SIRS - p-12 - New York State Education Department

Chapter 5: Reporting Rules
Students may be reported as qualifying for a REDUCED-PRICE lunch if they have a
completed National School Lunch Program (NSLP) application and have a reported family
income of 131 to 185 percent, inclusive, of the federal poverty level.
Direct Certification letters are good through the end of September; new letters are
required each October 1st to be acceptable for the current school year. Note that direct
certification applies only to free lunch.
Grade 9 Students Whose Grade Is Changed to Grade 8 or Lower
If a student is initially reported as in Grade 9 but the grade is subsequently changed to
Grade 8 or lower, all of the enrollment records for the student that indicated that the student
was in Grade 9 must be revised to indicate the new grade identification. In addition, the Date of
Entry into Grade 9 must be eliminated for the student.
High-School-Age LEP Students with Low Literacy Level on First Arrival in
the United States
When a school first enrolls a high-school-age student who is non-English speaking,
who is newly arrived in the United States, and whose level of literacy in his or her native
language is low, school administrators may have difficulty determining the student’s correct
grade placement. Schools are allowed at least one year to determine the appropriate grade
level of LEP students meeting these criteria. Upon enrollment, the school should assign the
student to a grade level based on the administrator’s best judgment. This temporary grade
level should be reported in the first year of enrollment if the student has not yet been enrolled a
full academic year. Before the end of the second year of enrollment, the school must evaluate
the student and determine the appropriate grade level based on the student’s scheduled
course work for the next semester.
The school should determine the year of first entering grade 9 from the grade level
assigned to the student before the end of the second year of enrollment. For example, if a
student’s instructional grade level before the end of the second year of enrollment is
determined to be grade 10, the student will be considered to have first entered grade 9 in the
previous school year. If a student’s instructional grade level before the end of the second year
of enrollment is determined to be grade 9, the student will be judged to have first entered
grade 9 in the current school year. The initial, temporary grade level should not be used to
determine the year of first entering grade 9. The year of first entering grade 9 may be changed
if the grade placement reported the previous year was determined to be incorrect. If, in the
second year, a student is assigned to a grade below 9 and is enrolled in a school serving
students below grade 9, the students will be recorded as first entering grade 9 when they are
next enrolled in grade 9. Schools may change a student’s reported year of first entering grade
9 only once.
Nonpublic School Students
Nonpublic schools with enrolled students taking the Grades 3–8 ELA and Mathematics
Tests, the Grades 4 and 8 Science Tests, the New York State Alternate Assessments, and the
Regents examinations required for graduation (Comprehensive English, Integrated Algebra,
U.S. History and Government, Global History and Geography, Living Environment, and
67 Student Information Repository System Manual for 2010–11 Version 6.2