OAR 581-022-2015: Extended Diploma

(1) Definitions: “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 581-022-1620(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) A school district or public charter school shall award an extended diploma to a student who satisfies the requirements of this rule. (3) A school district or public charter school shall award an extended diploma only to students who have demonstrated the inability to meet the full set of academic content standards for a high school diploma with reasonable modifications and accommodations. (4) A school district or public charter school may award an extended 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 extended 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. (d) If the student is under guardianship from the courts, consent must come from the court-appointed authority. (5) To be eligible for an extended diploma, a student must: (a) While in grade nine through completion of high school, complete 12 credits, which may not include more than six credits earned in a self-contained special education classroom and shall include: (A) Two credits of mathematics; (B) Two credits of language arts; (C) Two credits of science; (D) Three credits of history, geography, economics, or civics; (E) One credit of health; (F) One credit of physical education; and (G) One credit of arts or a world language; and; (b) Have a documented history of: (A) An inability to maintain grade level achievement due to significant learning and instructional barriers; (B) A medical condition that creates a barrier to achievement; or (C) A change in the student’s ability to participate in grade level activities as a result of a serious illness or injury that occurred after grade eight. (D) One credit of the arts or a world language; (6)(a) A student shall have the opportunity to meet the requirements of an extended 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. (b) A student may complete the requirements for an extended diploma in less than four years if the parent/guardian or adult student gives consent. 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 an extended diploma. A copy of all consents must be sent to the district superintendent. Each school district must annually provide the number of consents obtained to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The consent may not be used to allow a student to satisfy the requirements for an extended diploma in less than three years. (7) A school district or public charter school shall: (a) Ensure that all students have on-site access to the appropriate resources and courses to achieve an extended diploma at each high school in the school district or at the public charter school. (b) For students with a documented history described in subsection 5b of this section, the following information must be provided annually, beginning in grade five or after such a documented history has been established: (A) Information about the availability of high school diplomas, modified diplomas and the requirements for the diplomas; and (B) 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. (c) A school district or public charter school may not deny a student who has the documented history described in subsection (1)(a) of this section the opportunity to pursue a diploma with more stringent requirements than a modified diploma or an extended diploma for the sole reason that the student has the documented history. (8)(a) A student who receives an extended 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. (9) School districts and public charter schools shall make extended diplomas as required by ORS 329.451 and this rule first available to students during the 2009-2010 school year.