                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

STANDARD 4. STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS (§ 22.1-253.13:4)

A. Each local school board shall award diplomas to all secondary school
students, including students who transfer from nonpublic schools or from home
instruction, who meet the requirements prescribed by the Board and meet such
other requirements as may be prescribed by the local school board and approved
by the Board. Provisions shall be made to facilitate the transfer and
appropriate grade placement of students from other public secondary schools,
from nonpublic schools, or from home instruction as outlined in the standards
for accreditation. The standards for accreditation shall include provisions
relating to the completion of graduation requirements through Virtual Virginia.
Further, reasonable accommodation to meet the requirements for diplomas shall be
provided for otherwise qualified students with disabilities as needed.
			In addition, each local school board may devise, vis-a-vis the award of
diplomas to secondary school students, a mechanism for calculating class
rankings that takes into consideration whether the student has taken a required
class more than one time and has had any prior earned grade for such required
class expunged.
			Each local school board shall notify the parents of rising eleventh and
twelfth grade students of (i) the requirements for graduation pursuant to the
standards for accreditation and (ii) the requirements that have yet to be
completed by the individual student.

B. Students identified as disabled who:

   1. Complete alternative requirements, in the form of credit accommodations
   specified in their individualized education programs, to earn required
   standard and verified credits shall be awarded standard diplomas by local
   school boards. Such credit accommodations may include (i) approval of
   alternative courses to meet standard credit requirements, (ii) modifications
   to the requirements for local school divisions to award locally awarded
   verified credits, (iii) approval of additional tests to earn verified credits,
   (iv) adjusted cut scores required to earn verified credits, (v) allowance of
   work-based learning experiences, and (vi) special permission credit
   accommodations for locally awarded verified credits; and

   2. Complete the requirements of their individualized education programs and
   meet certain requirements prescribed by the Board pursuant to regulations but
   do not meet the requirements for any named diploma shall be awarded Applied
   Studies diplomas by local school boards. The Board shall develop and implement
   statewide requirements for earning an Applied Studies diploma for
   implementation at the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year.
   				The Department shall develop guidance, in multiple languages, for students
   and parents (i) informing them of the alternative path to earn a standard
   diploma through credit accommodations, including special permission credit
   accommodations for locally awarded verified credits; (ii) conveying (a) the
   limitations of the applied studies diploma, (b) key curriculum and testing
   decisions that reduce the likelihood that a student will be able to obtain a
   standard diploma, and (c) a statement that the pursuit of an applied studies
   diploma may preclude a student&#8217;s ability to pursue a standard diploma;
   and (iii) supporting them to discuss these diploma options at the
   student&#8217;s individualized education program meetings.
   				Each local school board shall develop a process for awarding locally
   verified credits to students with disabilities, require individualized
   education program teams to consider credit accommodations, including locally
   awarded verified credits, for students with disabilities to enable them to
   earn a standard diploma, and provide guidance from the Department to parents
   of students with disabilities regarding the availability of credit
   accommodations to earn a standard diploma and the limitations of the Applied
   Studies diploma at a student&#8217;s annual individualized education program
   meeting corresponding to grades three through 12 when curriculum or statewide
   assessment decisions are being made that impact the type of diploma for which
   the student can qualify.
   				Each local school board shall notify the parent of such students with
   disabilities who have an individualized education program and who fail to meet
   the graduation requirements of the student&#8217;s right to a free and
   appropriate education to age 21, inclusive, pursuant to Article 2 (&#xA7;
   22.1-213 et seq.) of Chapter 13.

C. Students who have completed a prescribed course of study as defined by the
local school board shall be awarded certificates of program completion by local
school boards if they are not eligible to receive a Board-approved diploma.
			Each local school board shall provide notification of the right to a free
public education for students who have not reached 20 years of age on or before
August 1 of the school year, pursuant to Chapter 1 (&#xA7; 22.1-1 et seq.), to
the parent of students who fail to graduate or who have failed to achieve
graduation requirements as provided in the standards for accreditation. If such
student who does not graduate or complete such requirements is a student for
whom English is a second language, the local school board shall notify the
parent of the student&#8217;s opportunity for a free public education in
accordance with &#xA7; 22.1-5.

D. In establishing graduation requirements, the Board shall:

   1. Develop and implement, in consultation with stakeholders representing
   elementary and secondary education, higher education, and business and
   industry in the Commonwealth and including parents, policymakers, and
   community leaders in the Commonwealth, a Profile of a Virginia Graduate that
   identifies the knowledge and skills that students should attain during high
   school in order to be successful contributors to the economy of the
   Commonwealth, giving due consideration to critical thinking, creative
   thinking, collaboration, communication, and citizenship.

   2. Emphasize the development of core skill sets in the early years of high
   school.

   3. Establish multiple paths toward college and career readiness for students
   to follow in the later years of high school. Each such pathway shall include
   opportunities for internships, externships, and credentialing.

