It shall be the policy of the School Board to acknowledge each student's successful completion of the instructional program appropriate to the achievement of District goals and objectives as well as personal proficiency by the awarding of a diploma at a fitting graduation ceremony.

Beginning with students entering grade 9 in the 2013-14 school year, receipt of a standard high school diploma requires successful completion of twenty-four (24) credits, an International Baccalaureate curriculum, or an Advanced International Certificate of Education completion.

The twenty-four (24) credits shall be distributed as follows:

Excluding a driver education course, at least one (1) course within the twenty-four (24) credits required must be completed through online learning. Students are not required to take the online course outside the school day or in addition to a student's courses for a given semester. An online course taken in grade 6, grade 7, or grade 8 fulfills this requirement. This requirement is met through an online course offered by the Florida Virtual School, a virtual education provider approved by the State Board of Education, a high school, or an online dual enrollment course. A student who is enrolled in a full-time or part-time virtual instruction program pursuant to Policy 2370.01 - Virtual Instruction Program meets this requirement. This requirement does not apply to a student who has an individualized education plan (IEP) pursuant to Policy 2460 - Exceptional Student Education which indicates that an online course would be inappropriate or to an out-of-state transfer student who is enrolled in a Florida high school and has one (1) academic year or less remaining in high school.

The required credits may be earned through equivalent, applied, or integrated courses or career education courses as defined in F.S. 1003.01(4), including work-related internships approved by the State Board of Education and identified in the course code directory. However, any must-pass assessment requirements must be met. An equivalent course is one (1) or more courses identified by content-area experts as being a match to the core curricular content of another course, based upon review of the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards and includes real-world applications of a career and technical education standard used in business or industry. An integrated course includes content from several courses within a content area or across content areas.

For courses that require Statewide standardized end-of-course assessments, a minimum of thirty percent (30%) of a student's course grade shall be comprised of performance on the Statewide standardized end-of-course assessment.

In order to graduate, students must earn passing scores on the Florida Standard Assessment (State-mandated assessment) or scores on a standardized test that are concordant with passing scores on the State-mandated assessment. Additionally, a student must earn a cumulative GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale.

The Board shall award a standard high school diploma to every student enrolled in this District who meets the requirements of graduation established by this Board or who properly completes the goals and objectives specified in his/her IEP, including either the exemption from or the requirement to complete the State-mandated tests and the recommendation of the IEP Team.

Each student's standard high school diploma will include, as applicable, the following designations, if the student meets the criteria:

Students and parents shall be provided information about diploma designations through an online education and career planning tool, which allows students to monitor their progress toward the attainment of each designation.

A student completing the high school program may earn a regular standard diploma, a certificate of completion, a special diploma, or a special certificate of completion.

An honorary diploma may be awarded in the case of such unfortunate circumstances as the severe disability or death of a student prior to graduation. The student must have been a senior in good standing to meet the requirements of graduation established by the Board at the time of the disability/death.

An honorary diploma may be awarded to foreign exchange students. At the time of application it shall be determined whether the student will attempt to earn a regular high school diploma or an honorary diploma.

High school graduation by means of the Early Admission to College Program is an alternative for the college-bound student during the normal senior year in high school. When the prescribed District conditions as set forth in the dual enrollment articulation agreement have been met, the student shall be awarded a high school diploma with the regular high school graduating class. The official college transcript shall be made a part of the student's high school permanent record file.

Full-time early admission students will not be eligible to be valedictorian or salutatorian. Their class rank, however, is not affected.

When students leave high school as Early Admission to College Program students, they may participate in graduation exercises with their graduation class and may be ranked in the class pursuant to Policy 5430 - Class Rank regarding weighting of dual enrollment courses.

For the purposes of this policy, the term "early graduation" means graduation from high school in less than eight (8) semesters or the equivalent by completion of the required number of credits.

A student who meets the requirements of F.S. 1003.4282(3)(a)-(e), earns three (3) credits in electives (a total of eighteen (18) credits), and earns a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale shall be awarded a standard high school diploma.

A student also has the option of early graduation if the student has completed a minimum of twenty-four (24) credits and otherwise meets the requirements for graduation.

The following ACCEL options are available: whole-grade and midyear promotion; subject-matter acceleration; virtual instruction in higher grade-level subjects; and the Credit Acceleration Program described below. Additional options may be available.

Students shall be advised of courses through which they can earn college credit, including Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Advanced Certificate of Education, dual enrollment, and early admission courses, and career academy courses, and courses that lead to industry certification, as well as the availability of course offerings through virtual instruction.

Course credit shall be awarded to a student who is not enrolled in Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, United States History, or Biology, who has not completed a course, if the student attains a passing score on the corresponding Statewide, standardized assessment. The student shall take the standardized assessment during the regular administration of the assessment.

The District shall notify the parent of a student who is eligible to graduate early.

A student who graduates early may continue to participate in school activities and social events and to attend and participate in graduation events with the student’s cohort. The student will be included in class ranking, honors, and award determinations for the student’s cohort. The student must comply with Board rules and policies regarding access to the school facilities and grounds during normal operating hours.

The Board shall offer the high school equivalency diploma examination and the subject area examinations to all candidates pursuant to the rules of the State Board of Education. To be eligible to be a candidate for a high school equivalency diploma, a student must be at least eighteen (18) years of age on the date of the examination. However, if the student resides or attends school in the District, the student may take the examination after reaching the age of sixteen (16). All high school equivalency diplomas have equal status with other high school diplomas. A student may be awarded a standard high school diploma pursuant to Florida Department of Education rules.

A student who completes the minimum number of credits and other requirements for graduation but cannot earn a passing score on the State-mandated assessment, achieve a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale or its equivalent, or complete all other applicable requirements prescribed by the Board pursuant to Florida statutes shall be awarded a certificate of completion in a form prescribed by the State Board of Education.

A student who is entitled to a certificate may elect to remain as a full-time student or a part-time student for up to one (1) additional year and receive special instruction designed to remedy the student's identified deficiencies.

The District will notify students and parents, in writing, of the requirements for a standard high school diploma, available designations, and the eligibility requirements for State scholarship programs and postsecondary admissions.

Commencement exercises will include only those students who have met all requirements for a regular diploma, District diploma, honorary diploma, certificate of completion, a special diploma, or a special certificate of completion will be eligible to participate in commencement activities. No student who has completed the requirements for graduation shall be denied a diploma as a disciplinary measure. A student may be denied participation in the ceremony of graduation when personal conduct so warrants.

F.S. 1002.3105, 1003.428, 1003.4281, 1003.4282, 1003.4285, 1003.429
F.S. 1003.4295, 1003.43, 1003.433, 1003.435, 1003.438
Form of High School Diplomas and Certificates of Completion, F.A.C. 6A-1.0995
Graduation Requirements for Certain Students with Disabilities, F.A.C. 6A-1.09961
Industry Certification Process, F.A.C. 6A-6.0573

Technical Change 9/9/16