{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/22.1-1.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/22.1-1.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/22.1-1.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/22.1-1.html"}],"law_id":74111,"edition_id":1,"section_id":74111,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-1","catch_line":"(Effective July 1, 2026) Definitions","history":"1980, c. 559; 1985, c. 407; 1991, c. 178; 1995, c. 852; 2000, c. 629; 2001, c. 828; 2020, cc. 860, 861; 2022, cc. 549, 550; 2024, cc. 12, 44, 647, 684; 2025, cc. 680, 683.","full_text":"As used in this title, unless the context requires a different meaning:\n\t\t&#8220;Board&#8221; or &#8220;State Board&#8221; means the Board of Education.\n\t\t&#8220;Department&#8221; means the Department of Education.\n\t\t&#8220;Division superintendent&#8221; means the division superintendent of schools of a school division.\n\t\t&#8220;Dual enrollment&#8221; means the enrollment of a qualified high school student in a postsecondary course that is creditable toward high school completion and a career certificate or an associate or baccalaureate degree at a public institution of higher education. &#8220;Dual enrollment&#8221; does not include the enrollment of a qualified high school student in a postsecondary course that is not creditable toward high school completion.\n\t\t&#8220;Elementary&#8221; includes kindergarten.\n\t\t&#8220;Elementary and secondary&#8221; and &#8220;elementary or secondary&#8221; include elementary, middle, and high school grades.\n\t\t&#8220;Evidence-based literacy instruction&#8221; means structured instructional practices, including sequential, systematic, explicit, and cumulative teaching, that (i) are based on reliable, trustworthy, and valid evidence consistent with science-based reading research; (ii) are used in core or general instruction, supplemental instruction, intervention services, and intensive intervention services; (iii) have a demonstrated record of success in adequately increasing students&#8217; reading competency, vocabulary, oral language, and comprehension and in building mastery of the foundational reading skills of phonological and phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, phonics, spelling, and text reading fluency; and (iv) are able to be differentiated in order to meet the individual needs of students. &#8220;Evidence-based literacy instruction&#8221; does not include practices that instruct students to gain meaning from print through the use of (a) three-cueing, which includes semantic, syntactic, and graphophonic cues; (b) meaning, structure, and visual cues; or (c) visual memory for word recognition.\n\t\t&#8220;Governing body&#8221; or &#8220;local governing body&#8221; means the board of supervisors of a county, council of a city, or council of a town, responsible for appropriating funds for such locality, as the context may require.\n\t\t&#8220;Middle school&#8221; means separate schools for early adolescents and the middle school grades that might be housed at elementary or high schools.\n\t\t&#8220;Parent&#8221; or &#8220;parents&#8221; means any parent, guardian, legal custodian, or other person having control or charge of a child.\n\t\t&#8220;Person of school age&#8221; means a person who will have reached his fifth birthday on or before September 30 of the school year and who has not reached twenty years of age on or before August 1 of the school year.\n\t\t&#8220;School board&#8221; means the school board that governs a school division.\n\t\t&#8220;Science-based reading research&#8221; means research that (i) applies rigorous, systematic, and objective observational or experimental procedures to obtain valid knowledge relevant to reading development, reading instruction, and reading and writing difficulties and (ii) explains how proficient reading and writing develop, why some children have difficulties developing key literacy skills, and how schools can best assess and instruct early literacy, including the use of evidence-based literacy instruction practices to promote reading and writing achievement.\n\t\t&#8220;Superintendent&#8221; means the Superintendent of Public Instruction.\n\t\t&#8220;Textbooks and other high-quality instructional materials&#8221; means systematic print or digital curricula that serve as the primary curriculum basis for a grade-level subject or course and that provide (i) adequate content and materials for student mastery of corresponding Standards of Learning; (ii) instructional practices that are aligned with general and discipline-specific research evidence; (iii) assessments to monitor student mastery of curriculum content; (iv) guidance for meeting student needs including enrichment for above-grade-level students and intensification for students who are at-risk of not mastering curriculum content, including English language learners and students with disabilities; and (v) resources for teachers that develop content knowledge, support implementation of instructional practices that are based on reliable, trustworthy, and valid evidence and have a demonstrated record of success, and build understanding of the rationale for curricula components.