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 8VAC20-131-50 - Requirements for graduation (effective for the students entering ninth grade prior to the 2018-2019 school year)

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. The requirements for a student to earn a
				  diploma and graduate from a Virginia high school shall be those in effect when
				  that student enters the ninth grade for the first time. Students shall be
				  awarded a diploma upon graduation from a Virginia high school.
The Advanced Studies Diploma shall be the recommended
					 diploma for students pursuing baccalaureate study. Both the Standard Diploma
					 and the Advanced Studies Diploma shall prepare students for postsecondary
					 education and the career readiness required by the Commonwealth's
					 economy.
When students below the ninth grade successfully complete
					 courses offered for credit in grades 9 through 12, credit shall be counted
					 toward meeting the standard units required for graduation provided the courses
					 are equivalent in content and academic rigor as those courses offered at the
					 secondary level. To earn a verified unit of credit for these courses, students
					 must meet the requirements of
					 8VAC20-131-110.
The following requirements shall be the only requirements
					 for a diploma, unless a local school board has prescribed additional
					 requirements that have been approved by the board. All additional requirements
					 prescribed by local school boards that have been approved by the board remain
					 in effect until such time as the local school board submits a request to the
					 board to amend or discontinue them.
B. Requirements for a Standard Diploma.
1. Beginning with the ninth-grade class of
				  2013-2014 and through the ninth-grade class of 2017-2018, students shall earn
				  the required standard and verified units of credit described in subdivision 2
				  of this subsection.
2. Credits
				  required for graduation with a Standard Diploma.
Discipline Area
Standard Units of Credit Required
Verified Credits Required
English
4
2
Mathematics1
3
1
Laboratory
								Science2,6
3
1
History and Social
								Sciences3,6
3
1
Health and Physical Education
2
World Language, Fine Arts or Career and Technical
								Education7
2
Economics and Personal Finance
1
Electives4
4
Student Selected
								Test5
1
Career and Technical Education
								Credential8
Total9
22
6
1Courses completed to
								satisfy this requirement shall include at least two different course selections
								from among: Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra, Functions, and Data Analysis, Algebra
								II, or other mathematics courses above the level of Algebra II. The board shall
								approve courses to satisfy this requirement. Per the Standards of Quality, a
								computer science course credit earned by students may be considered a
								mathematics course credit.
2Courses completed to
								satisfy this requirement shall include course selections from at least two
								different science disciplines: earth sciences, biology, chemistry, or physics,
								or completion of the sequence of science courses required for the International
								Baccalaureate Diploma. The board shall approve courses to satisfy this
								requirement. Per the Standards of Quality, a computer science course credit
								earned by students may be considered a science course credit.
3Courses completed to
								satisfy this requirement shall include U.S. and Virginia History, U.S. and
								Virginia Government, and one course in either world history or geography or
								both. The board shall approve courses to satisfy this requirement.
4Courses to satisfy this
								requirement shall include at least two sequential electives as required by the
								Standards of Quality.
5A student may utilize
								additional tests for earning verified credit in computer science, technology,
								career and technical education, economics or other areas as prescribed by the
								board in 8VAC20-131-110.
6Students who complete a
								career and technical education program sequence and pass an examination or
								occupational competency assessment in a career and technical education field
								that confers certification or an occupational competency credential from a
								recognized industry, or trade or professional association, or acquire a
								professional license in a career and technical education field from the
								Commonwealth of Virginia may substitute the certification, competency
								credential, or license for (i) the student-selected verified credit and (ii)
								either a science or history and social science verified credit when the
								certification, license, or credential confers more than one verified credit.
								The examination or occupational competency assessment must be approved by the
								board as an additional test to verify student achievement.
7Pursuant to §
																22.1-253.13:4 of the Code of
								Virginia, credits earned for this requirement shall include one credit in fine
								or performing arts or career and technical education. Per the Standards of
								Quality, a computer science course credit earned by students may be considered
								a career and technical education course credit.
8Students shall earn a
								career and technical education credential approved by the Board of Education,
								except when a career and technical education credential in a particular subject
								area is not readily available or appropriate or does not adequately measure
								student competency, in which case the student shall receive satisfactory
								competency-based instruction in the subject area to satisfy the standard
								diploma requirements. The career and technical education credential, when
								required, could include the successful completion of an industry certification,
								a state licensure examination, a national occupational competency assessment,
								or the Virginia workplace readiness assessment.
9Students shall
								successfully complete one virtual course, which may be a noncredit-bearing
								course or a required or elective credit-bearing course that is offered
								online.
Beginning with first-time ninth-grade students in
								the 2016-2017 school year, students shall be trained in emergency first aid,
								cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and the use of automated external
								defibrillators, including hands-on practice of the skills necessary to perform
								cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Students with an Individualized Education
								Program (IEP) or 504 Plan that documents that they cannot successfully complete
								this training shall be granted a waiver from this graduation requirement, as
								provided in 8VAC20-131-420 B.
3.
				  The board shall establish, through guidelines, credit accommodations to the
				  standard and verified credit requirements for a Standard Diploma. Such credit
				  accommodations for students with disabilities may include:
a. Approval of alternative courses to meet
				  the standard credit requirements;
b. Modifications to the requirements for
				  local school divisions to award locally awarded verified credits;
c. Approval of additional tests to earn a
				  verified credit;
d. Adjusted cut
				  scores required to earn verified credit; and
e. Allowance of work-based learning
				  experiences.
The student's IEP or 504 Plan shall specify any credit
					 accommodations that are applicable.
Students completing the requirements for the Standard
					 Diploma may be eligible to receive an honor deemed appropriate by the local
					 school board as described in subsection H of this section.