Superintendent's Memo #147-09
COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA
Department of Education
May 22, 2009
TO: Division Superintendents
FROM: Patricia I. Wright, Superintendent of Public Instruction
SUBJECT: Revisions to the Regulations Establishing Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia
As you know, the Board of Education, on February 19, 2009, approved final revisions to the Regulations Establishing Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia. The Department has received a number of questions regarding the implementation of the new regulations and wanted to provide some clarification.
The final regulatory revisions approved by the Board in February differ from those revisions that were shared with you in Informational Superintendent’s Memorandum 212, dated September 5, 2008. Please note that the regulations approved by the Board have not completed the regulatory review process required by the Administrative Process Act. The regulatory revisions are currently under Executive Review and, following that review, must be published in the Virginia Register for an additional 30-day comment period. You can find what the Board approved on the Department’s Web site at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/boe/meetings/2009/02_feb/agenda_items/item_a.pdf. Another superintendent’s memorandum will be distributed once the regulations have become final and are in effect.
Five sections of the regulations underwent substantive change and are described below:
8 VAC 20-131-30. Student Achievement Expectations:
- Clarification that students shall be required to take only one test per content area in each tested grade in 8 VAC 20-131-30. This language is proposed to eliminate any double testing of advanced students in content areas and to reduce the testing costs to the state associated with double testing.
8 VAC 20-131-50. Requirements for Graduation:
- Include credit requirements for the Standard Technical and Advanced Technical diplomas.
- Increased credit requirements for the Advanced Studies diploma for graduation effective for students beginning with the ninth-grade class of 2010-2011.
- One credit in economics and personal finance would be required for the Standard, Standard Technical, Advanced Studies, and Advanced Technical Diplomas. (This is a change from the information provided to you in September of 2008.)
- Additional graduation requirements would become effective with the ninth-grade class of 2010-2011. (This is a change from the information provided to you in September of 2008.)
8 VAC 20-131-60. Transfer Students:
- The State Testing Identifier (STI) for students who transfer into a Virginia public school from another Virginia public school must be retained by the receiving school. (This is a change from the information provided to you in September of 2008.)
- Credits earned through Virtual Virginia, the online program, would be accepted in Virginia public schools. (This is a change from the information provided to you in September of 2008.)
8 VAC 20-131-140. College Preparation Programs and Opportunities for Postsecondary Credit:
- The Academic and Career Plan would become effective with seventh graders in 2010-2011. (This is a change from the information provided to you in September of 2008.)
- The development timeline is extended throughout the student’s seventh-grade year with completion required by the fall of the eighth-grade year. (This is a change from the information provided to you in September of 2008.)
The Board of Education will establish guidelines for development of the Plan.
- Any personal academic and career plans prescribed by local school boards for students in grades 7-12 that are currently in effect would be approved to continue without further action by the Board. (This is a change from the information provided to you in September of 2008.)
8 VAC 20-131-280. Expectations for School Accountability and 8 VAC 20-131-300. Application of the Standards:
- The Graduation and Completion Index points required for full accreditation is set at 85 percentage points. (This is a change from the information provided to you in September of 2008.)
- The points assigned for the certificate of completion is set at 25 points. (This is a change from the information provided to you in September of 2008.)
- Use of the Graduation and Completion Index for high school accreditation purposes would be delayed by one year with a five-year phase-in as originally proposed. The first year a school could be Provisionally Accredited or Accredited with Warning due solely to the graduation and completion index is the 2010-2011 academic year (2011-2012 accreditation year). (This is a change from the information provided to you in September of 2008.)
- The accreditation pass rates in effect for the 2008-2009 academic year will remain in effect through the 2009-2010 academic year. (This is a change from the information provided to you in September of 2008.)
Other technical amendments were made to the proposed regulations.
At this time, the final date for regulatory approval is not known. However, with the following exceptions, (the prohibition of double-testing in grades 3-8, the retention of the Student Testing Identifier for transfer students, and the transfer of Virtual Virginia credits), the regulations will not become effective until the 2010-2011 school year. This means the new graduation requirements will apply to students entering the ninth grade for the first time in that school year (2010-2011) and beyond.
The Department is currently developing the Standards of Learning for the course in Economics and Personal Finance, and the Board of Education is expected to consider them for first review this fall. The Department will also begin reviewing the Board’s existing Guidance Document, located at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/Accountability/soa-guidance-doc.pdf, in preparation for the Board to adopt revisions to this document as a result of the regulatory changes. Should you have any questions or issues related to the Guidance Document, you are encouraged to contact the Office of Policy at (804) 225-2092 or at SOAComments@doe.virginia.gov.
PIW / MMV / jcj