2011-2012 Student Handbook - McKinney Independent School District

RN or clinic assistant will also conduct hearing, spinal and vision screenings. A spinal screening involvesa visual examination of the student’s back. See the campus nurse for information.PLEDGES OF ALLEGIANCE AND A MINUTE OF SILENCEEach school day, students will recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag and the Pledge ofAllegiance to the Texas flag. Parents may submit a written request to the principal to excuse their childfrom reciting a pledge.One minute of silence will follow recitation of the pledges. Each student may choose to reflect, pray,meditate, or engage in any other silent activity during that minute so long as the silent activity does notinterfere with or distract others. [See policy EC (LEGAL) for more information.]PRAYEREach student has a right to individually, voluntarily, and silently pray or meditate in school in a mannerthat does not disrupt instructional or other activities of the school. The school will not encourage, require,or coerce a student to engage in or to refrain from such prayer or meditation during any school activity.PROMOTION AND RETENTIONA student will be promoted only on the basis of academic achievement or demonstrated proficiency in thesubject matter of the course or grade level. To earn credit in a course, a student must receive a grade of atleast 70 based on course-level or grade-level standards.Refer to EIE (LOCAL) for Promotion standards for the respective grade levels.In addition, at certain grade levels a student—with limited exceptions—will be required to pass the TheState of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR), if the student is enrolled in a public Texasschool on any day between January 1 and the date of the first administration of the STAAR.• In order to be promoted to grade 6, students enrolled in grade 5 must perform satisfactorily on themathematics and reading sections of the grade 5 assessment in English or Spanish.• In order to be promoted to grade 9, students enrolled in grade 8 must perform satisfactorily on themathematics and reading sections of the grade 8 assessment in English.*Because the 2011-2012 school year is the first year of implementation of the STAAR, students will notbe required by state law to perform satisfactorily on the grade 5 or 8 STAARs for this one year only inorder to be promoted to the next grade level.If a student in grade 5 or 8 is enrolled in a course that earns high school credit and for which an end-ofcourse(EOC) assessment will be administered or in a course intended for students above the student’scurrent grade level in which the student will be administered a state mandated assessment, the student willnot be subject to the promotion requirements described above for the relevant grade 5 or 8 assessment.If a student is enrolled in a class or course intended for students above his or her current grade level inwhich the student will be administered a state mandated assessment, the student will only be required totake an applicable state mandated assessment for the course in which he or she is enrolled.Parents of a student in grades 3-8 who does not perform satisfactorily on his or her exams will be notifiedthat their child will participate in special instructional programs designed to improve performance. Thestudent may be required to participate in this instruction before or after normal school hours or outside ofthe normal school day.With the exception of the 2011-2012 school year, a student in grades 5 or 8 who does not performsatisfactorily on his or her exams will be notified that their child will participate in special instructionalprograms designed to improve performance. Such students will have two additional opportunities to take- 38 -