Quick answer: Beginning September 2026, Everett Public Schools is replacing Naviance with SchooLinks as the platform every student uses for their state-required High School and Beyond Plan. The switch isn’t optional for the district — Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction selected SchooLinks as the universal statewide platform, and EPS is one of more than 200 districts moving to it. Naviance keeps running through the 2025–26 school year. The biggest practical change for families: SchooLinks is built for parents and guardians to log in too, so for the first time in a long time, you’ll actually be able to see your kid’s plan.
If you’ve been a parent in Everett Public Schools for more than a couple of years, you’ve probably heard the words “High School and Beyond Plan” enough times to tune them out. The plan is a state graduation requirement, every student in grades 7–12 has one, and most parents have only the dimmest sense of what’s actually in it. That’s about to change.
Starting in September 2026, EPS is switching from Naviance — the platform students have been using for years — to SchooLinks, the new statewide platform Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) picked for every district in the state. The transition isn’t a local district decision. It’s a state-level move, and Everett is just doing its part of it on schedule.
Here’s what’s actually changing, why, and what it means for families across Cascade, Everett, Henry M. Jackson, and Sequoia.
The state made the call, not the district
Washington has required a High School and Beyond Plan for graduation for years. The plan starts in 7th grade and is supposed to follow the student all the way through high school — connecting their interests to their classes, their post-graduation training plans, and what they actually want to do for work.
The problem was that every district was using its own platform. Some used Naviance. Some used Xello. Some used home-grown spreadsheets and Google Docs. When students moved between districts — and Snohomish County families move a lot — their plan didn’t move with them.
In May 2024, OSPI announced that SchooLinks would be the new universal statewide platform. The 2025 OSPI Report to the Legislature laid out the transition timeline. Per state law, every district serving grades 7–12 has to be on SchooLinks by the 2026–27 school year.
For Everett Public Schools, that means September 2026. Naviance keeps working through this current 2025–26 school year. Then the lights go out and SchooLinks comes on.
What’s actually different about SchooLinks
If you’ve ever helped a kid log into Naviance, you know the experience: the student logs in, parents don’t have an account, and the only way you find out what’s in the plan is if your kid shows you their screen.
SchooLinks is built differently. The platform includes family access — meaning parents and guardians can log in directly, see their student’s plan, see what classes are mapped to what career interests, and engage with the planning process without having to lean over their teenager’s shoulder. EPS has flagged this as one of the biggest practical changes for families.
The platform itself is the kind of career-and-college planning toolkit you’d expect in 2026. Students use it to set goals, plan coursework four years out, explore career fields, look at financial aid, and build out a résumé. The big difference from Naviance is that SchooLinks is designed to be the system of record for the state’s High School and Beyond Plan, which means the plan you build follows the student between districts and across the state.
Why this matters for Everett specifically
Everett Public Schools enrolls roughly 19,000 students across 26 schools, and the district has been running one of the higher-performing High School and Beyond Plan implementations in the state — the 2024–25 graduating class hit a record graduation rate well above the state average, and the district credits in part the work students do in their HSBP.
The risk in any platform transition is that the plans students have already built in Naviance get stranded. EPS has said Naviance will continue through the 2025–26 school year, which gives counselors a runway to migrate plans, train staff, and roll the new platform out without dumping a half-finished plan on a junior six months before graduation. Families with a senior graduating in spring 2026 will finish their HSBP entirely in Naviance. Families with a 7th–11th grader will see the change next fall.
The district has set up an email — hsbp@everettsd.org — for families with questions about the transition. School counselors are the front-line resource, and counselors at each high school will have specific guidance on what to do with existing Naviance plans during the transition window.
How this connects to Career Connected Learning
EPS has been pushing Career Connected Learning (CCL) for years now, and the SchooLinks transition fits into that bigger picture. CCL is the framework that ties classroom learning to extended learning (camps, after-school programs, clubs) and work-based learning (internships, apprenticeships, job shadows). The High School and Beyond Plan is the through-line that connects all of it for the student.
In practice, that means a Cascade High student interested in aerospace can map a four-year course plan in SchooLinks, link it to Boeing-area internships through CCL, and track it all in one place — with their parents able to see the same view. That’s the use case the state is optimizing for, and it’s the use case Everett’s been building toward at the district level.
What Everett families should do right now
If your student has an active Naviance plan, you don’t need to do anything urgent. Naviance is still the official platform through June 2026.
What’s worth doing in the next few months:
Ask your student to show you their current plan. Even before SchooLinks rolls out, the High School and Beyond Plan is a real document and a real graduation requirement. Most parents don’t know what’s in it. Now is a good time.
Check the EPS High School and Beyond Plan page at everettsd.org/college-career-readiness/high-school-and-beyond-plan for transition updates as fall 2026 gets closer.
Watch for SchooLinks family-account information in late summer or early fall 2026. The whole point of the platform change is that you’ll be able to log in. Take the opportunity when it shows up.
Reach out to your student’s school counselor if you have a junior or senior in spring 2026 and you’re worried about plan continuity. Counselors will have the most accurate, school-specific guidance.
The bigger picture is that Washington’s High School and Beyond Plan is finally getting a single platform every district uses, every student carries with them between districts, and every family can see. Everett’s part of that’s happening this September.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Everett Public Schools switch from Naviance to SchooLinks?
SchooLinks officially launches for EPS students and families in September 2026. Naviance continues to be used through the 2025–26 school year, so seniors graduating in spring 2026 will complete their High School and Beyond Plan entirely in Naviance.
Why is EPS making this switch?
The Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) selected SchooLinks as the universal statewide High School and Beyond Plan platform for all districts. Every Washington district serving grades 7–12 is required to be on SchooLinks by the 2026–27 school year per state law.
Will parents and guardians have access to SchooLinks?
Yes — that’s one of the biggest changes. SchooLinks includes family access, allowing parents and guardians to log in and view their student’s High School and Beyond Plan and progress directly. Naviance did not support family logins for most districts.
What is the High School and Beyond Plan?
The High School and Beyond Plan is a state graduation requirement in Washington. Every public school student starts the plan in 7th grade and updates it through high school, mapping career interests to coursework, post-graduation training, and college planning.
Will my student lose their Naviance plan when the switch happens?
EPS has not published specific migration details yet, but the district has committed to a smooth transition with Naviance running through the full 2025–26 school year. Families with specific concerns about plan continuity should contact their student’s school counselor or email hsbp@everettsd.org.
How many other Washington districts are on SchooLinks?
OSPI announced in 2024 that 156 districts plus tribal compact schools, technical colleges, and charter schools committed to SchooLinks for the 2025–26 school year, joining 45 districts that launched the platform in 2024–25. By 2026–27, every district serving grades 7–12 will be on it.
Does this affect Cascade, Everett, Jackson, and Sequoia high schools differently?
No — the transition applies district-wide. Counselors at each high school will provide school-specific guidance on existing plans, but the platform itself is the same across all four EPS comprehensive high schools.
Where can families ask questions about the transition?
Email hsbp@everettsd.org or contact your student’s school counselor directly. The EPS website at everettsd.org/college-career-readiness/high-school-and-beyond-plan is the canonical source for transition updates.
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