Policy 6456 – Graduation Requirements

Academic credits shall be awarded for mastery of standards in grades nine through twelve. A student must earn 23.5 credits, as described in Rule 6456 to graduate from the Kenosha Unified School District and a student must also complete 10 hours of community service, and successfully pass the state required civics exam with a score of 65% or higher,

A student may receive a diploma by successfully completing an approved Individual Education Plan (IEP), Limited Language Plan (LLP), and/or Section 504 Plan that specifically defines any graduation requirement modifications.

KUSD students may obtain an online learning endorsement.
A student may complete the online learning endorsement through one of the following options:

Pass an online course (earned mark must appear on the transcript).
Pass a course with approved online components (as listed below in Section 6 of the credit requirements).

A credit deficient student who is at least 17 years of age who has been enrolled in a high school cohort group for more than three years (a student with a summer birthday would be able to take the exam with the spring testing group if they attended high school for more than three years with their peers) may also successfully complete the District Competency Graduation Requirements or a comparable program to earn a District diploma. In addition, a District diploma may be earned by a transfer student through an academic review of the student’s transcript by a building administrator.

The School Board may also grant a District high school diploma to students who have successfully completed the graduation requirements of the Wisconsin National Guard Challenge Academy. Challenge Academy students must reach content proficiency either by meeting the proficiency standards on the Challenge Academy content assessments or the KUSD competency diploma assessments.

All students shall be required to take a full schedule. High School students may be allowed to have non-academic release time based on schedule needs and approved requests. In addition, four years of high school attendance shall be required unless early graduation is applied for and approved pursuant to established District procedures. Each regular school year a high school student in grades 9 and 10 will be scheduled in no less than six (6.0) credits. High school students in grades 11 and 12 shall be scheduled in no less than five (5.0) credits, unless enrolled in an alternative program. Students are eligible for early graduation when they have completed all of the requirements for receipt of a diploma.

The Board may award a high school diploma to certain veterans, notwithstanding District and statutory high school graduation standards. To be awarded a diploma, a person must be at least 65 years of age, attended high school in the District or attended high school in Wisconsin and resides in the District, left high school before graduation to join the U.S. armed forces during a war period as defined in state law, and served on active duty under honorable conditions in the U.S. armed forces or in forces incorporated as part of the U.S. armed forces. War periods include, among others, World War II, the Korean Conflict, Vietnam War, and Persian Gulf War.

The Board may also award a high school diploma to a person who received a high school equivalency diploma after serving on active duty in the U.S. armed forces or in forces incorporated as part of the U.S. armed forces if the person meets the other conditions outlined in this paragraph and to a veteran who is deceased, but has satisfied the conditions outlined in this paragraph prior to death.

LEGAL REF.:

Wisconsin Statues
- Sections 115.787 [Individualized education programs]
- 115.915 [Availability of program services and modifications]
- 118.15(1) (b)-(cm) [Compulsory School Attendance]
- 118.153 [Children at risk of not graduating from high school]
- 118.30 [Pupil assessment]
- 118.33 [High school graduation standards; criteria for promotion]
- 118.35 [Programs for gifted and talented pupils]
- 118.55 [Early College Credit Program]
- 120.13 [School Board Powers]
- 120.13(37) [Awarding high school diplomas to veterans]
PI 18 [Wisconsin Administrative Code [High school graduation standards]

CROSS REF.:

5110.1, Student Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination in Education
5110.2, Non-Discrimination Guidelines Related to Students Who Are Transgender and Students Nonconforming to Gender Role Stereotypes
5118.1, Promotion
5120, Student Enrollment Reporting
5240, Accommodation of Private School and Home-Based Private Education Program Students
5260, Open Enrollment – Full Time
5270, Open Enrollment – Part Time
5310, Student Attendance
6423, Talent Development Program
6435, Start College Now Program
6450, Early College Credit Program
6460, Testing /Assessment
Special Education Program and Procedure Manual

ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS: None

AFFIRMED: August 13, 1991

REVISED:

August 22, 1995
May 28, 1996
July 30, 1996
September 11, 1996
June 17, 1997
June 9, 1998
August 11, 1998
September 14, 1999
October 23, 2001
May 27, 2003
November 22, 2005
August 26, 2008
November 25, 2008
April 26, 2011
April 23, 2012
July 28, 2015
October 25, 2016
March 27, 2018
May 24, 2022

Rule 6456 – Graduation Requirements

Credit Requirements and distinctions

Specific Credits Required out of 23.5.

