Professional Report

participation. The high school must allow the parent and student to schedule an alternative time or mechanism for receipt of the required counseling.

16. Can school districts or high schools incentivize students to take AP classes instead of College Credit Plus by changing the grading scale for AP classes, such as making the “A+” worth 12 points, “A” worth 11 points and “A-“ worth 10 points? No. There are three advanced standing programs recognized by Ohio law: Advanced Placement (AP), College Credit Plus (CCP) and International Baccalaureate (IB). Ohio Administrative Code Section 3333- 1-65.2 (B)(7) prohibits a practice that disadvantages a student who chooses to participate in one advanced standing program over another advanced standing program. Therefore, if a district or high school creates a different grading scale for Advanced Placement (AP) that weights a student’s “A+” grade greater than an “A” grade, since it is not common practice for postsecondary institutions to award “+”or “-“ grades, then the higher grade scale must be applied to the grades of college students under College Credit Plus. Otherwise, students who choose to participate in College Credit Plus would be disadvantaged. 17. Can the high school require teacher recommendation for participation in College Credit Plus courses? No. High schools may not place any restrictions upon student participation in College Credit Plus, including requiring high school teacher recommendations. Each institution of higher education sets its own standards for measuring students’ college-readiness. Each institution of higher education applies its admission standards and selects data to be considered. 18. Can a high school "block" a student from participation in CCP if school officials feel s/he is not prepared or not performing well, even if s/he tests as college-ready? Can a building implement its own requirements for which students will be allowed to test? No. Schools cannot enact participation requirements beyond those stated in law. However, school counselors should work with parents to discuss options and share teacher feedback as families consider the College Credit Plus option. 19. When a school district purchases college books for students taking CCP courses, can the district require those students to return the books upon successful course completion? Alternately, if the student wants to keep a book after they complete the course, can the school district request that the student pay for it? Absolutely! The prohibition against charging students pertains to a charge creating a barrier for CCP student participation. If purchased by the district, the district will own the educational tool (book) and certainly if the student does not return it, or unreasonably damages it so that it cannot be used by another student, the student can be required to purchase the book from the district. The district may also offer students the opportunity to purchase the instructional tool after the course.