Bill Text: VA SB209 | 2010 | Regular Session | Prefiled

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Bill Title: International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement courses; course credit.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2010-04-11 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0598) [SB209 Detail]

Download: Virginia-2010-SB209-Prefiled.html

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10102372D
SENATE BILL NO. 209 Offered January 13, 2010 Prefiled January 12, 2010 A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 23-9.2:3.8, relating to course credit for the International Baccalaureate Program. ---------- Patrons-- Barker and Puller ---------- Referred to Committee on Education and Health ----------

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 23-9.2:3.8 as follows:

§23-9.2:3.8. Course credit; International Baccalaureate diploma program.

A. The governing boards of each public institution of higher education shall implement policies to grant undergraduate course credit to entering freshman students who have successfully completed the International Baccalaureate diploma program. The policy shall:

1. Outline the conditions necessary for the institution to grant course credit, including the minimum required scores on examinations for courses constituting the International Baccalaureate diploma program; and

2. Identify the specific course credit or other academic requirements of the institution that the student satisfies by successfully completing the diploma program.

B. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, each institution of higher education shall grant at least 24 semester credit hours or the equivalent in appropriate subject areas to an entering freshman student for completion of the International Baccalaureate diploma program. The institution may grant fewer than 24 semester credit hours if the student received a score of less than 4 on an examination administered as part of the diploma program, but only with respect to the courses that are substantially related to the subject of that examination.

C. The governing boards of each institution of higher education shall report to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia the policy adopted and implemented pursuant to this section, and shall make the policy available to the public on the institution's website.

For the purposes of this section, "International Baccalaureate diploma program" means the curriculum and examinations leading to an International Baccalaureate diploma awarded by the International Baccalaureate Organization.