Dropouts: Prevention/Intervention and Retrieval 5-24

School Board of the City of Virginia Beach
Policy 5-24

STUDENTS

Dropouts: Prevention/Intervention and Retrieval

1. Definitions
   1. Dropout

      A dropout is a student who leaves school before graduation for any reason other than death and fails to transfer to another school (i.e., public schools including alternative education programs as defined by Virginia Board of Education regulations, private schools, hospital education programs or approved home instruction programs) or institution (i.e., state schools for the deaf and blind, correctional institutions or mental health/mental retardation institutions). Students who are awarded certificates as described in Regulation 5-30.1 are considered to be graduates and are not counted as dropouts.

   2. Dropout Rate

      The dropout rate is the number of students in grades 7-12 (including those in self-contained special education classrooms who are 12 years of age or older by January 1 of the reporting year) who drop out divided by the total number of students in those grades and special education classrooms at some time during the school year.

2. Dropout Task Force

   A dropout task force shall be activated at each school for the purposes of developing, implementing and evaluating strategies designed to increase the number of students who earn a high school diploma or certificates as awarded by the school board. Principals will report findings of the task force to the Director of Student Leadership annually.

   1. Membership

      The task force shall be appointed by the principal.

   2. Meetings

      Meetings shall be convened by the principal, or designated coordinator, no later than five (5) school days following each grading period.

   3. Responsibilities
      1. To provide assistance to potential dropouts as early as possible.
      2. To assign responsibility for identifying and following up on at-risk students
      3. To assist in developing consistent and aggressive procedures for following up on nonattendance.
      4. To develop strategies for getting dropouts back in school.
      5. To prepare such studies and reports on dropouts as required by Virginia Board of Education regulations and Virginia Department of Education directives.
      6. To perform such other duties as may be assigned by the superintendent.

Legal Reference

Code of Virginia § 22.1-253.13:1, as amended. Standard 1. Institutional Programs supporting the Standards of Learning and other educational objectives.

Code of Virginia § 22.1-253.13:2, as amended. Standard 2. Institutional, administrative, and support personnel.

Code of Virginia § 22.1-253.13.4, as amended. Standard 4. Student achievement and graduation requirements.

Code of Virginia § 22.1-199.1, as amended. Programs designed to promote educational opportunities.

Code of Virginia § 22.1-199.4, as amended. At-Risk Student Academic Student Achievement Program and Fund.

Code of Virginia § 22.1-289.09, as amended. Programs designed to promote educational opportunities.

Related Links

Division Regulation 5-30.1

Adopted by School Board: June 15, 1993 (Effective August 14, 1993)
Amended by School Board: August 7, 2001
Amended by School Board: April 4, 2006
Amended by School Board: October 11, 2022