Virginia Administrative Code › Title 8 - EDUCATION › Agency 20 - STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION › Chapter 131 - REGULATIONS ESTABLISHING STANDARDS FOR ACCREDITING PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN VIRGINIA › Part III - Student Achievement › Section 8VAC20-131-60 - Transfer students

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. The
				  provisions of this section pertain generally to students who transfer into
				  Virginia high schools. Students transferring in grades kindergarten through 8
				  from Virginia public schools or nonpublic schools accredited by one of the
				  approved accrediting constituent members of the Virginia Council for Private
				  Education (VCPE) shall be given recognition for all grade-level work completed.
				  The academic record of students transferring from all other schools shall be
				  evaluated to determine appropriate grade placement in accordance with policies
				  adopted by the local school board. The State Testing Identifier (STI) for
				  students who transfer into a Virginia public school from another Virginia
				  public school shall be retained by the receiving school.
B. For the purposes of this section, the term
				  "beginning" means within the first 20 hours of instruction per course. The term
				  "during" means after the first 20 hours of instruction per course.
C. Standard or verified units of credit
				  earned by a student in a Virginia public school shall be transferable without
				  limitation regardless of the accreditation status of the Virginia public school
				  in which the credits were earned. Virginia public schools shall accept standard
				  and verified units of credit from other Virginia public schools, Virginia's
				  virtual learning program, Virtual Virginia, and state-operated programs.
				  Standard units of credit also shall be accepted for courses satisfactorily
				  completed in accredited colleges and universities when prior written approval
				  of the principal has been granted or the student has been given credit by the
				  previous school attended.
D. A
				  secondary school shall accept credits toward graduation received from Virginia
				  nonpublic schools accredited by one of the approved accrediting constituent
				  members of the VCPE. The board shall maintain contact with the VCPE and may
				  periodically review its accrediting procedures and policies as part of its
				  policies under this section.
Nothing in these standards shall prohibit a public school
					 from accepting standard units of credit toward graduation awarded to students
					 who transfer from all other schools when the courses for which the student
					 receives credit generally match the description of or can be substituted for
					 courses for which the receiving school gives standard credit, and the school
					 from which the child transfers certifies that the courses for which credit is
					 given meet the requirements of
					 8VAC20-131-110 A.
E. The academic record of a student
				  transferring from other Virginia public schools shall be sent directly to the
				  school receiving the student upon request of the receiving school in accordance
				  with the provisions of 8VAC20-150, Management of the Student's Scholastic
				  Record in the Public Schools of Virginia. The State Testing Identifier (STI)
				  for students who transfer into a Virginia public school from another Virginia
				  public school shall be retained by the receiving school.
F. The academic record of a student
				  transferring into Virginia public schools from other than a Virginia public
				  school shall be evaluated to determine the number of standard units of credit
				  that have been earned, including credit from schools outside the United States,
				  and the number of verified units of credit needed to graduate in accordance
				  with subsection G of this section. Standard units of credit also shall be
				  accepted for courses satisfactorily completed in accredited colleges and
				  universities when the student has been given credit by the previous school
				  attended.
Students transferring above the tenth grade from schools or
					 other education programs that do not require or give credit for health and
					 physical education shall not be required to take these courses to meet
					 graduation requirements.
Students transferring into a Virginia public school from
					 other than a Virginia public school shall earn no fewer than the number of
					 verified units listed in subdivision G 1 or G 2 of this section. The school
					 division shall accept the following tests from the sending state, country,
					 private school, or Department of Defense Educational Activity school for the
					 purpose of awarding verified units of credit in courses previously completed at
					 another school or program of study, for the purpose of awarding a Virginia high
					 school diploma:
1. End-of-course tests
				  required for graduation by the sending state;
2. Exit tests required for graduation by the
				  sending state; and
3. National
				  norm-referenced achievement tests. When students transfer to a Virginia public
				  school from a state that requires a national norm-referenced achievement test,
				  and that state education agency has set a "cut score" or passing score for the
				  purpose of graduation, the school division shall accept the test for the
				  purpose of awarding a verified credit if the test includes some content in a
				  subject for which a verified credit may be awarded. If that state education
				  agency has not set a cut score for the norm-referenced test, the test may not
				  be used for the purpose of awarding a verified credit or earning a high school
				  diploma.
Any substitute test approved by the board for verified
					 credit shall be accepted in lieu of the applicable SOL tests if the applicable
					 standard credit has been earned by the student.
The sending state's test must include content in the
					 subjects for which verified credit is awarded. The test does not have to be
					 comparable to a Virginia SOL test, so long as the test includes some content in
					 the subject area. If the test includes some content from more than one subject,
					 verified credits shall be awarded for every subject area covered by the
					 test.