Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 3, March 20, 2024
A. The purpose of
scheduling within available time frames and staff resources shall be to meet
the educational needs of students.
B. Prior to student scheduling each year,
each middle, junior, or high school shall provide the parent/legal custodian
with a listing of course offerings including the course choice catalog, the
content of each course, and high school graduation requirements where
appropriate.
1. By the end of the eighth
grade, each student shall begin to develop, with the input of his parent(s) or
other legal custodians and school counselor, an individual graduation plan.
Such a plan shall guide the next academic years course work. For a student with
an exceptionality, except a student identified as gifted or talented and who
has no other exceptionality, the students IEP team, if applicable, shall assist
in developing the individual graduation plan.
2. The individual graduation plan will assist
the student in exploring educational and career opportunities and in making
appropriate secondary and postsecondary education decisions as part of an
overall postsecondary plan.
3. By
the end of the eighth grade each students individual graduation plan or the
students IEP, if applicable, shall list the required core courses to be taken
through the tenth grade and shall identify the courses taken in the first year
of high school.
4. Students who
fail to meet the standard for promotion to the ninth grade shall have any
necessary remedial courses included in their individual graduation
plan.
5. By the end of the tenth
grade, each student's individual graduation plan or the student's IEP, if
applicable, shall outline the school graduation requirements relevant to the
student's chosen postsecondary goals based on the student's academic record,
talents, and interests.
a. Using information
provided by the LDE and the Office of Student Financial Assistance, LEAs shall
provide the student and the student's parent or legal custodian information
regarding state and federal need-based and merit-based financial aid programs
to support postsecondary education and training. The LEA shall ensure that each
student receives adequate support in completing and submitting an application
for financial aid.
b. Using
information developed by the Louisiana Workforce Commission, LEAs shall provide
students with information about the top twenty high-demand jobs, in the state
and in the student's region, with the highest typical annual salary. The
student shall be shown how to access information on Louisiana Workforce
Commission's website for the listed jobs and other high-demand, high-wage jobs
and shown how to find educational programs offered in Louisiana that qualify
the student for such jobs.
6. Each student, with the assistance of his
parent or other legal custodian and school counselor shall choose the high
school curriculum framework and related graduation requirements that best meet
his postsecondary goals. Prior to revising a student's individual graduation
plan, the school counselor shall meet with the student's parent or legal
custodian, either in person or virtually, to explain the possible impacts the
revisions to the plan might have on the student's graduation requirements and
postsecondary education goals. Any revisions to a student's plan shall be
approved in writing by the student's parent or legal custodian.
7. The individual graduation plan or the IEP,
if applicable, shall be reviewed annually and updated as necessary to identify
the courses to be taken each year until all required courses are completed.
Each student, his parent or legal custodian, and his school counselor shall
annually sign the student's individual graduation plan
8. The school counselor shall inform and
assist students and their parents in the selection and scheduling of advanced
courses and early college opportunities, such as dual enrollment, advanced
placement, Cambridge, or international baccalaureate courses, as educational
options.
C. Student
scheduling shall be individually appropriate and flexible to allow entry into
and exit from courses and course sequences that are available for meeting
curricular requirements.
D.
Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, each graduating senior shall, as part
of his individual graduation plan and as a requirement for graduation, complete
at least one of the following steps to support a successful transition to
postsecondary education or training:
1.
complete and submit to the Office of Student Financial Assistance an
application for a Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS)
award;
2. complete and submit to
the U.S. Department of Education a free application for federal student aid;
or
3. a parent or legal custodian,
or a student legally emancipated or of the legal age of majority, may certify a
waiver in writing to the LEA if he refuses to complete such an
application;
4. if a graduating
senior is not able to fulfill the requirements of Subsection D of this Section
due to extenuating circumstances, the LEA may apply for a waiver to be approved
by the state superintendent of education to waive the student of this
requirement for graduation.
E. In order to support students applying for
financial aid, beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, each high school
shall, upon written request of the parent/legal custodian of a graduating
senior, provide the student's parent/legal custodian with the student class
rank, weighted grade point average, and unweighted grade point
average.
F. Beginning with the
2020-2021 school year, the school counselor must:
1. finalize the individual graduation plan
for each graduating senior;
2.
upload all academic records into the state student transcript system (STS);
and
3. post the student's
graduation date prior to the awarding of a diploma.
G. Beginning with the 2021-2022 school year,
each school with students in grades 8, 9, 10, 11, and/or 12 shall annually hold
an informational meeting for parents and legal guardians on graduation
requirements and school curriculum choices. The notice of the meeting is to be
made through all means available, including the school automatic call
system.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
17:175;
R.S.
17:183.2; and
R.S.
17:2926.
