Butte School District

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

2413

Credit Transfer/Assessment for Placement

Grades 9-12

Requests for transfer of credit and/or grade placement from any non-accredited, non-public school shall be subject to examination and approval before being accepted by the District. This shall be done by the school counselor and/or principal or, in the case of home schools, by a credit evaluation committee consisting of a counselor, a staff member from each subject area in which credit is being requested, and the school principal. The credit evaluation committee will:

1.  .......document that the student has spent approximately the same number of classroom hours in the home school as would have been spent in a regular class in the District;
2. document that the student followed a curriculum which is essentially similar to that in the course for which they are requesting credit;
3. document that in the event of a credit request in a lab, industrial arts, or music course, the equipment and facilities were sufficient to meet the required learning activities of the course;
4. require that the student has satisfactorily passed, in all courses in which a final exam is normally given, a final exam which was prepared and administered by a staff member in the District.

The District will give credit only for home schools which have met all requirements as specified in Montana law. Credit from home schools will only be accepted when a like course is offered in the District.

The school transcript will record courses taken in home schools or non-accredited schools by indicating the title of the course, the school where the course was taken, and the grade.

For purposes of calculation of class rank, only those courses taken in an accredited school will be used.

Grades 1-8

Requests from parents of students in non-accredited, non-public schools for placement in the District school system will be evaluated by an assessment for placement team. That team will consist of:

1. the school principal;
2. one (1) teacher of the grade in which the student is being considered for enrollment;
3. one (1) counselor (grades 6-8 only) (OPTIONAL).

The assessment for placement team will cause the District adopted norm referenced test and/or the end of the year subject matter test to be administered and scored. The assessment for placement team will take into account the following in its recommendation for grade placement:

1. documentation that the non-accredited, non-public school has provided a comparable number of hours as the child would have attended in a public or private school;
2. that the child followed a similar curriculum as would have been provided in an accredited public or private school;
3. that the result of the end of the year test indicates the student has mastered most prerequisite skills;
4. that the child achieved an NCE score of 40 or above on the Standard Achievement Test.

Parents of students in elementary or high school home schools are encouraged to maintain a log which documents dates of instruction, content of instruction, amount of time spent on that instruction, scores on tests, and the grades in all activities.

The District is not obligated to provide instructional materials for other public or private schools.

If a parent or guardian of a child is not in agreement with the placement of the child, he/she may request a hearing before the Board.

Legal Reference:    
§ 20-5-110, MCA    School district assessment for placement of a child who enrolls from a non-accredited, non-public school

Policy History:
Adopted on: 10/18/04
Revised on: