Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1) Definitions. As
used in this rule:
(a) "Documented history"
means evidence in the cumulative record and education plans of a student that
demonstrates the inability over time to maintain grade level achievement even
with appropriate modifications and accommodations.
(b) "Instructional barrier" means a
significant physical, cognitive or emotional barrier that impairs a student's
ability to maintain grade level achievement.
(c) "Modified course" means a course that has
been systematically changed or altered for a student only after reasonable
alternative instructional strategies (e.g. accommodations, remediation) are
exhausted.
(d) "Other services" for
the purposes of this rule means:
(A) Those
services paid for or provided by another agency, such as Vocational
Rehabilitation or Brokerages, which may be considered in the calculation of the
total number of hours that equals at least the total number of instructional
hours that is required to be provided to students who are attending public high
school. These "other services" are not to be considered educational services
and are not provided by or through the school district or public charter
school.
(B) Those services
identified in OAR 581-022-2320(4),
such as school assemblies, student orientations, testing, etc, which may be
considered in the calculation of the total number of hours that equals at least
the total number of instructional hours that is required to be provided to
students who are attending public high school. These services are provided by
the school district or public charter school.
(2) On or after July 1, 2009, each district
school board or public charter school governing board with jurisdiction over
high school programs shall award a modified diploma only to students who have
demonstrated the inability to meet the full set of academic content standards
for a high school diploma even with reasonable modifications and accommodations
but who fulfill all state requirements as described in this rule and all
applicable local school district requirements as described in district school
board policies or public charter school requirements as described in school
policies. In addition, on or after July 1, 2009, a district school board or
public charter school governing board may only award a modified diploma to a
student who meets the eligibility criteria specified in section 3 of this
rule.
(3)
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (c) or
(d) of this section, a school district or public charter school shall grant
eligibility for a modified diploma to a student who has:
(A) A documented history of an inability to
maintain grade level achievement due to significant learning and instructional
barriers; or
(B) A documented
history of a medical condition that creates a barrier to achievement.
(b) A student shall have the
opportunity to meet the requirements of a modified diploma by the later of:
(A) Four years after starting grade nine;
or
(B) The student reaching the age
of 21 years, if the student is entitled to a public education until the age of
21 years under state or federal law.
(c) A student may complete the requirements
for a modified diploma in less than four years if the parent/guardian or adult
student gives consent.
(A) The consent must
be written and must clearly state that the parent/guardian or adult student is
waiving the 4 years to complete the requirements for a modified
diploma.
(B) A copy of all consents
must be sent to the district superintendent.
(C) Each school district must annually
provide the number of consents obtained to the State Superintendent of Public
Instruction.
(D) The consent may
not be used to allow a student to satisfy the requirements for a modified
diploma in less than three years.
(d) A school district or public charter
school may not deny a student who has the documented history described in
paragraph (a) of this subsection the opportunity to pursue a diploma with more
stringent requirements than a modified diploma for the sole reason that the
student has the documented history.
(e) Students currently engaged in the use of
illegal drugs are not eligible for a modified diploma if the significant
learning and instructional barriers are due to the use of illegal
drugs.
(f) Students currently
engaged in the illegal use of alcohol are not eligible for a modified diploma
if the significant learning and instructional barriers are due to the alcohol
abuse, regardless of whether that student is disabled under Section 504 on the
basis of alcoholism.
(g)
Notwithstanding paragraph (c) and (d) of this section, a school district or
public charter school may grant eligibility for a modified diploma to a student
who is no longer engaging in illegal use of drugs or alcohol if the student:
(A) Has successfully completed a supervised
drug or alcohol rehabilitation program and are no longer engaged in the illegal
use of drugs or alcohol; or
(B) Has
been rehabilitated successfully and is no longer engaged in the illegal use of
drugs or alcohol; or
(C) Is
participating in a supervised rehabilitation program and is no longer engaging
in the illegal use of drugs or alcohol.
(4)
(a) A
school district or public charter school shall determine which school teams
shall decide if a student will work toward obtaining a modified diploma. A
student's school team must include an adult student, parent/ guardian of the
student.
(b) A school district or
public charter school may award a modified diploma to a student only upon the
consent of the parent or guardian of the student or upon the consent of the
adult student or emancipated minor student. A district or school must receive
the consent in writing and during the school year in which the modified diploma
is awarded.
(A) If student is under 18,
consent must be received from the parent or guardian.
(B) If the student is under age 18 and
emancipated, consent must be received from the student.
(C) If the adult student is 18 or older,
consent must be received from the student or guardian.
(D) If the student is under guardianship from
the courts, consent must come from the court-appointed authority.
(c) Except as provided in
subsection (e) of this section, a student's school team shall decide that a
student should work toward a modified diploma no earlier than the end of the
6th grade and no later than 2 years before the student's anticipated exit from
high school.
