Exemption Request from Alberta Education - Diplomas

Reason

Business Rules

Required Documents

Acute illness

1.    Rapid onset and;

2.    Short course (as opposed to an ongoing course)

The Physician Confirmation of Acute Medical Condition or Illness Affecting the Writing of a Diploma Exam form indicating an acute illness cannot be applied to a diploma exam scheduled three weeks beyond the date of the medical consultation. Requests for exemptions for diploma exams that are beyond three weeks of the original medical appointment are considered ongoing medical conditions (refer to Examples of Reasons not Typically Eligible for Exemption).

·    Physician Confirmation of Acute Medical Condition or Illness Affecting the Writing of a Diploma Exam form

·    If a student becomes ill during the writing of the diploma exam at the school, a comment referencing the student’s illness on the Principal’s Statement will suffice as evidence of the illness. Students who are ill and call the school the morning of the diploma exam must complete and submit the Physician’s Confirmation of Acute Medical Condition or Illness Affecting the Writing of a Diploma Exam form.

Reason

Business Rules

Required Documents

Administrative error

Administrative error refers to an error in the administration of the diploma exam. For advice regarding what constitutes an administrative error, contact the Special Cases and Accommodations Team.

Principals are expected to establish, implement, and communicate emergent response protocols which promote effective and efficient management of (a) unexpected non-crisis events such as loss of power or a misprinted diploma exam booklet in accordance with the diploma exam administration rules; and (b) late course transfers to prevent the administration of incorrect diploma exams.

·    A statement and documentation from the school administrator clearly describing the event

·    If a group of students is affected during the writing of the diploma exam, a group application could be submitted to the Special Cases and Accommodations Team.

Bereavement

Death of an Immediate Family Member Students who experience the death of an immediate family member (parents, siblings and children) immediately before (within 3 weeks) a diploma exam administration are eligible for exemptions from all diploma exams in that administration.

Death of a Non-immediate Family Member and Friends

Students who experience the death of a non- immediate family member (grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins) or friend may be eligible for an exemption and may take up to three consecutive days starting from the day of passing for grieving. In addition to the three days for grieving, students may take one day for the funeral services.

Important Note: The services must conflict with the scheduled diploma exam to be an eligible reason for exemption from writing. Additional consideration will be made for distance travelled for funeral services.

For the death of a classmate, the Special Cases and Accommodations Team will take into consideration the relationship between the deceased and the bereaved.

·    Obituary/death certificate/funeral announcement; and/or

·    Funeral arrangement/services documentation outlining the date and time; and/or

·    Travel information/flight itinerary

If outside of the identified business rule timelines, supporting documentation must clearly outline the current academic functional mental state of the bereaved student. To ensure that the application for exemption for bereavement outside of the identified business rule timelines is complete, it is recommended that the Physician Confirmation of Acute Medical Condition or Illness Affecting the Writing of a Diploma Exam form be used a guideline for the physician.

The Physician Confirmation of Acute Medical Condition or Illness Affecting the Writing of a Diploma Exam form must be submitted before the diploma exam marks are available on myPass.

Concussion

The Special Cases and Accommodations Team evaluates and considers the mechanism of the concussion and the severity and symptoms experienced by the student.

Diploma exams written over the extent of the administration may be considered separately depending upon the mechanism of the concussion.

If the concussion or a post-concussion event occurred within three weeks of the scheduled diploma exam:

·    Physician Confirmation of Acute Medical Condition or Illness Affecting the Writing of a Diploma Exam form that clearly includes the date and the specific cause of the concussion and the student’s academic functional limitations at the time of writing.

Reason

Business Rules

Required Documents

Inclement weather

Inclement weather includes situations where the weather conditions prevent a student from being able to arrive safely at the nearest available writing location or where the writing locations have been closed.

·   AMA road reports, police accident report, tow truck report or bus company report validating that buses were not operating; or school personnel reporting closure.

·   If a group of students has been affected and is unable to access the writing of a diploma exam due to inclement weather, a group application could be submitted to the Special Cases and Accommodations Team.

