Part IX. School Accreditation
8VAC20-132-300. Accreditation.
A. The board shall adopt a process to accredit schools based on the school accountability requirements and student outcome and growth measures, as well as compliance with the standards for student achievement, school instructional programs, school and instructional leadership, school facilities and safety, and school and community communications described in this chapter.
The department shall develop guidance, templates, evidentiary exemplars, or rubrics to demonstrate how it will objectively measure school and division compliance with each of the Standards of Accreditation described in subsection B of this section. All such guidance shall be submitted to the board for approval and final guidance shall be published on the department's website and directly provided to local school divisions.
B. The principal of each new or existing school and the division superintendent shall annually document and report to the Department of Education, in a manner prescribed by the board, satisfactory evidence of the following:
1. The division's promotion and retention policies have been developed in accordance with the requirements of 8VAC20-132-40;
2. Compliance with the requirements to offer courses that shall allow students to complete the graduation requirements in 8VAC20-132-50 and 8VAC20-132-51, as applicable;
3. The school and school division's ability to offer the instructional program prescribed in 8VAC20-132-70 through 8VAC20-132-100;
4. The school and school division's offering of history and social science and English, to include writing, as prescribed in 8VAC20-132-70 C;
5. Compliance with the leadership and staffing requirements of 8VAC20-132-200 through 8VAC20-132-230;
6. Compliance with the facilities and safety provisions of 8VAC20-132-240;
7. Compliance with the parental notification provisions of 8VAC20-132-250 B;
8. The Standards of Learning have been fully incorporated into the school division's curriculum in all accreditation-eligible schools, and the Standards of Learning material is being taught to all students eligible to take the SOL tests;
9. A long-range comprehensive plan for the division and a comprehensive, unified, long-range school plan has been prepared and implemented as required by the Standards of Quality in accordance with § 22.1-253.13:6 C of the Code of Virginia for each division and school. The comprehensive plans shall be reviewed and updated as needed on an annual basis. Such plans shall be published on the website of each division and school and be available to students, parents, staff, and the public. Each comprehensive division and school plan shall be evaluated as part of the development of the next plan.
To develop such plans, each school shall conduct a comprehensive needs assessment in collaboration with its school division staff to identify needed actions to ensure continuous improvement for its students. For schools receiving comprehensive, targeted, or additional targeted support, results of the needs assessment shall be used to develop the multi-year school support plan, consistent with the requirements specified in 8VAC20-132-280, which shall be included in the school's comprehensive, unified, long-range plan;
10. Actions prescribed by 8VAC20-132-280 have been completed, and in the case of a school identified for comprehensive support, a corrective action plan for continuous improvement aligned to its multi-year school support plan demonstrates the support plan is being implemented with fidelity and the school is on track to improve student achievement, growth, and performance on other school quality indicators in 8VAC20-132-270 consistent with subsection C of this section; and
11. Actions taken to correct any noncompliance issues that the school reported in the previous year.
C. Accreditation designations. Effective no later than the academic year 2025-2026, schools shall be assigned one of the following accreditation designations.
1. Fully accredited.
a. For a school that is not identified for comprehensive support under 8VAC20-132-280 based on its performance on the school quality indicators in 8VAC20-132-270 B, once all required evidence in subsection B of this section is submitted to the department, deemed satisfactory, and approved for compliance, the school shall be designated "Fully Accredited."
b. If a school is identified for comprehensive support, the required evidence in subsection B of this section must be submitted to the department, deemed satisfactory, and approved for compliance along with a corrective action plan for continuous improvement. Such plan must demonstrate the school is faithfully implementing its department-approved multi-year school support plan under 8VAC20-132-280 and include data showing the school's progress in improving student achievement, growth, and performance on other school quality indicators.
If the school is not among the lowest performing 5.0% on the school quality indicators in the current year (or has improved the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate above 67% for schools identified due to low graduation rates), the school shall be designated "Fully Accredited." Further, the board may grant an exception and designate schools identified for comprehensive support as "Fully Accredited" that have not met the progress threshold using current year data but are improving at a rate using data from previous years that would lead to the school meeting the exit criteria established by the board in 8VAC20-132-280 within the required timeline.
