Code of Maine Rules
05 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
071 - EDUCATION - GENERAL
Chapter 127 - INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM, ASSESSMENT, AND DIPLOMA REQUIREMENTS
Section 071-127-7 - Secondary School Course of Study and Diploma Requirements

Universal Citation: 05 ME Code Rules ยง 071-127-7

Current through 2024-13, March 27, 2024

7.01 Secondary School Standards and Expectations for Learning

A. Curriculum Aligned with the Content Standards of the System of Learning Results
1). Each school board operating a secondary school shall adopt a curriculum aligned with the content standards of the system of Learning Results. Each school administrative unit shall determine the instructional methods and educational materials needed to give each student the opportunity to meet the content standards of the system of Learning Results. This may include an extended school day or school year for students who need more than the minimum time established in Me. Dept of Ed. Reg. 125 to meet the content standards of the system of Learning Results.

2). The required content areas for each secondary school shall include five content areas of the system of Learning Results as follows: English Language Arts, Health and Physical Education, Mathematics, Science and Technology, and Social Studies.

3). The Comprehensive Education Plan developed in accordance with Me. Dept. of Ed. Reg. 125 by the school administrative unit shall address the implementation of Career Preparation, Modern and Classical Languages, and Visual and Performing Arts. Effective September 2006 the local curriculum shall include these content areas for all students, contingent upon funding of Essential Programs and Services or its equivalent.

4). Each content area of the system of Learning Results is defined by standards and performance indicators in Me. Dept. of Ed. Reg. 131.

NOTE: Until such time as the content list for Health Education is included in Me. Dept. of Ed. Reg. 131, health education shall continue to include instruction in community health, consumer health, environmental health, family life, growth and development, nutritional health, personal health including mental and emotional health, prevention and control of disease and disorders, safety and accident prevention, and substance use and abuse, including the effects of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs.

B. Secondary School Course of Study

Each school board that operates a secondary school shall adopt at least one course of study to be provided in the secondary school(s) under its direction and supervision.

1). The course of study for each secondary school student shall include five content areas of the system of Learning Results as follows: English Language Arts, Health and Physical Education, Mathematics, Science and Technology, and Social Studies. Instruction in these content areas may be through discrete courses, through integrated study involving two or more content areas, or through any other organization of curriculum or instruction that provides access to these content areas for all students. A secondary school student shall study a content area until the content standards in that content area are met.

2). Phase-In Course of Study
(a) Prior to the 2006-2007 school year, each secondary school shall provide at least a two-year sequence in one foreign language as part of the secondary program. Schools are encouraged to offer two or more foreign languages as part of the secondary program. Where a secondary school does not offer courses in two foreign languages, students may attend another secondary school approved for tuition purposes to take the desired course.

(b) Effective with the Class of 2007 the school board shall determine the extent to which the standards of Visual and Performing Arts are met by the previous requirement for one credit in Fine Arts, and will require no less than this; and

(c) Career Preparation, Modern and Classical Languages, and all standards of Visual and Performing Arts not previously met under the preceding subsection will become a diploma requirement for all students effective with the Class of 2010, contingent upon funding of Essential Programs and Services or its equivalent.

3). Applied Technology Education

Each school unit shall make available applied technology instruction in accordance with Me. Dept. of Ed. Reg. 231, 232, and 236. Curricula of applied technology programs shall be aligned with the content standards of the system of Learning Results. Students may meet the content standards of the system of Learning Results as part of an applied technology program, either through separate or integrated study of the content areas as described in 6.01(B)(1) above.

Assessment of student performance of an applied technology curriculum, as recommended by the applied technology program, shall be a component of the local assessment system adopted by the sending school board. The sending school board shall consider results of assessments of applied technology programs as part of the basis for awarding a diploma for participating students.

4). Extended Study

Secondary school students are eligible for extended years of study to complete the requirements of a diploma if they have not reached the age of 20 at the start of the school year. Students eligible for extended years of study may be referred to adult education or similar resources suitable to young adult learners. Extended study for students with disabilities shall be specified in the student's I.E.P. The cost of extended study shall be part of the school unit's secondary school budget.

C. For school units that do not operate a secondary school, this section should be considered by the school board, referred to here as the sending school board, when decisions are made about the education of secondary school students. The cost of secondary education for a student, including the cost of external courses, is covered by the secondary school tuition paid by the sending school board. Additional costs due to a student's Individual Education Plan or 504 plan are also the responsibility of the sending school board.

7.02 Conditions for Awarding Diplomas

Diploma requirements shall be published and distributed to students entering the ninth grade.

