A “Medical” (“M”) is a temporary non-grade. It indicates that the student was incapable of completing work or that the work had to be modified to accommodate a documented medical condition. An “M” is not counted in the GPA; credit is not awarded for the course if the final grade is “M”.

To ensure that all affected parties act in accordance with the aforementioned philosophy, the following expectations must be fulfilled when an “M” is issued:

Expectations of the student/family

• Students who are requesting a medical (“M”) for a marking period, a semester or final exam, or the final grade must provide documentation from a doctor. The specifics of this documentation are listed below, under “Expectations of the medical professional.”
• During the medical period, the student cannot be involved in any extracurricular activities (i.e. any sponsored activities, including athletics, trips, academic and club competitions, etc.) until they are also medically cleared to complete all academic work.

Expectations of the medical professional

• The doctor or mental health professional (referred to hereafter in this section as “doctor”) must provide a note specifically stating the following:
  1. The medical request;
  2. The skills affected by the medical condition (e.g., “Cannot use a computer screen,” “Cannot read for more than 15 minutes without a break”)
  3. The length of time during which a student may need to have work modified and/or during which they may not be able to complete specific academic assignments.

Expectations of the teacher, administrators, and other school-based professionals

• The teacher, administrators, and other school-based professionals will develop accommodations based on the doctor’s recommendation.
• Teachers will provide a list of essential work that must be completed in order for the student to demonstrate mastery of the essential content. Once this work is completed, the “M” will be replaced by the grade earned by the student on their academic record.

While the accommodations may include the waiving of assessments and other non-essential work for a particular marking period, the “M” does not eliminate the need for the student to master material that is essential for the class.

Provisions of the Medical Policy

• The medical period ends when the student completes and submits the necessary and essential work and is cleared to return by their doctor. 

• Students are not permitted to take part in any extracurricular events during the medical period.

• An “M” cannot be given retroactively. Once a grading period has closed, SV will not change a grade based on medical documentation submitted after the final, marking period, semester, or exam grade has been issued by the teacher.

Students who have failed a course during the school year have the opportunity to attend summer school, and may incur an additional cost. Students will receive the original class credit on their transcript and receive the number grade on their transcript for the remediation course after successful completion of the summer school session. In special circumstances where students cannot attend summer school to make up failed courses (and with prior SV administration prior approval), approved tutors shall be permitted to provide 30 hours of tutoring to students which will equal one (1) credit towards graduation and/or promotion if a satisfactory mark is earned. Such tutoring shall be paid by the parent or guardian.

In computing class rank, courses are weighted on the basis of their academic level.

Class rank deciles

Class rank shall be computed by the final grade in all subjects for which credit is awarded. A student's grade point average and ranking by decile in class shall be entered on the student's record and shall be subject to Board policy on release of student records. A procedure by which each student is ranked by deciles according to his/her weighted grade point average. Students will be grouped according to deciles (such as 1st Deciles being the top ranking 10% of the class).