2. Conditionally accredited.
a. If any piece of required evidence in subsection B of this section is submitted to the department and determined to be unsatisfactory or noncompliant, a school shall be designated "Conditionally Accredited" until such school successfully submits additional evidence and is deemed to meet the conditions set forth in subsection B of this section by the department.
b. If the corrective action plan for continuous improvement submitted by a school identified for comprehensive support does not demonstrate such school has improved from the lowest performing 5.0% on the school quality indicators in the current year (or improved the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate above 67% for schools identified due to low graduation rates) or is improving at a rate using data from previous years that would lead to the school meeting the exit criteria established by the board in 8VAC20-132-280 within the required timeline, the school shall be designated "Conditionally Accredited." If a school identified for comprehensive support is "Conditionally Accredited," the department shall require and approve revisions to the school's multi-year support plan under 8VAC20-132-280 C 1 to include more rigorous actions to improve student achievement, growth, and performance on the school quality indicators.
3. Accreditation denied.
a. If a school is designated "Conditionally Accredited" and the school or school division fails to submit additional documentation consistent with subsection A of this section, it may be designated by the board as "Accreditation Denied."
b. If a school identified for comprehensive support is designated "Conditionally Accredited" and fails to submit, amend, adopt, and implement a revised multi-year support plan with more rigorous actions, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall review the school for potential designation by the board as "Accreditation Denied" and shall present the results of such review to the board with recommendations. If the board determines that any such school is at not on track to improve student achievement, growth, and performance on other school quality indicators and meet the exit criteria in 8VAC20-132-280 due to its failure to adopt and implement a multi-year school support plan and corrective action plan with fidelity as required by this section, the board shall designate such school as "Accreditation Denied."
The local school board shall be given an opportunity to correct such failure, and if successful in a timely manner, the school's "Accreditation Denied" designation may be rescinded at the board's discretion.
c. If the board determines that the local school board failed to demonstrate progress in developing or implementing the corrective action plan on behalf of any school designated "Accreditation Denied," the local school board shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with the board, which shall delineate responsibilities for the local school board, the board, school division staff, school staff, and department staff and shall also include required goals, measurable objectives, and actions based on a division-level needs assessment to improve student achievement and to improve performance on school quality indicators. Department staff shall meet regularly with school division staff to monitor the memorandum of understanding and corrective action plan, to track progress on the school quality indicators, and to identify next steps. School divisions that do not demonstrate evidence of progress under the memorandum of understanding and the associated corrective action plan shall be subject to additional actions, which may include more frequent meetings with department staff, required technical assistance, or appearance before the board.
D. Any school in violation of this chapter shall be subject to appropriate action by the board, including withholding the school's accreditation rating.
E. A school's accreditation rating may be withheld by action of the board for any school found to be in violation of test security procedures pursuant to § 22.1-19.1 of the Code of Virginia.
F. Review cycles. If a school has been designated "Fully Accredited" for three consecutive years and is not receiving comprehensive support as specified in 8VAC20-132-280, the board shall review the accreditation status of the school every three years. If a school is identified for comprehensive support during its triennial accreditation period, the school shall be required to receive approval from the department of its school support plan, consistent with 8VAC20-132-280, and submit a corrective action plan to the department consisted with subsection C of this section each subsequent year within that triennial period.
If the board finds that a school with multi-year accreditation status that is not identified for comprehensive support would have been accredited every year of the triennial review period, the board shall accredit the school for another three years. A multi-year accreditation status shall neither relieve any school or division of annual reporting requirements, nor relieve any school or division of annual review of school quality indicators used for school accountability and subsequent actions as appropriate and provided for in 8VAC20-132-270 and 8VAC20-132-280.
G. Division-level reviews and corrective actions. Because a high proportion of schools identified for support under 8VAC20-132-280 within a single division may be indicative of a division-level failure to implement the Standards of Quality or other division-level action or inaction, school divisions with at least 40% of their schools identified for comprehensive or additional targeted support or 10 or more schools identified for comprehensive support will be required to undergo a division-level academic and resource allocation review conducted by the department consistent with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Pub. L. No. 89-10, as amended).
