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District standardizes valedictorian criteria, removes salutatorian and numerical rankings
Summary
The committee approved revisions to Class Rankings Policy IHC requiring students to attend an Ouachita Parish high school for at least four consecutive semesters to be eligible for valedictorian, removing salutatorian language and district-wide numerical rankings, and directing that the policy apply to the incoming freshman cohort.
Committee members and staff presented a package of revisions aimed at consistent selection of valedictorians across the district's five high schools. The chair summarized the core eligibility change: "The student will have to have attended a high school in the Ouachita Parish School System for at least 4 consecutive semesters." The policy also references state-approved career/college/service accelerators and reflects use of the state-weighted GPA framework.
Staff and principals recommended applying the rule to the incoming freshman class so students are not subject to midstream changes. The committee also recommended that additional graduation honors beyond valedictorian remain at each principal's discretion and that the policy language and implementation details be added to student handbooks and course guides. The committee approved the policy changes by voice vote and will send the item to the full board for their August meeting.
