Virginia Administrative Code › Title 8 - EDUCATION › Agency 20 - STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION › Chapter 131 - REGULATIONS ESTABLISHING STANDARDS FOR ACCREDITING PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN VIRGINIA › Part IV - School Instructional Program › Section 8VAC20-131-90 - Instructional program in middle schools

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. The middle school shall provide each
				  student a program of instruction that corresponds to the Standards of Learning
				  for English, mathematics, science, and history and social science. In addition,
				  each school shall provide instruction in art, music, world language, physical
				  education and health, and career and technical exploration and shall require
				  students to participate in a program of physical fitness during the regular
				  school year in accordance with guidelines established by the board. Each middle
				  school shall provide a course in career investigation in accordance with the
				  provisions of
				  8VAC20-131-140. School divisions
				  may seek alternate means of delivering the career investigation course content
				  provided it is equivalent in content and rigor and provides the foundation for
				  students to develop their academic and career plans as described in
				  8VAC20-131-140 C 2. Possible
				  alternative means to deliver the career investigation course content could
				  include online methods, middle school exploratory course options, and
				  delivering the course content through other courses.
B. The middle school shall provide a minimum
				  of eight courses to students in the eighth grade. English, mathematics,
				  science, and history and social science shall be required. Four elective
				  courses shall be available: level one of a world language, one in health and
				  physical education, one in fine arts, and one in career and technical
				  exploration.
C. Level one of a
				  world language and an Algebra I course shall be available to all eighth grade
				  students. For any high school credit-bearing course taken in middle school,
				  parents may request that grades be omitted from the student's transcript and
				  the student not earn high school credit for the course in accordance with
				  policies adopted by the local school board. Notice of this provision must be
				  provided to parents with a deadline and format for making such a request.
				  Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent a middle school from
				  offering any other credit-bearing courses for graduation.
D. To provide students a sufficient
				  opportunity to learn, each student shall be provided a total of 560
				  instructional hours per year in the four academic disciplines of English,
				  mathematics, science, and history and social science.
E. Each school shall ensure that students who
				  are unable to read with comprehension the materials used for instruction
				  receive additional instruction in reading, which may include summer
				  school.
F. In accordance with the
				  Standards of Quality each school shall ensure that students in grades 6 through
				  8 who need targeted mathematics remediation and intervention, including
				  remediation or intervention for computational deficiencies as demonstrated by
				  their individual performance on any diagnostic test or grade-level SOL
				  mathematics test, shall receive additional instruction in mathematics, which
				  may include summer school. Students in grades 6 through 8 who are at-risk of
				  failing the algebra I end-of-course test shall be provided algebra readiness
				  intervention services.
Statutory Authority: §§
												22.1-16 and
						22.1-253.13:3 of the Code of
						Virginia.