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 8VAC20-131-140 - College and career readiness; career exposure, exploration, and planning; and opportunities for postsecondary credit

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. Each middle and secondary school shall
				  provide for the early identification and enrollment of students in a program
				  with a range of educational and academic experiences related to college and
				  career readiness in and outside the classroom, including an emphasis on
				  experiences that will motivate disadvantaged and minority students to prepare
				  for a career or postsecondary education.
B. Beginning with the 2013-2014 academic year
				  and through the 2017-2018 academic year:
1.
				  All schools shall begin development of a personal Academic and Career Plan
				  (ACP) for each seventh-grade student with completion by the fall of the
				  student's eighth-grade year. Students who transfer from other than a Virginia
				  public school into the eighth grade shall have the plan developed as soon as
				  practicable following enrollment. Beginning with the 2014-2015 academic year,
				  students who transfer into a Virginia public school after their eighth-grade
				  year shall have an ACP developed upon enrollment. The components of the ACP
				  shall include the student's program of study for high school graduation and a
				  postsecondary career pathway based on the student's academic and career
				  interests. The ACP shall be developed in accordance with guidelines established
				  by the board and signed by the student, student's parent or guardian, and
				  school official designated by the principal. The ACP shall be included in the
				  student's record and shall be reviewed and updated, if necessary, before the
				  student enters the ninth and eleventh grades. The school shall have met its
				  obligation for parental involvement if it makes a good faith effort to notify
				  the parent or guardian of the responsibility for the development and approval
				  of the ACP. Any personal ACPs prescribed by local school boards for students in
				  grades 7 through 12 and in effect as of June 30, 2009, are approved to continue
				  without further action by the board.
2. Beginning in the middle school years,
				  students shall be counseled on opportunities for beginning postsecondary
				  education and opportunities for obtaining industry certifications, occupational
				  competency credentials, or professional licenses in a career and technical
				  education field prior to high school graduation. Such opportunities shall
				  include access to at least three Advanced Placement (AP), International
				  Baccalaureate (IB), or Cambridge courses or three college-level courses for
				  degree credit pursuant to
				  8VAC20-131-100.
				  Students taking advantage of such opportunities shall not be denied
				  participation in school activities for which they are otherwise eligible.
				  Wherever possible, students shall be encouraged and afforded opportunities to
				  take college courses simultaneously for high school graduation and college
				  degree credit (dual enrollment), under the following conditions:
a. Written approval of the high school
				  principal prior to participation in dual enrollment must be obtained;
b. The college must accept the student for
				  admission to the course ; and
c.
				  The course must be given by the college for degree credits (no remedial courses
				  will be accepted).
Schools that comply with this standard shall not be
					 penalized in receiving state appropriations.