PROMOTION, PLACEMENT, AND RETENTION

PROMOTION, PLACEMENT, AND RETENTION

po5410Adopted August 17, 2017Revised November 20, 2025

5410 - PROMOTION, PLACEMENT, AND RETENTION

The School Board recognizes that the personal, social, physical, and educational growth of children will vary and that they should be placed in the educational setting most appropriate to their needs at the various stages of their growth.

It shall be the policy of the Board that each student be moved forward in a continuous pattern of achievement and growth that is in harmony with their own development.

Such a pattern should coincide with the system of grade levels established by this Board and the instructional objectives established for each.

A student will be promoted to the succeeding grade level when they have:

  1. completed the course requirements at the presently assigned grade;
  2. achieved the instructional objectives and legal requirements set for the present grade (See also Policy 2623 - Student Assessment and Policy 5460 - Graduation Requirements);
  3. demonstrated sufficient proficiency to permit them to move ahead in the educational program of the next grade.

Any decision regarding retention of a student who is eligible for special education and related services shall be made in accordance with the student's individualized education program (IEP) and in compliance with the statewide assessment program's policies and Federal law.

A student who is eligible for special education and related services shall be promoted or retained based on the recommendation of the case conference committee and the student's IEP.

Following sound principles of child guidance, the Board discourages the skipping of grades.

It is the policy of the Board that a student shall not be retained or held back in a grade level for the sole purpose of improving the student's ability to participate in extra-curricular athletic programs.

The Board will comply with the requirements of the Indiana Department of Education regarding the consequences for students in grade three who fail to pass the Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination Assessment (IREAD-3). Accordingly, a student who does not pass the IREAD-3 assessment either during the assessment period in the school year or during the summer assessment window, and is not eligible for a "good cause exemption" outlined below, shall be retained in third grade.

Good cause exemptions that may be considered are:

  1. the student was subject to retention and previously has been retained in grade 3 for one (1) school year;

  2. the student has an intellectual disability or the student's IEP specifies that retention is not appropriate, and the student's case conference committee has determined that promotion to another grade is appropriate;

  3. an English learner student who has received services for fewer than two (2) years and whose Individual Learning Plan (ILP) Committee including the parent, a building level administrator or designee, a classroom teacher of service, an English learner teacher of record (if one exists), and an English learner corporation administrator (if one exists) has determined that promotion is appropriate based on the implementation of research-based instructional practices outlined in the student's ILP;

  4. the student received a score of proficient or above proficient in grade 3 math on the statewide summative assessment;

  5. the student has received intensive intervention as determined by the Indiana Department of Education in reading for two (2) or more years and was retained more than one (1) time throughout kindergarten, grade 1, or grade 2.

A parent whose child has been retained in grade 3 under the reading deficiency remediation plan and would not be subject to retention for other reasons may appeal the student's retention if the parent believes that the student meets one of the above exemptions. The Superintendent shall develop administrative guidelines that include the procedure for appeal.

Revised 2/20/25

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