BOSSIER PARISH SCHOOL DISTRICT 2017-2018 PUPIL PROGRESSION PLAN “Inspiration. Imagination. Innovation.”

Submitted to the Louisiana Department of Education January 2018

Table of Contents Table of Contents

2

Placement of students in kindergarten and grade 1 Kindergarten Grade 1

3 3 3

Placement of transfer students

3

Promotion for students in kindergarten and grades 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7

4

Promotion of students in grade 4

4

Promotion and support of students in grade 8 and high school considerations Promotion of students in grade 8 High school promotion and transition considerations

5 5 7

Support for students School year support Summer remediation

8 8 9

Promotion and placement of certain student populations Students with disabilities English learners Gifted Acceleration Honors Curriculum

9 9 9 10 10 10

Alternative education placements

10

Due process related to student placement and promotion

11

Additional LEA policies related to student placement and promotion Bossier Parish Schools Grading Policy Grading Policy for End-of-Course (EOC) Tests Maintenance of Records and Reports

11 11 15 16

LEA assurances and submission information

17

2

I.

Placement of students in kindergarten and grade 1

Kindergarten Schools can only make recommendations to parents regarding student enrollment in kindergarten, since kindergarten is not mandatory. However, in accordance with state law (R.S. 17:221), once students have enrolled in kindergarten, they are subject to compulsory attendance laws and promotion requirements set forth by the LEA. Every child, as a prerequisite to enrollment in any first grade of a public school, shall meet one of the following criteria: ● attended a full-day public or private kindergarten for a full academic year; or ● passed an academic readiness screening administered by the LEA at the time of enrollment for first grade The minimum age for kindergarten shall be one year younger than the age required for that child to enter first grade. Each local educational governing authority, by rule, may provide for a child of younger age to enter kindergarten, provided that such child has been evaluated and identified as gifted in accordance with state regulations for such evaluation. Grade 1 ● Any child admitted to kindergarten pursuant shall be eligible to enter first grade upon successful completion of kindergarten, provided all other applicable entrance requirements have been fulfilled. ● The age at which a child may enter the first grade of any public school at the beginning of the public school session shall be six years on or before September thirtieth of the calendar year in which the school year begins. ● Any child transferring into the first grade of a public school from another state and not meeting the requirements herein for kindergarten attendance shall be required to pass an academic readiness screening administered by the LEA prior to the time of enrollment for the first grade. The Desired Results Developmental Profile Checklist (DRDP-K) will be used to evaluate kindergarten readiness of individual children to identify where a child may need additional instructional supports. Current Bossier Parish students who are seeking to enter first grade should demonstrate proficiency on the Bossier Schools first grade readiness checklist. Students entering the parish will be administered the Bossier Schools first grade readiness checklist to determine placement. Students who do not meet the first grade entry requirements may be placed in the first grade if justification is presented to and approved by the principal, the assistant principal, and the Supervisor of Grades PK-2.

II.

Placement of transfer students ● A student who has transferred from a public school, in- or out-of-state, or a nonpublic school, shall be granted credit for work completed in the previous school. A properly certified transcript shall be required with the student’s record of attendance, levels of achievement, history of immunization, and units of credit earned.

3

●

Evaluation information for exceptional students transferring from another school system shall be reviewed by pupil appraisal and approved by a supervisor of special education before the student is enrolled in a special education program.

● Students in grades 5 and 9 transferring to a public school from any in-state nonpublic school, any approved home study program, or a Louisiana resident transferring from any out-of-state school, shall be required to pass the English language arts and mathematics portions of the LEAP placement test. ● The LEA may require the student to take a proficiency exam on any course to award appropriate credit. ● The school issuing the high school diploma shall account for all credits required for graduation, and the records will show when and where the credit was earned. ● A student who seeks to enroll in Bossier Parish Schools, all grade levels, may be administered a locally developed placement test. Grade placement decisions will be made by a grade level supervisor and supervisor of accountability and assessment after review of placement test scores, report cards, and other documentation.

III.

Promotion for students in kindergarten and grades 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7

● Teachers shall, on an individual basis, determine the promotion of each student according to the local Pupil Progression Plan. Particular emphasis shall be placed upon the student’s proficiency in grade-appropriate skills. ● Students in grades 1, 2, 3, 5 who are to be promoted from a lower to a higher grade must earn passing grades in Reading and Mathematics based on Louisiana Standards and documented on the report card. ● Students in grades 6, 7 who are to be promoted to the next grade level must earn passing grades in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and either Social Studies or Science. ● Students who do not meet the promotion requirements may be placed in the higher grade if justification is presented to and approved by the SBLC and grade level supervisor.

