Indiana high school diploma legislation draws heat
Published 1:00 am Friday, February 10, 2017
- Graduation
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. –– Advocacy groups are speaking out against a bill they say would hurt students with disabilities in Indiana.
State Rep. Robert Behning says his newly proposed legislation would align the way Indiana measures graduation rates with federal standards, but opponents of the bill say it will devalue the diplomas of special needs students.
In calculating a school’s graduation rate, Behning’s bill, HB 1384, would only count students who earn a diploma that complies with the Common Core State Standards. Under the bill, students who earn a “general diploma,” which is based on a curriculum built for those who cannot complete the Common Core, would not be included in the state’s graduation rate.
Behning said the bill is not meant to discredit any student’s work.
“What we were trying to do was to get some uniformity across the country,” he said.
Right now, Indiana has one of the highest graduation rates in the country. In 2016, the state reported 86 percent graduation, putting it at eighth in the nation. Behning said their high rank is in part due to the way Indiana measures their graduates, which currently includes students who have received general diplomas.
According to Behning, the general diploma courses do not match the federal regulations for high school graduations.
Advocacy groups believe the education of special needs students “will suffer” if the bill is passed. They also argue it may disincentive these students to finish school, because it sends the message that their degree has less value. The Arc of Indiana, Covered Bridge Special Education District and The WILL Center have all made statements in opposition to the bill.
”I’m failing to see why someone thinks this is a good idea,” said Kim Dodson, Arc of Indiana executive director Dodson. “It sends a very bad message to the disability community.”
The Arc of Indiana put out a statement on Tuesday, urging people to call Behning and ask him not to pass the bill.
“We need to make sure that every student counts. Students who earn a diploma should be counted as graduating,” Dodson wrote in the statement.
A hearing for the bill was postponed yesterday due to public concern, but it has been rescheduled for next Tuesday, Behning said.
According to the Legislative Services Agency — the nonpartisan staff for the Indiana legislature — 8,618 out of 70,493 students received general diplomas in 2016 and were counted in the state’s graduation rate. Behning’s bill would result in a drop in the graduation rate, which he says would give the state a better understanding of Indiana’s education system.
According to the Arc’s statement, federal law permits the general diploma and Indiana currently reports graduation rates based on the federal definition.
Jeff Blake, executive director of Covered Bridge Special Education District said they agree with the Arc’s stance, as does Jared Price, independent life coordinator at WILL Center.
”It is absolutely wrong,” Blake said. A general diploma “needs to count somewhere. It needs to mean something. These kids work very hard. They’re not your average kid who can get a diploma easily,” he said.
The bill “leaves out individuals with special needs,” Price said. Not every student is able to achieve a Core 40 or honors diploma.
Behning said they will most likely be amending the bill to restore the general diploma in some form, however it must go to hearing and be voted on in committee before any changes are made.
Loughlin writes for the Terre Haute, Indiana Tribune Star.