5410 - PROMOTION, PLACEMENT, AND RETENTION

The Board of Education 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 his/her own development.

Such 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 s/he has:

1. successfully completed the course requirements at the presently assigned grade;

2. in the opinion of the professional staff, achieved the instructional objectives set for the present grade;

3. demonstrated sufficient proficiency to permit him/her to move ahead in the educational program of the next grade;

4. demonstrated the degree of social, emotional, and physical maturation necessary for a successful learning experience in the next grade.

The District Administrator shall develop administrative guidelines for promotion, placement, and retention of students which:

1. ensure students who are falling seriously behind their peers or who may not be promoted receive the special assistance they may need to achieve the academic outcomes of the District's core curriculum;

2. require the recommendation of the relevant staff members for promotion, placement, or retention;

3. require that parents are informed in advance of the possibility of retention of a student at a grade level;

4. assure that efforts are made to remediate the student's difficulties before s/he is retained;

5. assign to the principal the final responsibility for determining the promotion, placement, or retention of each student.

Promotion from Grade 4 and Grade 8

For Unified, Common and K-8 Districts

The Board directs the District Administrator to prepare a list of specific criteria for promoting students from the 4^th and 8^thgrades. The criteria shall include the student’s score on the 4^thand 8^thgrade examination, unless the student has been excused from taking the examination; the student’s academic performance; the recommendations of teachers which shall be based solely on the student’s academic performance; and any other academic criteria recommended for Board consideration.

The criteria shall be submitted for Board approval prior to September 1, 2001. The criteria shall apply to charter schools in the District.

Beginning on September 1, 2002, the Board will promote only those 4^thand 8^thgrade students who have satisfied the criteria.