IV.

Promotion of students in grade 4

● Each LEA shall identify third and fourth grade students who have not met an acceptable level of performance that would enable them to successfully transition to the next grade level. Fourth grade students who have not met the acceptable level of performance may be retained or promoted, but in either case, shall be provided with an individual academic improvement plan that adheres to the following requirements: o The school shall convene an in-person meeting with the student’s parent or legal custodian, all teachers of core academic subjects, and specialized support personnel, as needed, to review the student’s academic strengths and weaknesses, discuss any other relevant challenges, and formulate an individual academic improvement plan designed to assist the student in achieving proficiency in all core academic subjects. All participants shall sign the documented plan and meet to review progress at least once more before the next administration of the LEAP assessment. o The student shall be provided with focused, on-grade level instructional support that is appropriate to the content area(s) in which the student has not yet achieved proficiency. Instruction shall be aligned with state academic content standards. 4

o The student shall be identified as requiring an academic improvement plan in the state Student Information System (SIS). o The student shall be afforded the opportunity to receive grade-level instruction during the summer. o Each LEA shall adopt a written policy pertaining to the development of individual academic improvement plans. This policy shall be included in the Pupil Progression Plan. o The Department shall audit a random sampling of students identified as needing an individual academic improvement plan in each local education agency each year. ● The LDOE will provide to each LEA a roster of third and fourth grade students who have scored below the “Basic” achievement level in at least two core academic subjects. Such roster will assist the LEA in making final determinations relative to students’ required individual academic plans. o The decision to retain a student as a result of his/her failure to achieve the standard on the LEAP shall be made by the LEA in accordance with this pupil progression plan. o The individual academic improvement plan shall continue to be in effect until such time as the student achieves a score of “Basic” in each of the core academic subjects that initially led to the development of the student’s individual academic plan. o If LEAP scores are not available to guide promotion/placement decisions, the school will use multiple data sources to review the preponderance of evidence of student learning from that school year to make that decision. o Further, if LEAP scores are not available, the school shall work with the parent to consider all available evidence of student learning to determine if an individual academic improvement plan is needed. Bossier Parish Schools Individual Academic Improvement Plan: ● An individual academic improvement plan will be written for all students in grade 4 who scored below “basic” on the LEAP assessment ● The following types of instructional support may be included in the plan: o additional instructional time during or outside of the school day o completion of summer remediation to be placed in grade 5 o grade-level instruction that is aligned to Louisiana State Standards, which may include limited below-grade level content and support needed to address the student’s identified weaknesses o placement in a classroom with a highly effective or effective proficient teacher

V.

Promotion and support of students in grade 8 and high school considerations a. Promotion of students in grade 8 Regular Grade 8 Promotion Eighth grade students shall score at least at the “Basic” achievement level in either English language arts or mathematics and “Approaching Basic” in the other subjects in order to be promoted to the ninth grade. Students who do not meet the promotion standard after taking the eighth grade state assessments in the spring, following the completion of summer remediation, may be placed on a high school campus in the transitional ninth grade. For any student who recently completed the eighth grade and is transferring into the LEA from another state or 5

country after the completion of summer remediation, the LEA shall review the student’s academic record to determine appropriate placement in ninth grade or transitional ninth grade. Such placement shall occur no later than October 1 of each school year. In other cases, if LEAP scores are not available to guide promotion/placement decisions, the school will use multiple data sources to review the preponderance of evidence of student learning from that school year to determine appropriate placement in ninth grade or transitional ninth grade. Grade 8 Promotion Waivers ● The LEA may waive the state policy for students scoring at the “Unsatisfactory” level in English language arts or mathematics, if the student scores at the “Basic” level in the other, provided that the student has participated in the spring administrations of LEAP and has attended the summer remediation program offered by the LEA. ●

