Title 17 — Education
38 chapters · 393 sections in this title.
17 V.I.C. § 190s Lew Muckle Scholarship
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(a) There is hereby established the Lew Muckle Scholarship to be awarded annually by the Virgin Islands Board of Education. (b) The Virgin Islands Board of Education shall annually select a recipient of the scholarship established by this section who (1) shall be a bona fide resi…
17 V.I.C. § 190t Terence A. Todman Scholarship Fund for International Affairs
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(a) There is hereby established the Terence A. Todman Scholarship Fund for International Affairs, which scholarship shall be awarded annually to two Virgin Islanders who plan to pursue a Bachelor's Degree in International Relations or a graduate degree in international relations.…
17 V.I.C. § 190u Valedictorian and Salutatorian Awards
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(a) There are hereby established the Valedictorian and Salutatorian Awards which shall be administered by the Board of Education and awarded each year to the valedictorian and salutatorian of each high school and Adult Education Program in the Virgin Islands who has been accepted…
17 V.I.C. § 190v Gene Edmund Cerge Athletic Scholarship
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(a) There is hereby established the Gene Edmund Cerge Scholarship, which scholarship shall be awarded to outstanding athletes, who plan to pursue a career in physical education, recreation or any other sports related field. (b) The Gene Edmund Cerge Scholarship shall be administe…
17 V.I.C. § 190w Dr. Wilburn A. Smith, Jr. Scholarship Fund for Teacher Education
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(a) There is hereby established the Dr. Wilburn A. Smith, Jr. Scholarship Fund for Teacher Education, which scholarship shall be administered by the Virgin Islands Joint Boards of Education for the purpose of providing scholarship grants to persons pursuing studies in either elem…
17 V.I.C. § 190x Caroline Felicia Adams Aviation Scholarship
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(a) There is hereby established the Caroline Felicia Adams Aviation Scholarship to be awarded annually to one Virgin Islands high school graduate or person who graduated from high school or an equivalency program, and who is (1) planning to attend college and pursue a degree in t…
17 V.I.C. § 190y Kenneth Harrigan Scholarship
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(a) There is hereby established, The Kenneth Harrigan Scholarship for teacher education to be awarded annually to a minimum of two male graduates from a high school in the Virgin Islands who plan to attend college and pursue a degree in early childhood, elementary or secondary ed…
17 V.I.C. § 190z Ruth E. Thomas Scholarship Fund for Teacher Education
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(a) There is hereby established the Ruth E. Thomas Scholarship Fund for Teacher Education, which scholarship shall be administered by the Virgin Islands Joint Boards of Education for the purpose of providing scholarship grants to persons pursuing graduate studies in elementary or…
17 V.I.C. § 191 Subsidies for private schools
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(a) Subsidies from Government funds available for such purpose may be granted to schools other than public schools, for strictly educational purposes, by the Virgin Islands Board of Education, upon the recommendation of the Commissioner of Education. However, no subsidy or financ…
17 V.I.C. § 192 Certificate of accreditation for parochial or private schools; display
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(a) When requested the Commissioner of Education shall issue a certificate of accreditation to a parochial or private school if he finds that the building and equipment, and the curriculum and teaching personnel of the school, have an efficiency substantially equal to that requir…
17 V.I.C. § 193 Inspection of accredited schools
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The Commissioner of Education shall at least once each year inspect each accredited school to ascertain whether its standards of efficiency are maintained. If upon examination the Commissioner finds that any school is not maintaining required standards of efficiency, he shall by …
17 V.I.C. § 194 Certificate of operation
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(a) It is the policy of the Government of the United States Virgin Islands to encourage the establishment of nonpublic schools within the Territory when such schools will enhance the educational opportunities of students; provided, that such schools meet baseline requirements for…
17 V.I.C. § 201 Accreditation required, prohibition
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(a) A private, degree granting post-secondary education institution may not operate in the Virgin Islands, unless it has been accredited by an accrediting association recognized by the United States Department of Education. (b) Agents of any degree granting post-secondary educati…
17 V.I.C. § 202 Penalties
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(a) Any person violating this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment not to exceed six months, or both, such fine and imprisonment. (b) Each violation of this chapter constitutes a separate offense. (c) Any person violat…
17 V.I.C. § 211 Definition
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As used in this chapter the term, “public institution of higher education”, means a Government-owned or operated, graduate or undergraduate university, college, junior college, technical and vocational institute or similar institution, and a nonprofit institution that is supporte…
17 V.I.C. § 212 Program for granting academic credit
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All public institutions of higher education shall adopt for implementation beginning in the 2014-2015 academic year a program consistent with the policies, standards, and requirements prescribed for the University of the Virgin Islands in section 456(d) of this title for granting…
17 V.I.C. § 221 Establishment of kindergartens in St. Croix
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The Commissioner of Education shall, under the general supervision and direction of the Governor, establish kindergarten schools on the Island of St. Croix.
