SB #209 Works in Favor of IB Students
at 6:20 pm
SB #209 Works in Favor of IB Students
Asheesh Misra, former Marshall IB co-coordinator, current IB coordinator at George Mason HS, and president-elect of the Mid-Atlantic Association of IB World Schools,, is asking parents of IB students to write to their Delegates for the House of Representatives to urge them to support VA Senate Bill 209, which states "each institution of higher education shall have policies for course credit for standard and higher level International Baccalaureate courses that are comparable to its policies for granting course credit for Advanced Placement courses."
Senate Bill #209 was passed unanimously on the Senate floor in Richmond on the February 15, 2010. It is posted below. The best parts in this bill are that institutions will have to establish a credit policy for any student who earns the IB Diploma (see A2 below) and that IB standard level exams begin to be recognized more consistently (see B below).
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SENATE BILL NO. 209
AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
(Proposed by the Senate Committee on Education and Health
on February 11, 2010)
(Patron Prior to Substitute--Senator Barker)
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 23-9.2:3.8, relating to course credit for International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement courses.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 23-9.2:3.8 as follows:
§ 23-9.2:3.8. Course credit; International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement courses.
A. The governing boards of each public institution of higher education shall implement policies to grant undergraduate course credit to entering freshman students who have successfully completed one or more International Baccalaureate or Advanced Placement courses. The policies shall:
1. Outline the conditions necessary for the institution to grant course credit, including the minimum required scores on examinations for courses in the International Baccalaureate or Advanced Placement programs; and
2. Identify the specific course credit or other academic requirements of the institution that the student satisfies by successfully completing the diploma program.
B. Each public institution of higher education's policies for course credit for standard and higher level International Baccalaureate courses shall be comparable to its policies for granting course credit for Advanced Placement courses.
C. The governing boards of each public institution of higher education shall report to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia the policies adopted and implemented pursuant to this section, and shall make the policies available to the public on the institution's website.
The House of Representatives has to approve this bill before it passes.
Barbara Comstock,
DelBComstock@house.virginia.gov. Room Number: 407 is the delegate for George C. Marshall HS.