Is a school allowed to do this?

[klmno]

This local, public mainstream sd says it requires more than the state DOE in order to graduate high school. They require more credits for both the standard and advanced diplomas, in order to be considered "passing" to the next grade level and in order to graduate and get a diploma. Is that legal?

 

[slsh]

I believe it is, klm. The state sets minimums, but an SD can set their own criteria.

 

[KTMom91]

Double check the list of graduation requirements, and see if there is more than one. Miss KT's high school had three...the list they were pushing for NCLB, with Advanced Placement courses, etc. to get them in to the UC system; the list that meant they could get into the CSU system, and then...drum roll, please...the list they didn't talk about, the one that meant you graduated.

There was no way Miss KT would qualify for the UC system. Spots are limited and it's very competitive. Same with the CSU system...in fact, some of the campuses are no longer accepting students; because of CA's economic difficulties they're cutting classes. Plus, I knew she wouldn't make it through the SAT, as she doesn't test well at all.

 

[klmno]

I don't know what CSU is.

Anyway, I dug around a little more and there is conflicting info on their website. In one place it says 28 credits and 30 credits required for Standard and Advanced diplomas, respectively. Then in thiss year's handbook, it says that in a brief summary but in the chart breaking down actual course requirements for each, it says 24 and 26, res[ectively, which is only two more credits than the state requires for eeach and obviously, more feasible. I'm hoping that this is the accurate info and maybe it used to be the more stringent requirements but it didn't get changed everywhere. No other place in this state requires that many credits to graduate, at least that I've ever heard of. It's odd too because schools are not all that good in this area and they haven't met graduation goals. Gee I guess not if you require 20-25% more credits than the state DOE and no other sd is increasing that.

 

[KTMom91]

Sorry...UC is the University of California (like Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Francisco); CSU is California State University (Fresno State, Sacramento State, Humboldt State). Neither of which she would have been able to handle.

 

[skeeter]

Depending on your state requirements, many schools have gone to several "grades" or levels of diplomas. That's because some state requirements were set so low that other than a state college that must accept anyone with a diploma, the students weren't prepared for college. And even at those state colleges that "must" accept the graduate, they didn't have the credits to get into a matriculated program - they were just "accepted.
There were three levels of diplomas at my one son's school - AP, honors, and "standard". It was actually possible, by taking a lot of AP courses, to have a GPA higher than 5. His is a honors - he was higher level tracked, but only took 2 AP courses.

Basically, to answer your question, it is entirely possible that a particular school has decided to require more than state minimum. Many have also laid out particular classes required (i.e. 4 years of language, 4 years of science, etc.) instead of state minimum.

 

[LittleDudesMom]

k,
no question, perfectly legal. States set a minimum and I bet if you did a study you would find most individual school districts require a greater amount of credits even for the standard diploma. In our state, most school districts require higher than the state minimum. Most folks don't realize it unless they change school districts while their kids are in high school.
Sharon

 

[klmno]

Any of them I have checked require the same as the state DOE except this jurisdiction, but admittedly, I haven't looked at a lot of them. It's confusing though because the state changed requirements a year or two ago but the requirements in effect when a student started 9th grade is supposed to be the requirements he/she goes by. I can't tell from a website what was required for a specific year for a given sd so I'll just have to call and ask. Adding to the confusion is that some sd's give credit for semester courses passed but some don't. Some sd's have 7 classes per day in high school; some have eight.

difficult child really got messed up spending the majority of 9th grade in a sd that gave 8 classes and semester credit but then transferring to a sd that gave 7 classes and wouldn't acknoedge or accept his semester credit, then being put in detention right at the last grading period where they didn't offer some of the cclasses so he was given an F- he really should have been given an incomplete. But that's not all that important- maybe incompletes get turned into F's at the last grading period.l

But where he is now, giving him 3 core classes and the rest stuff like commercial cleaning when they have 8 class periods is just not going to cut it. They didn't even look at his record or IEP first. So here will be three weeks down the tubes.

Then, he'll be coming to a sd that offers 4 classes each semester but they get 1 full credit for each at the end of the semester because of the increased amount of instructional time. IOW, they get a year's worth of the class in one semester. This allows 8 credits per year. If I can get the current sd to give difficult child classes that other sd's will actually acknowledge as valid high school courses and this sd only requires 2 more credits than everyone else, instead of 4, he'll still be able to graduate on time if he passes everything. What's really annnoying is that this sd he'll be coming to, the one that requires additional credits- the additional credits are in electives (any elective) not the core type academics. So a kid could have to stay in high school an additional year if they transfer during high school to take electives in order to graduate.

I want this boy ready to graduate when he's 18yo, not having to stay home with another year of me dealing with a sd! Or him quitting because he feels like he got shafted thru all this.