The Board of Education for the North Kansas City School District establishes the following
graduation policy and instructs the administration to develop all necessary procedures for proper
implementation. In so doing, the Board of Education expects high school students to take full
advantage of the educational opportunities afforded during eight semesters of full course enrollment.
Requirements
A student must meet the following requirements in order to graduate from the North Kansas City
School District, unless the stated exceptions apply. The student must:
1. Complete one of four diploma options outlined in this policy.
2. Pass proficiency exams concerning American History, American Institutions, and the
Missouri and U.S. Constitutions.
3. Successfully complete a course of instruction of at least one semester in length on the
institutions, branches and functions of the government of the state of Missouri, including
local governments, the U.S. government and the electoral process.
4. Have earned 24 units of credit in the North Kansas City School District's educational.
Exceptions
1. Graduation requirements for a student with a disability receiving special education services
pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) may be determined
according to the student's individualized education program (IEP).
2. Students transferring from another accredited Missouri school as a junior or senior who
cannot reasonably complete the district's requirements may be permitted to graduate based
on the successful completion of a program of studies that would have met the graduation
requirements at the school formerly attended, including the requirements of (2) and (3)
above.
3. The district will waive the requirement to pass proficiency exams concerning American
History, American Institutions, and the Missouri and U.S. Constitutions for students who
transfer from another state if they can document the successful completion of a course of
instruction in the institutions, branches and functions of state government, including local
governments, the U.S. government and the electoral process. Such instruction must have
been completed in grades nine through twelve.
4. Students who transfer from another state or country or an unaccredited private, public or
home school and who are placed in the ninth grade will be required to meet all established
graduation requirements. If such a student is placed in the tenth grade or higher, the district
will work with the student and the parents/guardians to develop a program of studies that will
result in graduation if successfully completed.
5. Graduation requirements for foster care students will be modified or waived in accordance
with law and Board policy.
6. Eligible students who successfully complete the Missouri Option Program (formerly the
GED Option Program) will be awarded a high school diploma.
7. Eligible students who successfully complete the district's performance-based graduation
standards will be awarded a high school diploma.
8. Eligible students who successfully complete the requirements outlined in policy IKFA, Early
Graduation.
Earning Credit
1. The superintendent or designee is directed to assign credit values for courses offered by or
through the school district and to develop formulas and procedures for awarding credit to
transfer students who transfer from a district that uses a different standard for awarding
credit.
2. The North Kansas City School District recognizes units of credit obtained through accredited
schools and school districts, including credits earned through correspondence courses or
courses delivered primarily through electronic media, such as satellite video, cable video or
computer-driven or online courses. For the purposes of this policy, an "accredited school"
is the Missouri Virtual Instruction Program (MoVIP); a private agency where students with
disabilities are placed by a public school; or any school or school district accredited by the
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), the North Central
Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), the Independent Schools Association of the
Central States (ISACS) or the University of Missouri Committee on Accredited Schools
Non-Public (CAS). If a school or school district is located in another state or country, that
school or school district must be accredited by that state's or country's department of
education, NCA, ISACS or the equivalent agencies.
3. Students may earn advanced-standing credit by successfully completing high-school level
courses prior to entering the ninth grade.
Middle school students taking high school-level courses may earn credit toward the 26 units
of credit required to earn a North Kansas City School District Gold Medallion Honors
Diploma or International Baccalaureate High School Diploma. Advanced-standing credit
may be counted toward meeting all graduation requirements, including state minimum
requirements.
4. The district may waive one unit of academic credit in communication arts, math, science or
social studies, whichever is most appropriate, for students who successfully complete an
eligible three-unit career/technical program. Students must request this credit waiver prior
to enrolling in the career/technical program for which the waiver is sought.
5. Students may earn credit for a subject that has been embedded into another subject-area
course in accordance with guidelines established by DESE.
6. The district will award credit to students who can demonstrate mastery of competencies for
a particular course by successfully completing a district-approved mastery assessment tool.
7. Students may earn credit by other means as approved by the Board and in accordance with
law.
Metropolitan Community College Academy
This program allows students to earn both a high school diploma and an associate of arts degree at
Maple Woods Community College upon completion of 26 units of credit and 62 hours of college
credit. This early college program would allow students to focus their participation in dual credit,
advanced placement and international baccalaureate courses, along with an opportunity to take on-campus or online classes through Maple Woods and eCampus. Students will meet the requirements
for taking college-level courses while in high school. Participation in any of the diploma options
would be possible for students to obtain this dual diploma.
Diplomas
Students will be awarded a diploma in accordance with this policy and as permitted by law.
A student in the household of an active duty member of the military, including some veterans who
are deceased or injured as defined by law, who transfers to the North Kansas City School District
from another state at the beginning of or during his or her senior year who will not meet the
graduation requirements of the district by the end of the senior year will receive a diploma from the
sending school district if the student is able to meet the graduation requirements of the sending
district. Representatives from the North Kansas City School District and the sending district will
work with the student to facilitate this alternative. If the sending district refuses to cooperate, the
North Kansas City School District will use best efforts to allow the student to graduate by the end
of the senior year.
Foster care students will be awarded a diploma in accordance with law and Board policy.
Students who complete the district's graduation requirements while under the jurisdiction of the
juvenile court will be awarded a high school diploma even if the student completes the requirements
in a different school district.
The North Kansas City School District offers the following four types of diploma options:
► High School Diploma– awarded to a student from North Kansas City School District upon
the completion of 24 units of credit including the credits required by the State Board of
Education as outlined in the Graduation Requirements for Students in Missouri’s Public
Schools plus one additional unit of social studies and one additional unit of science.
► College Readiness Diploma – awarded to a student from the North Kansas City School
District upon completion of 24 units of credit including the credits required for the successful
completion for college readiness by meeting state graduation requirements along with one
additional unit of social studies, one additional unit of science and additional requirements
for units in modern language contingent on requirements of the prospective college or
university. Additional requirements are outlined in the Program of Studies Guide. These
include a 3.0 grade point average, a minimum state or standardized test score requirement
and required attendance rate.
► Gold Medallion Honors High School Diploma – awarded to a student from North Kansas
City School District high schools upon the completion of 26 units of credit which include the
minimum high school graduation requirements as outlined in the Graduation Requirements
for Students in Missouri’s Public Schools, plus requirements as outlined in Diploma Options,
a supplement to the Career and Educational Planning Guide. These include a 3.2 grade
point average, state or standardized test score requirement, a portfolio, research courses,
senior exhibition and internship.
► International Baccalaureate High School Diploma (Effective for the class of 2004) –
awarded to a student from North Kansas City School District high schools upon the
completion of 26 units of credit which include the minimum high school graduation
requirements, plus requirements outlined by the International Baccalaureate Organization in
Geneva, Switzerland. Both are outlined in Diploma Options, a supplement to the Career and
Educational Planning Guide, and in separate planning guides for each diploma of distinction.
* * * * * * *
Note: The reader is encouraged to check the index located at the beginning of this section
for other pertinent policies and to review administrative procedures and/or forms for
related information.
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Adopted: 02/11/2003
Revised: 02/10/2004; 07/19/2005; 03/13/2007; 04/15/2008; 06/16/2009; 06/08/2010;
02/13/2012; 02/12/2013
Cross Refs: JECC, Assignment of Students to Grade Levels/Classes
MSIP Refs: 6.3
Legal Refs: §§ 160.1990, .2000, 161.670, 167.019, 170.011, 171.171, RSMo.
5 C.S.R. 20-100.230
5 C.S.R. 20-500.330
North Kansas City School District, Kansas City, Missouri
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