Parent illness

In the event that a parent falls seriously ill or is diagnosed with a terminal illness within three weeks of the diploma exam administration, the student may be eligible for exemption based on the student’s mental state.

·   Physician Confirmation of Acute Medical Condition or Illness Affecting the Writing of a Diploma Exam form indicating the academic functional and/or cognitive limitations of the student at the time of writing.

School or community emergency or crisis

A school or community emergency or crisis may interfere with school operation immediately before or during the administration of a diploma exam. Such events can include natural disasters or other events that might necessitate school closures or the unexpected dismissal of students from the school or diploma exam writing area.

Exemptions will be granted to students who are registered to write diploma exams in situations where a state of emergency has been declared and resulted in a school closure for 10 or more school days or a student has been displaced and/or evacuated because of the emergency for 10 or more school days.

If the removal of students from the writing location is temporary, school personnel are expected to maintain security of diploma exam materials and allow the students to return to the diploma exam administration. Students in these situations must be allowed the full time allotted for the diploma exam. Students must not be permitted access to digital devices or course materials during this time and must be sequestered.

·   If a group of students has been affected, a group application could be submitted to the Special Cases and Accommodations Team.

·   Principals must notify the Director of Exam Administration and/or the Manager, Business Operations and Special Cases, of any irregularities that occurred during the diploma exam administration. If the students affected by the event might be eligible for exemption, a copy of the Principal’s Statement should be sent directly to the Special Cases and Accommodations Team.

Reason

Business Rules

Concussion, if the student is experiencing symptoms (more than three weeks prior to the scheduled diploma exam)

Students experiencing ongoing symptoms related to concussions during a period occurring more than three weeks prior to the scheduled diploma exam must use the accommodations put into place for classroom instruction and assessment.

Immediate family illness (more than three weeks prior to the scheduled diploma exam)

If an immediate family member falls seriously ill or is diagnosed with a terminal illness

prior to three weeks before the diploma exam administration, the student may be eligible for accommodations based on the learning plan created by the school personnel to assist the student during this period of crisis. The learning plan must contain a list of the accommodations provided to the student.

Severe test anxiety and generalized anxiety disorder

Students identified with anxiety-based disorders, including severe test anxiety or generalized anxiety disorder, may be eligible for accommodations based on the learning plan created by the school personnel to assist the student in managing their anxiety. The learning plan must contain a list of the accommodations provided to the student.

Planned trip, work, or military service

Students anticipating being away and unable to write a diploma exam because of events such as weddings, vacations, work onset, military service, a family event or any other planned absence are not eligible to be exempt from the writing of a diploma exam. The writing of the diploma exam must be deferred to a subsequent administration, or a Special Writing Centre must be arranged.

Computer failure/power outage and

work not saved

In cooperation with the principal and technical personnel, diploma exam supervisors shall develop a diploma exam administration contingency plan that can be implemented, as required, to address unexpected issues or problems that arise while diploma exams are being written using computers.

Students must be proficient in their use of technology and the rules governing technology during the writing of diploma exams. Technical difficulties, including the total loss of completed work, is not typically considered a reason for exemption. In the event of a power or computer/network failure, access to the writing of the diploma exam is continuous as students must to be directed to complete the diploma exam by handwriting.

Late course transfer

Exemptions will not be granted for students who write the incorrect diploma exam because they transferred courses after the deadline and were not registered for the correct diploma exam by the registration deadline.

Principals must develop and implement a process which allows for diploma exam supervisors to provide the correct diploma exam to the student if that student is not registered by the registration deadline. For a current record, principals are encouraged to print out a list of students using PASIprep on the scheduled administration date.

Misprinted booklets

If a school receives misprinted booklets with missing pages or questions, the school is permitted to:

·   photocopy an intact copy and provide the copies to students who have a misprinted booklet; and/or

·   permit students to use additional writing time equal to the amount of time lost due to photocopying logistics.

If an intact copy is not available at the school, contact Exam Administration and a team member will work to resolve the issue. Misprinted booklets are not an eligible reason for an exemption from writing the diploma exam. For these circumstances, the principal shall document the event on the Principal’s Statement.