1

Code: JEA/IGA

160-4-8-.09 STUDENT ADVISEMENT.

(1) DEFINITIONS.

(a) Apprenticeship – a structured program that connects school- based

occupational instruction and related paid work-site experiences in order to prepare

students for the world of work. Students are able to receive a high school diploma, a

postsecondary certificate, or degree or industry certification.

(b) Articulation –an agreement between a high school and a postsecondary

institution regarding the awarding of both secondary and postsecondary credit for a

dual enrollment course.

(c) Cooperative education - structured student learning in a paid work position

while concurrently enrolled in a related Career, Technical and Agriculture Education

class, which connects career interests to academic and occupational learning in

cooperation with business and industry.

(d) Dual enrollment - a program through which high school students take courses

from an eligible state public or private postsecondary institution while still enrolled as

a high school student and receive credit both at the high school and at the

postsecondary institution.

(f) Individualized education program (IEP) - a written statement for each child

with a disability that states the present level of academic achievement and functional

performance. The IEP is developed, reviewed, and revised in accordance with the

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as amended.

(g) Individual graduation plan – a student specific plan developed detailing the

courses necessary for a high school student to graduate from high school and to

successfully transition to postsecondary education and the work force.

(h) Internship – a structured placement, either short term or long term, which

enables a student to connect career interests to academic and occupational learning in

cooperation with business and industry in a paid or non paid position.

(i) Joint enrollment- an arrangement whereby a high school student is enrolled in a

postsecondary institution while continuing to pursue his or her high school diploma.

Joint enrollment coursework earns postsecondary credit only.

(j) Local education agency- a local school system pursuant to local board of

education control and management.

2

(k) Mentoring- support and guidance provided to students through relationships

with adults who advise and act as role models for students.

(l) Service learning- a teaching method in which guided or classroom learning is

deepened through service to others in a process that provides structured time for

reflection on the service experience and demonstration of the skills and knowledge

acquired.

(m) Teacher as advisor- a teacher or professional educator in the school who

assists a small group of students and their parents or guardians to set postsecondary

goals and help them prepare programs of study, track academic progress and provide

advisement and support as needed.

(2) REQUIREMENTS.

(a) Each local education agency (LEA) shall provide students in the sixth, seventh,

and eighth grades counseling, advisement, career exploration, career interest

inventories, and information to assist them evaluating academic skills and career

interests.

(b) Each LEA shall ensure that each student develops an individual graduation plan

before the end of the second semester of the eighth grade. The individual graduation

plan shall be developed in consultation with the student’s parents, guardians, or

individuals appointed by the student’s parents or guardians to serve as their designee.

(c) Each LEA shall provide guidance, advisement, and counseling to each high

school student that will enable the student to successfully complete his or her

individual graduation plan and prepare him or her for a seamless transition to

postsecondary study, further training, or employment.

(d) Each student’s individual graduation plan shall:

1. Include rigorous academic core subjects and focused course work in mathematics

and science or in humanities, fine arts, and foreign language or sequenced career

pathway coursework;

2. Incorporate provisions of a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP),

where applicable;

3. Align educational and broad career goals and the student’s course of study;

4. Be based on the student’s selected academic and career focus area as approved by

the student’s parent or guardian;

3

5. Include experience-based career oriented learning experiences, which may

include but not be limited to, internships, apprenticeships, mentoring, cooperative

education, and service learning;

6. Include opportunities for postsecondary studies through articulation, dual

enrollment, and joint enrollment;

7. Allow flexibility to change the course of study but remain sufficiently structured

to meet graduation requirements and qualify the student for admission to

postsecondary education;

8. Be approved by the student and the student’s parent or guardian with guidance

from the student’s school counselor or teacher advisor; and

9. Be reviewed and revised, if appropriate, upon approval by the student and the

student’s parent or guardian with guidance from the student’s school counselor or

teacher advisor.

(e) An individual graduation plan may be changed at any time throughout a

student’s high school career upon approval by the student and the student’s parent or

guardian with guidance from the student’s school or teacher advisor.

Authority: O.C.G.A. §20-2-131; 20-2-151(b); 20-2-281(b);20-2-326; 20-2-327

Adopted: July 21, 2011 Effective: August 11, 2011