This bill requires an LEA to grant a high school student credit for a course offered by the student's high school in which the student is not enrolled but for which the student attains a qualifying score on the course's final exam. An LEA must provide each student enrolled in the LEA's high school the opportunity to take a final exam for any course each semester. A student may only take a final exam one time for each course.
This bill requires that high school credit earned pursuant to this bill count toward high school graduation requirements. If a student receives a qualifying score on a final exam, then the student's qualifying score must be included in the student's overall grade point average. This bill requires the state board of education to adopt a grading scale that converts the performance level of an end-of-course exam to a letter grade and requires LEAs to implement the grading scale to determine a student's end-of-course score for the student's overall grade point average.
This bill requires an LEA to adopt and implement a policy on the implementation of this bill, including, but not limited to, when and how to administer the final exam for a student who is not enrolled in the course and is seeking credit. This bill requires an LEA to report to the department of education at the end of each school year the following:
(1) The number of final exams administered pursuant to this bill;
(2) The courses for which the final exams are administered; and
(3) The grades for each of the final exams administered.
For purposes of this bill, a "qualifying score" means an "A" as described in the uniform grading system, if the assessment is a final exam provided by the LEA; or an on-track performance level, if the assessment is a state end of course exam. A "final exam" means an end of course exam, or, if there is not an end-of-course exam for the course, then a comprehensive assessment of the course provided by an LEA.
ON APRIL 12, 2022, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 2663, AS AMENDED.
AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill to authorize an LEA that operates one or more high schools to grant a high school student credit for a course offered by the student's high school in which the student is not enrolled, but for which the student attains a qualifying score on the course's final exam. An LEA that operates one or more high schools must provide each high school student the opportunity to take a final exam for a course each semester in which the LEA offers a course for which the LEA has developed a final exam. A student may only take a final exam once per course for purposes of this amendment.
High school credit earned pursuant to this amendment will count toward the high school graduation requirements established by the state board of education. If a student receives a qualifying score on a final exam, then the student's score must be included in the student's overall grade point average in the same manner as if the student enrolled in, and successfully completed, the course. This amendment requires the department to develop guidance for LEAs operating one or more high schools to use when setting qualifying scores for final exams. The department must make the guidance available to LEAs no later than July 1, 2022. This amendment specifies that a final exam administered for purposes of this amendment will not affect the evaluation of a teacher, principal, school, or LEA.
This amendment requires each LEA that operates one or more high schools to:
(1) Adopt a policy on the implementation of this amendment, including, but not limited to, when and how to administer final exams for students seeking course credit pursuant to this amendment; and
(2) Report the following information to the department of education at the end of each school year:
(A) The number of final exams administered during the school year;
(B) The courses for which final exams were administered; and
(C) The number of students that received a qualifying score on each final exam administered for purposes of this amendment.