DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
P.O.
SUPTS. MEMO NO. 250
December 1, 2006
INFORMATIONAL
|
TO: |
Division
Superintendents |
|
FROM: |
Billy K. Cannaday, Jr. Superintendent
of Public Instruction |
|
SUBJECT: |
Transmittal
of “Statement of Administrative Impact and Project Costs of Implementation”
for the Promulgation of Proposed
Revisions to the Secondary School Transcript |
As
part of its responsibility for promulgating new regulations and revisions to
existing regulations, the Board of Education (Board) is required to develop a
statement of the administrative impact and projected cost to school divisions
of implementing and complying with such regulations. The Board and the Department of Education are
required to send a copy of the statement to each division superintendent.
The
Regulations Governing Secondary School
Transcripts provide definitions, format options for transcripts and profile
data sheets, and the elements for weighting courses. The Board proposes to update these
regulations.
The
Board proposes: 1) changes to the definitions section to ensure that terms are
defined in the same manner as other Board regulations; 2) changes to the
effective date section of the regulations; 3) revisions to the requirements to
ensure that school divisions include type of diploma and career and technical
industry certification on the student’s secondary school transcript; 4)
revisions to the requirements to ensure that the different types of diplomas
are reflected, but that the inclusion of the information does not violate the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act; 5) changes to the requirement
regarding a student’s rank in class to reflect whether the school or program
chooses to rank students; 6) changes to the sections concerning advanced-level
courses and the elements of weighting courses to ensure that they comport with
other state requirements; and 7) changes from a local student identification
number to a state student testing identifier so that data can be collected and
analyzed on students from grades PK-16.
The
benefits will likely exceed the costs for all proposed changes. The proposed changes to the definitions
sections to ensure that terms are defined in the same manner as other Board
regulations is beneficial in that localities and the public will be less likely
to be confused by similar terms being used to indicate different concepts. The proposed revisions to the requirements to
ensure that school divisions include type of diploma and career and technical
industry certification on the student’s secondary school transcript will allow
students who earn an Advanced Studies Diploma or an industry certification to
be recognized. The use of a state
student testing identifier will eliminate confusion as students transfer from
one school and division to another.
The
proposed revisions affect the Commonwealth’s 132 school divisions, their staff,
and students. The proposed regulations
affect all
The
proposed revisions to the Regulations
Governing Secondary School Transcripts can be accessed at:
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/VA_Board/Meetings/2006/ItemA-feb.pdf. They will be posted in the Virginia Register on December 11, 2006,
beginning the 60-day public comment period.
Public comment may be submitted to transcriptregs@doe.virginia.gov. In addition, a public hearing will be held immediately
following adjournment of the Board of Education meeting, January 10, 2007.
If
you have questions, please contact James C. Firebaugh, director, Office of
Middle and High School Instruction, by e-mail at Jim.Firebaugh@doe.virginia.gov,
or by telephone at (804) 225-2651.
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