Virginia Law

A. Each school shall promote communication and foster mutual understanding with parents and the community. Each school shall:

1. Involve parents, citizens, community agencies, and representatives from business and industry in developing, disseminating, and explaining the biennial school plan; on advisory committees; in curriculum studies; and in evaluating the educational program.

2. Provide annually to the parents and the community a school performance report in a manner prescribed by the board and consistent with the requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Pub. L. No. 89-10, as amended). The school performance report shall include designated information for the most recent three-year period. Such information shall be designated by the board to include indicators of the following: accountability, assessments, enrollment and demographics, college and career readiness, finance, learning environment, and teacher quality. Specific indicators shall include:

a. Virginia Assessment Program results by percentage of participation and proficiency and disaggregated by student reporting groups.

b. School performance, disaggregated by student reporting groups, on each school quality indicator described in 8VAC20-132-270 B, the school's overall performance category described in 8VAC20-132-270 E, and whether the school is identified for improvement under 8VAC20-132-280.

c. Accreditation status.

d. Attendance and absenteeism for students.

e. Information related to school safety, to include incidents of crime and violence.

f. Information related to qualifications and educational attainment of the teaching staff.

g. In addition, each secondary school's school performance report shall include the following:

(1) Advanced Placement (AP) information, to include the percentage of students who take AP courses and percentage of students who take AP tests;

(2) International Baccalaureate (IB) and Cambridge course information, to include the percentage of students who are enrolled in IB or Cambridge programs and the percentage of students who receive an IB or Cambridge Diploma;

(3) College-level course information, to include the percentage of students who take college-level courses, including dual enrollment courses;

(4) Number and percentage of (i) graduates by diploma type as prescribed by the board; (ii) certificates awarded to the senior class, including high school equivalency preparation program credentials approved by the board; and (iii) students who do not complete high school;

(5) As a separate category on the school performance report, the number of students obtaining board-approved industry certifications and passing state licensure examinations, national occupational competency assessments, and Virginia workplace readiness skills assessments while still in high school, and the number of career and technical education completers who graduated; and

(6) Number and percentage of dropouts.

3. Cooperate with business and industry in formulating career and technical educational programs and conducting joint enterprises involving personnel, facilities, training programs, and other resources.

4. Encourage and support the establishment or continuation of a parent-teacher association or other organization and work cooperatively with it.

B. At the beginning of each school year, each school shall provide to the parents or guardians of its students information on the availability of and source for receiving:

1. The learning objectives developed in accordance with the provisions of 8VAC20-132-70 to be achieved at the child's grade level or, in high school, a copy of the syllabus for each of the child's courses, and a copy of the school division promotion, retention, and remediation policies;

2. The Standards of Learning applicable to the child's grade or course requirements and the approximate date and potential impact of the child's next SOL testing; and

3. An annual notice to students in all grade levels of all requirements for Standard Diploma and Advanced Studies Diploma and the board's policies on promotion and retention as outlined in 8VAC20-132-30.

The division superintendent shall report to the department compliance with this subsection as required by 8VAC20-132-300.