An LEA, through its superintendent, may grant a waiver on behalf of individual students who are unable to participate in LEAP testing or unable to attend LEAP summer remediation, including summer remediation required for placement in transitional ninth grade, because of one or more of the following extenuating circumstances as verified through appropriate documentation: o Physical Illness―appropriate documentation must include verification that the student is under the medical care of a licensed physician for illness, injury, or a chronic physical condition that is acute or catastrophic in nature. Documentation must include a statement verifying that the illness, injury, or chronic physical condition exists to the extent that the student is unable to participate in remediation. o Custody Issues―certified copies of the court-ordered custody agreements must be submitted to the LEA at least ten school days prior to summer remediation

Transitional 9th Grade ● Any first-time eighth grade student who does not meet the passing standard set forth in BESE Bulletin 1566, §703, and any student not eligible for any waiver pursuant to §707 of the bulletin, after completing summer remediation, may be placed on a high school campus in transitional ninth grade. ● LEAs shall follow the guidelines set forth in §703 to determine, based on evidence of student learning, whether eighth grade students may be promoted to the ninth grade or placed on a high school campus in transitional ninth grade. The percentage of an LEA’s eighth graders placed in transitional ninth grade is expected to remain stable over time. In the event that the percentage of an LEA’s eighth graders placed in transitional ninth grade exceeds the percentage of eighth graders in that LEA eligible for transitional ninth grade at the conclusion of the prior school year, the local superintendent of that LEA shall provide a written justification to the state superintendent. ● The initial decision to place a student in the transitional ninth grade or to retain a student in the eighth grade shall be made by the school in which the student is enrolled in the eighth grade, in consultation with the student’s parents. 6

● The LEA shall admit transitional ninth grade students, subject to any admissions requirements approved by the school’s governing authority or charter authorizer. ● For any student who recently completed the eighth grade from another state or country and is transferring into the LEA after summer remediation has taken place, the LEA shall review the student’s academic record to determine appropriate placement in ninth grade or transitional ninth grade. Students placed in the transitional ninth grade shall complete the remediation program offered by the LEA. Such placement shall occur no later than October 1 of each school year. ● After one full year of transitional ninth grade, students shall be included in the ninth grade graduation cohort for high school accountability purposes. ● Students enrolled in transitional ninth grade shall receive appropriate academic supports in any subjects in which they did not score at or above proficient, as determined by BESE. A plan outlining such academic supports shall be included in the student’s individual graduation plan (IGP). Progress pursuant to such specified academic supports shall be reviewed at least once throughout the school year in order to determine effectiveness and any needed adjustments. ● An individual graduation plan will be written for all students in grade 8 scoring below “basic” on the LEAP ● The following types of academic support may be included in the plan: o additional instructional time during or outside of the school day o completion of summer remediation to be placed in transitional 9th grade (see waiver) o grade-level instruction that is aligned to Louisiana State Standards, which will include remedial courses in ELA and /or Math (area of deficiency) o placement in a classroom with a highly effective or effective proficient teacher b. High school promotion and transition considerations Instructional Minutes: When awarding credit based on instructional time, LEAs shall provide a minimum of 7,965 instructional minutes for one Carnegie credit, and students shall be in attendance for a minimum of 7,515 minutes. In order to grant one-half Carnegie credit, LEAs shall provide a minimum of 3,983 instructional minutes, and students shall be in attendance for a minimum of 3,758 minutes. Individual Graduation Planning: By the end of the eighth grade, every student (with the assistance of his parent or other legal custodian and school guidance personnel, counselor) or IEP team (when applicable) shall begin to develop an Individual Graduation Plan (IGP). LEAP Connect students must use the LAA1 Individual Graduation Plan (LAA1 IGP). An IGP guides the next academic years coursework, assisting students in exploring educational and career possibilities and in making appropriate secondary and postsecondary education decisions as part of an overall career/postsecondary plan. Financial Aid Planning: Louisiana requires public school students graduating spring 2018 and beyond to take one of the following steps as part of their Individual Graduation Plan: 1. Complete the FAFSA; or 2. Complete the Louisiana TOPS form; or 3. Certify a waiver in writing to the LEA (sample: non-participation LEA form/Letter); or 4. Receive a waiver through the district hardship waiver process. 7

Early Graduation: Each LEA shall develop an early graduation program allowing students to accelerate their academic progress, complete all state graduation requirements, and receive a high school diploma in less than four years. ● The early graduation program may include distance education (§2326), dual enrollment (§2327), and Carnegie credit and credit flexibility (§2314). ● LEAs shall not have any policies or requirements that would prevent students from graduating in less than four years. Grade classification for high school students (excluding Pre-HiSet students) entering as freshmen 2014-15 through 2017-18 is as follows: Freshman

9th grade

transition based on promotion from middle school

Sophomore

10th grade

6 credits

Junior

11th grade

12 credits

Senior

12th grade*

17 credits

* For college and Jump Start diploma, earned a minimum of 17 Carnegie units and within 7 credits of meeting graduation requirements at the end of that school year. * For career diploma (cohort 2013-14), earned a minimum of 17 Carnegie units and within 6 credits of meeting graduation requirements at the end of that school year.

