Want to start your summer a week early? Start hitting the books.

With the changes made last summer by the state legislature to standardized tests, the school district has issued a new set of rules for exempting final exams.

Some rules are still the same: Students must not have more than four absences in the first semester nor more than three in the second; you may not have more than one ISS and no OSS or AEP assignments; you must be there for the review; and, you must have turned in all your textbooks.

But rules over exams and grades have changed a bit. For courses that have an end-of-course exam, you must pass that exam to exempt that specific class, assuming you are also passing the class. For courses without a state-mandated exam, you must have an 85 average for the semester to exempt.

There is a nice bonus, however – if you score Level 3 on your state tests, you can automatically exempt ALL of your finals.

And if you had the flu and missed a week, don’t give up. The school has a committee to hear appeals on attendance, so you can still ask for a waiver on the attendance requirement. Forms are available at the principal’s office beginning April 30 for those wanting to appeal their attendance.