After the completion of such review, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall present the results of such review to the board with recommendations. Each local school board shall, within a time period specified by the board, enter into a memorandum of understanding with the board and shall subsequently submit to the board for approval a corrective action plan, consistent with criteria established by the board, delineating responsibilities for the local school board, the board, school division staff, school staff, and department staff and setting forth specific actions and a schedule designed to ensure that schools within its school division meet the standards established by the board and improve performance on the school quality indicators. If the board determines that the proposed corrective action plan is not sufficient to enable all schools within the division to meet the standards established by the board, the board may return the plan to the local school board with directions to submit an amended plan pursuant to board guidance. Such corrective action plans shall be part of the relevant school division's comprehensive plan pursuant to § 22.1-253.13:6 of the Code of Virginia.
Department staff shall meet regularly with school division staff to monitor the memorandum of understanding and corrective action plan, to track progress on the school quality indicators, and to identify next steps.
School divisions that do not demonstrate evidence of progress under the memorandum of understanding and the associated corrective action plan shall be subject to additional actions, which may include more frequent meetings with department staff, required technical assistance, or appearance before the board.
H. At-risk add-on funds. As provided in the appropriation act, if the board has required a local school board to submit a corrective action plan pursuant to § 22.1-253.13:3 A of the Code of Virginia, either for the school division pursuant to a division-level review or for any schools within its division that have been designated as not meeting the standards as approved by the board, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall determine and report to the board whether each such local school board has met its obligation to develop and submit such corrective action plan and is making adequate and timely progress in implementing the plan. Additionally, if an academic review process undertaken pursuant to § 22.1-253.13:3 A of the Code of Virginia has identified actions for a local school board to implement, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall determine and report to the board whether the local school board has implemented required actions. If the Superintendent of Public Instruction certifies that a local school board has failed or refused to meet any of those obligations, the board shall withhold payment of some or all at-risk add-on funds otherwise allocated to the affected division pursuant to this allocation for the pending fiscal year. In determining the amount of at-risk add-on funds to be withheld, the board shall take into consideration the extent to which such funds have already been expended or contractually obligated. The local school board shall be given an opportunity to correct its failure and if successful in a timely manner, may have some or all of its at-risk add-on funds restored at the board's discretion.
I. Additional remedies. The board may exercise its authority to seek school division compliance with school laws pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Code of Virginia when any school within a division receives an accreditation designation other than "Fully Accredited."
In accordance with the Standards of Quality at § 22.1-253.13:8 of the Code of Virginia, if the board determines that a school division has failed or refused and continues to fail or refuse to comply with any of the Standards of Quality, including the requirement for local school boards to maintain schools designated as "Accredited" as provided in § 22.1-253.13:3 A of the Code of Virginia, the board may petition the circuit court having jurisdiction in the school division to mandate or otherwise enforce compliance with such standard, including the development or implementation of any required corrective action plan that a local school board has failed or refused to develop or implement in a timely manner.
J. The board shall provide a process for a local school board to appeal an accreditation designation under subsection C of this section for any school in the division. The board shall grant such appeals only in limited circumstances that warrant special consideration. In order to appeal such designation, the local school board shall submit a request to the board, signed by the chairman of the school board and the division superintendent, explaining why the school board is appealing the designation and shall include documentation supporting the request.
Statutory Authority
§§ 22.1-16 and 22.1-253.13:3 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 41, Issue 1, eff. September 25, 2024.
8VAC20-132-310. Waivers and alternative accreditation plans.
A. Except as specified in this section, the board may grant, for a period of up to five years, a waiver of requirements of this chapter that are not mandated by state or federal law or designed to promote health or safety. The board may grant all or a portion of the request for a waiver and designate conditions as appropriate. Waivers of requirements in 8VAC20-132-40, 8VAC20-132-50, 8VAC20-132-51, 8VAC20-132-70, and 8VAC20-132-260 through 8VAC20-132-320 shall not be granted, and no waiver may be approved for a program that violates the Standards of Quality.