   4. Provide for the selection of integrated learning courses meeting the
   Standards of Learning and approved by the Board to satisfy graduation
   requirements, which shall include Standards of Learning testing, as necessary.

   5. Require students to complete at least one course in fine or performing arts
   or career and technical education, one course in United States and Virginia
   history, and two sequential elective courses chosen from a concentration of
   courses selected from a variety of options that may be planned to ensure the
   completion of a focused sequence of elective courses that provides a
   foundation for further education or training or preparation for employment.

   6. Require that students (i) complete an Advanced Placement, honors,
   International Baccalaureate, or dual enrollment course; (ii) complete a
   high-quality work-based learning experience, as defined by the Board; or (iii)
   earn a career and technical education credential that has been approved by the
   Board, including its diploma seal of biliteracy established pursuant to
   subdivision E 4, 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 earn credit.
   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, the Armed Services
   Vocational Aptitude Battery, the Virginia workplace readiness skills
   assessment, or, in the case of the diploma seal of biliteracy, any examination
   set forth in subdivision E 4. The Department shall develop, maintain, and make
   available to each local school board a catalogue of the testing accommodations
   available to English language learners for each such certification,
   examination, assessment, and battery. Each local school board shall develop
   and implement policies to require each high school principal or his designee
   to notify each English language learner of the availability of such testing
   accommodations prior to the student&#8217;s participation in any such
   certification, examination, assessment, or battery.

   7. Require students to 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.

   8. Make provision in its regulations for students with disabilities to earn a
   diploma.

   9. Require students to complete one virtual course, which may be a
   noncredit-bearing course.

   10. Provide that students who complete elective classes into which the
   Standards of Learning for any required course have been integrated and achieve
   a passing score on the relevant Standards of Learning test for the relevant
   required course receive credit for such elective class.

   11. Establish a procedure to facilitate the acceleration of students that
   allows qualified students, with the recommendation of the division
   superintendent, without completing the 140-hour class, to obtain credit for
   such class upon demonstrating mastery of the course content and objectives and
   receiving a passing score on the relevant Standards of Learning assessment.
   Nothing in this section shall preclude relevant school division personnel from
   enforcing compulsory attendance in public schools.

   12. Provide for the award of credit for passing scores on industry
   certifications, state licensure examinations, and national occupational
   competency assessments approved by the Board.
   				School boards shall report annually to the Board the number of
   Board-approved industry certifications obtained, state licensure examinations
   passed, national occupational competency assessments passed, Armed Services
   Vocational Aptitude Battery assessments passed, and Virginia workplace
   readiness skills assessments passed, and the number of career and technical
   education completers who graduated. These numbers shall be reported as
   separate categories on the School Performance Report Card.
   				For the purposes of this subdivision, &#8220;career and technical
   education completer&#8221; means a student who has met the requirements for a
   career and technical concentration or specialization and all requirements for
   high school graduation or an approved alternative education program.
   				In addition, the Board may:
   				a. For the purpose of awarding credit, approve the use of additional or
   substitute tests for the correlated Standards of Learning assessment, such as
   academic achievement tests, industry certifications, or state licensure
   examinations; and
   				b. Permit students completing career and technical education programs
   designed to enable such students to pass such industry certification
   examinations or state licensure examinations to be awarded, upon obtaining
   satisfactory scores on such industry certification or licensure examinations,
   appropriate credit for one or more career and technical education classes into
   which relevant Standards of Learning for various classes taught at the same
   level have been integrated. Such industry certification and state licensure
   examinations may cover relevant Standards of Learning for various required
   classes and may, at the discretion of the Board, address some Standards of
   Learning for several required classes.

   13. Provide for the waiver of certain graduation requirements and the
   subsequent award of a high school diploma (i) upon the Board&#8217;s
   initiative, (ii) at the request of a local school board, or (iii) upon the
   request of the parent of any high school senior who died in good standing
   prior to graduation during the student&#8217;s senior year. Such waivers shall
   be granted only for good cause and shall be considered on a case-by-case
   basis.

   14. Consider all computer science course credits earned by students to be
   science course credits, mathematics course credits, or career and technical
   education credits. The Board shall develop guidelines addressing how computer
   science courses can satisfy graduation requirements.

   15. Permit local school divisions to waive the requirement for students to
   receive 140 clock hours of instruction upon providing the Board with
   satisfactory proof, based on Board guidelines, that the students for whom such
   requirements are waived have learned the content and skills included in the
   relevant Standards of Learning.

   16. Provide for the award of verified units of credit for a satisfactory
   score, as determined by the Board, on the Preliminary ACT (PreACT) or
   Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT)
   examination.

   17. Permit students to exceed a full course load in order to participate in
   courses offered by an institution of higher education that lead to a degree,
   certificate, or credential at such institution.

   18. Permit local school divisions to waive the requirement for students to
   receive 140 clock hours of instruction after the student has completed the
   course curriculum and relevant Standards of Learning end-of-course assessment,
   or Board-approved substitute, provided that such student subsequently receives
   instruction, coursework, or study toward an industry certification approved by
   the local school board.