17 V.I.C. § 222 Facilities for St. Croix kindergartens
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The Commissioner of Education shall, whenever possible, use for such kindergarten schools any available building facilities which were formerly used or could now be used for such schools.
17 V.I.C. § 223 Repealed. June 10, 1959, No. 455, § 1, Sess. L. 1959, p. 63
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17 V.I.C. § 223 Statutes current through Act 9046 of the 2025 session of the 36th Legislature, including all code changes through October 25, 2025 Virgin Islands Code AnnotatedCopyright © 2026 All rights reserved.
17 V.I.C. § 231 Establishment; purpose; voluntary participation
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(a) The Department of Education “Department” shall establish a Territorial-wide pre-kindergarten program for four-year olds. (b) The purpose of the preschool program is to provide greater opportunity for young children in the Virgin Islands to enter school ready to learn by expan…
17 V.I.C. § 232 Curriculum and requirements
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(a) The curriculum for the program must comprehensively address the total developmental needs of the child, including physical, cognitive, social and emotional needs, must help children develop their interpersonal and socialization skills and must include aspects of health care, …
17 V.I.C. § 233 Rules of eligibility
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(a) The Commissioner of Education, shall adopt rules establishing the eligibility criteria, program standards and procedures for the administration of the program. (b) The rules must at a minimum prescribe:(1) Maximum and minimum teacher-to-child ratios and class sizes;(2) Applic…
17 V.I.C. § 234 Tracking of progress
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The Department of Education shall track the progress of students served by each pre-kindergarten program in connection with the students' performance in elementary and secondary education.
17 V.I.C. § 240 Adult education
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(a) It is the purpose of this chapter to expand educational opportunities and encourage the establishment of programs of adult public education that will enable all adults to continue their education to at least the level of completion of secondary school and make available the m…
17 V.I.C. § 241 Evening courses for adults
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The Commissioner of Education shall establish evening courses in commercial, vocational and academic subjects as the needs of the Virgin Islands may require for adults who have been domiciled in the Virgin Islands for a period of at least one year.
17 V.I.C. § 242 Use of Department facilities; fees; rules and regulations
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The Commissioner shall use the facilities of the Department of Education for teaching the courses authorized in this chapter, and he may employ instructors in the public school system at such additional compensation as he shall fix to teach such courses. The Commissioner may, wit…
17 V.I.C. § 243 Adult Education Fund
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(a) There is hereby created and established as a separate and distinct fund within the Treasury of the Virgin Islands a special fund to be designated and known as the “Adult Education Fund”. No funds shall be available for expenditure from the Adult Education Fund except as provi…
17 V.I.C. § 244 Adult Education Scholarship Program
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(a) (1) There is established the Adult Education Diploma Scholarship Fund within the Department of Education which shall be available exclusively to students enrolled in the Adult Education Program.(2) The scholarship shall be awarded on a semester basis to residents of the Virgi…
17 V.I.C. § 245 Coalition for the Advancement of Adult Education
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(a) There is hereby created the Virgin Islands Coalition for the Advancement of Adult Education. The Coalition shall consist of the memberships of its two committees, one committee for the District of St. Croix and one committee for the District of St. Thomas/St. John. Each of th…
17 V.I.C. § 261 Acceptance of Federal benefits
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The Government of the Virgin Islands accepts the provisions of the Act of Congress, approved March 18, 1950, entitled “An Act to Extend the Benefits of the Vocational Education Act of 1946 to the Virgin Islands,” and the Act of Congress, approved August 1, 1946, entitled “An Act …
17 V.I.C. § 262 Powers and duties of Board
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(a) The Virgin Islands Board for Career and Technical Education shall be the sole agency for the administration of the career and technical programs in the Virgin Islands under this subchapter and the Acts of Congress referred to in section 261 of this title, and shall—(1) cooper…
17 V.I.C. § 263 Career-Technical Education Training Fund
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(a) There is hereby created and established as a separate and distinct fund within the Treasury of the Virgin Islands a special fund to be designated and known as the “Vocational-Technical Education Training Fund”. No funds shall be available for expenditure from the Vocational-T…
17 V.I.C. § 264 Authority to administer manpower development and training programs
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In order to continue to participate in programs under the Manpower Development and Training Act of 1962 (42 U.S.C. 2571–2620), the Department of Education and Virgin Islands Employment Security Agency are each authorized to administer manpower development and training programs an…
17 V.I.C. § 271 Virgin Islands Advisory Council for Career and Technical Education
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(a) There is established a Virgin Islands Advisory Council for Career and Technical Education, hereinafter referred to in this chapter as the “Council”, which shall be established as an independent agency of the Government of the United States Virgin Islands. (b) The Council shal…
