The Louisiana Department of Education’s Louisiana Virtual School recently received a U.S. Department of Education 2011 Advanced Placement (AP®) Test Fee Program Grant Award. This grant provides a great opportunity for low-income students to have their AP® Exam Fee(s) reimbursed. We request that all principals encourage teachers and guidance counselors to make a special effort to promote this program with low-income students.

With funding from the AP® Test Fee Program, the Louisiana Department of Education (LDE) will reimburse $57 for each AP® Exam taken by students enrolled in both public and BESE-approved nonpublic* schools who meet the following criteria:

1. Meets the definition of low-income ( http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg14.html#sec1707) or,
2. Was enrolled in the AP® course that the exam taken or was enrolled in a rigorous course preparing them for the AP® Exam taken,
3. Are between the ages of 5 and 19 on exam day.

Please note that funds are limited and will be available until they are completely allocated.

In addition to the above criteria, schools must follow the below instructions:

BEFORE THE AP® EXAMS:

• In the AP Exam Ordering Website, enter the total number of students whom your school can attest fulfill the federal criteria to receive fee reductions for low-income students, and the total number of exams that will be taken by these students.
• Schools must waive the $8 administrative fee for students who meet the federal criteria to receive fee reductions for low-income students.

AFTER THE AP® EXAMS:

• In the SCHOOL USE ONLY section under "Fee Reduction Granted," AP Coordinators must fill in the "Option 1" fee reduction oval on eligible students' AP Exam answer sheets. The 2011 AP Coordinator's Manual has instructions for properly marking the answer sheet so your school will be billed correctly.
• When creating your school's online invoice, enter the total number of exams taken at the reduced price, not the number of eligible students taking exams. Print the School, Program and State copies of the invoice (all three will print automatically).
• AP Coordinators in Louisiana must send $57 to the AP Program for each AP Exam taken by a student qualifying for the College Board fee reduction. The State of Louisiana will reimburse schools through their districts after they have paid the AP Program and submitted a Louisiana AP Test Fee Reimbursement Grant Application with a copy of their invoice to the State.
• AP Coordinators must submit a Louisiana AP Test Fee Reimbursement Grant Application (downloadable on the Louisiana Department of Education’s Louisiana Virtual School web site) at http://www.louisianavirtualschool.net/ap.xml in JUNE, along with a copy of the College Board invoice for AP Exams. Coordinators should complete the Louisiana AP Test Fee Reimbursement Grant Application, secure signatures from the principal, financial director of the district and district superintendent, then mail the original application (along with a copy of the College Board invoice) to the address below. The State of Louisiana will reimburse schools through their district after the school has paid the AP Program, and The College Board has released the AP 2011 School Level Data to the LDOE.

*Nonpublic schools must give The College Board written permission to release student AP® School Level Data to the Louisiana Department of Education in order to qualify for reimbursement funding.

The 2011 AP® Test Fee Reimbursement Grant Application will be available in June.

If you have questions or need further information, contact Stephanie Cox-Marcum at (225) 219-0434 or stephanie.cox@la.gov.

AP® Course Audit Calendar for 2011-12

Does your school offer face-to-face Advanced Placement® (AP®) courses? Does your school enroll students in LVS AP® Academy AP® courses? If you answered “yes” to either question, does your school have an AP® Course Audit account? If your AP® course IS NOT authorized through the AP® Course Audit, your school CANNOT apply the AP® label on report cards, high school transcripts, in a high school course catalog or printed course/school information, or on a high school web site.

Steps to complete if your school offers AP® courses:

1. The school administrator or designee must create an AP® Course Audit account. They are responsible for finalizing AP® Course Audit forms, renewing authorizations from year-to-year, and assuring that the annual AP® Course Ledger entry accurately reflects AP® Course Offerings at the school each academic year. For more information go to the AP® Course Audit account at http://www.collegeboard.com/html/apcourseaudit/administrator.html.
2. To apply the label, AP®, a teacher must create an AP® Course Audit account, then submit his/her AP® syllabus for authorization. He/She must also submit an electronic Course Audit Form. If you do not have an AP® Course Audit Account go to http://www.collegeboard.com/html/apcourseaudit/teacher.html for information on how to create an account plus find out what materials must be submitted.

If your school enrolls student in the LVS AP® Academy courses, you must indicate this via the school’s administrator AP® Course Audit account. Follow the steps below to add LVS AP® courses to your schools AP® Course Audit account:

1. Login to the administrators AP® Course Audit account,
2. Navigate to the “Add Online or Distance Learning Course” page,
3. Select the authorized courses your school offers from the Online or Distance Learning Course Provider – look up “Louisiana Virtual School”

These online AP® courses will then be included with your school's other authorized courses in the AP® Course Ledger sent to colleges and universities.

Do you have questions about the AP® Course Audit process? Contact the AP® Course Audit Helpline at 877-274-3570.

If your school only offers the AP® Exam as an opportunity for your students to earn college credit, and does not offer “AP®” courses, does not label courses as "AP®" on students’ report cards or students' transcripts, then you do not need to participate in the AP® Course Audit.