V.I. Code tit. 17, § 823 (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 17 - Education|Chapter 44 - The Dropout Prevention Act|§ 823. Student eligibility and program criteria

 All programs funded pursuant to the provisions of this chapter must be positive and reflect strong parental and community involvement. In addition, specific programs must meet the following criteria: (a) Educational Alternative Programs.  (1) Educational alternative programs are programs that differ from traditional educational programs and schools in scheduling, administrative structure, philosophy, curriculum, or setting. These programs also employ alternative teaching methodologies, curricula, learning activities or diagnostic and assessment procedures in order to meet the needs, interests, abilities, and talents of eligible students. Student participation in such programs must be voluntary. The minimum period of time during which the student participates in the program must be equivalent to three instructional periods per day of traditional school, unless the program utilizes a resource or tutorial model rather than regularly scheduled courses. (2) The student will be identified as being a potential retention or dropout candidate based upon one of the following criteria: (A) The student has shown a lack of motivation in school through grades which are not commensurate with documented ability levels; (B) The student has a high rate of absenteeism; (C) The student appears to have a drug or substance abuse problem; (D) The student has been unsuccessful in school as determined by retention, failing grades, or low achievement test scores, and has needs and interests that cannot be met through government conducted educational programs or special education programs; or (E) The student has been identified as a potential retention or school dropout candidate by school or student services personnel. (b) Teenage Parent Programs.  (1) Teenage parent programs provide young men, pregnant students or students who are already parents with the option of participating in regular classroom activities or enrolling in a special program designed to meet their needs. Students participating in the teenage parent programs are exempt from the minimum attendance requirements for absences related to pregnancy, but shall be required to make up work missed due to those absences. (2) The curriculum must include instruction in such topics as prenatal and postnatal health care, parenting skills, and child growth and development. (3) Ancillary services such as: child care, health care, social services, and transportation may be provided through the coordination of existing programs and services. (c) Substance Abuse Programs.  (1) Substance abuse programs provide basic educational instruction for students participating in non-school based residential or day substance abuse treatment programs. Such educational programs must provide curricula and related services which support the program goals and which are appropriate for the completion of a high school diploma or its equivalent. (2) The program must provide school-based programs that serve students who have documented drug or alcohol-related problems and shall include instruction designed to prevent substance abuse. (d) Disciplinary Programs.  (1) Disciplinary programs serve the student who has a disruptive behavior in school or has committed an offense that warrants suspension, adjudication as a person in need of supervision, or expulsion from school according to the code of student conduct. For the purposes of this program, disruptive behavior is behavior that: (A) interferes with the student's own learning or the educational process of others and requires attention and assistance beyond that which the traditional program can provide, or results in frequent conflicts of a disruptive nature while the student is under the jurisdiction of the school either in or out of the classrooms; or (B) severely threatens the general welfare of the student or others with whom the student comes into contact. (2) The program includes, but is not necessarily limited to, in-school suspension, alternatives to expulsion, counseling centers, and crisis intervention centers. (3) Students who have been placed in detention or a court-adjudicated commitment program or a person adjudicated in need of supervision must be evaluated by school district personnel upon the completion of the program prior to the placement of the students into an educational program. Such students must not be automatically assigned to a disciplinary program upon re-entering the school system. (4) Prior to assigning a student to a disciplinary program of more than 10 days in duration, the insular superintendent shall attempt a continuum of education and student services to identify the causes of the disruptive behavior, to modify the behavior, or to provide more appropriate educational services to the student; however, students who have committed an offense which warrants expulsion according to the code of student conduct may be assigned to a disciplinary program without attempting a continuum of services. (e) Youth Services Programs.  (1) These programs are designed to serve the student who is participating in a detention, commitment, or a rehabilitation program that is sponsored by a community-based agency or is operated or contracted for by the Department of Human Services. (2) A program must be provided that shall consist of appropriate basic academic, vocational, or exceptional curricula and related services that support the rehabilitation program goals and that leads to the completion of the requirements for a high school diploma or its equivalent. (3) School age children are required to participate in the program. (4) The insular superintendent shall make every effort to provide students in youth services programs with a wide range of educational programs. (5) The Department of Education may contract with a private nonprofit entity to provide educational programs to clients of the Department of Human Services.