1. (1) "Alternate Diploma" means a diploma issued in accordance with Section R277-705-5.

2. (2)(a) "Comparable course" means a course that fulfills the same graduation credit requirements as a course for which a student seeks to improve a grade.

   1. (b) "Comparable course" does not include a course a student completes through the packet method.
3. (3) Credit recovery" means the same as "replacement credit."
4. (4) "Demonstrated competence" means subject mastery as determined by LEA standards and review. LEA review may include such methods and documentation as: tests, interviews, peer evaluations, writing samples, reports, or portfolios.
5. (5) "Diploma" means an official document awarded by an LEA consistent with state and LEA graduation requirements and the provisions of this rule.
6. (6) "FAPE" means a free appropriate public education, which includes special education and related services that are provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge in accordance with Board rule and the IDEA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

7. (7) "Grade replacement" means credit a student earns by retaking a teacher-led course for a letter grade to improve a previous grade, which:

   1. (a) may raise the student's grade point average if the new grade is higher; and
   2. (b) replaces the lower grade on the student's transcript.
8. (8) "Original credit" means credit a student earns through the successful completion of a course for the first time.
9. (9) "Packet" means a collection of instructional materials and assessments used to receive credit through the packet method.

10. (10) "Packet method" means an educational approach where:

    1. (a) a high school student receives a collection of instructional materials from an institution, organization, or LEA;
    2. (b) the high school student works through the materials independently with minimal or no direct instruction from a teacher; and
    3. (c) assessment is primarily based on completion of assignments within the instructional materials.

11. (11) "Replacement credit" means a pass-fail credit a student earns for a course the student did not pass or complete, which:

    1. (a) does not affect the student's grade point average; and
    2. (b) allows the student to fulfill high school graduation requirements.

12. (12)(a) "Secondary school" means grades 7-12 in whatever kind of school the grade levels exist.

    1. (b) Grade 6 may be considered a secondary grade for some purposes.
13. (13) "Section 504 plan" means a written statement of related aids and services for a student with a qualifying disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

14. (14)(a) "Special purpose school" means a school designated by a regional accrediting agency, adopted by the Board.

    1. (b) "Special purpose school" includes a school:

       1. (i) that serves a specific population such as a student with a disability, youth in care, or a school with a specific curricular emphasis; and
       2. (ii) with curricula designed to serve specific populations that may be modified from a traditional program.

15. (15) "Student with the most significant cognitive disability" or "SWMSCD" is determined by a comprehensive understanding of a whole student, including review of educational considerations and data obtained through the IEP process, including whether a student:

    1. (a) requires intensive, repeated, modified, and direct individualized instruction and requires substantial supports to learn, maintain, and generalize skills in the student's grade and age-appropriate curriculum;
    2. (b) has special education eligibility documentation indicating the disability significantly impacts intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior which means typically functioning at least two and a half or more standard deviations below the mean;
    3. (c) demonstrates cognitive functioning and adaptive behavior in home, school, and community environments, which are significantly below age expectations, even with program modifications, adaptations, and accommodations;
    4. (d) has a severe and complex cognitive disability, which limits the student from meaningful participation in the standard academic core curriculum or achievement of the academic content standards established at grade level, without substantial support, modifications, adaptations, and accommodations;
    5. (e) has a course of study that addresses the significant impact in adaptive behavior skills;
    6. (f) may be eligible to participate in alternate assessments; and
    7. (g) has a disability, which increases the need for dependence on others for many, if not all, daily living needs, and is expected to require extensive ongoing support through adulthood.

16. (16) "Supplemental education provider" means a private school or educational service provider:

    1. (a) that may or may not be accredited; and
    2. (b) that provides courses or services similar to public school courses or classes.

17. (17)(a) "Transcript" means an official document or record generated by one or several schools which includes:

    1. (i) the courses in which a secondary student was enrolled;

       1. (ii) grades and units of credit earned; and
       2. (iii) citizenship and attendance records.

    2. (b) A transcript is one part of a student's permanent record or cumulative file that may include:

       1. (i) birth certificate
       2. (ii) immunization records; and
       3. (iii) other information as determined by the school in possession of the record.

18. (18) "Unit of credit" means credit awarded for a course taken:

    1. (a) consistent with this rule;
    2. (b) upon LEA authorization; or
    3. (c) for mastery demonstrated by approved methods.

KEY: adult education, high school credits, graduation requirements

Date of Last Change: March 1, 2026

Notice of Continuation: November 15, 2022

Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law: Art X Sec 3; 53E-3-501(1)(b); 53E-3-401(4)