Virginia Law

The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Academic and career plan" means the student's program of study for high school graduation and postsecondary career pathway based on the student's academic and career interests. The academic and career plan shall be developed in accordance with guidelines established by the Board of Education. (Also see the definition of "program of study.")

"All aspects of an industry" means strong experience in, and comprehensive understanding of, the industry that the individual is preparing to enter.

"Board" means that the Board of Education is designated as the State Board for Career and Technical Education to carry out the provisions of the federal Perkins Act of 2006 and any new amendments or acts, and as such shall promote and administer the provisions of agricultural education, business and information technology, marketing, family and consumer sciences, health and medical services, technology education, and trade and industrial education in the public middle and high schools, regional schools established pursuant to § 22.1-26 of the Code of Virginia, postsecondary institutions, and other eligible institutions for youth and adults.

"Career clusters and pathways" means a grouping of occupations and industries based on commonalities. Sixteen career clusters provide an organizing tool for schools, small learning communities, academies, and magnet schools. Within each career cluster, there are multiple career pathways that represent a common set of skills and knowledge, both academic and technical, necessary to pursue a full range of career opportunities within that pathway, ranging from entry level to management and including technical and professional career specialties. Based on the skills sets taught, all CTE courses are aligned with one or more career clusters and career pathways. The states' career clusters refers to a clearinghouse for career clusters research, products, services and technical assistance for implementation of the states' career cluster framework for lifelong learning.

"Career and technical student organization" means an organization for individuals enrolled in a career and technical education program that engages in career and technical activities as an integral part of the instructional program. These organizations may have state and national units that aggregate the work and purposes of instruction in career and technical education at the local level; if so, these organizations shall be (i) National FFA Organization, formerly known as Future Farmers of America; (ii) Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA); (iii) Future Educators Association (FEA); (iv) Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA); (v) Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA); (vi) DECA, formerly known as DECA: An Association of Marketing Students; (vii) Technology Student Association (TSA); (viii) Skills USA; and (ix) other student organizations that may be approved at the state and national levels.

"Categorical entitlement" means the amount of funding a local education agency is eligible to receive for a specific purpose, subject to state or federal regulations and the availability of funds.

"Competency-based education" means relevant learning that contributes to the academic knowledge, higher-order reasoning and problem-solving skills, work attitudes, workplace readiness skills, technical skills, and occupation-specific skills, and knowledge of all aspects of an industry, including entrepreneurship, of an individual. Evaluation of student progress is based on standards of the occupation or field and the maintenance of student records of achievement in skill development.

"Cooperative education" means a method of education for individuals who, through written cooperative arrangements between a school and employers, receive instruction, including required rigorous and challenging academic courses and related career and technical education instruction, by alternation of study in school with paid employment in any occupation field, which alternation (i) shall be planned and supervised by the school and employer so that each contributes to the education, employability, and career objective of the individual; and (ii) may include an arrangement in which work periods and school attendance may be on alternate half days, full days, weeks, or other periods of time in fulfilling the cooperative program.

"Data" means information, both written and verbal, concerning career and technical education programs, activities, and students. Data include financial, administrative, demographic, student performance, and programmatic information and statistics.

"Department" means the Virginia Department of Education.

"Disability" means, with respect to an individual (i) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual; (ii) a record of such impairment; or (iii) being regarded as having such an impairment.

"Displaced homemaker" means an individual who (i) has worked primarily without remuneration to care for a home and family, and for that reason has diminished marketable skills; has been dependent on the income of another family member but is no longer supported by that income; or is a parent whose youngest dependent child will become ineligible to receive assistance under Part A of Title IV of the Social Security Act (42 USC § 601 et seq.) not later than two years after the date on which the parent applies for assistance under such title; and (ii) is unemployed or underemployed and is experiencing difficulty in obtaining or upgrading employment.

"Entitlement" means the amount of funding a local education agency is eligible to receive, subject to state or federal regulations and the availability of funds.

"Equipment" means tangible nonexpendable personal property including exempt property charged directly to the award having a useful life of more than one year.

"Extended contract" means a period of time provided to instructors for employment beyond the regular contractual period.