(d) For students with
a documented history described in subsection 3a of this section, the following
information must be provided annually, beginning in grade five or after such a
documented history has been established:
(i)
Information about the availability of high school diplomas, modified diplomas
and the requirements for the diplomas; and
(ii) A disclosure that a student awarded a
certificate of attendance will not be counted as a high school graduate in any
reporting for the state or school district and that the student awarded a
certificate of attendance may not indicate that the student received a high
school diploma on applications for employment, military service, financial aid,
admittance to an institution of higher education or any other
purpose.
(e) A student's
school team may formally decide to revise a modified diploma
decision.
(f) A student's school
team may decide that a student who was not previously working towards a
modified diploma should work toward a modified diploma when a student is less
than 2 years from anticipated exit from high school if the documented history
of the student described in section (3) of this rule has changed.
(5) Unit of credit requirements
for students graduating with a modified diploma:
(a) To receive a modified diploma a student
must earn 24 units of credit, between grade 9 and the end of their high school
career with at least 12 of those credits to include:
(A) Language Arts - 3;
(B) Mathematics - 2;
(C) Science - 2;
(D) Social Sciences (which may include
history, civics, geography and economics (including personal finance)) -
2;
(E) Health Education -
1;
(F) Physical Education - 1;
and
(G) Career Technical Education,
The Arts or World Languages (units may be earned in any one or a combination) -
1.
(H) Personal Financial Education
- 0.5; and
(I) Higher Education and
Career Path Skills - 0.5
(b) School districts and public charter
schools shall be flexible in awarding the remaining 12 units of credit. These
credits must be awarded to meet the needs of the individual student as
specified in the education plan of the student with the expectations and
standards aligned to the appropriate grade level academic content standards.
These credits may include:
(A) Additional core
credits described in paragraph (a) of this section;
(B) Professional technical
education;
(C) Electives;
and
(D) Career
development.
(c)
Students may earn units of credit through regular education with or without
accommodations or modifications and through modified courses.
(d) Students shall have the option to earn
credit for demonstrating proficiency. A student may be given credit for
successful demonstration of knowledge and skills that meets or exceeds defined
levels of performance. Students may demonstrate proficiency through classroom
work or documentation of learning experiences outside of school, or through a
combination of these means.
(e)
School districts and public charter schools shall ensure that students have
access to needed courses, modifications and supports to pursue a modified
diploma and to progress in the general education curriculum.
(f) A school district or public charter
school may not require a student to earn more than 24 units of credit to
receive a modified diploma.
(6) A school district or public charter
school shall grant credit toward a modified diploma only for courses that
contain substantial academic content. A school district or public charter
school shall grant credit for a modified diploma through a continuum of
instruction beginning at basic skills and progressing through high level
skills.
(7) A school district or
public charter school shall award a regular diploma under OAR
581-022-2000 if all requirements
for a regular diploma are met. Completion of one or more modified courses shall
not prohibit a student from earning a regular diploma; however, required core
courses taken under modified conditions must be retaken under standard
conditions to be counted toward a regular diploma.
(8) A school district or public charter
school shall grant credit toward a modified diploma according to individual
student needs across academic content areas including applied, consumer,
academic, or knowledge and skill development.
(9) Each student shall develop an education
plan and build an education profile as provided under OAR
581-022-2000.
(10) A school district or public charter
school shall inform the student and parent or guardian of the student if the
courses in grades 9-12 have been modified for an individual student.
(11) A school district or public charter
school shall provide transcripts which clearly identify modified courses that
do not count toward the regular diploma but that do count toward a modified
diploma.
(12) Each student shall
build a collection of evidence, or include evidence in existing collections, to
demonstrate extended application of the standards as defined in OAR
581-022-0102.
(13) Each student receiving a modified
diploma shall have the option of participating in the high school graduation
ceremony with the members of their class receiving a high school
diploma.
(14)
(a) A student who receives a modified diploma
shall have access to instructional hours, hours of transition services and
hours of other services that are designed to meet the unique needs of the
student.
(b) When added together,
the school district or public charter school will provide a total number of
hours of instruction and services to the student that equals at least the total
number of instructional hours that is required to be provided to students who
are attending a public high school.
(c) The school district or public charter
school may not unilaterally decrease the total number of hours of instruction
and services to which the student has access regardless of the age of the
student.
(d) Transition services
and other services designed to meet the unique needs of the student may be
provided to the student through an interagency agreement entered into by the
school district if the individualized education program developed for the
student indicates that the services may be provided by another agency. The
school district or public charter school retains the responsibility for
ensuring that the student has access to the number of service hours required to
be provided to the student.
(e) An
agency is not required to change any eligibility criteria or enrollment
standards prior to entering into an interagency agreement with the school
district.
(f) School districts and
public charter schools shall ensure that all students have on-site access to
the appropriate resources and courses to achieve a modified diploma at each
high school in the school district or at the public charter school.
(15) The unit of credit
requirements in section ((5)(h) & (i)) of this rule for a modified diploma
apply to all students who are awarded a modified diploma on or after January 1,
2027.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS
329.451
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS
329.451
