Pursuant to Section (s.) 1003.25, Florida Statutes (F.S.), the procedure for transferring the records for students who transfer from school to school within the school district shall occur within five school days.
If a student transfers into a Florida public high school from out of country, out of state, PEP (Personalized Education Scholarship Program), a private school or a home school, the student’s transcript is reviewed to determine if the student is required to take a Florida end-of-course (EOC) assessment in accordance with Rule 6A-1.09941, F.A.C., State Uniform Transfer of Students in Middle Grades and High School. Please note, students who transfer from Home Education are only required to take EOC/FAST as they relate to graduation (Grade 10 ELA FAST and EOC Algebra 1). Concordant scores already earned can be used to fulfill graduation requirements.
St. Johns County School District currently uses HOPE (course code 3026010) to fulfill the State of Florida physical education (PE) requirement. It should be noted that transfer students can fulfill this requirement if they have taken both Health and Personal Fitness in a previous school.
Pursuant to Section (s.) 1003.25, Florida Statutes (F.S.), the procedure for transferring the records for students who transfer from school to school within the school district shall occur within five school days.
State Policy on Transfer of Students in the Middle Grades as stated in School Board Rule SBR 6A-1.09942
The purpose of this rule is to establish uniform procedures relating to the acceptance of transfer work and courses for students entering Florida’s public schools composed of middle grades 6, 7, and 8 from out of state or out of country. The procedures shall be as follows:
- Grades earned and offered for acceptance shall be based on official transcripts and shall be accepted at face value subject to validation if required by the receiving school’s accreditation. If validation of the official transcript is deemed necessary, or if the student does not possess an official transcript or is a home education student, successful completion of courses shall be validated through performance during the first grading period as outlined in subsection (2) of this rule
- Validation of courses shall be based on performance in classes at the receiving school. A student transferring into a school shall be placed at the appropriate sequential course level and should be passing each required course at the end of the first grading period. Students who do not meet this requirement shall have courses validated using the Alternative Validation Procedure, as outlined in subsection (3) of this rule.
- Alternative Validation Procedure. If validation based on performance as described above is not satisfactory, then any one of the following alternatives identified in the district student progression plan shall be used for validation purposes as determined by the teacher, principal, and parent/legal guardian:
- Portfolio evaluation by the superintendent or designee;
- Demonstrated performance in courses taken at other public or private accredited schools;
- Demonstrated proficiencies on nationally-normed standardized subject area assessments;
- Demonstrated proficiencies on the FSA; or
- Written review of the criteria utilized for a given subject provided by the former school.
Students must be provided at least ninety (90) days from date of transfer to prepare for assessments outlined in paragraphs (3)(c) and (d) of this rule if required. Specific Authority 1003.4156(3), 1003.25(3) FS. Law Implemented 1003.25(3) FS. History–New 10-20-08.
Course Weightings for Transfer Students – State Board Rule 6A-1.09941
Credits and grades earned and offered for acceptance shall be based on official transcripts and shall be accepted at face value subject to validation if required by the receiving school’s accreditation. Students transferring credits into St. Johns County School District will be subject to the current course credit weighting approved by the St. Johns County School Board and in alignment with Florida DOE course code directory. If a letter grade is assigned, the following values will be entered as a transfer numerical grade (A=95, B=85, C=75, D=65, F=59), even if the grading scale from which the student transferred is not equivalent to St. Johns County School District’s grading scale. If only a numerical grade is provided and no grading scale is provided, SJCSD scale is applied to the student record.
An official transcript sent by mail or electronically signed by a school administrator, must be on school letterhead, and/or embossed with the school seal. An official transcript must clearly identify the school, the student, course number, date(s) course taken, credit earned and grade in each course. Students who transfer with credits from a private school in which the course title does not correspond with a course title found in the Florida Course Code Directory. Home Education transcripts are provided by the parent/guardian and must be taken at face value.
Previous singleton religion-related courses will be transcribed as social studies transfer credit (2100990). Courses covering multiple religions should be transcribed as World Religions (2105310).
An unofficial transcript is one that is hand-delivered by a student or parent/legal guardian, and/or is delivered to a school administrator in an open envelope or is on plain paper. Exception is any Home Education student as specified above.
Foreign Transcripts
It is preferred that families provide official transcripts from foreign countries in English. If transcripts cannot be provided in English, there may be a delay in processing records.
