Virginia Administrative Code › Title 8 - EDUCATION › Agency 20 - STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION › Chapter 131 - REGULATIONS ESTABLISHING STANDARDS FOR ACCREDITING PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN VIRGINIA › Part I - Definitions and Purpose › Section 8VAC20-131-5 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms apply only to this chapter
					 and do not supersede those definitions used for federal reporting purposes or
					 for the calculation of costs related to the Standards of Quality (§
										22.1-253.13:1
					 et seq. of the Code of Virginia). When used in this chapter, these words shall
					 have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
					 otherwise:
"Accreditation" means a process used by the Virginia
					 Department of Education to evaluate the performance of public schools in
					 accordance with this chapter.
"Additional test" means a test, including substitute tests
					 approved by the board, that students may use in lieu of a Standards of Learning
					 test to obtain verified credit.
"Authentic performance assessment" means a test that
					 complies with guidelines adopted by the board that requires students to perform
					 a task or create a product that is typically scored using a rubric. An
					 authentic performance assessment may be used to confer verified credit in
					 accordance with the provisions of
					 8VAC20-131-110
					 B 4 .
"Board of Education" or "board" means the board responsible
					 for the general supervision of the public schools system in Virginia as
					 prescribed in Section 4 of Article VIII of the Constitution of Virginia and
					 §
										22.1-8
					 of the Code of Virginia.
"Class period" means a segment of time during the
					 instructional day that is allocated to lessons, courses, testing and
					 assessments, or other instructional activities and excludes homeroom.
"Credit accommodations" means adjustments to meet the
					 standard and verified credit requirements for earning a Standard Diploma for
					 students with disabilities.
"Department" means the Virginia Department of
					 Education.
"Elementary school" means a public school with any grades
					 kindergarten through 5.
"English learner" or "EL" means, as prescribed in the
					 Elementary and Secondary Education Act ( P.L. 89-10, as amended), an
					 individual:
1. Who is aged three through 21 years;
2. Who is enrolled or preparing to enroll in an elementary
					 school or secondary school;
3. a. Who was not born in the United States or whose native
					 language is a language other than English;
b. (1) Who is a Native American or Alaska native, or a
					 native resident of the outlying areas; and
(2) Who comes from an environment where a language other
					 than English has had a significant impact on the individual's level of English
					 language proficiency; or
c. Who is migratory, whose native language is a language
					 other than English, and who comes from an environment where a language other
					 than English is dominant; and
4. Whose difficulties in speaking, reading, writing, or
					 understanding the English language may be sufficient to deny the individual
					 the:
a. Ability to meet the challenging state academic
					 standards;
b. Ability to successfully achieve in classrooms where the
					 language of instruction is English; or
c. Opportunity to participate fully in society.
"Enrollment" means the act of complying with state and
					 local requirements relative to the registration or admission of a child for
					 attendance in a school within a local school division. This term also means
					 registration for courses within the student's home school or within related
					 schools or programs.
"First time" means the student has not been enrolled in the
					 school at any time during the current school year (for purposes of
					 8VAC20-131-60
					 with reference to students who transfer in during the school year).
"Four core academic areas" means English, mathematics,
					 science, and history and social science for purposes of testing for the
					 Standards of Learning.
"Graduate" means a student who has earned a board
					 recognized diploma, which includes the Advanced Studies Diploma, the Standard
					 Diploma, and the Applied Studies Diploma.
"Growth" or "student growth" means student progress toward
					 achievement as demonstrated through a valid and reliable measure.
"Homebound instruction" means academic instruction provided
					 to students who are confined at home or in a health care facility for periods
					 of time that prevent normal school attendance, based upon certification of need
					 by a licensed physician or a licensed clinical psychologist.
"Instructional day" means all the time in a standard school
					 day, from the beginning of the first scheduled class period to the end of the
					 last scheduled class period, including passing time for class changes and
					 excluding breaks for meals .
