[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 34, Volume 3]
[Revised as of July 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 34CFR691.16]

[Page 916]
 
                           TITLE 34--EDUCATION
 
 CHAPTER VI--OFFICE OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
 
PART 691_ACADEMIC COMPETITIVENESS GRANT (ACG) AND NATIONAL SCIENCE AND 
 
                    Subpart B_Application Procedures
 
Sec. 691.16  Recognition of a rigorous secondary school program of study.

    (a) For an award year, the Secretary recognizes in each State at 
least one rigorous secondary school program of study as established by 
an SEA or, if legally authorized by the State to establish a separate 
secondary school program of study, an LEA.
    (b) For each award year, the Secretary establishes a deadline for 
SEAs and LEAs to submit information about the secondary school program 
or programs that the SEA or LEA identifies as a rigorous secondary 
school program of study, and, in the case of an LEA, documentation that 
the LEA is legally authorized by the State to establish a separate 
secondary school program of study.
    (c) In identifying a rigorous secondary school program of study, the 
SEA, or the LEA if applicable, must consider separate identifiable 
secondary programs that--
    (1) Are offered by secondary schools in the State, including public, 
charter, private, tribal, and home schools;
    (2) Are considered by the SEA, or by the LEA if applicable, to 
prepare a student to pursue postsecondary education successfully; and
    (3) Are not General Education Development (GED) Certificate 
programs.
    (d) In addition to those programs identified by States or LEAs and 
recognized by the Secretary as rigorous under paragraphs (b) and (c) of 
this section, the Secretary recognizes the following secondary school 
programs of study as rigorous:
    (1) Advanced or honors secondary school programs established by 
States and in existence for the 2004-2005 or 2005-2006 school year, as 
identified by the Secretary.
    (2) Any secondary school program in which a student completes at a 
minimum the following courses:
    (i) Four years of English.
    (ii) Three years of mathematics, including algebra I and a higher-
level class such as algebra II, geometry, or data analysis and 
statistics.
    (iii) Three years of science, including one year each of at least 
two of the following courses: biology, chemistry, and physics.
    (iv) Three years of social studies.
    (v) One year of a language other than English.
    (3) A secondary school program identified by a State--level 
partnership that is recognized by the State Scholars Initiative of the 
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), Boulder, 
Colorado.
    (4) Any secondary school program for a student who completes at 
least two courses from an International Baccalaureate Diploma Program 
sponsored by the International Baccalaureate Organization, Geneva, 
Switzerland, and receives a score of ``4'' or higher on the examinations 
for at least two of those courses.
    (5) Any secondary school program for a student who completes at 
least two Advanced Placement courses and receives a score of ``3'' or 
higher on the College Board's Advanced Placement Program Exams for at 
least two of those courses.
    (e) For each award year, the Secretary publishes a list of rigorous 
secondary school programs of study that the Secretary recognizes.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070a-1)

[71 FR 38004, July 3, 2006, as amended at 71 FR 64419, Nov. 1, 2006]