High school graduation requirements; satisfaction of certain course credits.

High school graduation requirements; satisfaction of certain course credits with workforce credentials; development and maintenance of list of accepted credentials. Requires the Board of Education, in collaboration with the Virginia Community College System, to develop and maintain a current, comprehensive, and uniform list of industry-recognized workforce credentials that students may take as a substitute for certain units of credit required for graduation, including such credentials that are accepted as substitutes for (i) laboratory science credits or (ii) electives credits. The bill provides that such list uniformly applies across each local school division and that each school board is required to accept as a substitute for a required credit any credential listed as an accepted substitute for such required credit. The bill also requires any College and Career Access Pathways Partnership entered into between a school board and a comprehensive community college to specify, consistent with the list, industry-recognized credentials that are accepted as substitutes for certain credits required for high school graduation. Finally, the bill requires the Board, in establishing graduation requirements, to permit any student to substitute (a) three standard units of credit and one verified credit in laboratory science or (b) credits for electives for completion of any industry-approved workforce credential that is included on the list as an accepted substitute for such credits. This bill was incorporated into HB 1345.