RS 17:183.3 Career major; description; curriculum and graduation requirements - Louisiana Statutes

§183.3.  Career major; description; curriculum and graduation requirements

A.(1)(a)  A career major shall provide a student with greater technical skill and a strong academic core and shall be offered to each high school student enrolled in a city, parish, or other local public school system that offers a career major program.  Such a major shall be linked to postsecondary options and shall prepare students to pursue either a degree or certification from a postsecondary institution, an industry-based training or certification, an apprenticeship, the military, or immediate entrance into a career field.  Such a major shall be primarily designed for those students who are not initially college bound and shall provide them with alternatives to immediate entrance into a four-year university or college after high school graduation.

(b)  Students pursuing a career major shall be afforded the opportunity to dually enroll in an institution under the management and supervision of the Board of Supervisors of Community and Technical Colleges or participate in a business internship or work-study program when such opportunities are available and appropriate.

(2)(a)  Each city, parish, and other local public school system shall develop and offer one or more career major programs, subject to approval by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.  However, any such school system may be granted a waiver from this requirement by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for good cause.

(b)  Schools shall review majors offered each year and expand offerings as appropriate, including courses offered through articulation, dual enrollment, correspondence, and technological methods such as distance learning through the Internet and compressed video.

B.(1)  Students in a career major program shall complete an academic core of courses and a career and technical sequence of courses.

(2)  The course requirements for the career major shall consist of the following:

(a)  At least four English credits, including English I, English II, and two additional courses comparable or identical to English courses offered by the Louisiana Technical College, as approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

(b)  At least four mathematics credits, including Algebra I, Algebra I Part One and Algebra I Part Two, or an applied or hybrid Algebra course, and additional applied or hybrid mathematics courses comparable or identical to courses offered by the Louisiana Technical College as needed to fulfill the mathematics course requirements as approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

(c)  At least three science credits, including one unit of Biology and two additional courses selected from a list of science courses related to the student's chosen career major as approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

(d)  At least three social studies credits, including one unit of American History and one additional course selected from a list of social studies courses approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.  Each student shall successfully complete a course in Free Enterprise, as provided in R.S. 17:274, and Civics, as provided in R.S. 17:274.1.

(e)  At least two credits in Health and Physical Education.

(f)  At least seven credits in career and technical education courses with end-of-course testing as appropriate and approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, including at least one-half credit in a career readiness course and one credit in a computer applications course. Courses shall be selected to prepare a student for postsecondary education or a career.

(g)  Additional electives or career and technical education courses required by the city, parish, or other local public school board as approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

C.  Each city, parish, and other local public school board seeking to establish a career major shall submit a proposed curriculum to the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for approval. Such curriculum shall comply with the provisions of Subsection B of this Section and the provisions of R.S. 17:261 through 280.

D.(1)  A student who seeks to pursue a career major curriculum must meet one of the following conditions:

(a)  The student has fulfilled all of the requirements established by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the city, parish, or other local public school board where the student is enrolled for promotion to the ninth grade.

(b)(i)  The student is at least fifteen years of age, or will attain the age of fifteen during the next school year, scored at least at the approaching basic level on either the English/Language Arts or Mathematics component of the eighth grade Louisiana Educational Assessment Program test, and meets the objective criteria established by the pupil progression plan of the city, parish, or other local public school system where the student is enrolled to enter the ninth grade for the purpose of pursuing a career major curriculum.

(ii)  Prior to entering the ninth grade, such student must complete a summer remediation program in the subject area of any component of the eighth grade Louisiana Educational Assessment Program test on which the student scored at the unsatisfactory level, as established by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.  Any such student who fails to satisfactorily complete a summer remediation program shall be required to complete any approved developmental course or courses, for credit, as may be deemed necessary to ensure that the student is prepared to undertake the coursework required for his chosen career major.

(iii)  The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shall certify that the pupil progression plan established by each city, parish, or other local public school system that promotes a student to the ninth grade pursuant to this Subparagraph contains the following requirements:

(aa)  Such student, at a minimum, must have achieved a cumulative grade point average of at least 1.5 on a 4.0 scale for coursework required for completion of the eighth grade.

(bb)  Such student must have demonstrated acceptable attendance and behavior standards as determined by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

(cc)   Such student must participate in a dropout prevention and mentoring program, developed in consultation with school guidance personnel, during his first year in high school, as approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

(2) Every student who seeks to pursue a career major must have the written permission of his parent or other legal guardian, after consultation with the school guidance counselor or other school administrator and a determination that participation in a career major curriculum and pursuit of a career diploma issued by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is appropriate and in the best interest of the student.

Acts 1997, No. 1124, §1; Acts 2001, No. 191, §§1 and 2, eff. May 31, 2001; Acts 2009, No. 246, §1, eff. July 1, 2009; Acts 2009, No. 298, §1, eff. July 1, 2009.