MJUSD

DIVISION 6000

INSTRUCTION

ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION

CREDITS TOWARD GRADUATION

AR 6146.1(a)

Credit for all courses successfully completed shall be counted only once for each such course in computing semester periods required for graduation. However, in the case where course descriptions and courses of study specifically allow repeated or multiple credit for the same course, a student may earn repeated credit in this area. Generally, courses must be taken in sequence. Any deviation from this position must be approved by the principal. Students who wish to graduate from the Muroc Joint Unified School District must be enrolled during their final semester to be eligible for graduation. When this occurs, the principal will evaluate student transcripts and allow credit based on comparability of courses offered in the MJUSD in reference to course content and number of hours of instruction.

Standardized Weighting of Credits

The purpose of this Administrative Regulation is to standardize the procedure by which we accept transfer courses from other high schools and colleges. This will also standardize the weighting of all grades earned in Honors, Advanced Placement and college-level courses.

1. Students Transferring from Other Schools: Only course titles, grades, and credits listed on official transcripts received from the transferring school will be used in establishing course titles, grades and credit at the receiving school. No additions, deletions or corrections will be made without supporting documentation from the transferring school. Credit from transferring schools using the Carnegie Unit will be converted to MJUSD credit as follows:

1 Carnegie Unit = 10 MJUSD units

1. Grade Weighting for Transfer Honors and Advanced Placement Courses: Courses listed as Honors, Advanced Placement, Regents, GATE, etc., on transcripts from transferring schools will be given weighted credit as follows only when the transferring school transcript clearly shows that weighted credit was given for those courses.

A = 5.0 grade points

B = 4.0 grade points

C = 3.0 grade points

D = 1.0 grade points

F = 0.0 grade points

1. Grade Weighting for MJUSD Honors and Advanced Placement courses: Honors and Advanced Placement courses taken in grades 9-12 in MJUSD schools will be given weighted credit according to the chart in #2 above.

Credit for Private Instruction and Home Instruction not Affiliated with a Private School

Private instruction or home instruction under a certificated instructor shall result in credit towards graduation when the following conditions have been met:

1. Students currently enrolled in the MJUSD must obtain approval before enrollment to receive course credit for any course taken as private instruction.
2. Credit requested shall be confined to subject areas commonly taught in the high schools of this District.
3. The private certificated instructor certifies in writing to the District that the student has satisfactorily completed the equivalent of a semester's work in one or more subjects.
4. The student demonstrates his/her mastery of the subject matter claimed by successfully passing an examination administered by the department chairman of the subject being tested if requested by the principal. In the event the student fails to achieve a passing grade on the departmental examination, no credit will be given.
5. Under no circumstances shall a certificated employee tutor, for pay, one of his/her own classroom students.

Credit for College Courses

1. College courses taken prior to enrolling in MJUSD schools will be accepted only if they are listed on the transcript from the transferring school, and will be given weighted credit according to #2 under "Standardized Weighting of Credits" above.
2. College courses taken after leaving the transferring school, but before enrolling in a MJUSD school, must be approved by the receiving principal or designee and the course should meet the criteria listed in AR 6146.2.3

Credit for Attendance in Special Schools

Examples of courses under this regulation might be:

1. Private Schools
2. Job Corps Training
3. Industry-related Vocational Training
4. Flight Instruction, including Ground School and/or actual Flight Training
5. Summer Institutes on College Campuses, such as in the area of Speech or Student Government
6. Apprenticeship Programs
7. Foreign Study Programs

Credit for attendance in special schools other than regular high schools shall be granted as follows:

1. Students currently enrolled in the District must obtain approval before enrollment to receive course credit for any course taken under this section. This applies also to local nonpublic schools.
2. If credit is to be granted by the District, the school providing the instruction shall supply the high school principal with a statement describing:
3. course content;
4. number of hours of instruction; and
5. certification of satisfactory completion of the course of study.
6. Method to certify satisfactory completion of the course of study:
7. The principal may grant credit on a ratio that would correspond to time spent in regular school instruction, when, in his/her judgment, the course is of a quality to justify doing so, not to exceed ten (10) semester periods in a single subject per semester for a maximum of forty (40) semester periods.
8. The MJUSD would review the course offering of courses that need to be transferred.