"Federal program monitoring" means monitoring and evaluation program effectiveness and ensuring compliance with all applicable state and federal laws.

"Follow-up survey" means the collection of information regarding the status of students following completion of a career and technical education program.

"Individualized education program" or "IEP" means a written statement for a child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in a team meeting in accordance with this chapter. The IEP specifies the individual educational needs of the child and what special education and related services are necessary to meet the child's educational needs (34 CFR 300.22).

"Individual with limited English proficiency" means a secondary school student, an adult, or an out-of-school youth who has limited ability in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language and (i) whose native language is a language other than English and (ii) who lives in a family or community environment in which a language other than English is the dominant language.

"Industry credential" means the successful completion of an industry certification examination or an occupational competency assessment in a career and technical education field that confers certification of skills and knowledge from a recognized industry or trade or professional association or the acquiring of a professional license in a career and technical education field from the Commonwealth of Virginia. The certification examination or occupational competency assessment used to verify student achievement must be approved by the Board of Education.

"Local career and technical education plan" means a document submitted by a local education agency as prescribed by the Board of Education describing how the career and technical education programs required for funding will be maintained and how career and technical education activities will be carried out with respect to meeting state and local adjusted levels of performance established under Perkins Act of 2006, Accountability, § 113 (20 USC § 2323).

"Local education agency" means a public board of education or other public authority legally constituted within a state for either administrative control or direction of, or to perform a service function for, public elementary schools or secondary schools in a city, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision of a state, or for a combination of school divisions or counties that is recognized in a state as an administrative agency for its public elementary schools or secondary schools.

"Maintenance of effort" means the assurance that localities continue to provide funding for career and technical education (CTE) programs at least at the level of support of the previous year.

"Nontraditional fields" means occupations or fields of work, including careers in computer science, technology, and other current and emerging high skill occupations, for which individuals from one gender comprise less than 25% of the individuals employed in each such occupation or field of work.

"Performance measures" means core indicators of performance for careers and technical education students at the secondary level that are valid and reliable and that include measures identified in the accountability section of the Perkins Act of 2006 (20 USC § 2323).

"Program of study" or "plan of study" means planning a sequence of academic, career and technical, or other elective courses that (i) incorporate secondary education and postsecondary education elements; (ii) include coherent and rigorous content aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant career and technical content in a coordinated, nonduplicative progression of courses that align secondary education with postsecondary education to adequately prepare students to succeed in postsecondary education; (iii) may include opportunity for secondary students to participate in dual or concurrent enrollment programs or other ways to acquire postsecondary education credits; and (iv) lead to an industry-recognized credential, license, or certificate or an associate degree at the secondary or postsecondary level or a baccalaureate or higher degree at the postsecondary level. (Also see the definition of "academic and career plan.")

"Section 504" means that section of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 USC § 791 et seq.), as amended, that is designed to eliminate discrimination on the basis of a disability in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

"Special populations" means (i) individuals with disabilities; (ii) individuals from economically disadvantages families, including foster children; (iii) individuals preparing for nontraditional fields; (iv) single parents, including single pregnant women; (v) displaced homemakers; or (vi) individuals with limited English proficiency.

"Training agreement" means a written statement of commitment from the student, the parent, the training station, and the teacher-coordinator. It is a required formal document that spells out the responsibilities of all involved parties in the cooperative education method of instruction.

"Training plan" means a required formal document that identifies classroom and on-the-job instruction that contributes to the employability and on-going development of each cooperative education student. (A recommended format is available from the Department of Education.)

"Work station" means an area in a classroom/laboratory that includes the necessary environment, instructional and consumable materials, and equipment to enable each student to accomplish competencies within a career and technical education course.

"Workplace readiness skills" means a list of personal qualities and people skills, professional knowledge and skills, and technology knowledge and skills identified by Virginia employers that are essential for individual workplace success and critical to Virginia's economic competitiveness. These skills will be updated as required.

"Verified unit of credit" or "verified credit" means credit awarded for a course in which a student earns a standard unit of credit and achieves a passing score on a corresponding end-of-course Standards of Learning (SOL) test or an additional test approved by the Board of Education as part of the Virginia assessment program.