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":266511,"text":"As used in this title, unless the context requires a different meaning:\n\t\t&#8220;Board&#8221; or &#8220;State Board&#8221; means the Board of Education.\n\t\t&#8220;Department&#8221; means the Department of Education.\n\t\t&#8220;Division superintendent&#8221; means the division superintendent of schools of a school division.\n\t\t&#8220;Dual enrollment&#8221; means the enrollment of a qualified high school student in a postsecondary course that is creditable toward high school completion and a career certificate or an associate or baccalaureate degree at a public institution of higher education. &#8220;Dual enrollment&#8221; does not include the enrollment of a qualified high school student in a postsecondary course that is not creditable toward high school completion.\n\t\t&#8220;Elementary&#8221; includes kindergarten.\n\t\t&#8220;Elementary and secondary&#8221; and &#8220;elementary or secondary&#8221; include elementary, middle, and high school grades.\n\t\t&#8220;Evidence-based literacy instruction&#8221; means structured instructional practices, including sequential, systematic, explicit, and cumulative teaching, that (i) are based on reliable, trustworthy, and valid evidence consistent with science-based reading research; (ii) are used in core or general instruction, supplemental instruction, intervention services, and intensive intervention services; (iii) have a demonstrated record of success in adequately increasing students&#8217; reading competency, vocabulary, oral language, and comprehension and in building mastery of the foundational reading skills of phonological and phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, phonics, spelling, and text reading fluency; and (iv) are able to be differentiated in order to meet the individual needs of students. &#8220;Evidence-based literacy instruction&#8221; does not include practices that instruct students to gain meaning from print through the use of (a) three-cueing, which includes semantic, syntactic, and graphophonic cues; (b) meaning, structure, and visual cues; or (c) visual memory for word recognition.\n\t\t&#8220;Governing body&#8221; or &#8220;local governing body&#8221; means the board of supervisors of a county, council of a city, or council of a town, responsible for appropriating funds for such locality, as the context may require.\n\t\t&#8220;Middle school&#8221; means separate schools for early adolescents and the middle school grades that might be housed at elementary or high schools.\n\t\t&#8220;Parent&#8221; or &#8220;parents&#8221; means any parent, guardian, legal custodian, or other person having control or charge of a child.\n\t\t&#8220;Person of school age&#8221; means a person who will have reached his fifth birthday on or before September 30 of the school year and who has not reached twenty years of age on or before August 1 of the school year.\n\t\t&#8220;School board&#8221; means the school board that governs a school division.\n\t\t&#8220;Science-based reading research&#8221; means research that (i) applies rigorous, systematic, and objective observational or experimental procedures to obtain valid knowledge relevant to reading development, reading instruction, and reading and writing difficulties and (ii) explains how proficient reading and writing develop, why some children have difficulties developing key literacy skills, and how schools can best assess and instruct early literacy, including the use of evidence-based literacy instruction practices to promote reading and writing achievement.\n\t\t&#8220;Superintendent&#8221; means the Superintendent of Public Instruction.\n\t\t&#8220;Textbooks and other high-quality instructional materials&#8221; means systematic print or digital curricula that serve as the primary curriculum basis for a grade-level subject or course and that provide (i) adequate content and materials for student mastery of corresponding Standards of Learning; (ii) instructional practices that are aligned with general and discipline-specific research evidence; (iii) assessments to monitor student mastery of curriculum content; (iv) guidance for meeting student needs including enrichment for above-grade-level students and intensification for students who are at-risk of not mastering curriculum content, including English language learners and students with disabilities; and (v) resources for teachers that develop content knowledge, support implementation of instructional practices that are based on reliable, trustworthy, and valid evidence and have a demonstrated record of success, and build understanding of the rationale for curricula components.