VI.

Support for students

School year support ● The individual academic plan for each student identified in §701 of BESE Bulletin 1566 will outline the responsibilities of each party for students who have failed to achieve the standards by the end of fourth grade. ● The LEA will design and implement additional instructional strategies to move the students to grade-level proficiency by providing at least two of the following, which will be documented in the individual academic improvement plan: o The student is placed in the classroom of a teacher who has been rated “Highly Effective” pursuant to his/her most recent evaluation or has achieved a value-added rating of “Highly Effective” pursuant to his/her most recent evaluation, or has documented evidence derived from state summative assessments of improving the academic performance of students having individual academic improvement plans in the past. o The student completes summer remediation. o Additional instructional time is provided during or outside of the school day to expose the student to high-quality instruction. This will not result in a student being removed from English language arts, mathematics, science, or social studies courses. 8

o The student is provided access to on grade-level instruction that is aligned to Louisiana State Standards, which may include some below grade-level content and support needed to address the student’s identified weaknesses. ● Remediation programs used throughout the school day and school year will not account for more than 35 percent of total instructional minutes. The LEA will offer, at no cost, extended, on-grade level instruction through summer remediation to students who did not take the spring LEAP tests or who failed to meet the standard set forth in §701 and §703 of BESE Bulletin 1566. The LEA will provide transportation to and from the assigned remediation summer site(s) from, at a minimum, a common pick-up point. Student with disabilities attending summer remediation will receive special supports as needed. Summer remediation Pursuant to state law (R.S. 17:24.4), LEAs shall continue to offer summer remediation to any student not meeting promotion standards as determined by BESE. Summer remediation programs will meet all of the following requirements: ● Uses curriculum determined by the Louisiana Department of Education to fully align to Louisiana State Standards (Bulletin 141 – Louisiana Standards for English Language Arts, Bulletin 142 – Louisiana Standards for Mathematics, Bulletin 1962 – Louisiana Science Content Standards, and Bulletin 1964 – Louisiana Social Studies Content Standards). ● Utilizes teachers rated “Highly Effective” pursuant to the teacher’s most recent evaluation or have achieved a value-added rating of “Highly Effective” on the most recent evaluation. ● Limits remedial (below grade-level) instruction to only necessary and focused skills as identified from top-quality assessments and does not account for more than 35 percent of the total summer remediation instructional time.

VII. Promotion and placement of certain student populations Students with disabilities ● Students with disabilities attending summer remediation shall receive special supports as needed. ● IEP teams shall determine promotion to the next grade level for a student with a disability who fails to meet state or local established performance standards for the purposes of promotion. Such determination shall be made only if, in the school year immediately prior to each grade level in which the student would otherwise be required to demonstrate certain proficiency levels in order to advance to the next grade level, the student has not otherwise met the local requirements for promotion or has not scored at or above the basic achievement level on the English language arts or mathematics components of the required state assessment and at or above the approaching basic achievement level on the other (Bulletin 1530 §403). English learners ● The requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 are as follows: o Establish procedures to identify language minority students. o Establish procedures to determine if language minority students are Limited English Proficient. 9

