The following information is provided to notify you of changes to the report of dropouts. These changes will be phased in over the next two years to bring Virginia into conformance with federal definitions and guidelines for reporting dropouts. States are requested to report a count of public school dropouts to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) through the Common Core of Data (CCD) survey. CCD defines a dropout as an individual who:
 

1. Was enrolled in school at some time during the previous school year and was not enrolled on October 1 of the current school year; or

2. Was not enrolled on October 1 of the previous school year although expected to be in membership (i.e., was not reported as a dropout the year before); and

3. Has not graduated from high school or completed a state- or district-approved educational program and

4. Does not meet any of the following exclusionary conditions:

a. Transfer to another public school district, private school, or state- or district-approved education program;

b. Temporary school-recognized absence due to suspension or illness; or

c. Death.

Revisions are being made to the 1999-2000 report to begin phasing in changes to meet federal definitions. Additional changes are also being made to exclude information that is no longer needed and to add information needed to meet vocational federal reporting requirements. The 1999-2000 revisions include the following:

• Date by which dropouts must return to school has changed from October 31 to October 1.
• Students who are withdrawn because of a temporary school-recognized absence due to suspension or illness are not counted as dropouts.
• Number of dropouts who have finished a vocational program must be reported.
• A count of the dropouts who had been reported as dropouts in any prior school year will not be required.
• A count of the dropouts during the regular term school year will not be required.

2000-2001 Report of Dropout Revisions

Since the dropout reporting changes are being phased in over a two-year period, be aware that beginning with the 2000-2001 report of dropouts the following definitions will also apply:

• School year for reporting dropouts is the 12-month period beginning on October 1 and ending September 30.
• The students who complete a school year and fail to return to school in the subsequent year will be counted as dropouts from the grade and school year for which they fail to enroll. For example, a student completing grade 6 in 1999-2000 and failing to enroll in grade 7 by October 1, 2000 will be reported as a grade 7 dropout for 2000-2001.
• The dropout rate is calculated as the number of dropouts for a given year divided by membership on September 30 of that school year.

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