Each local school system shall provide a comprehensive, sequential world languages instructional program beginning not later than the middle learning years that: Provides for the diversity of student needs, abilities, and interests at the middle and high school years; Offers a variety of languages; Includes the Maryland World Languages Content Standards set forth in §B of this regulation; Enables students to meet graduation requirements; and Allows students to select world languages electives. The world languages program shall include all the following content standards: Communication: Learners communicate effectively in more than one language in order to function in a variety of situations and for multiple purposes. Interpersonal Communication: Learners interact and negotiate meaning in spoken, signed, or written conversations to share information, reactions, feelings, and opinions. Interpretive Communication: Learners understand, interpret, and analyze what is heard, read, or viewed on a variety of topics. Presentational Communication. Learners present information, concepts, and ideas to inform, explain, persuade, and narrate on a variety of topics using appropriate media and adapting to various audiences of listeners, readers, or viewers. Cultures: Learners interact with cultural competence and understanding. Relating Cultural Practices to Perspectives: Learners use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the cultures studied. Relating Cultural Products to Perspectives: Learners use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the relationship between the products and perspectives of the cultures studied. Connections: Learners connect with other disciplines and acquire information and diverse perspectives in order to use the language to function in academic and career related situations. Making Connections: Learners build, reinforce, and expand their knowledge of other disciplines while using the language to develop critical thinking and to solve problems creatively. Acquiring Information and Diverse Perspectives: Learners access and evaluate information and diverse perspectives that are available through the language and its cultures. Comparisons: Learners develop insight into the nature of language and culture in order to interact with cultural competence. Language Comparisons: Learners use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the nature of language through comparisons of the language studied and their own. Cultural Comparisons: Learners use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the concept of culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own. Communities: Learners communicate and interact with cultural competence in order to participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world. School and Global Communities: Learners use the language both within and beyond the classroom to interact and collaborate in their community and the globalized world. Lifelong Learning: Learners set goals and reflect on their progress in using languages for enjoyment, enrichment, and advancement. Curriculum Documents. Consistent with Education Article, §4-111, Annotated Code of Maryland, each local school system shall provide world languages curriculum documents for the secondary schools under its jurisdiction that: Include the content standards set forth in §B of this regulation; and Are aligned with the Maryland College and Career Ready Standards for World Languages, as developed by the Maryland State Department of Education in collaboration with local school systems. Student Participation. Each student shall have the opportunity to participate in the world languages program required by this chapter. By September 1, 2011, and each 5 years after that, each local superintendent of schools shall have certified to the State Superintendent of Schools that the instructional programming within grades 6—12 meets, at a minimum, the requirements set forth in Regulation .01 of this chapter. This certification shall describe how the regulations are being met at each learning level in accordance with reporting standards developed by the Department of Education. Education Article, §§2-205(h) and 4-111, Annotated Code of Maryland Effective date: February 22, 2010 (37:4 Md. R. 341) Regulation .01 amended effective October 24, 2016 (43:21 Md. R. 1168)