o Establish procedures for age-appropriate placement and determine the specialized language services or program the district will use to address the linguistic and cultural needs of the Limited English Proficient student. ● Limited English Proficient (LEP) students shall participate in the statewide assessments pursuant to Bulletin 118. Increasing the expectations for the academic content that students must master in grades K-12 requires a parallel increase in expectations for English language acquisition. o Establish procedures to monitor former Limited English Proficient students for two years. o Ensure that no LEP student shall be retained solely because of limited English proficiency. Gifted In grades K-8, gifted students are provided expanded experiences within their current grade level. Eighth grade gifted students may earn Carnegie units (see below). Beginning in grade 9, gifted students may take an Activating Inquisitive Minds (AIM) elective offered at each high school, participate in an independent project program, or enroll in selected courses at Bossier Parish Community College. Acceleration Bossier Parish will determine accelerated grade promotion on an individual basis using a proficiency tool. Noteworthy, students in grades K-12 who demonstrate exceptionally high levels of achievement are given opportunities to enrich and expand their knowledge while enrolled in their current grade. Honors Curriculum Grades 6-8 Students in grades 6-8 who meet academic requirements may take honors courses in English Language Arts and/or mathematics. Grades 6-8 ELA and Math Honors Students in grades 6-8 may enroll in honors mathematics classes based on the following criteria: academic checklist completed by current math teacher and final grade (A or B). 7th grade Advanced Math The following criteria may be considered to be eligible for the 7th grade Advanced math course which will cover 7th and 8th grade standards: academic checklist, final grade of A or B in 6th Grade Honors Math, score of 60% or higher on the Bossier Parish Advanced Mathematics Standards Test, and parent/student contract. 8th grade Algebra I Honors The following criteria may be considered to be eligible for the 8th Grade Algebra I Honors class: academic checklist, final grade of A or B in 7th Grade Advanced math, a score of 60% or higher on Bossier Parish Algebra I Readiness Test, and parent/student contract.

VIII. Alternative education placements Alternative schools/programs serve students who are not succeeding in the traditional educational setting and offer a venue that aids in preventing these students from dropping out of school. Alternative schools/programs provide educational and other services to students who have a variety of behavioral 10

and other needs that cannot be adequately met in a traditional school setting. (Refer to Bulletin 741, §2903 and Bulletin 131) The Butler Educational Complex offers the following programs: Bossier Middle School Virtual Education, HiSet, and the Alternative School Program in grades 4-12. Credit recovery will be offered for grades 9-12 during the summer. The Bossier Virtual Education Program (BVEP) provides students an opportunity to learn through nontraditional means in grades 6-12. Bossier Parish offers an array of virtual courses in the subjects of history, geography, math language arts, and science, as well as a variety of electives. With customized education to support student goals.

IX.

Due process related to student placement and promotion

Students, parents, and teachers will be afforded due process in accordance with the policies and procedures as adopted by the Bossier Parish School Board. A review of a promotion, progression, or placement decision may be initiated by a parent or teacher within ten working days after the decision, according to the following procedure: 1. The complainant will contact the school principal for review of the decision. 2. If the decision of the principal is not satisfactory, the complainant may file a written request within ten working days for review with the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Academic Affairs. 3. The Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Academic Affairs will appoint the appropriate regular and/or special education administrators to investigate the complaint and make a decision. The Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Academic Affairs will notify the complainant of that decision within ten working days. 4. The complainant will file an additional written request for review with the Superintendent if the official decision as reported by Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Academic Affairs is not satisfactory. This request will be received by the Superintendent no later than ten working days after receipt of the official decision reported by the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Academic Affairs. 5. The Superintendent will conduct a hearing on the complaint and render a decision within fifteen working days after receipt of the request for review. The decision of the Superintendent will be the final LEA decision.

X.

Additional LEA policies related to student placement and promotion

Bossier Parish Schools Grading Policy The following grading scale is utilized by all courses except those listed below: Grading Scale for Regular Courses Grade Percentage

11

Grading Scale for Regular Courses A

93-100%

B

85-92%

C

75-84%

D

67-74%

F

0-66%

Kindergarten The district grading scale is Satisfactory (S), Needs Improvement (N), and Not Assessed (NA). Grades K-5 The district grading scale for PE, Art/Music, Social Living/Science (Gr. K-2), and Handwriting (Gr. K3) is: S- Satisfactory – 75 to 100% N- Needs Improvement - below 75% Grades 1-12 The district grading scale is used for all courses except *Designated Courses listed below, in which the expanded grading scale is used.

