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Date:   June 22, 2005  (Approved)
Reviewed: 6/24/16, 2/8/22

To:      MHS, GVHS, EMS, GMS

From:  Superintendent

Re:      Non-District Courses (Reference: R277-705-3)

For clarification of this policy, a “Non-District Course” is a high school course which is offered by some other institution other than through or by the District. (e.g., Electronic High School, Correspondence, Internet, etc.)

In an effort to maintain the integrity of the District’s high school courses and the type of credit generated from them, the District recommends that students receive their credits from District-sponsored courses or courses offered through District affiliations. However, the District recognizes that from time to time a situation may arise when a Non-District Course may be used to supplement or to replace a District-sponsored course. To monitor these circumstances, the District hereby establishes the following guidelines:

  1. Ed Net courses, Concurrent Enrollment Courses, college courses, and other post-secondary courses are not considered Non-District Courses.
  2. Non-District Courses must have prior-approval by the school’s counselor and the principal. This also applies to the type of credit to be granted as well as how much credit will be accepted. Without prior-approval, the school and District reserve the right to not accept Non-District Courses and/or determine the amount of credit and what type of credit to accept.
  3. Normally, class time during the regular school day shall not be provided for students who choose to enroll in Non-District Courses unless extenuating circumstances are met as indicated in guideline six.
  4. Students are expected to enroll in six District-sponsored courses during the regular school day and work on Non-District Courses on their own time unless extenuating circumstances are met as indicated in guideline six.      Note: A student’s eligibility for extra-curricular activities is determined from six classes which are taken at the high school or at sites which are an extension of the high school. 
  5. Generally, transfer students shall be granted credit for all courses which appear on their transcripts providing they are from accredited schools. Credit for courses not listed on the transcript or from non-accredited schools shall be researched by the counselor and principal and then they shall render a decision.
  6. On a case-by-case basis and for extenuating circumstances, a principal and a counselor may approve a “Non-District Course” to be substituted for a District-sponsored course in accordance with the following guidelines:
    1. The parent/guardian must submit to the principal a written statement indicating (1) the specific extenuating circumstances why this is being requested, (2) the name of the course and the institution sponsoring it, and (3) the daily arrangements for the student to take the course. Note: Possible extenuating circumstances which may be considered are graduation problems, medical or health problems, special parent concerns, unavoidable scheduling problems, etc.
    2. The school, together with the parent/guardian, shall establish a procedure to address the quarterly eligibility issue mentioned in guideline four. This shall also be necessary to determine a quarter grade as well as eligibility for honor roll, academic awards, scholarships, etc. 
    3. Students who receive permission to enroll in a Non-District Course shall be required to take the State tests which may be associated with this course.
    4. Once the school has given permission for a Non-District Course to be taken, the parent and student shall assume full responsibility for the following: 
      1. Supervising their child if not at school;
      2. Making arrangements or providing to the school the quarterly course information for eligibility, quarter grades, etc.;
      3. Completing the course in a timely manner and then providing official documentation to the school; and 
      4. Accepting the consequences for not complying with these guidelines and if a course is not completed.