Revised:   May 8, 2008
                                                                                                                                                                   Revised:  April 13, 2011
Revised:  November 14, 2012
Revised:  July 11, 2013
Revised:  May 13, 2015
602  GRADUATION          
 
I.                PURPOSE
 
The purpose of this policy is to set forth requirements for graduation from the school district.
 
II.               GENERAL STATEMENT OF POLICY
 
The policy of the school district is that all students must satisfactorily complete, as determined by the school district, all course credit requirements, all state academic standards, or local standards where state standards do not apply, and successfully pass graduation examinations, as required, in order to graduate.
 
III.              DEFINITIONS
 
A.             “Course credit” is equivalent to a student’s successful completion of an academic year of study or a student’s mastery of the applicable subject matter, as determined by the school district.
 
B.             “Section 504 Accommodation” means the defined appropriate accommodations or modifications that must be made in the school environment to address the needs of an individual student with disabilities.
 
C.             “Individualized Education Program” or “IEP” means a written statement developed for a student eligible by law for special education and services.
 
D.             “English language learners” or “ELL” student means an individual whose first language is not English and whose test performance may be negatively impacted by lack of English language proficiency.
 
E.             “GRAD” means the graduation-required assessment for diploma that measures the reading, writing, and mathematics proficiency of high school students.
 
IV.            GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
 
A.             Twenty-six credits are required to be earned in grades 9-12 in order to earn a high school diploma.  Credits are earned on a semester basis.  Upon the successful completion of any class that meets every day during a semester, a student earns one-half of a credit.  This requirement may be waived and a student may earn one-fourth of a credit, if he/she successfully completes a quarters work in a class and then withdraws from that class.  This waiver can only be granted with the approval of the instructor involved and the principal.  The twenty-six credits needed for graduation shall be made up of required and elective courses approved by the State Department of Education and the board of trustees of the local district.  In order to meet the District’s graduation requirements, a student must have satisfactorily completed:
 
1.  4 credits in English 9, 10, 11, and 12 (or the approved equivalent).
 
2.  4 credits in Social Studies 9, 10, 11, and 12 (or the approved equivalent).
 
3. 1 credit of Physical Education/Health 9
 
4.  3 credits in Math in grades 9, 10, 11 or 12. 
 
5.  3 credits in Science in grades 9, 10, 11 or 12.
 
6.  1 credit in the Arts.
 
7.  .5 credit in Consumer Education (Algebra II, Trigonometry, Chemistry, Calculus, Pre-Calculus, Physics, or Anatomy or Physiology can be substituted for the .5 Consumer Education requirement).
 
8.  The remainder of the 26 required credits are from the elective area.
 
9.  Passing scores on all State and local testing requirements. 
 
B.             For students enrolled in grade 8 before the 2005-2006 school year, only Minnesota basic skills tests in reading, mathematics, and writing shall fulfill students’ basic skills testing requirements for a passing state notation.  The passing scores of basic skills tests in reading and mathematics are the equivalent of 75 percent correct for students entering grade 9 as based on the first uniform test administered in February 1998.  Students who have not successfully passed a basic skills test by the end of the 2011-2012 school year must pass the GRAD as set forth in Sections IV.C. or IV.D., except that, for the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years only, these students must satisfy the state’s graduation test requirement for math by complying with Sections IV.D.1. and IV.D.3.
 
C.             For students enrolled in grade 8 in the 2005-2006 school year and later, only the following options shall fulfill students’ state graduation test requirements:
 
1.              for reading and mathematics:
 
a.              obtaining an achievement level equivalent to or greater than proficient as determined through a standard setting process on the Minnesota comprehensive assessments in grade 10 for reading and grade 11 for mathematics or achieving a passing score as determined through a standard setting process on the GRAD in grade 10 for reading and grade 11 for mathematics or subsequent retests;
 
b.              achieving a passing score as determined through a standard setting process on the state-identified language proficiency test in reading and the mathematics test for English language learners or the GRAD equivalent of those assessments for students designated as English language learners;
 
c.              achieving an individual passing score on the GRAD as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an IEP or 504 plan;
 
d.              obtaining an achievement level equivalent to or greater than proficient as determined through a standard setting process on the state-identified alternate assessment or assessments in grade 10 for reading and grade 11 for mathematics for students with an IEP; or
 
e.              achieving an individual passing score on the state-identified alternate assessment or assessments as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an IEP; and
 
2.              for writing:
 
a.              achieving a passing score on the GRAD;
 
b.              achieving a passing score as determined through a standard setting process on the state-identified language proficiency test in writing for students designated as English language learners;
 
c.              achieving an individual passing score on the GRAD as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an IEP or 504 plan; or
 
d.              achieving an individual passing score on the state-identified alternate assessment or assessments as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an IEP.
 