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":13161,"edition_id":1,"name":"System of Public Schools; General Provisions","identifier":"1","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12823,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:44:22","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:44:22","permalink":{"id":180951,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13161,"identifier":"1","token":"22.1\/1","url":"\/22.1\/1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12823,"edition_id":1,"name":"Education","identifier":"22.1","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:55","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:55","permalink":{"id":180949,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12823,"identifier":"22.1","token":"22.1","url":"\/22.1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":74111,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-1","catch_line":"(Effective July 1, 2026) Definitions","url":"\/22.1-1\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-1","metadata":false},{"id":81357,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-2","catch_line":"System of free public elementary and secondary schools to be maintained; administration","url":"\/22.1-2\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-2","metadata":false},{"id":58647,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-2.1","catch_line":"Provision of in-person instruction","url":"\/22.1-2.1\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-2.1","metadata":false},{"id":81351,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-3","catch_line":"Persons to whom public schools shall be free","url":"\/22.1-3\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-3","metadata":false},{"id":86526,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-3.1","catch_line":"Birth certificates required upon admission; required notice to the local law-enforcement agency","url":"\/22.1-3.1\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-3.1","metadata":false},{"id":82615,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-3.2","catch_line":"Notice of student's school status required as condition of admission; penalty","url":"\/22.1-3.2\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-3.2","metadata":false},{"id":70535,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-3.3","catch_line":"Transfer of students under certain circumstances","url":"\/22.1-3.3\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-3.3","metadata":false},{"id":59686,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-3.4","catch_line":"Enrollment of certain children placed in foster care","url":"\/22.1-3.4\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-3.4","metadata":false},{"id":75129,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-3.5","catch_line":"Enrollment of certain military children with disabilities; provision of special education services and accommodations","url":"\/22.1-3.5\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-3.5","metadata":false},{"id":85585,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-4","catch_line":"Repealed","url":"\/22.1-4\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-4","metadata":false},{"id":81156,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-4.1","catch_line":"Street addresses required in certain school admission documents","url":"\/22.1-4.1\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-4.1","metadata":false},{"id":74434,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-4.2","catch_line":"Designation of race or ethnicity","url":"\/22.1-4.2\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-4.2","metadata":false},{"id":59805,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-4.3","catch_line":"Participation by and notification of noncustodial parent","url":"\/22.1-4.3\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-4.3","metadata":false},{"id":54182,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-5","catch_line":"Regulations concerning admission of certain persons to schools; tuition charges","url":"\/22.1-5\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-5","metadata":false},{"id":60793,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-5.1","catch_line":"Organizations governing public school interscholastic programs; participation by students in military families","url":"\/22.1-5.1\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-5.1","metadata":false},{"id":81718,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-6","catch_line":"Permitted fees and charges","url":"\/22.1-6\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-6","metadata":false},{"id":58212,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-6.1","catch_line":"Menstrual supplies; availability; public elementary, middle, and high schools","url":"\/22.1-6.1\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-6.1","metadata":false},{"id":86640,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-7","catch_line":"Responsibility of each state board, agency, and institution having children in residence or in custody","url":"\/22.1-7\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-7","metadata":false},{"id":79554,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-7.1","catch_line":"Open school enrollment policy","url":"\/22.1-7.1\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-7.1","metadata":false},{"id":74104,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-7.2","catch_line":"Enrollment for students residing on a military installation or in military housing","url":"\/22.1-7.2\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-7.2","metadata":false}],"next_section":{"id":81357,"structure_id":13161,"section_number":"22.1-2","catch_line":"System of free public elementary and secondary schools to be maintained; administration","url":"\/22.1-2\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-2","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/22.1-1\/","history_text":"<p>This law was first created in 1980. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 559 of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. Unfortunately, the 1980 \u201cActs\u201d aren\u2019t available online. It has been modified 9 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 1985, chapter 407; in 1991, chapter 178; in 1995, chapter <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?951+ful+CHAP0852\">852<\/a>; in 2000, chapter <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?001+ful+CHAP0629\">629<\/a>; in 2001, chapter <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?011+ful+CHAP0828\">828<\/a>; in 2020, chapters <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?201+ful+CHAP0860\">860<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?201+ful+CHAP0861\">861<\/a>; in 2022, chapters <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?221+ful+CHAP0549\">549<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?221+ful+CHAP0550\">550<\/a>; in 2024, chapters <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?241+ful+CHAP0012\">12<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?241+ful+CHAP0044\">44<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?241+ful+CHAP0647\">647<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?241+ful+CHAP0684\">684<\/a>; in 2025, chapters <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?251+ful+CHAP0680\">680<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/legacylis.virginia.gov\/cgi-bin\/legp604.exe?251+ful+CHAP0683\">683<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":56012,"section_number":"19.2-70.3","catch_line":"Obtaining records concerning electronic communication service or remote computing service","order_by":null,"url":"\/19.2-70.3\/"},{"id":59319,"section_number":"22.1-253.13:4","catch_line":"Standard 4. Student achievement and graduation requirements","order_by":null,"url":"\/22.1-253.13_4\/"},{"id":78246,"section_number":"22.1-274.2","catch_line":"Possession and administration of inhaled asthma medications, epinephrine, glucagon, and seizure rescue medications by certain students or school board employees","order_by":null,"url":"\/22.1-274.2\/"},{"id":54182,"section_number":"22.1-5","catch_line":"Regulations concerning admission of certain persons to schools; tuition charges","order_by":null,"url":"\/22.1-5\/"},{"id":60793,"section_number":"22.1-5.1","catch_line":"Organizations governing public school interscholastic programs; participation by students in military families","order_by":null,"url":"\/22.1-5.1\/"},{"id":71364,"section_number":"23.1-902.1","catch_line":"(Effective July 1, 2026) Education preparation programs; coursework; audit","order_by":null,"url":"\/23.1-902.1\/"},{"id":55605,"section_number":"46.2-334","catch_line":"Conditions and requirements for licensure of persons under 18","order_by":null,"url":"\/46.2-334\/"},{"id":83528,"section_number":"54.1-2901","catch_line":"Exceptions and exemptions generally","order_by":null,"url":"\/54.1-2901\/"},{"id":58189,"section_number":"54.1-3001","catch_line":"Exemptions","order_by":null,"url":"\/54.1-3001\/"},{"id":77665,"section_number":"54.1-3408","catch_line":"Professional use by practitioners","order_by":null,"url":"\/54.1-3408\/"},{"id":81665,"section_number":"56-585.5","catch_line":"Generation of electricity from renewable and zero carbon sources","order_by":null,"url":"\/56-585.5\/"},{"id":86308,"section_number":"8.01-195.2","catch_line":"Definitions","order_by":null,"url":"\/8.01-195.2\/"},{"id":72312,"section_number":"8.01-225","catch_line":"Persons rendering emergency care, obstetrical services exempt from liability","order_by":null,"url":"\/8.01-225\/"},{"id":78976,"section_number":"8.01-424","catch_line":"Approval of compromises on behalf of persons under a disability in suits or actions to which they are parties","order_by":null,"url":"\/8.01-424\/"}],"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":180953,"object_type":"law","relational_id":74111,"identifier":"22.1-1","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-1","url":"\/22.1-1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/22.1-1\/","token":"22.1\/1\/22.1-1","dublin_core":{"Title":"(Effective July 1, 2026) Definitions","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 22.1-1","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section><p>As used in this title, unless the context requires a different meaning:\n\t\t&#8220;Board&#8221; or &#8220;<span class=\"dictionary\">State Board<\/span>&#8221; means the Board of Education.\n\t\t&#8220;<span class=\"dictionary\">Department<\/span>&#8221; means the <span class=\"dictionary\">Department<\/span> of Education.\n\t\t&#8220;<span class=\"dictionary\">Division superintendent<\/span>&#8221; means the <span class=\"dictionary\">division superintendent<\/span> of schools of a school division.