Required Notifications and Information for Parents/Guardians

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Credits Required for Graduation
Each division must notify the parents of rising eleventh and twelfth grade students of
• Requirements for graduation pursuant to the standards for accreditation, and
• Requirements that have yet to be completed by the individual student for graduation.

VSBA Policy IKF The Virginia Assessment Program and Graduation Requirements; Va. Code § 22.1-253.13:4.A.

The division must notify parents of students with disabilities who have an IEP and who fail to meet the graduation requirements of the student's right to a free and appropriate education to age 21, inclusive. Va. Code § 22.1-253.13:4.B.

The division must notify parents of students who fail to graduate or to achieve graduation requirements as provided in the standards for accreditation and who have not reached 20 years of age on or before August 1st of the school year of the right to a free public education. If the student is one for whom English is a second language, the division will notify the parent of the student's opportunity for a free public education in accordance with Va. Code § 22.1-5. Va. Code § 22.1-253.13:4.C.

Dual Enrollment, Advanced Placement Classes and Special Programs
Students and their parents must be notified of the availability of dual enrollment, advanced placement classes, career and technical education programs, including internships, externships, apprenticeships, credentialing programs, certification programs, licensure programs, and other work-based learning experiences, the International Baccalaureate program and Academic Year Governor’s School Programs. The notification must include the qualifications for enrolling in classes, programs and experiences, and the availability of financial assistance to low-income and needy students to take the advanced placement and International Baccalaureate examinations. Notification must also be given to students and parents of the division’s agreement with a community college in the Commonwealth to enable students to complete an associate's degree or a one-year Uniform Certificate of General Studies concurrent with a high school diploma. VSBA Policy IGBI Advanced Placement Classes and Special Programs; Va. Code § 22.1-253.13:1.D.11.
English Learners
School divisions receiving federal funds to provide a language instruction educational program must, not later than 30 days after the beginning of the school year, inform the parents of English learners of the following:
• The reasons for the identification of their child as an English learner and in need of placement in a language instruction educational program
• The child's level of English proficiency, how such level was assessed, and the status of the child's academic achievement
• The methods of instruction used in the program in which their child is, or will be participating, and the methods of instruction used in other available programs, including how such programs differ in content, instructional goals, and the use of English and a native language in instruction
• How the program in which their child is, or will be participating, will meet the educational strengths and needs of their child
• How such program will specifically help their child learn English and meet age-appropriate academic achievement standards for grade promotion and graduation
• the specific exit requirements for the program, including the expected rate of transition from such program into classrooms that are not tailored for English learners and the expected rate of graduation from high school (including four year adjusted cohort graduation rates and extended-year adjusted cohort graduation rates for such program) if federal funds are used for children in high schools
• In the case of a child with a disability, how such program meets the objectives of the individualized education program of the child
• Information pertaining to parental rights that includes written guidance detailing
      o the parents’ right to have their child immediately removed from such program upon their request and
      o the options that parents have to decline to enroll their child in such program or to choose another program or method of instruction, if available
      o information pertaining to parental rights that includes written guidance assisting parents in selecting among various programs and methods of instruction, if more than one program or method is offered by the division. 20 U.S.C. § 6312(e)(3).

For those children who have not been identified as English learners prior to the beginning of the school year, the division must give the notifications listed above to parents within the first two weeks of the child being placed in a language instruction educational program.

In addition, parents of English learners will be notified regarding parental involvement opportunities in the same manner as notice is given regarding other Title I programs.

Graduation Requirements
At the beginning of each school year, every school must provide to students in all grade levels a notice of all requirements for Board of Education-approved diplomas. VSBA Policy IKF the Virginia Assessment Program and Graduation Requirements; 8 VAC 20- 131-270.B.

High School Credit-Bearing Courses Taken in Middle School
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. VSBA Policy JO Student Records; 8 VAC 20-131-90.

Homeless Students
Each division must provide public notice of the education rights of the homeless students enrolled in the division. 42 U.S.C. § 11432(e)(3)(C)(i). The notice is to be disseminated in places where homeless students receive services, including schools, family shelters, and soup kitchens. 42 U.S.C. § 11432 (g)(6)(A)(vi). The notice must be in a “manner and form” understandable to homeless students and their parents/guardians, “including, if necessary and to the extent feasible,” in their native language. VSBA Policy JECA Admission of Homeless Students; 42 U.S.C. § 11432(e)(3)(C)(iii). The National Center for Homeless Students (funded by the U.S. Department of Education) has created posters that can be downloaded or ordered from http://center.serve.org/nche/products.php#electronic.