"Instructional hours" means the hours in a standard school
					 day, from the beginning of the first scheduled class period to the end of the
					 last scheduled class period, including passing time for class changes and
					 excluding breaks for meals .
"Locally awarded verified credit" means a verified unit of
					 credit awarded by a local school board in accordance with
					 8VAC20-131-110
					 B 3.
"Middle school" means a public school with any grades 6
					 through 8.
"Planning period" means a segment of time in middle and
					 secondary schools during the instructional day that is unencumbered of any
					 teaching or supervisory duties, is not less than 45 minutes or the equivalent
					 of a class period, whichever is greater, and that includes passing time for
					 class changes.
"Planning time" means a segment of time for elementary
					 teachers that provides at least an average of 30 minutes per day for planning
					 during the student's school week as provided in §
										22.1-291.1
					 of the Code of Virginia.
"Recess" means a segment of unstructured recreational time
					 exclusive of time provided for meals during the standard school day.
"Reporting group" means a subgroup of students who are
					 identified as having common characteristics such as students identified as
					 belonging to major racial and ethnic groups, economically disadvantaged
					 students, students with disabilities, and English learners.
"School" means a publicly funded institution where students
					 are enrolled for all or a majority of the instructional day and:
1. Those students are reported in fall membership at the
					 institution; and
2. At a minimum, the institution meets the preaccreditation
					 eligibility requirements of this chapter as adopted by the board.
"Secondary school" means a public school with any grades 9
					 through 12.
"Standard school day" means a calendar day, including
					 passing time for class changes and excluding breaks for meals, that averages a
					 minimum of five and one-half instructional hours for students in grades 1
					 through 12 and a minimum of three instructional hours for students in
					 kindergarten. Recess may be included in the calculation of required
					 instructional hours for elementary school, provided that recess does not exceed
					 15% of the required instructional hours.
"Standard school year" means a school year of at least 180
					 teaching days or a total of at least 990 instructional hours per year, as
					 specified in §
										22.1-98
					 of the Code of Virginia.
"Standard unit of credit" or "standard credit" means credit
					 awarded for a course in which the student successfully completes 140 clock
					 hours of instruction and the requirements of the course. Local school boards
					 may develop alternatives to the requirement for 140 clock hours of instruction
					 as provided for in
					 8VAC20-131-110
					 and in accordance with board guidelines.
"Standards of Learning tests" or "SOL tests" means those
					 criterion referenced assessments approved by the board for use in the Virginia
					 Assessment Program that measure attainment of knowledge and skills required by
					 the Standards of Learning.
"Standards of Quality" means the Standards of Quality
					 prescribed in Chapter 13.2 (§
										22.1-253.13:1
					 et seq.) of Title 22.1 of the Code of Virginia.
"Student" means a person of school age as defined by §
										22.1-1 of the Code of
					 Virginia, a child with disabilities as defined in §
										22.1-213 of the Code
					 of Virginia, and a person for whom English is a second language in accordance
					 with §
										22.1-5
					 of the Code of Virginia.
"Verified unit of credit" or "verified credit" means credit
					 awarded for a course in which a student earns a standard unit of credit and (i)
					 achieves a passing score on a corresponding end-of-course SOL test; (ii)
					 achieves a passing score on an additional test as defined in this section as
					 part of the Virginia Assessment Program; (iii) meets the criteria for the
					 receipt of a locally awarded verified credit conferred in accordance with board
					 criteria and guidelines as provided in
					 8VAC20-131-110
					 B 3 when the student has not passed a corresponding SOL test in English,
					 mathematics, laboratory science, or history and social science; or (iv) meets
					 the criteria for the receipt of a verified credit for English (writing) by
					 demonstrating mastery of the content of the associated course on an authentic
					 performance assessment, as provided in
					 8VAC20-131-110
					 B 4.
"Virginia Assessment Program" means a system used to
					 evaluate student achievement that includes SOL tests and additional tests that
					 may be approved from time to time by the board.
Statutory Authority: §§
												22.1-16
						and 22.1-253.13 of the Code of Virginia.