   19. Permit any English language learner who previously earned a sufficient
   score on an Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate foreign language
   examination or an SAT II Subject Test in a foreign language to substitute
   computer coding course credit for any foreign language course credit required
   to graduate, except in cases in which such foreign language course credit is
   required to earn an advanced diploma offered by a nationally recognized
   provider of college-level courses.

   20. Permit a student who is pursuing an advanced diploma and whose
   individualized education program specifies a credit accommodation for world
   language to substitute two standard units of credit in computer science for
   two standard units of credit in a world language. For any student that elects
   to substitute a credit in computer science for credit in world language, his
   or her school counselor must provide notice to the student and parent or
   guardian of possible impacts related to college entrance requirements.

   21. Permit any student to substitute elective credits for completion of any
   industry-approved workforce credential, provided that such credential is
   included on the list of credentials that are uniformly accepted as substitutes
   for such required credits developed and maintained by the Board pursuant to
   subsection F of &#xA7; 22.1-253.13:1.

E. In the exercise of its authority to recognize exemplary performance by
providing for diploma seals:

   1. The Board shall develop criteria for recognizing exemplary performance in
   career and technical education programs by students who have completed the
   requirements for a Board of Education-approved diploma and shall award seals
   on the diplomas of students meeting such criteria.

   2. The Board shall establish criteria for awarding a diploma seal for science,
   technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for the Board-approved
   diplomas. The Board shall consider including criteria for (i) relevant
   coursework; (ii) technical writing, reading, and oral communication skills;
   (iii) relevant training; and (iv) industry, professional, and trade
   association national certifications.

   3. The Board shall establish criteria for awarding a diploma seal for
   excellence in civics education and understanding of our state and federal
   constitutions and the democratic model of government for the Board-approved
   diplomas. The Board shall consider including criteria for (i) successful
   completion of history, government, and civics courses, including courses that
   incorporate character education; (ii) voluntary participation in community
   service or extracurricular activities that includes the types of activities
   that shall qualify as community service and the number of hours required; and
   (iii) related requirements as it deems appropriate.

   4. The Board shall establish criteria for awarding a diploma seal of
   biliteracy to any student who demonstrates proficiency in English and at least
   one other language for the Board-approved diplomas. The Board shall consider
   criteria including the student&#8217;s (i) score on a College Board Advanced
   Placement foreign language examination, (ii) score on an SAT II Subject Test
   in a foreign language, (iii) proficiency level on an ACTFL Assessment of
   Performance toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL) measure or another
   nationally or internationally recognized language proficiency test, or (iv)
   cumulative grade point average in a sequence of foreign language courses
   approved by the Board.

F. The Board shall establish, by regulation, requirements for the award of a
general achievement adult high school diploma for those persons who are not
subject to the compulsory school attendance requirements of &#xA7; 22.1-254 and
have (i) achieved a passing score on a high school equivalency examination
approved by the Board; (ii) successfully completed an education and training
program designated by the Board; (iii) earned a Board-approved career and
technical education credential such as the successful completion of an industry
certification, a state licensure examination, a national occupational competency
assessment, the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or the Virginia
workplace readiness skills assessment; and (iv) satisfied other requirements as
may be established by the Board for the award of such diploma.

G. To ensure the uniform assessment of high school graduation rates, the Board
shall collect, analyze, report, and make available to the public high school
graduation and dropout data using a formula prescribed by the Board.

H. The Board shall also collect, analyze, report, and make available to the
public high school graduation and dropout data using a formula that excludes any
student who fails to graduate because such student is in the custody of the
Department of Corrections, the Department of Juvenile Justice, or local law
enforcement. For the purposes of the Standards of Accreditation, the Board shall
use the graduation rate required by this subsection.

I. The Board may promulgate such regulations as may be necessary and appropriate
for the collection, analysis, and reporting of such data required by subsections
G and H.

HISTORY: 1988, cc. 645, 682; 1990, cc. 820, 839; 1993, c. 661; 1994, cc. 618,
790; 1997, cc. 828, 835; 1998, cc. 72, 602, 627; 2001, cc. 483, 500; 2003, c.
688; 2004, cc. 509, 939, 955; 2005, c. 345; 2006, c. 584; 2007, cc. 34, 56, 234,
351, 859, 919; 2008, c. 351; 2009, c. 490; 2010, cc. 80, 89, 162, 163, 313;
2011, c. 209; 2012, cc. 454, 642; 2013, cc. 498, 530; 2014, cc. 84, 590; 2015,
cc. 329, 564, 565, 591, 701, 702, 705; 2016, cc. 720, 750; 2017, cc. 330, 685;
2018, cc. 139, 482, 512, 592, 716; 2020, cc. 55, 580, 874; 2021, Sp. Sess. I,
cc. 451, 452; 2022, c. 355; 2023, c. 7; 2024, cc. 468, 502, 657, 666; 2025, c.
662.