ENGLISH	4 credits
SOCIAL STUDIES	3 credits* 1 credit – U.S. History 1 credit – World History * ½ credit U.S. Government & Politics ½ credit Behavioral Science
MATHEMATICS	3 credits
SCIENCE	3 credits
PHYSICAL EDUCATION	1.5 credits**
HEALTH	0.5 credit
CONSUMER EDUCATION	0.5 credit***
ELECTIVES	8.0 credits
CIVICS EXAM	Successfully pass the state required civics exam with a score of 65% or above.
COMMUNITY/SERVICE LEARNING	Required of all students – 10 Service Hours
DIPLOMA WITH SERVICE DISTINCTION	100 Service Hours
DIPLOMA WITH HONORS DISTINCTION	4 Advanced Placement credits
ONLINE LEARNING ENDORSEMENT	Pass an online course or pass a course with a high quality online component.
* Note: Students selecting the Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics option will be required to satisfactorily complete the entire course. Failure to do so will require students to take either U.S. Government and Politics or U.S. Government and Politics – Honors in order to satisfy the requirement. In the instance where a student successfully completes one credit of AP Government and Politics and has completed one credit of U.S. History and one credit of World History, the student has met the required 3 credits of social studies for graduation. Students planning to attend an institution of higher education are encouraged to take a behavioral science course. Note: Economics can be applied towards satisfying the consumer education requirement. Unless exempted pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes, exemption shall be granted for medical reasons upon presentation of a physician’s statement. Students excused from physical education for all four years of high school for medical reasons shall be required to makeup ½ credit in another elective subject for each semester excused from physical education. *Waived for students who successfully complete ½ credit Honors Economics, ½ credit Economics, 1.0 credit Advanced Placement Economics, or 1.0 credit Marketing.

The District will provide access to honors, advanced placement, and post-secondary courses in accordance with state law requirements.
Summer school credit is awarded on the basis of one-half (0.5) credit for each class successfully completed based on standards. Prior approval by the principal is required to earn credit for summer school courses taken outside of the District.
Credit deficient students who are at least 17 years of age who have been in a high school cohort group for more than three years (a student with a summer birthday would be able to take the exam with the spring testing group if they attended high school for more than three years with their peers) and are current residents of the District may be issued a District diploma if they satisfy the following Competency Graduation Requirements.
1. Are enrolled members of a District cohort group, which means that students must have been enrolled members of a particular Kenosha Unified School District graduating class. Eligible students must have been enrolled in the District prior to the end of their cohort year graduation date. Non-KUSD cohort students 18 yrs of age or older whose graduation year has expired will not be eligible to participate in the program.
2. Score at or above the fourth stanine on all predetermined subtests including core areas of the District’s adopted standardized achievement tests.
3. Demonstrate competency in writing, which can be accomplished by reaching a Readiness Level of “Close” or above on three of five subtests for the Grade 10 ACT Aspire assessment or ACT Aspire/ACT Plus Writing Equivalent or scoring at a level 3.0 or higher on the WorkKeys writing assessment/approved equivalent.
4. Complete consumer education/economics, health, government and politics, or approved comparable courses.
5. Complete the minimum 10 hours of community service.
6. Meet employability standards in one of the following ways:
  1. Successful employment for a six-month period of time and can provide validation; or
  2. Meet an employability component established by the District in the form of a work readiness portfolio.
7. Students will be required to assume any associated costs for the administration and scoring of District adopted standardized assessments.
Students who have successfully completed the graduation requirements of the Wisconsin National Guard Challenge Academy, including reaching proficiency on assessed content, may earn a District diploma. Challenge Academy students must reach content proficiency either by meeting the proficiency standards on the Challenge Academy content assessments or the KUSD competency diploma assessments.
Standards of a Quality Online Learning Course:
A high quality online course is defined as a structured learning environment that utilizes technology, consistently and regularly (lasting 10 hours or more) throughout the course. Students do not need to take a completely virtual course. Each building administration will maintain and communicate a list of courses that aligns to this expectation. Students have multiple options to complete this endorsement within or outside of their primary assigned school.An online component involves the use of a variety of media. This includes Intranet and Internet based tools and resources as delivery methods for the following: instruction, research, assessment, communication, and collaboration.An online course/learning management system should be utilized to promote an understanding of progress monitoring systems, support universal learning opportunities, and facilitate the management of online experiences.
Accelerated/alternative high school credit attainment is an option for high school students aged 16 and above who may earn high school credit based upon satisfactory completion of individual portions of a District or state-approved criterion referenced test at 85 percent mastery or on norm referenced tests at the 4th stanine or above, normed at 12th grade, 7th month, independent of length of time required; completion of performance-based assignments, and attainment of minimum required credits.

Early Graduation: To be considered for early graduation, the student and the parent/guardian shall submit a written request to the principal no later than the end of the first marking period of the school year in which the student plans to graduate early. The student’s course of study, earned grades in such courses, grade point average, and other performance indicators shall be made part of the student’s transcript.
Students enrolled in a middle school who complete high school courses may be awarded high school credit toward the overall district credit requirement, but not for the credit specified in WI State Statues.
A student may receive a diploma by successfully completing an approved Individual Education Plan (IEP), Limited Language Plan (LLP), and/or Section 504 Plan that specifically defines any graduation requirement modifications.

Rule 6456 – Graduation Requirements

Graduation Flowchart