2019 US Virgin Islands Code
Title 17 - Education
Chapter 5 - Public Schools
§ 41. Courses of study
(a) The Virgin Islands Board of Education, upon the recommendation of the Commissioner of Education, shall prescribe the courses of study for all public schools which shall not be less than the minimum standards set by the acknowledged accrediting groups in the United States: provided, that the basic course of study for high schools shall be academic.
(b) English shall be the basic language of instruction in all public schools and it shall be the policy of the Virgin Islands Board of Education to ensure the mastery of English by all pupils; provided that bilingual instruction may be offered in those situations when such instruction is educationally advantageous to the pupils.
(c) All public schools in the Virgin Islands shall instruct all students in:
(1) The history of the Virgin Islands and basic Caribbean history and drug prevention and education, such courses to be part of the curriculum in elementary and secondary schools;
(2) A Virgin Islands cultural curriculum for kindergarten through grade twelve;
(3) Family life, sex education, and substance abuse, such subjects to be part of the health curriculum for grades K through 12, additionally an AIDS prevention education program shall be part of the health curriculum for grades kindergarten through 12;
(4) Real estate appraisal for grades 10–12;
(5) Financial education programs for students in grades Kindergarten through 12 based on the concept of achieving financial literacy through the teaching of personal financial management skills and the basic principles involved with earning, spending, saving and investing;
(6) Hotel and Tourism Training Courses, such courses to be part of the curriculum starting in the 1994 school year in junior high school and continuing through the twelfth grade;
(7) Swimming and water safety for at least one school year, one hour per week taught by instructors with American Red Cross Water Safety Instruction Certification;
(8) A structured civics course for grades 9-12 which utilizes materials relevant to the Virgin Islands and includes the functions of the three branches of Government of the Virgin Islands and the roles of public officials; and
(9) Basic agriculture education for students in Kindergarten through 12th grade pursuant to § 41e of this chapter.
(d) The Commissioner of Education, in conjunction with the Virgin Islands Board of Education, shall promulgate rules and regulations to carry out this section no later than 24 months after the date of enactment of this paragraph.
