from the district enrolled in Math 47 at Shoreline, and he read Edmonds Community College’s table showing no Edmonds graduates enrolled in remedial English courses, two graduates in a higher-level remedial English course, 16 graduates in Math 47 and nine in Math 77 for fall 2022.

Keeler said he was surprised by the numbers and asked the board whether the district might be in violation of Washington State Board of Education graduation requirements. He said he would make a follow-up FOIA request next month to update the data.

Board response: There was no formal legal determination during the meeting. Director Smith responded to Keeler by saying the district is working to improve graduation rates and math outcomes and noted testing and placement processes can be imperfect; she described her personal experience retesting into higher math placements after graduation as context. No specific compliance findings or follow-up actions were recorded at the meeting.