The following steps will be taken with foreign transcripts:
- The school Guidance Department will contact families and prior schools to resolve any questions regarding records and grade placement
- Questions regarding comparable course content should be directed to the Director of Secondary Instructional Services.
- Questions regarding word-for-word language translations should be directed to the Program Specialist for ESOL who will collaborate with District Guidance.
Students who have graduated or completed the equivalent requirements for graduation in a foreign country may not be enrolled in a SJCSD school or receive a Florida high school diploma.
Awarding Semester Grades/Credits
When a student enrolls after the midpoint of a semester, the school may offer a reduced schedule for the remainder of the semester, if comparable courses to the student’s previous schedule are not available.
Students who enter late in the semester may not be eligible to earn course credit.
Promotion of Late-in-the-Year Transfer Students
The promotion of students transferring into St. Johns County during the last grading period shall be determined primarily by the grades and records received from the sending school.
Awarding of New Credit from Outside St Johns County Schools
Students should seek counseling from guidance department personnel prior to pursuing new credit outside of their zoned school. Curriculum is reviewed to ensure course alignment prior to course approval. New credit shall be awarded by a St. Johns County high school for pre-approved high school courses taken in an accredited public, private or virtual school by students provided EOC assessment requirements have been met. For a list of accreditation agencies see http://www.advanc-ed.org/oasis2/u/par/search.
Validation of Transfer Credit through Scholastic Performance – State Board Rule 6A-1.09941, F.A.C.
The procedures relating to the acceptance of transfer work and credits for students in high school from out of state or out of country shall be as follows:
- The student shall be placed at the appropriate, sequential course level. Performance at a minimum of 2.0 after the first half of a grading period in the course will validate the student’s prior performance in that subject area.
- Students who do not meet this requirement shall have credits validated using the Alternative Validation Procedure.
Alternate Validation Procedure
If validation based on performance as described above is not satisfactory, then any of the following alternatives shall be used for validation purposes as determined by the teacher, principal, and parent:
- Portfolio evaluation by the superintendent or designee,
- Written recommendation by a Florida certified teacher selected by the parent/legal guardian and approved by the principal,
- Satisfactory performance in courses taken through dual enrollment or at other public or private accredited schools,
Demonstrated Proficiency Validation
- Satisfactory performance on nationally normed standardized subject area assessments,
- Satisfactory performance on a statewide, standardized assessment, or
- written review of the criteria utilized for a given subject provided by the former school
Students must be provided at least ninety (90) days from the date of transfer to prepare for assessments.
This process does not eliminate the Algebra 1 EOC assessment requirement. (See Assessment for new/transfer students.)
Appeal Process - Awarding of New Credit
If the school review panel determines that credit cannot be awarded, the student may appeal the decision. The Appeal Panel shall be made up of the following educators:
- Director for Secondary Instructional Services,
- member of the school review committee,
- content area curriculum specialist(s) for the subject(s) in question.
The Appeal Panel shall review the student portfolio, end-of-course assessment results, committee notes and recommendations and decide about the awarding of credit. The Appeal Panel shall provide a copy of its findings to the student, and a copy shall be maintained in the student’s cumulative record.
Exclusions from Earning Credit
No student may be granted credit toward high school graduation for enrollment in the following programs or courses:
- more than a total of nine (9) elective credits in remedial programs,
- more than one credit in exploratory career education courses,
- more than 3 credits in practical arts family and consumer sciences courses, or
- any Level I course, unless the student’s assessment indicates a more rigorous course would be inappropriate, in which case a written assessment of the need must be included in the student’s IEP or in a student performance plan signed by the principal, school counselor, and the parent/legal guardian or the student if the student is 18 years of age or older.
Dual Enrollment Semester-Long Courses Approved for One Full High School Credit 1003.436(1)(b) F.S.
Certain semester-long dual enrollment courses earn one full high school credit (ENC1101, and ENC1102 for example). A list of dual enrollment courses offered in St. Johns County high schools can be found in the St. Johns County High School Course Catalog at https://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/cs/catalogs/. Additional information is available at https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/5421/urlt/AcademicList.pdf.
Assessment of New/Transfer Students State Rule 6A-1.09941(F.A.C.), 1003.4282 F.S.
Students transferring into the district once the school year has begun shall be assessed immediately in reading and math to determine reading proficiency and to ensure proper course and remedial instruction placement.