B. Waivers of some of the requirements of this chapter may be granted by the board based on submission of a request from the division superintendent and chairman of the local school board. The request shall include documentation of the justification and need for the waiver. In no event shall waivers be granted to the requirements of Part III (8VAC20-132-40 et seq.) of this chapter, except that the board may provide for the waiver of certain graduation requirements and the subsequent award of a high school diploma in 8VAC20-132-50 and 8VAC20-132-51 upon (i) the board's initiative; (ii) the request of a local school board; or (iii) the request of the parent of any high school senior who died in good standing prior to graduation during the student's senior year. Such waivers shall be granted only for good cause and shall be considered on a case-by-case basis. The board shall develop guidelines for implementing this chapter.
Any student with a disability whose Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan documents that the student cannot successfully complete training in emergency first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or the use of automated external defibrillators, including hands-on practice of the skills necessary to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, as required for graduation in 8VAC20-132-50 B 2 and C 2 and 8VAC20-132-51 B 2 and C 2 shall be granted a waiver from this graduation requirement.
C. Waivers for innovative or school experimental programs. With the approval of the local school board, schools seeking to implement experimental or innovative programs, or both, that are not consistent with this chapter shall submit a waiver request to the board for evaluation and approval prior to implementation. The request must include the following:
1. Purpose and objectives of the experimental or innovative programs;
2. Description and duration of the programs;
3. Anticipated outcomes;
4. Number of students affected;
5. Evaluation procedures; and
6. Mechanisms for measuring goals, objectives, and student academic achievement.
D. Alternative accreditation plans. Subject to the provisions of subsection B of this section, the governing school board of special purpose schools such as those provided for in § 22.1-26 of the Code of Virginia, Governor's schools, special education schools, alternative schools, or career and technical schools that serve as the student's school of principal enrollment may seek approval of an alternative accreditation plan from the board. Schools offering alternative education programs and schools with a graduation cohort of 50 or fewer students as defined by the graduation rate formula adopted by the board may request that the board approve an alternative accreditation plan using different graduation rate measures than those specified in 8VAC20-132-270 B. Special purpose schools with alternative accreditation plans shall be evaluated on standards appropriate to the programs offered in the school and approved by the board prior to August 1 of the school year for which approval is requested. Any student graduating from a special purpose school with a Standard Diploma or an Advanced Studies Diploma must meet the requirements prescribed in 8VAC20-132-50 or 8VAC20-132-51.
As set forth in the Standards of Quality and according to department procedures, any school board may request the board for release from state regulations or, on behalf of one or more of its schools, for approval of an Individual School Accreditation Plan for the evaluation of the performance of one or more of its schools as authorized for schools enumerated in this subsection, based on special circumstances.
Statutory Authority
§§ 22.1-16 and 22.1-253.13:3 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 41, Issue 1, eff. September 25, 2024.
8VAC20-132-320. Effective dates.
A. Graduation requirements.
1. The graduation requirements for students entering grade nine for the first time in the 2013-2014 school year and prior to the 2018-2019 school year shall be those provided in 8VAC20-132-50.
2. The graduation requirements for students entering grade nine for the first time in the 2018-2019 school year and beyond shall be those provided in 8VAC20-132-51.
3. The graduation requirements applicable to students transferring into a Virginia high school for the first time shall be as determined by 8VAC20-132-60 G.
B. Locally awarded verified credits.
1. Locally awarded verified credits conferred for English, mathematics, laboratory science, and history and social science for students entering grade nine for the first time prior to the 2018-2019 school year shall be as provided in 8VAC20-132-110 B 3 a.
2. Locally awarded verified credits conferred for English, mathematics, laboratory science, and history and social science for students entering grade nine for the first time in 2018-2019 or thereafter shall be as provided in 8VAC20-132-110 B 3 b.
C. Academic and career planning.
1. The requirements for academic and career planning prescribed in 8VAC20-132-140 B shall be effective beginning with the 2013-2014 academic year and through the 2017-2018 academic year.
2. The requirements for Academic and Career Plans prescribed in 8VAC20-132-140 C shall be effective beginning with the 2018-2019 academic year.
D. Unless otherwise specified, the remainder of this chapter shall become effective beginning with the 2025-2026 academic year.
Statutory Authority
§§ 22.1-16 and 22.1-253.13:3 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 41, Issue 1, eff. September 25, 2024.