\n\t\t&#8220;<span class=\"dictionary\">Dual enrollment<\/span>&#8221; means the enrollment of a qualified high school student in a postsecondary course that is creditable toward high school completion and a career certificate or an associate or baccalaureate degree at a public institution of higher education. &#8220;<span class=\"dictionary\">Dual enrollment<\/span>&#8221; does not include the enrollment of a qualified high school student in a postsecondary course that is not creditable toward high school completion.\n\t\t&#8220;<span class=\"dictionary\">Elementary<\/span>&#8221; includes kindergarten.\n\t\t&#8220;<span class=\"dictionary\">Elementary<\/span> and secondary&#8221; and &#8220;<span class=\"dictionary\">elementary<\/span> or secondary&#8221; include <span class=\"dictionary\">elementary<\/span>, middle, and high school grades.\n\t\t&#8220;<span class=\"dictionary\"><span class=\"dictionary\">Evidence<\/span>-based literacy instruction<\/span>&#8221; means structured instructional practices, including sequential, systematic, explicit, and cumulative teaching, that (i) are based on reliable, trustworthy, and valid <span class=\"dictionary\">evidence<\/span> consistent with <span class=\"dictionary\">science-based reading research<\/span>; (ii) are used in core or general instruction, supplemental instruction, intervention services, and intensive intervention services; (iii) have a demonstrated record of success in adequately increasing students&#8217; reading competency, vocabulary, oral language, and comprehension and in building mastery of the foundational reading skills of phonological and phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, phonics, spelling, and text reading fluency; and (iv) are able to be differentiated in <span class=\"dictionary\">order<\/span> to meet the individual needs of students. &#8220;<span class=\"dictionary\"><span class=\"dictionary\">Evidence<\/span>-based literacy instruction<\/span>&#8221; does not include practices that instruct students to gain meaning from print through the use of (a) three-cueing, which includes semantic, syntactic, and graphophonic cues; (b) meaning, structure, and visual cues; or (c) visual memory for word recognition.\n\t\t&#8220;Governing body&#8221; or &#8220;<span class=\"dictionary\">local governing body<\/span>&#8221; means the board of supervisors of a county, council of a city, or council of a town, responsible for appropriating funds for such locality, as the context may require.\n\t\t&#8220;<span class=\"dictionary\">Middle school<\/span>&#8221; means separate schools for early adolescents and the <span class=\"dictionary\">middle school<\/span> grades that might be housed at <span class=\"dictionary\">elementary<\/span> or high schools.\n\t\t&#8220;<span class=\"dictionary\">Parent<\/span>&#8221; or &#8220;<span class=\"dictionary\"><span class=\"dictionary\">parents<\/span><\/span>&#8221; means any <span class=\"dictionary\">parent<\/span>, guardian, legal custodian, or other person having control or charge of a child.\n\t\t&#8220;<span class=\"dictionary\">Person of school age<\/span>&#8221; means a person who will have reached his fifth birthday on or before September 30 of the school year and who has not reached twenty years of age on or before August 1 of the school year.\n\t\t&#8220;<span class=\"dictionary\">School board<\/span>&#8221; means the <span class=\"dictionary\">school board<\/span> that governs a school division.\n\t\t&#8220;<span class=\"dictionary\">Science-based reading research<\/span>&#8221; means research that (i) applies rigorous, systematic, and objective observational or experimental procedures to obtain valid knowledge relevant to reading development, reading instruction, and reading and writing difficulties and (ii) explains how proficient reading and writing develop, why some children have difficulties developing key literacy skills, and how schools can best assess and instruct early literacy, including the use of <span class=\"dictionary\"><span class=\"dictionary\">evidence<\/span>-based literacy instruction<\/span> practices to promote reading and writing achievement.\n\t\t&#8220;Superintendent&#8221; means the Superintendent of Public Instruction.\n\t\t&#8220;<span class=\"dictionary\">Textbooks and other high-quality instructional materials<\/span>&#8221; means systematic print or digital curricula that serve as the primary curriculum basis for a grade-level subject or course and that provide (i) adequate content and materials for student mastery of corresponding Standards of Learning; (ii) instructional practices that are aligned with general and discipline-specific research <span class=\"dictionary\">evidence<\/span>; (iii) assessments to monitor student mastery of curriculum content; (iv) guidance for meeting student needs including enrichment for above-grade-level students and intensification for students who are at-risk of not mastering curriculum content, including English language learners and students with disabilities; and (v) resources for teachers that develop content knowledge, support implementation of instructional practices that are based on reliable, trustworthy, and valid <span class=\"dictionary\">evidence<\/span> and have a demonstrated record of success, and build understanding of the rationale for curricula components.