17 V.I.C. § 272 Duties and responsibilities
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(a) The duties and responsibilities of the Council shall include but not necessarily be limited to:(1) advising the Board of Vocational Education in the development of the five-year State Plan for Vocational-Technical Education and in the development of the Annual Program Plan an…
17 V.I.C. § 273 Miscellaneous
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Funds necessary to accomplish the mandates of the Federal Act shall be provided from Federal and/or territorial sources through appropriation. Members, employees and other authorized persons shall be entitled to reimbursement of all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred whil…
17 V.I.C. § 281 Finding and purpose
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It is the policy of this Territory to provide, as an integral part of the free public education, special education sufficient to meet the needs and maximize the capabilities of children with disabilities. The timely implementation of this policy to the end that all children with …
17 V.I.C. § 281a Conformity with Federal Law
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For the purposes of this chapter, the terms “Intellectually Disabled” or “Intellectual Disability” shall have the same meaning as the terms “Mentally Retarded” or “Mental Retardation” as found in Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
17 V.I.C. § 282 Definitions
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(a) (1) “Child with a disability” means a child evaluated in accordance with § 287 of this chapter and 34 CFR §§ 300.304 through 300.311 as having an intellectual disability, a hearing impairment (including deafness), a speech or language impairment, a visual impairment (includin…
17 V.I.C. § 283 Full educational opportunity for children with disabilities
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(a) All children with disabilities residing in the Virgin Islands shall have a right to a free and appropriate public education which shall include a continuum of placements ranging from full inclusion, partial inclusion, itinerant teaching, resource room, related services, separ…
17 V.I.C. § 284 Facilities
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(a) Physical aspects and specifications of schools, classrooms, and other facilities for, or likely to be used by children with disabilities, shall be related to their special physical, educational, and psychological needs. All publicly supported educational facilities which are …
17 V.I.C. § 285 Department of Education; responsible government agency
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(a) The Department of Education shall provide or cause to be provided all regular and special education and related services required by children with disabilities to the end that they shall receive the benefits of a free appropriate public education appropriate to their needs. (…
17 V.I.C. § 286 Division of Educational Programs for Children with Disabilities
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(a) There is hereby established in the Department of Education a Division of Educational Programs for Children with Disabilities. The Division shall be headed by a director who shall be qualified by education, training, and experience to take responsibility for, and give directio…
17 V.I.C. § 287 Responsibilities of the Department of Education
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(a) The Department of Education shall be responsible for insuring that:(a) a free appropriate public education is available to all children with disabilities between the ages of three and twenty-one;(b) all children residing in the Territory who are disabled, regardless of the se…
17 V.I.C. § 288 Contracts not prohibited
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(a) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent the Department of Education from making arrangements with, and/or payments to, public and private schools, institutions and agencies, for services to children with disabilities where it is unable to provide satisfactory se…
17 V.I.C. § 289 Procedural safeguards
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(a) The Department of Education shall establish and maintain procedures to assure that children with disabilities and their parents or guardians are guaranteed procedural safeguards with respect to the provision of a free appropriate public education which shall include but shall…
17 V.I.C. § 290 Administrative and judicial review
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(a) A child, or the child's parent or guardian, may obtain administrative and judicial review of any action or omission covered by this chapter on the grounds that the child has been or is about to be:(1) denied entry or continuance in a program of special education appropriate t…
17 V.I.C. § 291 Annual report
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On or before March 15th of each year, the Department of Education shall submit to the Governor and to the Legislature, and make available for public distribution, a report setting forth the extent to which the Department of Education is providing or causing to be provided the spe…
17 V.I.C. § 292 Rules and regulations
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(a) The Department of Education shall from time to time amend and revise, rules and regulations for the implementation of this chapter. (b) General notice of any proposed rules and regulations shall be published in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the Territory an…
17 V.I.C. § 293 Relationship to other government agencies
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It is the purpose of this section to promote the efficient and expert implementation of special education programs and related services in the Territory. The Department of Education may establish and operate or cooperate with other agencies of the Virgin Islands Government in est…