Individual Student Alternative Education Plan (ISAEP)

The following requirements must be met for the implementation of the ISAEP program.

1. Student must be currently enrolled in the Albemarle County Public Schools.
2. No student younger than 16 years of age can be enrolled in the ISAEP program.
3. Each ISAEP student must spend no less than 15 hours per week in academic preparation and no less than 10 hours per week in CTE/workforce skills development, a requirement that may be met through coursework provided by the CTE credentialing requirement. A career assessment must be administered to each enrolled student. All ISAEP students must be enrolled in coursework which leads to the attainment of a CTE credential, and this coursework must be integrated into their academic and CTE instruction.
4. A student must be at least one full year behind in credits to be eligible for enrollment in the ISAEP program. Exceptions to this requirement may be made for students who are at significant risk of leaving school before graduation.
5. Each student must have an individual student alternative education plan that is developed and signed by the student, parent or guardian, school administrator, program coordinator, and other school personnel, as appropriate.
6. To be enrolled in the ISAEP program, a student must achieve a grade-level score of 7.5 or higher on a standardized reading test and attain a score of 125 or higher on each section of the GED Ready® official practice test or an approved GED® vendor practice assessment (with documented score conversions to the GED Ready®). NOTE: The paper-based official practice tests developed for the previous 2002 GED test series must not be used to determine ISAEP program eligibility.
7. Prior to taking any subject on the operational GED® test, a student must attain a score of 145 or higher on the GED Ready® official practice test. When the ISAEP GED® Testing Eligibility Form is submitted to the VDOE, the program administrators are verifying that the student has earned the required score on the GED Ready® test. All testing must be conducted in-person or in a remote proctored setting, as appropriate.
8. Enrollment in the ISAEP program is voluntary. Students must not be placed in the program without the written agreement of the student and parent or guardian.
9. Appropriate classroom accommodations must be provided to students with documented disabilities. The Individualized Education Program (IEP) and 504 Plan are to be followed in accordance with the applicable law. GED® test accommodations are designed to provide candidates reasonable and appropriate accommodations to ensure full access to the GED® test. Students are not automatically guaranteed to receive the same accommodations on the GED® test that are written in the IEP or 504 Plan. Requests for accommodations on the GED® test must be submitted as soon as possible through the student’s online GED® account in order to prepare the student for the GED® testing environment.
10. School personnel must provide counseling to students prior to referring them to the ISAEP program. Upon enrollment, each ISAEP student must be assigned a counselor who will be available for academic, personal, and career counseling throughout the student’s tenure in the program. The counselor must maintain a
    record of support provided to the student.
11. Student records must be maintained in a manner consistent with state guidelines.
12. Content taught in the ISAEP program must be exclusively at the high school level.
13. All ISAEP teachers must be licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
14. All ISAEP completers must have the opportunity to participate in a recognition ceremony.
15. Student data, including performance information, must be reported annually to the VDOE as required.
16. Albemarle County Public Schools and the VDOE will provide professional learning opportunities and resources to key ISAEP staff to ensure that they are knowledgeable about program policies, procedures, and promising practices.
17. ISAEP state grant funds can be used to cover part or all of the costs of GED Ready® and official GED® test fees for students enrolled in the ISAEP program.
18. Another local funding source might also be considered to subsidize required testing fees. It is the intention of the Department that the test fees are paid for the ISAEP students.

1) Counselors will initiate conversation about ISAEP as an alternative and pre-screen applicants for initial eligibility based on prerequisites.

2) Student and parent will meet a school counselor at their home high school to get a basic overview of the ISAEP program and to consider applying for entry into ISAEP. All 3 applications may be completed during this meeting. For students receiving Special Education services, the case manager should be involved in this meeting. The school counselor can collect the applications, access the other support material, and forward the information to the primary contact at their high school who will then schedule testing and visitation with the ISAEP Coordinator.

STEP ONE
ISAEP Application Packet

3) Student will complete the 4 part Official Practice Test of General Education Development (GED). Students will be tested on a regular, prescheduled cycle. The testing will generally take place on consecutive Friday mornings at the ISAEP Center. A student must complete ALL entry tests in order to be considered for ISAEP. Test results will be sent to guidance counselor via email within 2 days of completion. The school counselor will inform student and parent of test results.

4) Students who achieve minimum entry scores will be contacted by the school counselor to schedule an ISAEP entry meeting. Parent, student, ISAEP Coordinator, and school counselor MUST be present at the plan meeting. Class schedule, occupational component, and other program details will be finalized at the ISAEP Entry meeting.

STEP TWO
ISAEP Team Meeting Form

5) The final step in the entry process is a career-aptitude assessment. Student is required to take a computerized evaluation of interests and career potential using CareerScope or similar software. This may take place as the student enters the ISAEP Program.

Students must work with the school counselor at their assigned school in order to apply / enroll in the ISAEP program to meet the requirements noted above. 

While the schedule of students may vary according to their individual plan, a schedule will be developed to meet the basic requirement of 15 hours per week of acadmic preparation that can occur both inside and outside of the classroom. A standard structure is that on Fridays, formal / in-person instruction is not scheduled as assessments, coordination of services and communications with students, families, school counselors and other key ISAEP resources is facilitated.