If a student transfers into a Florida high school from out of country, out of state, a private school, PEP, or a home school, and the student’s transcript shows credit received in Algebra 1 or an equivalent course the credit shall be honored. However, the student must pass the statewide, standardized Algebra 1 EOC assessment in order to earn a standard high school diploma unless the student earned a comparative score, passed a statewide assessment in Algebra 1 administered by the transferring entity, or passed the statewide mathematics assessment the transferring entity uses to satisfy the requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act.
If a student’s transcript shows a credit in high school reading or English Language Arts II or III, in order to earn a standard high school diploma, the student must take and pass the Grade 10 FAST ELA assessment or earn a concordant score.
If a transfer student’s transcript shows a final course grade and course credit in Geometry, Biology I or U.S. History, the transferring course final grade and credit shall be honored without the student taking the requisite statewide, standardized EOC assessment and without the assessment results constituting 30 percent of the student’s final course grade. Transfer students must pass Florida’s EOC assessments for the scholar designation (see cohort requirements in Appendix)
There are two options for students who enter school mid-year with a .5 credit in Algebra 1, Biology, Geometry, U.S. History, or equivalent courses which have a state EOC assessment:
These options should be discussed with the parent/legal guardian/student when the student enters school. If a student in an EOC course withdrawals from the district and is going out of state and if it is at the semester, the student is awarded the 0.5 credit.
If a student in an EOC course withdraws from the district and goes out of state and then returns to SJCSD the same year:
- Student can keep the 0.5 credit and F is 30% of the second semester only, or
- Student can use the grades from the out of district school (trailed grades) and the EOC is 30% of the whole year.
- The school gives the parent a letter to sign documenting their choice. The student never loses the original 0.5 credit.
Awarding of Credit in English and World Language for Students Transferring from Out of the Country
Students transferring from out of the country may be granted credit for English if they took courses in their home language in their home country. They may also be granted credit for world language if they took courses in English in their home country.
Graduation Requirements for Transfer Students 1003.433(1) F.S., 1003.4282(8) F.S.
Grade 11 and grade 12 students who enter a district high school from out-of-state or from a foreign country shall not be required to spend additional time in a district high school in order to meet the high school course requirements of the school district, if the student has met all the requirements of the district, state, or country from which they transferred. Such students who are not proficient in English shall receive immediate and intensive instruction in English language acquisition. Transfer students, however, must earn a 2.0 cumulative GPA and pass the grade 10 FAST/alternative assessment in reading or achieve scores on the SAT or ACT concordant with FAST levels to receive a standard diploma. They must also meet the requirement to pass the state Algebra 1 End-of-Course assessment. If the transcript shows an Algebra I credit, then the student must pass the assessment unless:
- the student earned a comparative score, or
- passed an out-of-state Algebra 1 standardized assessment. (list:
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/statereform/tab2_3.asp
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/statereform/tab2_24.asp)
Grade Placement for Transferring Students
Transfer students shall be placed in a specific class or grade on a temporary basis pending receipt of all required elements. If records that arrive after initial placement indicate a student should have been placed in a different class, grade or program, the principal shall make the determination of appropriate placement based on all factors.
Military Dependent Transfer Students 1000.36 F.S.
The Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children specifies what local the education agency (LEA) must do to facilitate the on-time graduation of children of military families in Article VII:
- LEA officials shall waive specific courses required for graduation if similar coursework has been satisfactorily completed in another local education agency or shall provide reasonable justification for denial. If a waiver is not granted to a student who would qualify to graduate from the sending school, the local education agency must provide an alternative means of acquiring required graduation coursework so that graduation may occur on time.
- States shall accept exit or end-of-course exams required for graduation from the sending state, national norm-referenced tests, or alternative testing, in lieu of testing requirements for graduation in the receiving state. If these alternatives cannot be accommodated by the receiving state for a student transferring in his or her senior year, the provisions of Article VII Section C apply.
- If a military student transfers at the beginning of or during his or her senior year and is not eligible to graduate from the receiving LEA after all the alternatives have been considered, the sending and receiving LEAs must ensure the receipt of a diploma from the sending LEA, if the student meets the graduation requirements from the sending LEA. If one of the states in question is not a member of this compact, the member state shall use its best efforts to facilitate the on-time graduation of the student in Sections A and B of Article VII.