District Grading Scale

*Expanded Grading Scale

A

93-100%

A

90-100%

B

85-92%

B

80-89%

C

75-84%

C

70-79%

D

67-74%

D

60-69%

F

0-66%

F

0-59%

*Designated Courses Middle School: Middle School AIM ELA 8th grade Algebra I Honors Advanced Placement: AP English Language and Composition

Honors: English I Honors English II Honors English III Honors English IV Honors Algebra I Honors Algebra II Honors Geometry Honors 12

Business or Career Technical Courses: Early Childhood Ed II Pharmacy Technician EMT-Basic Allied Health Services I & II Intro to Pharmacy Assist. Automotive Technology

AP English Literature and Composition AP Calculus AB AP Statistics AP Biology AP Chemistry AP Environmental Science AP Physics AP European History AP Government and Politics: US AP Psychology AP United States History AP Music Theory AP Studio Art

Biology Honors Chemistry Honors Physical Science Honors U.S. History Honors World History Honors Western Civilization Honors Others: Advanced Math I College Advanced Math College Algebra (Advanced Math- Functions and Statistics) College Pre-Calculus College Statistics Discrete Math Pre-Calculus Probability & Statistics Biology II Chemistry II College Biology College Biology II College Chemistry Human Anatomy and Physiology Physics Physics II College Psychology

Nursing Assist I & II Sports Med I, II, III College BCA Intro. to Programming Intro. to Java Advanced Java Adv. Java Script, Funct. Programming, and Web Development College Accounting Networking Basics Medical Terminology Patient Care Technician

New courses may be included only with the approval of the appropriate supervisor in the Curriculum Department. When an 8th grade student passes a proficiency exam in Spanish after completing the coursework in 8th grade, his/her high school credit for Spanish I will reflect the grade earned in the coursework. For students participating in credit recovery, a letter grade of “C” or “D” could be earned to replace the previously earned grade of “F”. Upon completion of the credit recovery modules, the student’s grade average will be raised to 66%. When the student takes the final credit recovery exam, the grade for the exam will be averaged with 66% to create a new final average. If the credit recovery final exam score is between 67% and 85%, the student’s credit recovery final grade will be recorded as a “D”. If the credit recovery final exam score is between 86% and 100%, the credit recovery final grade will be recorded as a “C”. If the student does not pass the final exam, the grade will remain an “F”. If the credit recovery module is an EOC course, the student must take the EOC and 15% of the final grade in the course will be based on the EOC score. No school board member, school superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal, guidance counselor, other teacher, or other administrative staff members of the school or the central office of the local school board will attempt, directly or indirectly, to influence, alter, or otherwise affect the grade received by a 13

student from his/her teacher unless that school official or employee has authority pursuant to rules and procedures adopted by the Board and takes the action only upon it being determined that the grade is an error or that the grade is clearly inconsistent with the teacher’s grading policy or the parish-wide grading policy (R.S.17:414.2). Grades 1-8 The district grading scale will be used in determining the grades to be placed on the report card for each nine-week period and the final grade. For each nine-week period, the total points earned divided by total points possible will be converted to a percentage at the end of each grading period, and the appropriate letter grade will be assigned in accordance with the Bossier Parish grading scale. At the end of the year, the final grade will be determined by dividing the sum of the quality points by the number of grading periods (A-4, B-3, C-2, D-1, F-0). Grades 9-12 The district grading scale or the expanded grading scale will be used in determining the grades to be placed on the High School Report of Progress each four and one-half week period. The cumulative total points earned divided by total points possible will be used to determine percentage grades. At the end of the course, the final percentage grade will be assigned a value of A, B, C, D, or F. A student may repeat the same course that he/she has previously taken if the following criteria are met: ● The repeated course must be completed before a student enrolls in a course for which the first course is a prerequisite. The valedictorian will be the student with the highest overall Grade Point Average (GPA) for all courses attempted in high school. The salutatorian will be the student with the second highest GPA. The Louisiana State Department of Education allows students to repeat classes and only counts the highest grade achieved in the computation of the student’s GPA. Bossier Parish Policy does not allow repeat/delete courses to be excluded from the GPA for students contending for Valedictorian or Salutatorian. Eligibility for valedictorian/salutatorian will be based on all courses attempted, including those courses that have been repeated. Valedictorians /salutatorians must complete the Louisiana Core 4 Curriculum. The computation for GPA will include all courses attempted and the calculation will be rounded to 2 decimal places. For those ninth graders (entering 2014-2015 and beyond), the requirements for valedictorians/salutatorians include graduating with their cohort and the cumulative GPA will be based on the new TOPS criteria and calculated using a five point grading scale as listed below: Calculation of TOPS Core Curriculum GPA will use a 5 point scale for grades earned in: 1. Advanced Placement (AP) 2. International Baccalaureate (IB) 3. State Designated Gifted and Talented 4. State Designated Dual Enrollment 5. State Designated Honors classes For such courses: 5 quality points will be assigned to a letter grade of “A” 4 quality points will be assigned to a letter grade of “B” 3 quality points will be assigned to a letter grade of “C” 14

