Retention and Grading Notice

GRADE LEVEL RETENTION & GRADING NOTICE TO PARENTS

On July 1, 2021, Governor Newsom signed into law a three-part bill that creates new policies related to students served during the pandemic-impacted 2020-2021 school year.

 

 

Assembly Bill (AB) 104 provides parents of “eligible pupils.”

 

MUSD will also allow high school students who were in juniors or seniors during the 2020-2021 school year and who were not on track to graduate in four years, to be exempt from district graduation requirements that exceed statewide requirements. (Ed. Code, § 51225, added by AB 104.) These students must still meet statewide coursework requirements to graduate and can be provided the opportunity to do so through completion of a fifth year of high school instruction, credit recovery, or some other manner.

 

 

 

Parents may submit a written request for their child to be retained in the same grade level for the 2021-2022 school year if the student was in grades 6-11 last year and received a D, F, or No Pass grade for at least one-half of the student’s coursework in the 2020-2021 school year.

 

The school staff will set up a meeting within 30 days to discuss all available learning recovery options, including access to retake prior courses where the student received deficient grades, and other available interventions and supports.

 

Notably, this new retention consultation and review process is supplemental to, but does not replace, the district’s existing policy on retention. MUSD staff will share the research on the negative effects of pupil retention, which may include the multiple studies and evidence collected by the CDE that retention “does not produce higher achievement.”

 

The district’s retention policy includes that within 10 days, the district will notify the parent/guardian of a final determination of the student’s retention or promotion to the next grade level.

 

 

 

MUSD may grant a request from a high school student to change a letter grade to a Pass or No Pass grade for any course taken during the 2020-2021 school year. AB104 provides that this can occur without input from the student’s teacher. (Ed. Code, § 49066.5, added by AB 104.)

 

A specific application for these requests will be available within 15 calendar days of the CDE’s online posting. MUSD will post a notice on our website and provide written notice of this option to students and their parents/guardians. Also included will be a copy of the application and a list of postsecondary educational institutions that will accept a Pass or No Pass grade (instead of a letter grade) without prejudice.

 

IMPORTANT: Students will only have 15 calendar days following the district’s posting and notice to make any grade change requests. The district will then have 15 calendar days after receiving a student’s request to change the transcript and notify the student and the parent/guardian of the change.

 

 

 

 

 

Whenever the Superintendent or designee and the parents/guardians agree that a student shall continue in kindergarten for an additional year, the Superintendent or designee shall secure an agreement, signed by the parent/guardian, stating that the student shall continue in kindergarten for not more than one additional school year. (Education Code 46300, 48011)

The Superintendent or designee shall not approve a student's continuation in kindergarten until the student has been enrolled in kindergarten for close to one school year.

 

If a student is identified as performing below the minimum standard for promotion to the next grade level based on the indicators specified in Board policy, the student shall be retained in his/her current grade level unless the student's regular classroom teacher determines, in writing, that retention is not the appropriate intervention for the student's academic deficiencies. This determination shall specify the reasons that retention is not appropriate for the student and shall include recommendations for interventions other than retention that, in the opinion of the teacher, are necessary to assist the student in attaining acceptable levels of academic achievement. (Education Code 48070.5)

If the teacher's recommendation to promote is contingent on the student's participation in a summer school or interim session remediation program, the student's academic performance shall be reassessed at the end of the remediation program, and the decision to retain or promote the student shall be reevaluated at that time. The teacher's evaluation shall be provided to and discussed with the student's parents/guardians and the principal before any final determination of retention or promotion. (Education Code 48070.5)

When a student is identified as being at risk of retention, the Superintendent or designee shall so notify the student's parent/guardian as early in the school year as practicable. The student's parent/guardian shall be provided an opportunity to consult with the teacher(s) responsible for the decision to promote or retain the student. (Education Code 48070.5)

The Superintendent or designee shall also provide a copy of the district's promotion/retention policy and administrative regulation to those parents/guardians who have been notified that their child is at risk of retention.

 

Whenever a student's parent/guardian appeals the teacher's decision to promote or retain a student, the burden shall be on the parent/guardian to show why the teacher's decision should be overruled. (Education Code 48070.5)

To appeal a teacher's decision, the parent/guardian shall submit a written request to the Superintendent or designee specifying the reasons that the teacher's decision should be overruled. The appeal must be initiated within 10 school days of the determination of retention or promotion.

The teacher shall be provided an opportunity to state orally and/or in writing the criteria on which his/her decision was based.

Within 30 days of receiving the request, the Superintendent or designee shall determine whether or not to overrule the teacher's decision. Prior to making this determination, the Superintendent or designee may meet with the parent/guardian and the teacher. If the Superintendent or designee determines that the parent/guardian has overwhelmingly proven that the teacher's decision should be overruled, he/she shall overrule the teacher's decision.

The Superintendent or designee's determination may be appealed by submitting a written appeal to the Board within 15 school days. Within 30 days of receipt of a written appeal, the Board shall meet in closed session to decide the appeal. The Board's decision may be made on the basis of documentation prepared as part of the appeal process or, at the discretion of the Board, the Board may also meet with the parent/guardian, the teacher, and the Superintendent or designee to decide the appeal. The decision of the Board shall be final.

If the final decision is unfavorable to the parent/guardian, he/she shall have the right to submit a written statement of objections which shall become part of the student's record.