Garfield Re-2 Policies

JGA-R

Assignment of New Students to Classes and Grade Levels

Resident students enrolling in the district who have been in home study or non-accredited private schooling (NAPS) are encouraged to enroll at the school in their attendance area at least two weeks before the beginning of the first or second semester.  Early notification of such enrollment allows time for evaluation of the student’s academic progress through existing records and/or time for the administration of tests that may be necessary for appropriate grade level placement by the principal of the school.

 

Enrollment and Credit Issuance

 

1. Students whose chronological ages parallel grades kindergarten through eight and are enrolling in the district after a semester or more of home study or NAPS shall receive the following considerations for purposes of appropriate placement:

 

a. Kindergarten and first grade children will be placed as any other transfer child according to district practice.

 

b. Placement in grade levels two through eight shall be based upon information provided by the parent/guardian regarding academic performance on standardized tests, portfolios, or other pertinent information.  In the absence of substantive data, the district’s achievement test and/or other assessment instruments shall be administered to assist in the placement decision.

 

2. Students who have been in a home study program or NAPS for a semester or more and wish to enroll in grades nine through 12 for the purpose of obtaining credits toward meeting graduation requirements shall receive the following considerations in appropriate placement:

 

a. To be granted credit for subjects required for graduation, standardized test results administered within the current or previous year must be submitted to the principal for evaluation (no consideration will be given scores below 30 normal curve equivalents).

 

b. If, in the judgment of the principal, test results submitted are insufficient for granting credit toward graduation, additional standardized testing may be administered or subject area tests may be created or administered by appropriate instructional staff for the purpose of providing the principal with additional performance information upon which to make a decision.

 

c. Credit will be issued only for elective courses which are comparable to those offered within the district-adopted curriculum for Rifle High School.

d. Acceptance of outside course work will be recorded on official transcripts as “S” (satisfactory) or “U” (unsatisfactory).

 

e. Students who have been in home study or NAPS programs must successfully complete two semesters, with a minimum of 2.5 credits per semester, in the senior year in Rifle High School and Coal Ridge High School in order to qualify for graduation and issuance of a diploma.

 

f. Students who re-enroll in the district after nine weeks or less of approved home instruction or NAPS will be placed in the grade level or in the courses in which they would have been enrolled had they continued uninterrupted attendance in the district.

 

3. Credits previously earned in an accredited public and/or private schools will be accepted based upon official transcripts received from the certified agency.

 

4. Students who are in approved home study programs and reside within district boundaries may apply for "limited purpose enrollment" in classes offered by district schools.  The decision regarding acceptance or denial of such requests shall be made by the principal of the school to which the application has been made.  Space availability, numbers of students with special needs and other considerations deemed appropriate by the principal will be the basis for final decision.  Under no circumstances shall an application for limited purpose enrollment be considered if the student's enrollment and attendance will not meet eligibility requirements by the State of Colorado for partial fiscal support to the district.

 

5. All responses to requests for enrollment will be in writing by the principal of the attendance area involved and forwarded to the requesting party.  At the parent/guardian’s request, the principal will meet with the parent/guardian and student to provide an explanation of how he arrived at the final decision regarding acceptance or denial of credit and the resulting placement.

 

Appeal Procedure

 

In the event that the decision of the principal is not acceptable to the parent or guardian of a student, the following process is available:

 

1. The parent/guardian must submit a written request to the principal for a review of the student’s placement within one week of receiving the principal’s written decision or the date of the conference with the principal, whichever is most recent.

 

2. The principal will convene and chair a school review committee composed of at least one counselor and one teacher.  This review committee shall report its findings in writing to the parent/guardian no later than 10 working days after receipt of the parent’s/guardian/s request.

 

3. If disagreement still exists, the parent/guardian may, within one week of written notification, submit a written request to the associate superintendent of schools for review of the case.  The associate superintendent will convene a review committee of at least three principals who have had administrative experience in the grade level placement in question.  Members of the principal’s review committee may or may not be employees of the district but must be practicing administrators.  Findings of the committee will be reported in writing to the parent no later than 10 working days after receipt of the parent /guardian’s request.

 

4. If the findings of the principal’s review committee are not acceptable, a written request for a hearing by the superintendent must be received within five working days from the date of receipt of the principal’s decision.  After review of the case, the superintendent shall render a written decision within five working days of receipt of the parent /guardian’s request.  This decision shall be binding unless appealed to the Board by the parent/guardian.  The appeal to the Board must be made within five working days from the date of receipt of the superintendent’s decision.

 

Approved: November 24, 1992

Revised: November 27, 2007

Reviewed: June 4, 2019

 

CROSS REF.: IHBG, Home Schooling

 

Garfield School District No. Re-2, Rifle, Colorado