100.2 General school requirements.

(a) Administration of elementary and secondary schools. The board of education of each school district shall employ and assign to each school under its supervision a full-time principal holding the appropriate certification as required pursuant to section 80.4(b) of this Title. Upon the submission of evidence that there are circumstances which did not justify the assignment of a principal to a particular school, or that another mode of building administration would be more effective, the commissioner may approve an alternative mode of building administration. Within the policy guidelines of the board of education of the school district and under the direction of the superintendent, each principal shall provide leadership in the development of the educational program in the school to which he or she is assigned, including the supervision and administration of the school program, involvement with the selection and retention of staff, professional consultation, direction and assistance to the faculty and students of the school, fostering effective home/school/community partnerships.

(c) Instruction in certain subjects. Pursuant to articles 17 and 65 of the Education Law, instruction in certain subjects in elementary and secondary school shall be provided as follows:

(1) for all students, instruction in patriotism and citizenship, as required by section 801 of the Education Law;

(2) for all students in the eighth and higher grades, instruction in the history, meaning, significance and effect of the provisions of the Constitution of the United States and the amendments thereto, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the State of New York and the amendments thereto, as required by section 801 of the Education Law;

(3) for all students, health education regarding alcohol, drugs and tobacco abuse, as required by section 804 of the Education Law;

(4) for all students, instruction in highway safety and traffic regulation, as required by section 804 of the Education Law;

(5) for all students, instruction in fire drills and in fire and arson prevention, as required by sections 807 and 808 of the Education Law. Such course of instruction shall include materials to educate children on the dangers of falsely reporting a criminal incident or impending explosion or fire emergency involving danger to life or property or impending catastrophe;

(d) Language other than English requirements.

(1) Public school students first entering grade nine in 1988 or 1989 shall have completed at least one unit of study in a language other than English at some time during grades kindergarten through nine. Public school students first entering grade nine in 1990 and thereafter shall have completed at least two units of study in a language other than English at some time during grades kindergarten through nine. Such requirements shall be met subject to the following provisions:

(i) Such unit of study requirements in a language other than English may be in more than one language, provided that at least one half of the required units of study shall be in a single language.

(ii) Such unit of study requirements in a language other than English shall be offered in segments of not less than a half unit of study per school year.

(iii) A student identified as having a disability which adversely affects the ability to learn a language may be exempted from the requirements set forth in this paragraph if the student's individualized education program, developed in accordance with section 200.4 of this Title states that such requirements are not appropriate.

(iv) A student may be exempted from such unit of study requirements in a language other than English by passing an approved second language proficiency examination when such an examination is available.

(2) Public school districts may commence language other than English instruction at any grade level prior to grade eight but shall do so no later than the beginning of grade eight so that students are provided the required two units of study by the end of grade nine.

(3) Beginning in May 1989, all students entering grade nine prior to the 2001-2002 school year who pass an approved second language proficiency examination shall be awarded the first unit of credit in a language other than English, unless the student has already been awarded such first unit of credit in a language other than English as set forth in section 100.1(b) of this Part.

(4) Public school students first entering grade nine in the 2001-2002 school year and thereafter shall earn at least one unit of credit in a language other than English, as defined in section 100.1(b) of this Part, in order to complete the language other than English requirement for a high school diploma. Students may earn one unit of credit by passing the State second language proficiency assessment. In those languages for which no State proficiency assessment is available, a locally developed test, which is determined to be equivalent to the State proficiency assessment pursuant to section 100.2(f) of this Part, may be administered. At least six months prior to the administration of such test, the proposed test booklet, answer sheet, scoring key, directions and all other auxiliary materials shall be provided to the commissioner for approval, and shall be accompanied by such empirical evidence of the reliability of the test scores and of the comparability of the proposed test to corresponding State assessments with respect to content and difficulty, as is available.