Learning Objectives
At the beginning of each school year, every school must provide to parents or guardians the learning objectives to be achieved at their child’s grade level or, in high school, a copy of the syllabus for each of their child’s courses. 8 VAC 20-131-270.B.

Parent and Family Engagement Policy
Districts and schools that receive Title I funds must distribute their parental involvement policy (VSBA Policy IGBC Parental Involvement) to parents of students in Title I programs. 20 U.S.C. § 6318 (a), (b).

Postsecondary Education and Employment Data
Each school board’s career and technical education program must include annual notice on its website to enrolled high school students and their parents of the availability of the postsecondary education and employment data published by the State Council of Higher Education and the opportunity for such students to obtain a nationally recognized career readiness certificate at a local public high school, comprehensive community college or workforce center. Va. Code § 22.1- 253.13:1.D.3.d.

Promotion, Retention and Remediation Policies
At the beginning of each school year, every school must provide to parents and guardians a copy of the division’s promotion, retention and remediation policies. 8 VAC 20-131-270.B.

Report Cards/Quality Profiles
Divisions that receive Title I funds must prepare and disseminate specified information to parents. Federal law refers to the distribution of this information as a “report card”. The Virginia Board of Education, in the Standards of Accreditation as revised in January 2018, now uses the term “School Quality Profile”. VSBA Policy CMA Quality Profiles; 20 U.S.C. § 6311(h)(2); 8 VAC 20-131-270. The Virginia Department of Education now posts the information required by federal law to appear in division and school report cards on its website and has stated that this posting satisfies the requirements of federal law.

Child Find
 Each school establishes a School Consultation Team (SCT) to process referral requests
for students suspected of having a disability. School personnel, parents, or another
person may refer a student to this team. For students who are referred, the team will
review the student’s education records and information about the student’s performance
and make recommendations for meeting the student’s educational and behavioral
needs. In reviewing the student’s performance, the school consultation team may use a
process based on the student’s response to scientific and research based interventions
(RTI). The team will ensure that these interventions are documented, and that the use of
these interventions do not unnecessarily delay a student’s evaluation for special
education. If the student does not make appropriate progress using these interventions,
the team will refer the student to the special education administrator for an evaluation to
determine if the student needs special education and related services. As a member of
the committee, the building principal or designee (SCT Coordinator) receives all referrals
to the team. The team may make a referral for evaluation for special education and
related services at any time. This may be prior to or while implementing these strategies.
Any action by the team must be in writing and must include the information on which the
decision is based.

Parent's Guide to Special Education https://www.doe.virginia.gov/special_ed/parents/parents_guide.pdf

Standards of Learning (SOLs)
At the beginning of each school year, every school must provide to parents or guardians a copy of the Standards of Learning applicable to their child’s grade or course requirements and the approximate date and potential impact of the child’s next SOL testing. 8 VAC 20-131-270.B.

Student Achievement
Schools that receive Title I funds must provide parents individual reports regarding their student’s level of achievement and academic growth on the state’s academic assessments, if applicable and available, as soon as is practicable after the assessment is given. The reports must be in an understandable format and, to the extent practicable, be in a language that parents can understand. 20 U.S.C. §§ 6311(b)(2)(B)(x); 20 U.S.C. § 6312(e)(1)(B).

Alternatives to Animal Dissection
School boards must provide notice that they provide alternatives to animal dissection. This notice may be given in the relevant biological sciences syllabi, student course selection guides or local school division policies or directives. VSBA Policy IGAK Alternatives to Animal Dissection; Va. Code § 22.1-200.01; Superintendent’s Memo No. 161 Aug. 6, 2004.

Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States must be posted in a conspicuous place in each school. VSBA Policy IEC Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States; Acts 2003, c. 902.

Child Abuse Reporting
A notice must be posted in each school stating that
• anyone employed there who suspects that a child is abused or neglected is required to report such suspected cases of child abuse or neglect; and
• all persons required to report cases of suspected child abuse or neglect are immune from civil or criminal liability or administrative penalty or sanction on account of such reports unless such person has acted in bad faith or with malicious purpose. The notice shall also include the Virginia Department of Social Services' toll-free child abuse and neglect hotline.

VSBA Policy GAE Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting; Va. Code § 22.1-291.3.

National Motto
The statement “’In God We Trust,’ the National Motto, enacted by Congress in 1956” must be posted in a conspicuous place in each school. VSBA Policy IEB National Motto; Acts 2003, c. 902.

Online Courses and Programs
Divisions must post information regarding online courses and programs available through the division on their websites. The information should include the types of online courses and programs available, when the division will pay course fees and other costs for nonresident students, and the granting of high school credit. VSBA Policy IGBGA On Line Courses and Virtual School Programs; Va. Code § 22.1-212.25.