D.             Students enrolled in grade 8 in any school year from the 2005-2006 school year to the 2009-2010 school year who do not pass the mathematics GRAD under Section IV.C. above, are eligible to receive a high school diploma with a passing state notation if they:
 
1.              complete with a passing score or grade all state and local coursework and credits required for graduation by the school board granting the students their diploma;
 
2.              participate in district-prescribed academic remediation in mathematics; and
 
3.              fully participate in at least two retests of the mathematics GRAD test or until they pass the mathematics GRAD test, whichever comes first.
 
E.             Students beginning ninth grade in the 2011-2012 school year and later must successfully complete, as determined by the school district, the following high school level course credits for graduation:
 
1.              Four credits of language arts;
 
2.              Three credits of mathematics, encompassing at least algebra, geometry, statistics, and probability sufficient to satisfy the academic standard.  Beginning in the 2010-2011 school year, students must satisfactorily complete an algebra I class.  Students scheduled to graduate in the 2014-2015 school year or later must satisfactorily complete an algebra II credit or its equivalent;
 
3.              Three credits of science, including at least (a) one credit in biology, (b) one chemistry or physics credit or career and technical education credit that meets standards underlying the chemistry, physics, or biology credit or a combination of those standards approved by the school district, and (c) meeting biology standards under Section IV.E.3.(b) does not meet the biology requirement under Section IV.E.3.(a);
 
4.              Three and one-half credits of social studies, encompassing at least United States history, geography, government and citizenship, world history, and economics, or three credits of social studies, encompassing at least United States history, geography, government and citizenship, and world history, and one-half credit of economics taught in a school’s social studies, agriculture education, or business department;
 
5.              One credit in the arts; and
 
6.              A minimum of seven elective course credits.
 
7.              An agriculture science course may fulfill a credit requirement other than the specified science credit in biology under Section IV.E.3. above.
 
8.              A career and technical education course may fulfill a, mathematics, or arts credit requirement or a science requirement other than the specified science credit in biology under Section IV.E.2., IV.E.3., or IV.E.5. above.
 
F.              All students must satisfactorily complete the following required and elective standards, in accordance with the standards adopted by the school district:
 
1.              School District Standards, Health and Physical Education (K-12);
 
2.              School District Standards, Vocational and Technical Education (K-12); and
 
3.              School District Standards, World Languages (K-12).
 
G.             Academic standards in health, physical education, world languages, and vocational and technical education will be reviewed on an annual basis.
 
H.             All students must satisfactorily complete the following required Graduation Standards in accordance with the standards developed by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE):
 
1.              Minnesota Academic Standards, Language Arts K-12 (2003);
 
2.              Minnesota Academic Standards, Mathematics K-12 (2007);
 
3.              Minnesota Academic Standards, Science K-12 (2009);
 
4.              Minnesota Academic Standards, Social Studies K-12 (2004); and
 
5.              Minnesota Academic Standards, Arts K-12 (2008);
 
or
 
1.              Minnesota Academic Standards, Social Studies K-12 (2004), or have met the requirements of an IEP, a Section 504 accommodation plan, or alternative learning center;
 
2.              Minnesota Academic Standards, Arts K-12 (2008), or have met the requirements of an IEP, a Section 504 accommodation plan, or alternative learning center; and
 
3.              Alternative standards established in the student’s IEP in the academic areas of language arts, mathematics and science.
 
V.             STUDENTS IN UNIQUE SITUATIONS
 
In order to graduate from the school district, all students must fulfill the graduation test requirements in reading, mathematics, and writing established by Minn. Stat. §§ 120B.02 and 120B.30 as set forth in Sections IV.B., IV.C., and IV.D., above, with the following exceptions:
 
A.             ELL students are required to pass the GRAD only if they have been enrolled in any Minnesota school for at least four consecutive years.  An ELL student who first enrolls in a Minnesota school in grade 9 or above and who completes the coursework and any other state and district requirements to graduate within a four-year period is not required to pass the GRAD;
 
B.             Shared-time students are not required to pass the GRAD unless they intend to graduate from the school district.
 
C.             Students who have transferred from another state will not be required to pass the GRAD if they passed graduation examinations in other states with examinations acceptable to MDE.
 
D.             Students with IEPs or 504 accommodation plans will be tested and required to pass the GRAD as specified in the students’ IEPs or 504 accommodation plans.

E.  A Student with an active IEP who has met all Minnesota and ISD 363 credit requirements to graduate from a district school, but has not met his/her IEP transition goal(s), and qualifies for an 18-21 year old transitional program shall be allowed to walk at graduation without receiving his/her diploma upon administrative approval.