CHARLESTON, W.Va. _ The West Virginia Board of Education has approved updates to several state policies and voted to placed another on public comment.

Board members approved Policy 2200: Parent, Family and Community Involvement in Education. This policy, first adopted in 1989, updates guidelines to provide for the development of a parent involvement policy in each county.

Also approved were changes to Policy 2444.4: Issuance of the State of West Virginia General Educational Development (GED®) Diploma Based Upon Passage of the GED Tests. This update provides guidance for compliance with the American Council on Education’s GED Testing Service requirements and requires all candidates testing in West Virginia to pass the official GED practice tests.

The board also approved revisions to Policy 2520.35, 21^st Century Science 9-12 Content Standards and Objectives for West Virginia Schools to incorporate 21^st century knowledge and skills. In addition, the revisions provide performance descriptors for earth science, human anatomy and physiology, physics and conceptual physics, among other changes.

The board also is seeking public comment until April 14 on updates to portions of Policy 2510, Assuring the Quality of Education:  Regulations for Education Programs. The changes provide counties and schools greater local flexibility in implementing the 21^st century curriculum.

Educators, parents and community members are encouraged to review the proposed changes and make suggestions. All four policies can be viewed on the West Virginia Department of Education Web site at http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies.

For more information, contact the Office of Communications at (304) 558-2699.