Adoption Date: 06/22/2021

History: 3/22/22 (reviewed), 2/14/23 (reviewed), 2/13/24 (reviewed)

The Iowa City Community School District is committed to offering rigorous and challenging learning for all students. Students participating in the state’s Senior Year Plus (SYP) program have the opportunity to enroll in college courses and receive credit at both institutions. To be eligible for SYP programs of Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO), concurrent enrollment, or career academy courses, a student must meet the academic requirements of both the school district and the postsecondary institution.

Student proficiency requirements of the school district

To be eligible to enroll in SYP college credit programs for PSEO, concurrent enrollment, or career academy courses, state law requires high school students to be proficient in reading, mathematics, and science. It should be noted that students seeking to enroll in a Career and Technical Education course via concurrent enrollment are exempt from this proficiency requirement. To demonstrate proficiency, students must meet one of the two following criteria:

• Score at or above the proficiency level on the most recent administration of the state assessment in each of the required subject areas (reading, math, and science)
• Meet one of the district’s equivalent alternative measures of proficiency (see below)

Alternative measures of student proficiency of the school district

Students who did not score at the proficiency level on the state assessment in one or more of the content areas of reading, mathematics, and science, or who have not taken the exams, may demonstrate proficiency of each content area in which they are not proficient through one of the alternative measures:

• Meet or exceed equivalent college placement exam score in the subject area(s) (e.g., Accuplacer)
• Meet or exceed equivalent college entrance exam score in the subject area(s) (e.g ACT)

For students with Individual Education Plans (IEP) who do not demonstrate proficiency in one or more areas of the state assessment, the IEP team may set an alternative, but equivalent measure of proficiency through the IEP. The alternative measure is not the same as Alternate Assessments associated with federal legislation.