2 quality points will be assigned to a letter grade of “D” 0 quality points will be assigned to a letter grade of “F” The weighted scale will be used for all local cumulative GPA reporting for this cohort. Note: Students earning credit in courses graded on the five (5.00) point scale may earn a GPA on the TOPS Core Curriculum that exceeds 4.00. Students with Disabilities Identified Through Bulletin 1508 For a student participating in LEAP Connect (LAA1), grades must reflect assigned work on either Louisiana Connectors, modified goals and objectives from the general curriculum, and/or IEP academic goals and objectives. Extensive modifications and accommodations are allowed as reflected on the student’s IEP. Students Identified under Section 504 For a student identified under Section 504, grades will reflect assigned work in the general curriculum with accommodations. English Learner Students An EL student shall not receive any grade lower than a “D” in any subject due to lack of understanding of the English language as long as the student is attending class with the appropriate materials and making a sincere attempt to meet the course requirements. An “F” can only be given after recording evidence on the district template entitled, “Documentation of Failing Grades.” Grading Policy for End-of-Course (EOC) Tests 1. Students enrolled in a course for which there is an EOC test must take the EOC test a. The EOC test score shall count as a percentage of the student’s final grade for the course. b. The percentage shall be between 15% and 30% inclusive, and shall be determined by the LEA. c. The grades assigned for the EOC test achievement levels shall be as follows EOC Achievement Levels

LEAP 2025 Achievement Levels

Excellent

A

Advanced

A

Good

B

Mastery

B

Fair

C

Basic

C

Needs Improvement

D or F

Approaching Basic

D

Unsatisfactory

F

d. The DOE will provide conversion charts for various grading scales used by LEAs. (Bulletin 741 §2318) The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education requires the inclusion of EOC test scores in a student’s overall grade for the following courses: 15

● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Algebra I / Algebra I Honors (including 8th grade) / Algebra I Part 2 Geometry / Geometry Honors English I / English I Honors English II / English II Honors English III / English III Honors / AP English Language and Composition Biology / Biology Honors U.S. History / U.S. History Honors / AP U.S. History

The EOC test serves as the final exam, and the EOC test score will count as 15% of the student’s grade in the above listed courses. EOC conversion charts provided by the state that reflect the grading scale used in each course will be utilized. Maintenance of Records and Reports The Bossier Parish School Board maintains permanent records and reports on all students enrolled in Bossier Parish Schools. The use of student records complies with federal laws, state laws, and Board policies. Cumulative folders are to be stored in locked files in a secured place in the office area. No file should be removed from the secured area. Eligible persons are allowed to review data in folders when necessary for educational purposes. All reviewers must sign the posted log unless they are on the cumulative folder access list. All files must be reviewed in the designated area at the school under the supervision of the designated school employee. Only the principal, assistant principal, counselor, secretary, guidance aide, or registrar may copy necessary item(s) for educational purposes from a cumulative folder. Administrators and counselors are to supervise whole-faculty review of records and any addition/removal of information in cumulative folders. The following items must be placed in the cumulative folder: 1. Current registration form completed every year. Keep registration forms from two previous years. 2. Current Louisiana health card, birth certificate, and social security card stapled together. Do not staple to folder. Give health cards from other states to parents. 3. Current proof of residency. 4. Legal documents – current temporary custody with judgment page, permanent custody, emancipation forms, etc. 5. All high school scheduling forms including class registration, TOPS form, Individual Graduation Plan (IGP) – Keep for five years after graduation 6. Current vision/hearing screening – Discard every third year. 7. End-of-year report cards for grade levels at current school and one previous year. (Examples: Grades K-5, 6-8, 9-12). 8. Any drop/withdrawal forms/transfer grades/partial report card grades or partial transcripts. 9. Summer school or credit recovery grades. 10. Act 1120 Screening Green Card. 11. Individual student state and district administered test results. 12. Documentation of student records from outside of the parish. 13. Parent’s signature for request for records from previous school. 16

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Public Notice of the PPP Prior to Approval of PPP (dates and location)

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