Effective: October 17, 2019
Latest Legislation: House Bill 166 - 133rd General Assembly
Not later than June 30, 2020, each board of education of a school district and governing authority of a chartered nonpublic school shall adopt a policy regarding students who are at risk of not qualifying for a high school diploma. The policy shall require the district or school to do all of the following:
(A) Develop criteria for identifying at-risk students, which shall include a student's lack of adequate progress in meeting the terms of a graduation plan developed or updated under division (E) of this section. The criteria also may include other factors, such as if a student has issues regarding excessive absences or misconduct.
(B) Develop procedures for identifying at-risk students. The procedures shall include a method for determining if a student is not making adequate progress in meeting the terms of a graduation plan developed or updated under division (E) of this section. The procedures shall allow for a student to be identified as at risk in each of grades nine through twelve. The procedures also may include the identification of students in other grades.
(C) Develop a notification process in which the district or school shall notify an at-risk student's parent, guardian, or custodian in each year in which the student has been identified as at risk. The notification process shall at least include providing a written notification to the at-risk student's parent, guardian, or custodian, which shall include all of the following:
(1) A statement that the student is at risk of not qualifying for a high school diploma;
(2) A description of the district's or school's curriculum requirements, or the student's individualized education program, and, as appropriate, the graduation conditions prescribed under section 3313.618 or 3313.619 of the Revised Code;
(3) A description of any additional instructional or support services available to the at-risk student through the district or school.
(D) Assist at-risk students with additional instructional or support services to help the students qualify for a high school diploma. The instructional and support services may include any of the following:
(1) Mentoring programs;
(2) Tutoring programs;
(3) High school credit through demonstrations of subject area competency under division (J) of section 3313.603 of the Revised Code;
(4) Adjusted curriculum options;
(5) Career-technical programs;
(6) Mental health services;
(7) Physical health care services;
(8) Family engagement and support services.
(E)(1) Develop a graduation plan for each student enrolled in grades nine through twelve in the district or school. The graduation plan shall address the student's academic pathway to meet the curriculum requirements specified by the district or school and satisfy the graduation conditions, as appropriate, under section 3313.618 or 3313.619 of the Revised Code.
(2) The graduation plan shall be developed jointly by the student and a representative of the district or school and updated each school year in which the student is enrolled in the district or school, until the student qualifies for a high school diploma. The district or school shall invite a student's parent, guardian, or custodian to assist in developing and updating the graduation plan.
(3) A district or school shall include a student's lack of progress in meeting the terms of a graduation plan developed or updated under this division as both a criterion for identifying at-risk students under division (A) of this section and a procedure for identifying at-risk students under division (B) of this section.
(4) A graduation plan developed under this section shall supplement a school district's policy on career advising adopted under section 3313.6020 of the Revised Code.
(5) A school district may use the individualized education program developed for a student pursuant to section 3323.08 of the Revised Code in lieu of developing a graduation plan under this division, if the individualized education program contains academic goals substantively similar to a graduation plan.