A. Awarding of Diplomas
1). Phase-In Diploma Requirements

Prior to the start of the 2006-2007 school year, diplomas shall be awarded to students who meet the minimum requirements as established in this subsection. School Boards shall adopt policies that phase in the new requirements. "Credit" means an award for completion of a course of instruction plus assigned homework for an entire school year. A total of at least 16 credits shall be required for the awarding of a diploma. Credit may be awarded to students enrolled in grades 9-12, except that schools may award credits to adults, under policies adopted by the school board that measure whether the students have acquired the equivalent learning experiences. Credit for equivalent instruction in non-approved schools or through home instruction may be awarded based on the receiving school's assessment of the value of that educational experience. The following credits and skills shall be required:

(a) English/Language Arts - Four credits in English shall be required in a comprehensive program which includes reading comprehension, literature, written, listening and oral communication skills, the structure and uses of the English language, and research and reporting skills.

(b) Fine Arts - A credit in fine arts shall be required which may include arts, music, forensics, or drama. Fine arts may be provided through separate or integrated study and may include an awareness, appreciation, or performance of the art form.

(c) Health and Physical Education - One-half credit in health education shall be required. Health education shall include instruction in community health, consumer health, environmental health, family life, growth and development, nutritional health, personal health including mental and emotional health, prevention and control of disease and disorders, safety and accident prevention which may include cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and substance use and abuse, including the effects of alcohol, drinks, stimulants, and narcotics upon the human system. One credit in physical education shall be required. Physical education instruction shall be designed to promote physical well-being, self-esteem, self-awareness, sportsmanship and interpersonal skills. This requirement may include, but not be limited to physical fitness, fundamental motor skills and patterns, adaptive physical education, individual and group sports. Physical education may include special physical education, movement education and motor development.

(d) Mathematics - Two credits in mathematics shall be required. It is highly recommended that all students have exposure to basic algebraic concepts and skills.

(e) Science and Technology - Two credits in science instruction shall be required including one credit of laboratory study. Each student shall be required to demonstrate proficiency in the use of computers, in accordance with computer proficiency and performance standards established by the school unit and approved by the Commissioner. Proficiency shall mean experiences with computers that include loading, operating, and applying fundamental skills. This may include word processing, keyboarding, developing a database, accessing data, and using software. This requirement may be satisfied in grade 7 or 8.

(f) Social Studies - One credit in social studies shall be required, which may include instruction in economics, geography, political science, history, government, sociology, anthropology, and psychology. One credit in American history and government shall be required in a comprehensive course that includes instruction in the importance of voting, the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship, the Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence.

2) Initial Standards-Based Diploma

Beginning with the 2006-2007 school year, diplomas may be awarded only to students who have met the content standards of the system of Learning Results as determined by the local assessment system adopted by the school board for the following content areas: English Language Arts, Health and Physical Education, Mathematics, Science and Technology, and Social Studies. The school board may specify additional diploma requirements, including minimum attendance requirements and/or accumulation of credits or courses. However, this accumulation shall not, in and of itself, be sufficient evidence that a student has met the standards in a content area.

3) Full Implementation

Beginning with the 2009-2010 school year, diplomas may be awarded only to students who have successfully met the content standards of all content areas of the system of Learning Results as determined by the local assessment system, and additional diploma requirements as specified in local school board policy.

4) Notwithstanding section 7.02.A.3 ), students who successfully meet the content standards of the Learning Results, as specified in the goals and objectives of their Individualized Education Plans, will be awarded diplomas.

5) Transfer Students

For students who transfer into a secondary school from another state or an educational program that is not required to meet the standards of the system of Learning Results, the principal of the receiving school shall determine the value of the prior educational experience toward meeting the standards through the local assessment system.

B. Early Awarding of Diplomas

The intent of the system of Learning Results is to provide the time that students need in order to meet the content standards. This may involve more or less than the typical four years of secondary school. Nothing in these rules shall prevent the local school board from awarding of a diploma to a student who has completed all state and local diploma requirements in fewer than four years of study.

C. Delayed Awarding of Diplomas
1) A secondary school student who has satisfactorily completed the freshman year in an accredited degree-granting institution of higher education may receive a diploma from the school the student last attended, although the student does not meet all diploma requirements in this rule. Such decisions shall be at the discretion of the superintendent of the school unit, in accordance with the policies of the school board.

2) A veteran of World War II or the Korean Conflict who left secondary school to serve in the armed forces and who received an honorable discharge, may be granted a diploma at the discretion of the local school board, as specified in policy and subject to requirements in statute.

D. The school board may provide students who leave school without meeting the standards of the system of Learning Results with a certificate that is not a diploma. This certificate may acknowledge participation in an educational program for a specified number of years as well as include a record of achievements as deemed appropriate by the school board.

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