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Issaquah board approves OE14 revision after teachers warn AP mandate could disrupt Skyline IB pathway
Summary
After public comments from Skyline teachers and students, the Issaquah board revised Operational Expectation 14 to clarify access to college-credit options and preserved school‑level program choices; the board added language extending AP/college-credit offerings to "all comprehensive high schools" and approved the change by voice vote.
The Issaquah School District Board approved language revisions to Operational Expectation 14 (instructional program) after a lengthy second-reading discussion and public comment from Skyline High School teachers.
Molly Peterson, co‑chair of Skyline’s humanities department, told the board the proposed change would obligate Skyline to add AP Human Geography in ninth grade and could undermine the school’s International Baccalaureate pathway. "This change to OE14 will require that Skyline add an AP social studies course at ninth grade... I do not assent to this change," Peterson said during public comment.
Courtney Beatty, a 23‑year Skyline English and history teacher and parent, warned that few ninth graders are ready for college‑credit courses and that adding mandatory AP options could remove age‑appropriate honors pathways that prepare students for IB coursework later. "Fourteen‑year‑olds are very, very young," Beatty told the board.
Board members, led by Director Mullings and Director Gallagher, described the revision as an effort to separate (a) career/CTE access, (b) equitable credit‑earning opportunities, and (c) school‑level uniqueness. Director Mullings said the split clarifies that credit‑earning opportunities (AP, College in the High School) should not be rigidly tied to a single program model and that schools will "facilitate access to all students to unique opportunities and course offerings at each high school."
The board debated the prescriptive reach of subsection 14.3(c). To maintain consistency with prior language the board amended the proposal to add the phrase "at all comprehensive high schools" to the end of 14.3(c) so that the policy explicitly commits in-person offerings where applicable while preserving unique programs (IB, Gibson Neck mastery model, ROTC at Liberty).
The amended motion to approve the language revision to OE14 was moved and seconded, amendments passed by voice vote, and the final amended motion carried. Board members asked staff to explore mitigation and access options for schools with distinctive program models (for example, online AP options) and to return with implementation details.
Next steps: staff will finalize implementation guidance and monitor impacts on scheduling and student pathways, with particular attention to Skyline’s IB program and options for online AP offerings or other mitigations.