(f) Use of alternative assessments. With the approval of the commissioner, assessments which measure an equivalent level of knowledge and skill may be substituted for the assessments specified in this Part. Alternative assessments for the Regents examinations for global history and geography, United States history and government, comprehensive English, mathematics and the sciences shall meet the following conditions and criteria:

(1) assessments shall measure the State learning standards for the respective content area;

(2) alternative assessments shall be at least as rigorous as the corresponding required State assessment;

(3) alternative assessments shall be consistent with technical criteria for validity, reliability, and freedom from bias;

(4) alternative assessments shall be developed by an entity other than a local school or school district;

(5) alternative assessments shall be available for use by any school or school district in New York State; and

(6) alternative assessments shall be administered under secure conditions approved by the commissioner.

(g) Alternative testing procedures. The commissioner may approve satisfactory alternative testing procedures for all tests defined in section 100.1 of this Part under the following conditions:

(1) The use of alternative testing procedures shall be limited to:

(i) students identified by the committee on special education as having a handicapping condition; and students whose native language is other than English except that alternative testing procedures for the Regents competency tests in reading and writing may be used only by students who first enter, after grade eight, schools where the predominant language of instruction is English.

(2) The alternative testing procedures employed shall be based upon a student's individual needs and the type of test administered.

(3) School districts and nonpublic schools shall report the use of alternative testing procedures to the department on a form and at a time prescribed by the commissioner.

(h) Availability of career and technical education and arts sequences.

(1) All public school districts shall offer students the opportunity to complete a three- or five-unit sequence in each of the following areas: career and technical education and the arts.

(2) All public school districts shall offer students the opportunity to begin an approved sequence in the arts in grade nine.

(3) All public school districts shall offer students the opportunity to begin an approved career and technical education sequence in grade nine. Only those career and technical education sequences which have been approved by the commissioner may be used to fulfill the requirements for a diploma set forth in section 100.5 of this Part.

(4) For students first entering grade nine in 1985 and thereafter, each approved career and technical education sequence shall include a minimum of one unit of credit in introduction to occupations, to be offered at any point in the sequence.

(5) For students first entering grade nine in 1988 and thereafter, approved sequences of three units of credit in a career and technical education subject shall be so organized that they may be extended into approved sequences of five units of credit or more without loss of credit.

(6) For students first entering grade nine in 1988 and thereafter, approved sequences of five units of credit or more in career and technical education shall prepare students for both employment and postsecondary education and shall be satisfactory to the commissioner.

(7) All public school districts shall offer students the opportunity to meet the learning standards in technology. Districts shall choose one or more options to meet this requirement pursuant to section 100.5 of this Part.

(j) Guidance programs.

(1) Public schools. Each school district shall have a guidance program for all students.

(i) In grades K-6, the program shall be designed in coordination with the teaching staff to prepare students to participate effectively in their current and future educational programs, to help students who exhibit any attendance, academic, behavioral or adjustment problems, to educate students concerning avoidance of child sexual abuse, and to encourage parental involvement.

(ii) In grades 7-12, the guidance program shall include the following activities or services:

(a) an annual review of each student's educational progress and career plans, with such reviews to be conducted with each student individually or with small groups by personnel certified or licensed as school counselors;

(b) instruction at each grade level to help students learn about various careers and about career planning skills conducted by personnel certified or licensed as school counselors, or by classroom teachers in cooperation with school counselors;

(c) other advisory and individual or group counseling assistance to enable students to benefit from the curriculum, to help students develop and implement postsecondary education and career plans, to help students who exhibit any attendance, academic, behavioral or adjustment problems and to encourage parental involvement, provided that advisory assistance shall be provided by teachers or counselors, or by certified teaching assistants under the supervision of counselors or teachers, and that such individual or group counseling shall be provided by certified or licensed school counselors or by certified or licensed school psychologists or certified or licensed school social workers in cooperation with school counselors; and

(d) the services of personnel certified or licensed as school counselors.

(iii) Each school district shall develop a district plan which sets forth the manner in which the district shall comply with the requirements of this subdivision. The City School District of the City of New York shall submit a separate plan for each community school district, for the High School Division and for the Special Education Division. Such plan shall be filed in the district offices and shall be available for review by any individual. The plan shall present program objectives, which describe expectations of what students will learn from the program; activities to accomplish the objectives; specification of staff members and other resources assigned to accomplish the objectives; and provisions for the annual assessment of program results. The plan shall be reviewed annually by the school districts, and revisions shall be made as necessary.