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":"                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\n(EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2026) DEFINITIONS (\u00a7 22.1-1)\n\nAs used in this title, unless the context requires a different meaning:\n\t\t&#8220;Board&#8221; or &#8220;State Board&#8221; means the Board of Education.\n\t\t&#8220;Department&#8221; means the Department of Education.\n\t\t&#8220;Division superintendent&#8221; means the division superintendent of\nschools of a school division.\n\t\t&#8220;Dual enrollment&#8221; means the enrollment of a qualified high school\nstudent in a postsecondary course that is creditable toward high school\ncompletion and a career certificate or an associate or baccalaureate degree at a\npublic institution of higher education. &#8220;Dual enrollment&#8221; does not\ninclude the enrollment of a qualified high school student in a postsecondary\ncourse that is not creditable toward high school completion.\n\t\t&#8220;Elementary&#8221; includes kindergarten.\n\t\t&#8220;Elementary and secondary&#8221; and &#8220;elementary or\nsecondary&#8221; include elementary, middle, and high school grades.\n\t\t&#8220;Evidence-based literacy instruction&#8221; means structured\ninstructional practices, including sequential, systematic, explicit, and\ncumulative teaching, that (i) are based on reliable, trustworthy, and valid\nevidence consistent with science-based reading research; (ii) are used in core\nor general instruction, supplemental instruction, intervention services, and\nintensive intervention services; (iii) have a demonstrated record of success in\nadequately increasing students&#8217; reading competency, vocabulary, oral\nlanguage, and comprehension and in building mastery of the foundational reading\nskills of phonological and phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, phonics,\nspelling, and text reading fluency; and (iv) are able to be differentiated in\norder to meet the individual needs of students. &#8220;Evidence-based literacy\ninstruction&#8221; does not include practices that instruct students to gain\nmeaning from print through the use of (a) three-cueing, which includes semantic,\nsyntactic, and graphophonic cues; (b) meaning, structure, and visual cues; or\n(c) visual memory for word recognition.\n\t\t&#8220;Governing body&#8221; or &#8220;local governing body&#8221; means the\nboard of supervisors of a county, council of a city, or council of a town,\nresponsible for appropriating funds for such locality, as the context may\nrequire.\n\t\t&#8220;Middle school&#8221; means separate schools for early adolescents and\nthe middle school grades that might be housed at elementary or high schools.\n\t\t&#8220;Parent&#8221; or &#8220;parents&#8221; means any parent, guardian,\nlegal custodian, or other person having control or charge of a child.\n\t\t&#8220;Person of school age&#8221; means a person who will have reached his\nfifth birthday on or before September 30 of the school year and who has not\nreached twenty years of age on or before August 1 of the school year.\n\t\t&#8220;School board&#8221; means the school board that governs a school\ndivision.\n\t\t&#8220;Science-based reading research&#8221; means research that (i) applies\nrigorous, systematic, and objective observational or experimental procedures to\nobtain valid knowledge relevant to reading development, reading instruction, and\nreading and writing difficulties and (ii) explains how proficient reading and\nwriting develop, why some children have difficulties developing key literacy\nskills, and how schools can best assess and instruct early literacy, including\nthe use of evidence-based literacy instruction practices to promote reading and\nwriting achievement.\n\t\t&#8220;Superintendent&#8221; means the Superintendent of Public Instruction.\n\t\t&#8220;Textbooks and other high-quality instructional materials&#8221; means\nsystematic print or digital curricula that serve as the primary curriculum basis\nfor a grade-level subject or course and that provide (i) adequate content and\nmaterials for student mastery of corresponding Standards of Learning; (ii)\ninstructional practices that are aligned with general and discipline-specific\nresearch evidence; (iii) assessments to monitor student mastery of curriculum\ncontent; (iv) guidance for meeting student needs including enrichment for\nabove-grade-level students and intensification for students who are at-risk of\nnot mastering curriculum content, including English language learners and\nstudents with disabilities; and (v) resources for teachers that develop content\nknowledge, support implementation of instructional practices that are based on\nreliable, trustworthy, and valid evidence and have a demonstrated record of\nsuccess, and build understanding of the rationale for curricula components.\n\nHISTORY: 1980, c. 559; 1985, c. 407; 1991, c. 178; 1995, c. 852; 2000, c. 629;\n2001, c. 828; 2020, cc. 860, 861; 2022, cc. 549, 550; 2024, cc. 12, 44, 647,\n684; 2025, cc. 680, 683.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}