*Schools offering such courses must be licensed, registered by the State, and/or accredited. The MJUSD would prepare a list of private schools in Kern County that are registered by the State.

Credits from Parochial Schools

Credit from theological, philosophical, or biblical courses from parochial schools may be considered for elective credit only.

Credits from Private Schools

Education Code 48222 states "courses shall be taught in English and shall offer instruction in the several branches of study required to be taught in the public schools of the state." Per Education Code 51220, these branches of study include English, social sciences, foreign languages, physical education, science (physical and biological), mathematics, fine arts, applied arts, vocational-technical education, and driver education.

The attendance of pupils shall be kept by private school authorities in a register, and the record of attendance shall indicate clearly any absences of the pupil from school for a half-day or more during each day that school is maintained. Education Code Section 33190 requests an annual filing by the owner or other head of a private school of an affidavit or statement of prescribed information with the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Affidavits can be verified by the District Office.

1. Teacher Qualifications
2. There is no requirement in the Education Code for a teacher in a private school to hold a State teaching credential. However, in the opinion of the Attorney General of the State (Opinion NS 5393), the standards to be used for teacher qualification "should be comparable to those required for public school teachers in similar positions, excepting only certificates."
3. The exception is the requirement for appropriate teacher certification in a private nonsectarian school enrolling exceptional children for whom payment is made by the public school district as required by Education Code Section 56030 et. seq.

1. Accreditation (Optional)

The State of California does not accredit public or nonpublic schools. Some have elected to be accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

1. Credit from private schools shall be granted as follows:
2. Students currently enrolled in the District must obtain approval before enrollment to receive course credit for any course taken under this section.
3. If credit is to be granted by the District, the school providing the instruction shall supply the high school principal with the following:

• (1) course content;
• (2) number of hours of instruction;
• (3) transcripts; and
• (4) record of attendance.

1. The principal may grant credit on a ratio that would correspond to time spent in regular school instruction, when, in his/her judgment, the course is of a quality to justify doing so, not to exceed five (5) credits in a single subject per semester for a maximum of forty (40) credits.
2. If there is a question about the course content, the principal may test the student in a particular discipline and issue credit based on the results of the test.

Credit for Exploratory, General and Vocational Work Experience Programs

1. For satisfactory completion of work experience education, a student may be granted credit in an amount no to exceed a total of forty (40) semester periods made up of one (1) or a combination of two (2) or more of the following programs.
2. Exploratory Work Experience: ten (10) semester periods for each semester for a maximum of twenty (20) semester periods.
3. General Work Experience: ten (10) semester periods for each semester with a maximum of forty (40) semester periods.
4. Vocational Work Experience: ten (10) semester periods for each semester with a maximum of forty (40) semester periods.
5. Students enrolled in the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) in school shall be credited with vocational work experience. (See above)
6. Credit for all types of work experience shall be based upon time equivalent to one regular instructional period five (5) days per week, for a full school semester.
7. Credit shall not be granted for partial periods worked during the student's lunch hour.
8. Guidelines for granting credit when a student is terminated for work experience through no fault of his/her own are as follows:
9. No more than five (5) semester periods may be granted for work experience in any one (1) quarter.
10. No credit is to be figured for a student who was on the job less than four (4) weeks.
11. In general, the following ratio shall apply: twenty (20) hours of work are equal to one (1) semester of credit.
12. A copy of the termination slip with the grade and semester periods of credit indicated are to be given by the work experience coordinators to the student's counselor and a copy to the record clerk in the respective school. The record clerk will treat this termination slip as a regular grade.
13. Jobs obtained by students for the winter holidays will not be considered as jobs for the work experience program.

General Conditions

1. All credits earned by students shall be counted for placement on the school honor roll. California Scholarship Federation (CSF) will continue to define those subjects that may be counted toward CSF membership.
2. There shall be no District imposed maximum placed on the semester periods of credit that may be earned through any combination of regular day school, private instruction, community college, or adult courses. (Individual legal limitations still apply.)
3. College course credits shall be credited at the rate of three and one-third (3-1/3) semester periods for each credit hour earned in college.
4. A maximum of twenty (20) units of credit may be allowed toward meeting graduation requirements in combination of student aide, office aide, office assistant, and laboratory assistant. These units may be taken in the junior and senior year. No more than ten (10) units are to be taken from any one type of class and no more than five (5) units may be taken in any one semester.